GUI - Revision history

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2010-03-23T02:42:06Z

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Onnowpurbo at 02:44, 26 January 2010

2010-01-26T02:44:10Z

Onnowpurbo at 02:43, 26 January 2010

2010-01-26T02:43:27Z

Onnowpurbo at 02:41, 26 January 2010

2010-01-26T02:41:46Z

Onnowpurbo: New page: A screenshot of a modern GUI ([[GNOME), taken from Ubuntu version 9.04 [[List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jacka...

2010-01-26T02:39:29Z

New page: thumb|350px|A screenshot of a modern GUI ([[GNOME), taken from Ubuntu version 9.04 [[List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jacka...

New page

[[Image:JauntyGUI.png|thumb|350px|A screenshot of a modern GUI ([[GNOME]]), taken from [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]] version 9.04 [[List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)|Jaunty Jackalope]]]]
A '''graphical user interface''' or '''GUI''' (sometimes pronounced '''gooey''' instead) is a type of [[user interface]] item that allows people to [[human-computer interaction|interact with programs in more ways than typing]] such as [[computers]]; [[hand-held devices]] such as [[MP3]] Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A ''GUI'' offers graphical [[Icon (computing)|icons]], and visual indicators, as opposed to [[Text-based (computing)|text-based]] interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through [[direct manipulation]] of the graphical elements.

The term ''GUI'' is historically restricted to the scope of two-dimensional display screens with [[display resolutions]] capable of describing generic information, in the tradition of the [[computer science]] research at [[Palo Alto Research Center]] (PARC). The term ''GUI'' earlier might have been applicable to other high-resolution [[Human-Machine Interface#Types|types of interfaces]] that are non-generic, such as [[videogames]], or not restricted to flat screens, like [[volumetric display]]s.

== History ==
[[Image:X-Window-System.png|thumb|widthpx|An early-1990s style Unix desktop running the X Window System graphical user interface]]
{{Main|History of the graphical user interface}}

=== Precursors ===
A precursor to GUIs was invented by researchers at the [[Stanford Research Institute]], led by [[Douglas Engelbart]]. They developed the use of text-based [[hyperlink]]s manipulated with a [[Computer mouse|mouse]] for the [[On-Line System]]. The concept of hyperlinks was further refined and extended to graphics by researchers at [[Xerox PARC]], who went beyond text-based hyperlinks and used a GUI as the primary interface for the [[Xerox Alto]] [[computer]]. Most modern general-purpose GUIs are derived from this system. As a result, some people call this class of interface a PARC User Interface (PUI) (note that PUI is also an acronym for perceptual user interface).

[[Ivan Sutherland]] developed a pointer-based system called the [[Sketchpad]] in 1963. It used a light-pen to guide the creation and manipulation of objects in engineering drawings.

=== PARC User Interface ===
The PARC User Interface consisted of graphical elements such as [[window (computing)|window]]s, [[menu (computing)|menu]]s, [[radio button (computing)|radio button]]s, [[check box]]es and [[icon (computing)|icon]]s. The PARC User Interface employs a [[pointing device]] in addition to a keyboard. These aspects can be emphasized by using the alternative acronym [[WIMP (computing)|WIMP]], which stands for Windows, Icons, Menus and [[Pointing device]].

=== Evolution ===
[[Image:Xerox 8010 compound document.jpg|thumb|right|The Xerox Star Workstation introduced the first GUI operating systems as shown above.]]
Following PARC the first GUI-centric computer operating model was the [[Xerox Star|Xerox 8010 Star Information System]] in 1981, followed by the [[Apple Lisa]] (which presented the concept of menu bar as well as window controls) in 1983, the Apple [[Macintosh 128K]] in 1984, and the [[Atari ST]] and Commodore [[Amiga]] in 1985.

The GUIs familiar to most people today are [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Mac OS X]], and [[X Window System]] interfaces. [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[IBM]] and [[Microsoft]] used many of Xerox's ideas to develop products, and IBM's [[Common User Access]] specifications formed the basis of the user interface found in Microsoft Windows, [[IBM OS/2]] [[Presentation Manager]], and the [[Unix]] [[Motif (widget toolkit)|Motif]] toolkit and [[window manager]]. These ideas evolved to create the interface found in current versions of Microsoft Windows, as well as in Mac OS X and various [[desktop environments]] for [[Unix-like]] [[operating system]]s, such as [[Linux]]. Thus most current GUIs have largely common idioms.

