Abbreviated
GUI (pronounced
GOO-ee). A
program interface that takes advantage of the
computer's graphics capabilities to make the program easier to use. Well-designed graphical user interfaces can free the user from learning complex
command languages. On the other hand, many
users find that they work more effectively with a
command-driven interface, especially if they already know the command language.
Graphical user interfaces, such as Microsoft Windows and the one used by the Apple Macintosh, feature the following basic components:
The first graphical user interface was designed by Xerox Corporation's Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s, but it was not until the 1980s and the emergence of the Apple Macintosh that graphical user interfaces became popular. One reason for their slow acceptance was the fact that they require considerable CPU power and a high-quality monitor, which until recently were prohibitively expensive.
In addition to their visual components, graphical user interfaces also make it easier to move data from one application to another. A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. Because the formats are well-defined, different programs that run under a common GUI can share data. This makes it possible, for example, to copy a graph created by a spreadsheet program into a document created by a word processor.
Many DOS programs include some features of GUIs, such as menus, but are not graphics based. Such interfaces are sometimes called graphical character-based user interfaces to distinguish them from true GUIs.
