Graphical User Interface (GUI) New

A Graphical User Interface, or GUI, (pronounced goo-ee) provides a graphical method for users to interact with software applications.

In original operating systems such as DOS and early versions of Unix all commands were executed using a command line interface. In the 1970s Xerox Corporation produced the first GUI, the concept was then used to drive the first Apple Macintosh and subsequently the Windows 1.0 interface.

GUIs are now common and exist in almost all operating systems. Some operating systems such as Unix and Windows 95/98 still maintain their command line heritage for those users that want more flexibility.

The basic components of a GUI include the ability to control a pointer using a mouse, to run seperate applications within different windows and to interact with programs using menus and dialog boxes.