An incredibly common form of digital interface which you are likely to use hundreds of times every day without even realising is the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Whenever you use your computer, your phone, an ATM, or even SkyPlus, you are in effect interacting with a GUI. A Graphical User Interface is made up of components such as scroll bars, menus, buttons and icons that allow you as the user of a piece of computer hardware to inform the computer of what jobs you would like it to carry out. Effective GUI design should help your average computer hardware user to complete the task at hand, be it checking your emails, doing your accounts, or making a phone call from your mobile.
Initially, GUI was developed as an alternative to Command Line Interface (CLI), which required the computer user to type out a command whenever the user wanted to carry out a task or get the computer to do something. MS-DOS is one of the more popular operating systems which used a CLI. As computer use became more widespread and those using them increasingly had less and less computer knowledge, GUI was developed as an easy solution to eliminate the problem of computer novices having to learn a complex CLI system. Instead of typing a command to let the computer know what you want it to do, GUI allowed users to select a button, option on a menu, or icon on the desktop. Since its implementation, GUI has become one of the most important parts of the design of an operating system.
Initially, GUI was developed as an alternative to Command Line Interface (CLI), which required the computer user to type out a command whenever the user wanted to carry out a task or get the computer to do something. MS-DOS is one of the more popular operating systems which used a CLI. As computer use became more widespread and those using them increasingly had less and less computer knowledge, GUI was developed as an easy solution to eliminate the problem of computer novices having to learn a complex CLI system. Instead of typing a command to let the computer know what you want it to do, GUI allowed users to select a button, option on a menu, or icon on the desktop. Since its implementation, GUI has become one of the most important parts of the design of an operating system.