What is graphical User Interface:DEfinition,Components, Examples

The term Graphical User Interface came into existence in 1970s that give the difference between text-based graphical interfaces as command line interface. Nowadays all the digital interfaces are GUIs. Abbreviated as GUIs is a user interface that gives graphical elements such as window, icons and buttons. For several generations GUIs was controlled by mouse and keyboard because both of them are sufficient to fulfil the requirement of desktop computers, But in cell phones you cannot mouse and keyboard for that mobile operating system are designed to use touch screen interface.

Components of GUI

  • A pointer that occur as a small angled arrow and you move it to select object on your display screen is the pointer and basic component of GUI.
  • A device from which you pointing the objects and which enables you to select specific and required object on the screen such as mouse or trackball are the pointing devices.
  • Small pictures to represent any file or document are the icons which is also one of the important component of GUI. You can represent the real objects using icons that are responsive.
  • The area on your computer screen where all the icons group together is referred to as desktop because icons represent real objects.
  • Window is also important and basic component of GUI in which a single screen is divided into different areas and each window running different program. You can change the size of your window by maximizing and minimizing it.
  • Menus are basically a list of items from them you can choose according to your requirement and most GUI let you to execute commands by selecting choice from the menus.

A true GUI is the one which make it easier to move data from one application another and follow some standard formats to represent graphics. Because formats are well defined and run under the common GUI that can share data.

Some of the additional information of GUI

How does it work

Basically GUI use windows, menu, icons to navigate to different windows and menu and for that it use mouse which is input device you can also keyboard and some of them shortcuts to done your task.

Benefits of GUI

One of the main advantage of using GUI intended applications are that, they are user friendly for the non-technical persons also attractive and speed up the user’s work. It looks more professional. This is all about user side but we talk about in terms of developers point of view or designers then it require less training and less experience.

Some of the examples of GUI interface and operating system

  • GUI Operating system: Microsoft Windows, Apple System 7, Mac OS, chrome OS, Linux.
  • GUI interface: Microsoft programs like word, Excel and outlook; Internet Browsers.