== Components ==
{{Main|Elements of graphical user interfaces}}

A GUI uses a combination of technologies and devices to provide a platform the user can interact with, for the tasks of gathering and producing information.

A series of elements conforming a [[visual language]] have evolved to represent information stored in computers. This makes it easier for people with few computer skills to work with and use computer software. The most common combination of such elements in GUIs is the [[WIMP (computing)|WIMP]] ("window, icon, menu, pointing device") paradigm, especially in [[personal computer]]s.

The WIMP style of interaction uses a physical [[input device]] to control the position of a [[cursor (computers)|cursor]] and presents information organized in windows and represented with icons. Available commands are compiled together in menus, and actions are performed making gestures with the pointing device. A [[window manager]] facilitates the interactions between windows, applications, and the [[windowing system]]. The [[windowing system]] handles hardware devices such as pointing devices and graphics hardware, as well as the positioning of the cursor.

In [[personal computer]]s all these elements are modeled through a [[desktop metaphor]], to produce a simulation called a [[desktop environment]] in which the display represents a desktop, upon which documents and folders of documents can be placed. [[Window manager]]s and other software combine to simulate the desktop environment with varying degrees of realism.

== Post-WIMP interfaces ==

Smaller mobile devices such as [[PDA]]s and [[smartphone]]s typically use the WIMP elements with different unifying metaphors, due to constraints in space and available input devices. Applications for which WIMP is not well suited may use newer [[interaction techniques]], collectively named as [[post-WIMP]] user interfaces.

Some touch-screen-based operating systems such as Apple's [[iPhone OS]] currently use [[post-WIMP]] styles of interaction. The [[iPhone]]'s use of more than one finger in contact with the screen allows actions such as pinching and rotating, which are not supported by a single pointer and mouse.

A class of GUIs sometimes referred to as [[post-WIMP]] include 3D [[compositing window manager]] such as [[Compiz]], [[Desktop Window Manager]], and LG3D.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} Some post-WIMP interfaces may be better suited for applications which model immersive 3D environments, such as [[Google Earth]].

== User interface and interaction design ==

Designing the visual composition and temporal behavior of GUI is an important part of [[software application]] programming. Its goal is to enhance the efficiency and ease of use for the underlying logical design of a stored [[Computer program|program]], a design discipline known as [[usability]]. Techniques of [[user-centered design]] are used to ensure that the visual language introduced in the design is well tailored to the tasks it must perform.

Typically, the user interacts with information by manipulating visual [[GUI widget|widgets]] that allow for interactions appropriate to the kind of data they hold. The widgets of a well-designed interface are selected to support the actions necessary to achieve the goals of the user. A [[Model-view-controller]] allows for a flexible structure in which the interface is independent from and indirectly linked to application functionality, so the GUI can be easily customized. This allows the user to select or design a different ''[[skin (computing)|skin]]'' at will, and eases the designer's work to change the interface as the user needs evolve. Nevertheless, good user interface design relates to the user, not the system architecture.

The visible graphical interface features of an application are sometimes referred to as "chrome". Larger widgets, such as windows, usually provide a frame or container for the main presentation content such as a web page, email message or drawing. Smaller ones usually act as a user-input tool.

A GUI may be designed for the rigorous requirements of a [[vertical market]]. This is known as an "application specific graphical user interface." Among early application specific GUIs was [[Gene Mosher]]'s [http://www.atarimagazines.com/startv2n6/gettingdowntobusiness.html 1986 Point of Sale touchscreen GUI]. Other examples of an application specific GUIs are:

* [[Self checkout|Self-service checkout]]s used in a retail store
* Automated teller machines (ATM)
* Airline self-ticketing and check-in
* Information kiosks in a public space, like a train station or a museum
* Monitors or control screens in an embedded industrial application which employ a [[real time operating system]] (RTOS).

The latest cell phones and handheld game systems also employ application specific touchscreen GUIs. Newer automobiles use GUIs in their navigation systems and touch screen multimedia centers.

