The Graphical User Interface (GUI), also known as the Graphical User Interface, refers to a computer-operated user interface that displays information in a graphical format. Compared to the command-line interface used in early computers, GUI is more visually appealing and user-friendly for the end-user.
① What is ‘GUI’?
The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is a display format for the interface between humans and computers. It allows users to manipulate icons or menu options on the screen using input devices such as a mouse to select commands, call up files, start programs, or perform other daily tasks. The GUI has many advantages compared to the character interface that requires text or character commands to complete routine tasks. The GUI consists of windows, drop-down menus, dialogs, and their respective control mechanisms, standardized in various modern applications. In the GUI, users see and manipulate graphical objects, using computer graphics techniques.
GUI, short for Graphical User Interface, refers to the design of graphical interfaces for human-computer interaction. Looking at the current development status of the international industry related to GUI design, many well-known international companies have already realized the powerful added value and huge market value that GUI brings to their products. Therefore, they have set up related departments to specialize in GUI research and design within their companies, and several organizations have been established in the industry to exchange GUI design theories and experiences. With the rapid development of China’s IT industry, mobile communication industry, and home appliance industry, the development of human-computer interaction interface design in products has fallen behind. This undoubtedly plays a restrictive role in improving the comprehensive quality of the industry and enhancing its competitiveness with international counterparts.
The widespread use of GUI is one of the outstanding achievements of computer development today, which greatly facilitates non-professional users. People no longer need to memorize a large number of commands but can conveniently operate through windows, menus, buttons, and other methods. Embedded GUI has the basic requirements of being lightweight, resource-saving, high-performance, highly reliable, easy to port, and configurable.
② The Principles of GUI Interface Design
GUI performs two main functions: interface element management and graphical drawing. The interface element management algorithm includes adding and deleting interface elements, such as buttons, labels, dialog boxes, and other controls, and setting corresponding text and position information. User input message transmission involves finding the affected interface elements based on user input and calling back the corresponding processing function. User-defined message transmission allows users to define their own message response functions and generate messages independently. When a message is generated, the corresponding response function is called.
Graphical drawing includes basic point and line drawing API, such as drawing points, rectangles, horizontal and vertical lines, etc. It also involves setting the drawing layer. If multiple layers are required, the index value of the layer must be given in basic point and line drawing. Layer processing is used to determine which pixels on each layer will be displayed on the screen when there is a change in the layer interface (such as opening or closing a dialog box). GuiLite will determine which pixels will be displayed on the screen.
③ What is the difference between GUI and GI?
From a professional and rational objective perspective, GI stands for User Interface, which includes all interface connections (Interface) between people (User) and machines (Machine). Therefore, if you are designing an operating panel for a crane, a car dashboard, or a TV remote control, it can all be referred to as UI Design, which is a term used in industrial design.
GUI stands for Graphical User Interface, which refers to the interface connection (Interface) between people (User) and machines (Machine) using a graphical interface on a computer screen after the appearance of computing. It broadly refers to the interface design done on a computer. In a narrow sense, we are discussing the IT Internet industry, where UI is the abbreviation of GUI, and there is no difference between the two. In the process of designing GUI or UI, we use the methods and principles of usability to improve users’ satisfaction with the interaction process with the computer, which is commonly referred to as User Experience Design (UX).
