WimpInterface

MeatballWiki | RecentChanges | Random Page | Indices | Categories

Windows Icons Menus Pointer = WIMP interface. The dominant graphical user interface metaphor in use today. Usually called this derogatorily by proponents of the obsolete command line interface (i.e. text; e.g. Unix, DOS, FTP). Came from XeroxPARC. Seen in Smalltalk way back in 1972. Ha!

It's really bad, actually. But it's the best we've got.

|CategoryInterfaceDesign|

See also UsingTheMouse.

I would say it's probably the best interface possible given the input/output hardware that we have. Getting other input/output hardware sufficiently popular to warrant new interface designs is an expensive venture. -- SunirShah

Don Gentner and Jakob Nielson had some interesting ideas about this entitled the AntiMacInterface. They suggest a combination of GUI and CLI, with an interactive element to the CLI - so that you can work with it and refine things, instead of making repeated trial runs. All in all very interesting. (personally I feel that a WIMP interface gets in my way much more than it helps - it actually hinders expert users) --ErikDeBill

"A mouse is what you use to show which Xterm you want to write in."

WimpInterface

Discussion