== Comparison to other interfaces ==
=== Command-line interfaces ===
[[Image:Bash screenshot.png|thumb|left|Modern CLI]]
GUIs were introduced in reaction to the steep [[learning curve]] of [[command-line interface]]s (CLI), which require commands to be typed on the [[Computer keyboard|keyboard]]. Since the commands available in command line interfaces can be numerous, complicated operations can be completed using a short sequence of words and symbols. This allows for greater efficiency and productivity once many commands are learnt, but reaching this level takes some time because the command words are not easily discoverable and not mnemonic. [[WIMP (computing)|WIMP]]s ("window, icon, menu, pointing device"), on the other hand, present the user with numerous [[GUI widget|widget]]s that represent and can trigger some of the system's available commands.

WIMPs extensively use [[Mode (computer interface)|modes]] as the meaning of all keys and clicks on specific positions on the screen are redefined all the time. Command line interfaces use modes only in limited forms, such as the current directory and environment variables.

Most modern [[operating system]]s provide both a GUI and some level of a CLI, although the GUIs usually receive more attention. The GUI is usually WIMP-based, although occasionally other metaphors surface, such as those used in [[Microsoft Bob]], 3dwm or [[File System Visualizer]] (FSV).

Applications may also provide both interfaces, and when they do the GUI is usually a WIMP wrapper around the command-line version. This is especially common with applications designed for [[Unix-like]] operating systems. The latter used to be implemented first because it allowed the developers to focus exclusively on their product's functionality without bothering about interface details such as designing icons and placing buttons. Designing programs this way also allows users to run the program non-interactively, such as in a [[shell script]].

== Three-dimensional user interfaces ==

{{Main|Compositing window manager}}

For typical computer displays, ''three-dimensional'' is a misnomer—their displays are two-dimensional. Three-dimensional images are projected on them in two dimensions. Since this technique has been in use for many years, the recent use of the term three-dimensional must be considered a declaration by equipment marketers that the speed of three dimension to two dimension projection is adequate to use in standard GUIs. {{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}

=== Motivation ===
Three-dimensional GUIs are quite common in science fiction literature and movies, such as in ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]'', which features [[Silicon Graphics]]' three-dimensional file manager, "File system navigator", an actual file manager that never got much widespread use as the user interface for a Unix computer. In fiction, three-dimensional user interfaces are often immersible environments like William Gibson's [[Cyberspace]] or Neal Stephenson's [[Metaverse]].

Three-dimensional graphics are currently mostly used in computer games, art and [[computer-aided design]] (CAD). There have been several attempts at making three-dimensional desktop environments like Sun's [[Project Looking Glass]] or [http://www.spheresite.com SphereXP] from Sphere Inc. A three-dimensional computing environment could possibly be used for collaborative work. For example, scientists could study three-dimensional models of [[molecules]] in a virtual reality environment, or engineers could work on assembling a three-dimensional model of an airplane. This is a goal of the [[Croquet project]] and [[Project Looking Glass]].

=== Technologies ===
The use of three-dimensional graphics has become increasingly common in mainstream operating systems, from creating attractive interfaces—[[eye candy]]— to functional purposes only possible using three dimensions. For example, user switching is represented by rotating a cube whose faces are each user's workspace, and window management is represented in the form or via a [[Rolodex]]-style flipping mechanism in [[Windows Vista]] (see [[Windows Flip 3D]]). In both cases, the operating system transforms windows on-the-fly while continuing to update the content of those windows.

Interfaces for the [[X Window System]] have also implemented advanced three-dimensional user interfaces through [[compositing window manager]]s such as [[Beryl (window manager)|Beryl]], [[Compiz]] and [[KWin]] using the [[AIGLX]] or [[XGL]] architectures, allowing for the usage of OpenGL to animate the user's interactions with the desktop.

Another branch in the three-dimensional desktop environment is the three-dimensional GUIs that take the desktop metaphor a step further, like the [[BumpTop]], where a user can manipulate documents and windows as if they were "real world" documents, with realistic movement and physics.

The [[Zooming User Interface]] (ZUI) is a related technology that promises to deliver the representation benefits of 3D environments without their usability drawbacks of orientation problems and hidden objects. It is a logical advancement on the GUI, blending some [[3D computer graphics|three-dimensional]] movement with [[2D computer graphics|two-dimensional]] or "[[2.5D]]" vector objects.

