Graphical user interface

Alizadeh Nubar
3 min readOct 31, 2020

A GUİ (Graphical user interface) is a system of interactive visual components for computer software. Basically, it is a software program that enables a person to communicate with a computer through the use of symbols, visual metaphors, and pointing devices.

The GUI was first developed at XEROX PARC by Alan Kay, Douglas Engelbart, and a group of other researchers in 1981. In 1984 Apple created their own Macintosh personal computer. It was the first computer a regular person could buy with a GUI and a mouse to interact with.

How does it work?

It is a type of user interface that contains menus and icons.GUI uses icons, menus to carry out commands, such as deleting, opening, and moving files.

What are the examples of GUI?

  1. Any Microsoft program, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.
  2. Internet browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox.
  3. And so on.

What are the benefits(advantages) of GUI?

A GUI is considered to be more user-friendly than a text-based command-line interface. Unlike command-line interfaces, GUI is easier for new users to learn and use because commands do not need to be memorized. All commands are grouped in menus and toolbars. Additionally, users do not need to know any programming languages. Also, looks nicer than the text interface. Because of their ease of use and more modern appearance, GUI has come to dominate today’s market.

What are the disadvantages of GUI?

For programmers, the design of the Graphical User Interface is more complex. Instead of GUI, Command-line interfaces are easier to implement by a programmer.GUI requires more memory(RAM) to run than other interfaces.GUI can be slow for experienced programmers to use.

GUI elements:

Graphical user interface elements are used to offer a consistent visual language to represent information stored in computers. These make it easier for people with few computer skills to work with and use computer software. They are:

  1. Menu.
  2. Dialogue box
  3. Toolbar

MENU- is a GUI element that displays a list of commands that can be chosen by the user to perform various functions.

Dialogue box- is a GUI element that is used to communicate information to the user and allow him/her to respond by choosing an option from a list of specific choices.

Toolbar- is a GUI element on which buttons, icons, menus, or other input or output elements are placed.

That was all about Graphical User Interface.Hope you‘d enjoy while reading it!

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