WIMP or GUI Interface
A graphical user interface (GUI) is the most common type of user interface in use today. It is a very 'friendly' way for people to interact with the computer because it makes use of pictures, graphics and icons - hence why it is called 'graphical'.
A GUI (pronounced gooey) is also known as a WIMP interface because it makes use of:
Windows - a rectangular area on the screen where the commonly used applications run
Icons - a picture or symbol which is used to represent a software application or hardware device
Menus - a list of options from which the user can choose what they require
Pointers - a symbol such as an arrow which moves around the screen as you move your mouse. Helps you to select objects.
| Advantages and Disadvantages | |
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| This type of user interface is easy to use, especially for a beginner | GUIs take up a much larger amount of hard disk space than other interfaces |
| It is easy to explore and find your way around the system using a WIMP/ GUI interface | They need significantly more memory (RAM) to run than other interface types |
| You do not have to learn complicated commands | They use more processing power than other types of interface |
| There are usually a reasonable 'help' system included with WIMP interfaces | They can be slow for experienced programmers to use. These people often find CLI interfaces much faster to use |
| You get the benefits of WYSIWYG | |
| They let you exchange data between different software applications |
Table 5- Advantages and Disadvantages
A GUI is an interface built around visual (graphical) things:
· Windows are regions of the screen used to display information
· Icons are small pictures that are used to represent folders, software, etc.
· Menus are lists of options the user can select from
· A pointer is an arrow that can be moved around the screen and is used to select things
Windows XP is an example of an operating system with a GUI.
GUIs are quite easy to use due to the visual nature of the interface – the user has lots of visual clues as to what things do.
However, to display all of the nice graphics required by a GUI takes a lot of computing power so quite a powerful computer is needed.
· Graphical User Interface (GUI): The use of pictures rather than just words to represent the input and output of a program. Input is accepted via devices such as keyboard and mouse.
Many years ago when computers were not very powerful they could not display the colourful graphics required for a GUI. The only interface available to most computer uses was the ‘command line’.
The user would see nothing but a black screen. They would have totype a command to make anything happen.
To copy a text file called NOTES from a floppy disc to the hard drive the user would have to type:
> COPY A:\NOTES.TXT C:\
The user would have to learn a whole set of strange commands so that they could make use of the computer system. Plus it was not very interesting look at – no visual clues to tell you what to do next.
3. Physical and mental characteristics of the user. Development stages of the user interface. Types of testing of interfaces (testing of users). Perspectives of development of interfaces.
This meant computers used to be quite difficult to use, so this type of interface is only really suitable for expert users.
The system that people use to interact with a computer (to give it commands, to see the results of those commands, etc.) is known as the user interface.
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