== See also ==
<div style="-moz-column-count:4; column-count:4;">
*[[Ajax (programming)|Ajax]]
*[[Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation|Apple v. Microsoft]]
*[[Computer icon]]
*[[Ergonomics]]
*[[GNOME]]
*[[Human-Machine Interface]]
*[[KDE]]
*[[Look and feel]]
*[[Model-view-controller]]
*[[Ncurses]]
*[[Object-oriented user interface]]
*[[Organic User Interface]]
*[[Post-WIMP]]
*[[Rich Internet application]]s
*[[Skin (computing)|Skin]]
*[[Text entry interface]]
*[[Usability]]
*[[User interface engineering]]
*[[Vector-Based GUI]]
*[[WIMP (computing)]]
*[[Worrell]]
</div>

== External links ==
*[http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/features/2045763/men-really-invented-gui The men who really invented the GUI] by Clive Akass
*[http://toastytech.com/guis/index.html Graphical User Interface Gallery], screenshots of various GUIs
*[http://www.guidebookgallery.org/ Marcin Wichary's GUIdebook], Graphical User Interface gallery: over 5500 screenshots of GUI, application and icon history
*[http://www.sitepoint.com/article/real-history-gui The Real History of the GUI] by Mike Tuck
*[http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/gui.ars A History of the GUI] by Jeremy Reimer of [[Ars Technica]]
*[http://easygui.com/driver.asp?sc=9&me=13&sub=26 GUI Driver Library]
*[http://www.nealstephenson.com/command/ In The Beginning Was The Command Line] by Neal Stephenson

