Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Map of the Paris Metro, based on Beck's London Underground map.
The Graphical User Interface
A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is the representation of information and actions
available to a user through graphical icons and visual indicators. The actions are per-
formed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements, rather than typed com-
mands via text. We tend to take GUIs for granted; they include the word processor
on our PC and the mobile phone interface we use to dial numbers and send text mes-
sages. Without these intuitive interfaces, we would have to use complicated computer
code to control these devices. The evolution of computers began back in the 1950s,
but the home computer, or personal computer, as we know it today, was developed in
the 1970s.
Xerox developed the Xerox Alto, the first personal computer prototype, in 1973. It
used a keyboard as an input device, a mouse as a pointing device and a video screen
as a viewing device. In 1981, the introduction of Xerox Star brought in the first GUI.
Graphical icons were used to initiate operations and control the computer rather than
typing in long lines of programming code. The machine was not developed beyond
the prototype stage, as it was thought to be too expensive to be marketable.
A young Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Inc. until his death in 2011) had been to a present-
ation of the Xerox Star system and decided to build a GUI of his own. The result was
the Apple Macintosh, which launched in 1984. The interface used a desktop meta-
phor, with files, folders and even a wastebasket or trash can. It featured overlapping
windows to separate operations. The system also included a keyboard and mouse as
