Introduction
A graphical user interface (GUI) is a user-friendly interface that makes
use of computer graphics (using bit map technology), so
that files and programs appear as icons and not text.
Data is displayed in 'windows' (rectangular areas) on the computer screen.
The computer user can use a mouse to point at and select various options
and carry out commands. Prior to this the user had to type in the commands,
eg 'open file'.
This 'point and click' technology reduced the need for the computer users
to learn complex commands and as a result, this technology became the use
of PC's possible for non specialists.
The GUI can be thought of as the face of the operating system and a
typical GUI would be the desktop of most computers.
History
The first graphical user interface was designed by the Xerox Corporation
at their Palo Alto Research Center
(PARC) in the 1970s,
but it was not until the 1980s and the emergence of the Apple Macintosh,
that graphical user interfaces became popular. Steve Jobs of Apple computers
was looking for new ideas and saw the Alto computer (which had a GUI and
a three-button mouse) when on a tour of the Xerox facilities. From this idea
the Apple engineers developed the Lisa computer.
At that time the style of interface was usually referred to as 'Wimp', derived
from the components 'window, icon, menus and pointer', although this term
has now died out.
Just after the emergence of Apple Computers' GUI, the software
company Microsoft developed their windows operating system, which makes full
use of the GUI technology and its capabilities.
How GUI influenced the development of the PC.
Today, personal computers are relatively easy to use because they are based
on a 'point and click technology' that makes use of computer graphics in
the form of metaphors and
icons, This ease of use is what has made the PC so popular.
The GUI is the 'face' of the computer - there is no need to know what is
taking place in the background when a command is given. The ability to click
on an icon means that there is no need to learn complex computer language.
There are only a few basics to learn before a person can become a competent
computer user. It is the development of this GUI technology that has resulted
in the significant expansion and development of the PC market, for both business
and domestic use.
The Apple Lisa . The first commercial produced computer to feature a graphical user interface.
A screen shot of the desktop from an Apple II.
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