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:42, 23 March 2010
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	*[http://easygui.com/driver.asp?sc=9&me=13&sub=26 GUI Driver Library]		*[http://easygui.com/driver.asp?sc=9&me=13&sub=26 GUI Driver Library]
	*[http://www.nealstephenson.com/command/ In The Beginning Was The Command Line] by Neal Stephenson		*[http://www.nealstephenson.com/command/ In The Beginning Was The Command Line] by Neal Stephenson
		+
		+
		+	==Pranala Menarik==
		+
		+	* [[CLI]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:JauntyGUI.jpg|thumb|350px|A screenshot of a modern GUI ([[GNOME]]), taken from [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]] version 9.04 [[List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)|Jaunty Jackalope]]]]
+[[Image:JauntyGUI.jpeg|thumb|350px|A screenshot of a modern GUI ([[GNOME]]), taken from [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]] version 9.04 [[List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)|Jaunty Jackalope]]]]
 A '''[[graphical user interface]]''' or '''GUI''' (sometimes pronounced '''gooey''' instead) is a type of [[user interface]]  item that allows people to [[human-computer interaction|interact with programs in more ways than typing]] such as [[computers]]; [[hand-held devices]] such as [[MP3]] Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A ''GUI'' offers graphical [[Icon (computing)|icons]], and visual indicators, as opposed to [[Text-based (computing)|text-based]] interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through [[direct manipulation]] of the graphical elements.
@@ Line 72: / Line 72: @@
 == Three-dimensional user interfaces ==
-For typical computer displays, ''three-dimensional'' is a misnomer—their displays are two-dimensional. Three-dimensional images are projected on them in two dimensions. Since this technique has been in use for many years, the recent use of the term three-dimensional must be considered a declaration by equipment marketers that the speed of three dimension to two dimension projection is adequate to use in standard GUIs. {{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}
+For typical computer displays, ''three-dimensional'' is a misnomer—their displays are two-dimensional. Three-dimensional images are projected on them in two dimensions. Since this technique has been in use for many years, the recent use of the term three-dimensional must be considered a declaration by equipment marketers that the speed of three dimension to two dimension projection is adequate to use in standard GUIs.
 === Motivation ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:43, 26 January 2010
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−	[[Image:JauntyGUI.~~png~~\|thumb\|350px\|A screenshot of a modern GUI ([[GNOME]]), taken from [[Ubuntu (operating system)\|Ubuntu]] version 9.04 [[List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)\|Jaunty Jackalope]]]]	+	[[Image:JauntyGUI.jpg\|thumb\|350px\|A screenshot of a modern GUI ([[GNOME]]), taken from [[Ubuntu (operating system)\|Ubuntu]] version 9.04 [[List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)\|Jaunty Jackalope]]]]
	A '''[[graphical user interface]]''' or '''GUI''' (sometimes pronounced '''gooey''' instead) is a type of [[user interface]] item that allows people to [[human-computer interaction\|interact with programs in more ways than typing]] such as [[computers]]; [[hand-held devices]] such as [[MP3]] Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A ''GUI'' offers graphical [[Icon (computing)\|icons]], and visual indicators, as opposed to [[Text-based (computing)\|text-based]] interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through [[direct manipulation]] of the graphical elements.		A '''[[graphical user interface]]''' or '''GUI''' (sometimes pronounced '''gooey''' instead) is a type of [[user interface]] item that allows people to [[human-computer interaction\|interact with programs in more ways than typing]] such as [[computers]]; [[hand-held devices]] such as [[MP3]] Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A ''GUI'' offers graphical [[Icon (computing)\|icons]], and visual indicators, as opposed to [[Text-based (computing)\|text-based]] interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through [[direct manipulation]] of the graphical elements.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Image:JauntyGUI.png|thumb|350px|A screenshot of a modern GUI ([[GNOME]]), taken from [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]] version 9.04 [[List of Ubuntu releases#Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)|Jaunty Jackalope]]]]
-A '''graphical user interface''' or '''GUI''' (sometimes pronounced '''gooey''' instead) is a type of [[user interface]]  item that allows people to [[human-computer interaction|interact with programs in more ways than typing]] such as [[computers]]; [[hand-held devices]] such as [[MP3]] Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A ''GUI'' offers graphical [[Icon (computing)|icons]], and visual indicators, as opposed to [[Text-based (computing)|text-based]] interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through [[direct manipulation]] of the graphical elements.
+A '''[[graphical user interface]]''' or '''GUI''' (sometimes pronounced '''gooey''' instead) is a type of [[user interface]]  item that allows people to [[human-computer interaction|interact with programs in more ways than typing]] such as [[computers]]; [[hand-held devices]] such as [[MP3]] Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A ''GUI'' offers graphical [[Icon (computing)|icons]], and visual indicators, as opposed to [[Text-based (computing)|text-based]] interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are usually performed through [[direct manipulation]] of the graphical elements.
-The term ''GUI'' is historically restricted to the scope of two-dimensional display screens with [[display resolutions]] capable of describing generic information, in the tradition of the [[computer science]] research at [[Palo Alto Research Center]] (PARC). The term ''GUI'' earlier might have been applicable to other high-resolution [[Human-Machine Interface#Types|types of interfaces]] that are non-generic, such as [[videogames]], or not restricted to flat screens, like [[volumetric display]]s.
+The term ''[[GUI]]'' is historically restricted to the scope of two-dimensional display screens with [[display resolutions]] capable of describing generic information, in the tradition of the [[computer science]] research at [[Palo Alto Research Center]] (PARC). The term ''GUI'' earlier might have been applicable to other high-resolution [[Human-Machine Interface#Types|types of interfaces]] that are non-generic, such as [[videogames]], or not restricted to flat screens, like [[volumetric display]]s.
 == History ==
 [[Image:X-Window-System.png|thumb|widthpx|An early-1990s style Unix desktop running the X Window System graphical user interface]]
 === Precursors ===
@@ Line 23: / Line 22: @@
 == Components ==
-{{Main|Elements of graphical user interfaces}}
 A GUI uses a combination of technologies and devices to provide a platform the user can interact with, for the tasks of gathering and producing information.
@@ Line 40: / Line 39: @@
 Some touch-screen-based operating systems such as Apple's [[iPhone OS]] currently use [[post-WIMP]] styles of interaction. The [[iPhone]]'s use of more than one finger in contact with the screen allows actions such as pinching and rotating, which are not supported by a single pointer and mouse.
-A class of GUIs sometimes referred to as [[post-WIMP]] include 3D [[compositing window manager]] such as [[Compiz]], [[Desktop Window Manager]], and LG3D.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} Some post-WIMP interfaces may be better suited for applications which model immersive 3D environments, such as [[Google Earth]].
+A class of GUIs sometimes referred to as [[post-WIMP]] include 3D [[compositing window manager]] such as [[Compiz]], [[Desktop Window Manager]], and LG3D. Some post-WIMP interfaces may be better suited for applications which model immersive 3D environments, such as [[Google Earth]].
 == User interface and interaction design ==
@@ Line 72: / Line 71: @@
 == Three-dimensional user interfaces ==
 For typical computer displays, ''three-dimensional'' is a misnomer—their displays are two-dimensional. Three-dimensional images are projected on them in two dimensions. Since this technique has been in use for many years, the recent use of the term three-dimensional must be considered a declaration by equipment marketers that the speed of three dimension to two dimension projection is adequate to use in standard GUIs. {{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}