A graphical user interface is everything you see on your computer screen.
Your computer could quite happily run without showing any output at all, but this would be extremely difficult to use. The first computer didn't have any screen at all, so there was no user interface.
Next came the user interface. MS-DOS is an operating system that uses a display to allow the user to see what they are typing, however this only used text, a far cry from today's computers.
Finally comes the graphical user interface. Expanding from just text, the next step was to have images display the information as well as text. I expect the majority of people who read this are using a Windows operating system, and the whole of their display will be filled with images.
The start bar, the icons, the tabs for windows etc are all made up of images to show a visual representation. The user sees a graphical representation to allow them to more easily carry out tasks on the computer.
GUI is a computer term and stands for Graphical User Interface.
- User Friendly.
- Easy to learn (as a user).
- Easy to Use (as a user).
- Easy to implement (as a programmer).
- Uses a WIMP ( Window, Icon , Menu , Pointer ) environment
Graphical User Interface:
noun Computing a visual way of interacting with a computer using items such as windows, icons, and menus, used by most modern operating systems.