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A graphical user interface (or '''GUI''', sometimes pronounced "gooey") is a method of Interacting With A Computer through a Metaphor of Direct Manipulation of graphical images and Widget s in addition to text. GUIs display visual elements such as icons, windows and other gadgets. The precursor to GUIs was invented by researchers at the Stanford Research Institute (led by Doug Engelbart ) with the development and use of text-based Hyperlink s manipulated with a Mouse for the On-Line System . The concept of hyperlinks was further refined and extended to graphics by researchers at Xerox PARC , who went beyond text-based hyperlinks and used GUI s as the primary interface for the Xerox Alto Computer . Most modern general-purpose GUIs are derived from this system. For this reason some people call this class of interface a ''PARC '''U'''ser '''I'''nterface'' (PUI) (note that PUI is also an acronym for ''perceptual user interface''). The PUI consists of graphical widgets (often provided by Widget Toolkit libraries) such as Window s, Menu s, Radio Button s, Check Box es and Icon s, and employs a Pointing Device (such as a mouse, trackball or touchscreen) in addition to a keyboard. Those aspects of PUIs can be emphasized by using the alternative acronym WIMP , which stands for Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointing Device . The GUI familiar to most of us today is either the Mac or the Windows operating systems and their applications originated at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Laboratory in the late 1970s. Apple used it in their first Macintosh computers. Later, Microsoft built on many of Apple's ideas in their first version of the Windows operating system for IBM-compatible PCs. Examples of systems that support GUIs are Mac OS , Microsoft Windows , NEXTSTEP and the X Window System . The latter is extended with toolkits such as Motif ( CDE ), Qt ( KDE ) and GTK+ ( GNOME ). , one of the X Window System's many graphical user interfaces available for Unix-like systems]] ]] ]] , running on Xandros 3.02 Open Circulation Edition, a popular Linux Distribution ]] TYPES OF GUIS GUIs that are not PUIs are most notably found in Computer Game s, and advanced GUIs based on Virtual Reality are now frequently found in research. Many research groups in North America and Europe are currently working on the Zooming User Interface , or ZUI, which is a logical advancement on the GUI, blending some 3D movement with 2D or "2½D" vectorial objects. Some GUIs are designed for the rigorous requirements of Vertical Market s. These are known as "application specific GUIs." One example of such an application specific GUI is the now familiar touchscreen point of sale software found in restaurants worldwide and being introduced into self-service retail checkouts. First pioneered by Gene Mosher on the Atari ST computer in 1986, the application specific touchscreen GUI has spearheaded a worldwide revolution in the use of computers throughout the food and beverage industry and in general retail. Other examples of application specific touchscreen GUIs include the most recent Automatic Teller Machine s, airline self-ticketing, information kiosks and the monitor/control screens in embedded industrial applications which employ a Real Time Operating System (RTOS). The latest cell phones and handheld game systems also employ application specific touchscreen GUIs. GUI VS. CLI GUIs were introduced in reaction to the steep learning curve of ''Command '''L'''ine '''I'''nterfaces'' ( CLI ), Text-based User Interfaces requiring commands to be typed on the Keyboard . Since the command words in CLIs are usually numerous and composable, very complicated operations can be invoked using a relatively short sequence of words and symbols. This leads to high levels of efficiency once the many commands are learned, but reaching this level can take some time, because the command words are not easily discoverable. WIMP s ("window, icon, menu, pointing device"), on the other hand, present the user with numerous Widget s that represent and can trigger some of the system's available commands. WIMPs extensively use Modes as the meaning of all keys and clicks on specific positions on the screen are redefined all the time. CLI s use modes only in the form of a current directory. Most modern Operating System s provide both a GUI and some level of a CLI, although the GUIs usually receive more attention. The GUI is usually WIMP -based, although occasionally other metaphors surface, such as those used in Microsoft Bob , 3dwm or FSV. Applications may also provide both interfaces, and when they do the GUI is usually a WIMP wrapper around the CLI version. The latter used to be implemented first because it allowed the developers to focus exclusively on their product's functionality without bothering about interface details such as designing icons and placing buttons. GUI VS. TUI ''See main article: Text User Interface '' 3D USER INTERFACES 3D GUIs are very common in science fiction literature and movies, such as in and Mac OS X , for the moment mainly in the form of Eye Candy , like Apple's Quartz Extreme , which uses OpenGL to do fancy rendering. INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS OF USER INTERFACES Chrome is the set of user interface elements of the application window that are outside of a window's content area. Toolbars, menu bars, progress bars, and window title bars are all examples of elements that are typically part of the chrome {Link without Title} . SEE ALSO
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