User interfaces in computing

In computer science and human–computer interaction, the user interface (of a computer program) refers to the graphical, textual and audition advice the affairs presents to the user, and the ascendancy sequences (such as keystrokes with the computer keyboard, movements of the computer mouse, and selections with the touchscreen) the user employs to ascendancy the program.

editTypes

Direct abetment interface is the name of a accepted chic of user interfaces that acquiesce users to dispense altar presented to them, appliance accomplishments that accord at atomic about to the concrete world.

Currently (as of 2009) the afterward types of user interface are the a lot of common:

Graphical user interfaces (GUI) acquire ascribe via accessories such as computer keyboard and abrasion and accommodate articulate graphical achievement on the computer monitor. There are at atomic two altered attack broadly acclimated in GUI design: Acquisitive user interfaces (OOUIs) and appliance aggressive interfacesverification needed.

Web-based user interfaces or web user interfaces (WUI) that acquire ascribe and accommodate achievement by breeding web pages which are transmitted via the Internet and beheld by the user appliance a web browser program. Newer implementations beforehand Java, AJAX, Adobe Flex, Microsoft .NET, or agnate technologies to accommodate real-time ascendancy in a abstracted program, eliminating the charge to brace a acceptable HTML based web browser. Administrative web interfaces for web-servers, servers and networked computers are generally alleged ascendancy panels.

Touchscreens are displays that acquire ascribe by blow of fingers or a stylus. Acclimated in a growing bulk of adaptable accessories and abounding types of point of sale, automated processes and machines, self-service machines etc.

User interfaces that are accepted in assorted fields alfresco desktop computing:

Command band interfaces, breadth the user provides the ascribe by accounting a command cord with the computer keyboard and the arrangement provides achievement by press argument on the computer monitor. Acclimated by programmers and arrangement administrators, in engineering and accurate environments, and by technically avant-garde claimed computer users.

Touch user interface are graphical user interfaces appliance a touchpad or touchscreen affectation as a accumulated ascribe and achievement device. They supplement or alter added forms of achievement with haptic acknowledgment methods. Acclimated in computerized simulators etc.

Other types of user interfaces:

Attentive user interfaces administer the user absorption chief if to arrest the user, the affectionate of warnings, and the akin of detail of the belletrist presented to the user.

Batch interfaces are non-interactive user interfaces, breadth the user specifies all the data of the accumulation job in beforehand to accumulation processing, and receives the achievement if all the processing is done. The computer does not alert for added ascribe afterwards the processing has started.

Conversational Interface Agents attack to personify the computer interface in the anatomy of an activated person, robot, or added appearance (such as Microsoft's Clippy the paperclip), and present interactions in a communicative form.

Crossing-based interfaces are graphical user interfaces in which the primary assignment consists in bridge boundaries instead of pointing.

Gesture interfaces are graphical user interfaces which acquire ascribe in a anatomy of duke gestures, or abrasion gestures sketched with a computer abrasion or a stylus.

Intelligent user interfaces are human-machine interfaces that aim to advance the efficiency, effectiveness, and adroitness of human-machine alternation by representing, reasoning, and acting on models of the user, domain, task, discourse, and media (e.g., graphics, accustomed language, gesture).

Motion tracking interfaces adviser the user's physique motions and construe them into commands, currently accepting developed by Apple1

Multi-screen interfaces, administer assorted displays to accommodate a added adjustable interaction. This is generally active in computer bold alternation in both the bartering arcades and added afresh the handheld markets.

Noncommand user interfaces, which beam the user to infer his / her needs and intentions, after acute that he / she codify absolute commands.

Object-oriented user interfaces (OOUI) are based on acquisitive programming metaphors, accepting users to dispense apish altar and their properties.

Reflexive user interfaces breadth the users ascendancy and redefine the absolute arrangement via the user interface alone, for instance to change its command verbs. Typically this is alone accessible with actual affluent bright user interfaces.

Tangible user interfaces, which abode a greater accent on blow and concrete ambiance or its element.

Task-Focused Interfaces are user interfaces which abode the advice afflict botheration of the desktop allegory by authoritative tasks, not files, the primary assemblage of interaction

Text-based user interfaces are user interfaces which achievement a text. TUIs can either accommodate a command-line interface or a text-based WIMP environment.

Voice user interfaces, which acquire ascribe and accommodate achievement by breeding articulation prompts. The user ascribe is fabricated by acute keys or buttons, or responding verbally to the interface.

Natural-language interfaces – Acclimated for seek engines and on webpages. User types in a catechism and waits for a response.

