Graphical user interface

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 widgets in addition to text.

The nature of GUIs

A certain amount of insight into GUIs can be obtained by comparing noun-verb to verb-noun metaphors. Noun-verb interaction begins by picking an object then telling the system what to do to it. Verb-noun systems tell the system what to do, then pick the object to do it to. Most GUIs are implemented in terms of an event model, although other models exist. These alternative models for creating GUIs are generally classed as user interface management systems or UIMS.

Related Topics:
Event model - User interface management systems

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In academic and research circles a GUI is often referred to as a Direct manipulation interface. This term was coined and adopted in the late 1980s because it was felt the term "Graphic User Interface" did not reflect the actual physical or haptic reality of manipulating a mouse or using a touch screen and that it ignored completely the coordinated use of sound effects to support the manipulation of the graphic elements in this kind of user interface. Also, academic and research institutions often work on prototypes of future user interfaces that place an equal or greater emphasis on the tactile elements of the interface. The "direct manipulation interface" term is usually not presented as an acronym.

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