The graphical user interface (GUI)
The graphical user interface, also known as GUI is a computer program that acts as user interface, using a set of images and graphic objects to represent the information and actions available in the interface. Its main use is to provide a simple visual environment to allow communication with the operating system of a machine or computer.
Usually the actions are performed by direct manipulation to facilitate user interaction with the computer. In the context of human-computer interaction, graphical user interface is the technological artifact of an interactive system that allows, through the use and representation of visual language, a friendly interaction with a computer system.
The recent history of computing is inextricably linked to the graphical interfaces, since graphics systems have caused great impact on the industry of software and hardware.
Graphical interfaces originate from the need to build computers more accessible to ordinary users. In the past, most home computers, required knowledge of BASIC (95% of them incorporated a BASIC interpreter and operating environment) or offered a command line interface (such as operating systems CP / M or different OS's Apple II), requiring expertise if you wanted to do more than use it as a game console.
This limitation was saved thanks to the development of graphical environments that enabled people to access a computer without having to go through the tortuous process of learning command line jargon.
GUI's and zooming user interface
GUIs types found in computer games, and advanced GUIs based on virtual reality, are often used in research tasks. A number of research groups in North America and Europe are presently working on the user interface approach or ZUI (Zooming User Interface), which is a logical advancement of the GUI, mixing 3D with 2D.
Touchscreen user interface
Some GUIs are designed to meet the rigorous requirements of vertical markets. These are known as "specific-use GUIs." An example of a specific-use GUI is the now familiar touchscreen. I
Other examples of specific-use GUIs, related to the touchscreen are ATMs, information kiosks and displays for monitoring and control in industrial applications, which employ a real-time operating system (RTOS). Mobile phones and systems or game consoles also use the touchscreen. Furthermore, the automation is not possible without a good user interface.