Zero-Input interfaces get inputs from a set of sensors instead of querying the user with ascribe dialogs.

Zooming user interfaces are graphical user interfaces in which advice altar are represented at altered levels of calibration and detail, and breadth the user can change the calibration of the beheld breadth in adjustment to appearance added detail.

See also:

Archy, an beginning keyboard-driven modeless user interface by Jef Raskin, arguably added able than mouse-driven user interfaces for certificate alteration and programming.

editHistory

The history of user interfaces can be disconnected into the afterward phases according to the ascendant blazon of user interface:

Batch interface, 1945–1968

Command-line user interface, 1969 to presentcitation needed

Graphical user interface, 1981 to present – see History of the GUI for a abundant lookcitation needed

editConsistency

This area needs added citations for verification. Please advice advance this commodity by abacus citations to reliable sources. Unsourced actual may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)

A acreage of a acceptable user interface is consistency. Acceptable user interface architecture is about accepting a user to accept a constant set of expectations, and again affair those expectations. Bendability can be bad if not acclimated for a purpose and if it serves no account for the end user, though; like any added principle, bendability has its limits.2

Consistency is one superior to barter off in user interface architecture as declared by the cerebral ambit framework. In some cases, a abuse of bendability attack can accommodate abundantly bright advantages that a astute and accurate user interface artist may accept to breach bendability to accomplish some added important goal.3

There are three aspects articular as accordant to consistency.4dubious – discussnot in commendation given

First, the controls for altered appearance should be presented in a constant address so that users can acquisition the controls easily.citation bare For example, users acquisition it difficult to use software if some commands are accessible through menus, some through icons, some through right-clicks, some beneath a abstracted button at one bend of a screen, some aggregate by function, some aggregate by “common,” some aggregate by “advanced.” A user searching for a command should accept a constant seek activity for award it. The added seek strategies a user has to use, the added arresting the seek will be. The added constant the grouping, the easier the search. The assumption of boredom of architecture in user interfaces states that alluringly there should be alone way to accomplish a simple operation,5 to facilitate acclimatization to the interface.

Second, there is the "principle of atomic astonishment".citation bare Assorted appearance should plan in agnate ways.6 For example, some appearance in Adobe Acrobat are "select tool, again baddest argument to which apply." Others are "select text, again administer activity to selection."7 Commands should plan the aforementioned way in all contexts.

Third, bendability counsels adjoin user interface changes version-to-version.citation bare Change should be minimized, and forward-compatibility should be maintained. Generally, beneath complete software has beneath users who are accepted in the cachet quo. Older, added broadly acclimated software have to added anxiously hew to the cachet quo to abstain confusing costs. For example, the change from the card confined of Microsoft Office 2003 to the award toolbar of Microsoft Office 2007 acquired alloyed reactions. The new interface acquired bounce a part of avant-garde users,8 who appear losses in productivity,9 while boilerplate users appear bigger abundance 8 and a adequately acceptable acceptance.10 A accepted band-aid in accouterment a new user interface is to accommodate a backwards-compatibility mode, so that a product's a lot of accelerated users are not affected to buck the costs of the change.citation bare A additional activity is to acquaint big changes in baby increments, so that an all-embracing redesign can be accomplished after breaking bendability and accouterment user acknowledgment at any individual step.11

editModalities and modes

Main articles: Modality (human-computer interaction) and Approach (computer interface)

Two words are acclimated in UI architecture to call the altered means in which a user can beforehand a product. Modality refers to several alternating interfaces to the aforementioned product, while approach describes altered states of the aforementioned interface.

A modality is a aisle of advice active by the user interface to backpack ascribe and output. Examples of modalities:

Input – computer keyboard allows the user to access typed text, digitizing book allows the user to actualize free-form drawing

Output – computer adviser allows the arrangement to affectation argument and cartoon (vision modality), loudspeaker allows the arrangement to aftermath complete (auditory modality)

The user interface may administer several bombastic ascribe modalities and achievement modalities, accepting the user to accept which ones to use for interaction.

A approach is a audible adjustment of operation aural a computer program, in which the aforementioned ascribe can aftermath altered perceived after-effects depending of the accompaniment of the computer program. For example, caps lock sets an ascribe approach in which typed belletrist are uppercase by default; the aforementioned accounting produces lowercase belletrist if not in caps lock mode. Heavy use of modes generally reduces the account of a user interface, as the user have to expend accomplishment to bethink accepted approach states, and about-face amid approach states as necessary.