Interfaces on PCs have evolved over time, and GUIs are now used by many people. Many people may be familiar with the term GUI, but may not know what it specifically means.
In this article, we will explain the meaning and characteristics of GUI, and also explain the differences between GUI and CUI, which is another typical interface.
If you want to reaffirm the meaning of GUI, please refer to it.
What is GUI?
A GUI is a screen that allows you to operate your PC using a mouse or finger, which is also used in modern Windows PCs and Mac PCs. It is an abbreviation for “Graphical User Interface”, and it is easy to understand if you think of it as a screen that is the point of contact between computers and humans.
GUI began to be introduced in the US Air Force system “SAGE” in 1963, and spread to home PCs with “Macintosh” in 1984 and “Windows 1.0” in 1985. Since then, it has been introduced not only to PCs but also to home appliances, and has become a technology that supports the ease of use of electronic devices in general.
It can be said that GUI not only allows many people to use PCs and electronic devices intuitively, but also serves as the foundation for the richness and convenience of life that these functions provide.
Difference between GUI and CUI
CUI is a similar word to GUI. GUI is an interface that allows you to operate by selecting items displayed on the screen with a mouse, whereas CUI is an interface that allows you to operate a PC by entering commands into the PC from the keyboard.
Before GUIs became popular, PCs used CUI, which required users to understand the command statements for PCs before use. As a result, only those who had undergone specialized training could use PCs, and PCs did not become as popular as they did when GUIs became popular.
Although the general public mostly operates PCs using GUI, CUI is still used today. In particular, it is used when performing complex OS operations, and operations using the MacOS terminal or the Windows OS command prompt fall under CUI.
Although CUI is rarely used by the general public, it is good to think that it still exists today as an interface used by developers and engineers.
