Graphical user interface

A graphical user interface (GUI) showing various elements: radio buttons, checkboxes, and other elements

A graphical user interface, or GUI (/ˈɡi/[1][2] GOO-ee), is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and visual indicators such as secondary notation. In many applications, GUIs are used instead of text-based UIs, which are based on typed command labels or text navigation. GUIs were introduced in reaction to the perceived steep learning curve of command-line interfaces (CLIs),[3][4][5] which require commands to be typed on a computer keyboard.

The actions in a GUI are usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements.[6][7][8] Beyond computers, GUIs are used in many handheld mobile devices such as MP3 players, portable media players, gaming devices, smartphones and smaller household, office and industrial controls. The term GUI tends not to be applied to other lower-display resolution types of interfaces, such as video games (where head-up displays (HUDs)[9] are preferred), or not including flat screens like volumetric displays[10] because the term is restricted to the scope of 2D display screens able to describe generic information, in the tradition of the computer science research at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.

  1. ^ Wells, John (2009). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Pearson Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  2. ^ "How to pronounce GUI in English". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  3. ^ "Command line vs. GUI". Computer Hope. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  4. ^ "The GUI versus the Command Line: Which is better? (Part 1)". Microsoft.com Operations. Microsoft Learn. 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  5. ^ "The GUI versus the Command Line: Which is better? (Part 2)". Microsoft.com Operations. Microsoft Learn. 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  6. ^ "Graphical user interface". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  7. ^ Levy, Steven. "Graphical User Interface (GUI)". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  8. ^ "GUI". PC Magazine Encyclopedia. pcmag.com. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  9. ^ Greg Wilson (2006). "Off with Their HUDs!: Rethinking the Heads-Up Display in Console Game Design". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2006.
  10. ^ "GUI definition". Linux Information Project. October 1, 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2008.