Graphical user interface
A graphical user interface, or GUI (/ˈɡuːi/[1][2] GOO-ee), is a
form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic
devices through graphical icons and visual indicators such as
secondary notation. In many applications, GUIs are used instead
of text-based UIs, which are based on typed command labels or
text navigation. GUIs were introduced in reaction to the perceived
steep learning curve of command-line interfaces (CLIs),[3][4][5]
which require commands to be typed on a computer keyboard.
A graphical user interface (GUI)
The actions in a GUI are usually performed through direct showing various elements: radio
manipulation of the graphical elements.[6][7][8] Beyond computers, buttons, checkboxes, and other
GUIs are used in many handheld mobile devices such as MP3 elements
players, portable media players, gaming devices, smartphones and
smaller household, office and industrial controls. The term GUI
tends not to be applied to other lower-display resolution types of interfaces, such as video games (where
head-up displays (HUDs)[9] are preferred), or not including flat screens like volumetric displays[10] because
the term is restricted to the scope of 2D display screens able to describe generic information, in the tradition
of the computer science research at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.
GUI and interaction design
Designing the visual composition and temporal
behavior of a GUI is an important part of
software application programming in the area of
human–computer interaction. Its goal is to
enhance the efficiency and ease of use for the
underlying logical design of a stored program, a
design discipline named usability. Methods of
user-centered design are used to ensure that the
visual language introduced in the design is well-
tailored to the tasks.
The GUI is presented (displayed) on the computer screen.
The visible graphical interface features of an It is the result of processed user input and usually the
application are sometimes referred to as chrome main interface for human-machine interaction. The touch
or GUI. [11][12][13] Typically, users interact with UIs popular on small mobile devices are an overlay of the
visual output to the visual input.
information by manipulating visual 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 users. A model–view–controller allows flexible structures in which the interface is
independent of and indirectly linked to application functions, so the GUI can be customized easily. This
allows users to select or design a different skin or theme at will, and eases the designer's work to change the
interface as user needs evolve. Good GUI design relates to users more, and to system architecture less. Large
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 requirements of a vertical market as application-specific GUIs. Examples
include automated teller machines (ATM), point of sale (POS) touchscreens at restaurants,[14] self-service
checkouts used in a retail store, airline self-ticket and check-in, information kiosks in a public space, like a
train station or a museum, and monitors or control screens in an embedded industrial application which
employ a real-time operating system (RTOS).
Cell phones and handheld game systems also employ application specific touchscreen GUIs. Newer
automobiles use GUIs in their navigation systems and multimedia centers, or navigation multimedia center
combinations.
Examples
Sample graphical environments
KDE Plasma 6 MATE
GNOME Shell
Xfce
Windows on an example
Wayland compositor
Enlightenment
