USER INTERFACE , COMMAND, MENU, GUI.pptx
- 1. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GRADE 10 TYPES OF USER INTERFACE Prepared by A. Edwards-Williams
- 2. OBJECTIVE Student should be able to discuss the relative merits of the various types of user interface.
- 3. CONTENT Hardware: touch screens, specialized keyboards. Software: command line, menu-driven, graphical user, touch.
- 4. DEFINITION OF USER INTERFACE The user interface is the combination of hardware interface and software interface that allows users and computers to communicate with each other effectively.
- 5. USER INTEFACE Humans interact with computers in many ways, and the design of the faces at which humans and computers interact (the interface) is crucial for effective use of computer systems. Examples include: playing a game using a game controller, withdrawing cash at an ATM, writing a letter using a keyboard and monitor, or updating social media on a smartphone touchscreen.
- 6. HARDWARE USER INTEFACES A hardware interface is those physical hardware components (input and output devices) that allow the user to manipulate the computer. keyboard, mouse, monitor and printer is a common minimum configuration.
- 7. HARDWARE USER INTEFACES CONT Users are choosing to interact with their computing devices using their voice or even hand gestures. This type of interface is increasingly popular and is used to power virtual assistants such as: •Siri, the iPhone’s virtual assistant, released in 2011 • Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant developed by Amazon, released in 2014 •Cortana, a virtual assistant created for a range of Microsoft and other products, released in 2015
- 8. FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF HARDWARE USER INTERFACES TYPE FEATURES BENEFITS Touch user interface • Relies on the sense of touch (haptics). • Includes multi-touch touchscreen gestures such as pinching action. • Interaction is by your finger touching the screen; the touching is detected and translated by the device into instructions. Tapping, swiping and pinching actions are also received and interpreted as instructions. • Smartphones, automated teller machines and self-service kiosks utilize touch interfaces. Easy: Intuitive to use with no special ICT skills such as typing required; user can usually see all of the options available so there is no need to remember commands or search through menus. • Enjoyable: Users will spend hours swiping! Speech and sound interface • Interaction is by speech using normal everyday language in order to interact with the computer. • Usually found on smartphones, car entertainment, climate and navigation systems, and virtual assistants (such as Amazon Echo, Google Home). • Easy to use: The user does not need to be trained in how to use the interface; offers more flexibility than the other interfaces. • Support for persons unable to use alternatives: users who are not able to type or who have visual impairments are able to operate this interface.
- 9. FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF HARDWARE USER INTERFACES CONT. TYPE FEATURES BENEFITS Specialised keyboards Actual action that causes harm or damage Interaction is via special keys fitted with one or more features such as raised dots, colour coding, icons or descriptive text. • Usually attached to systems utilised by persons with disabilities. Flexible: They allow a computer system to be quickly adapted to a user’s needs. • Support for users with visual impairments: users feel the pattern of the dots on each key, e.g. a Braille keyboard
- 10. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES A set of rules and protocols that enable different software components or systems to communicate and interact with each other. There are three (3) types of Software Interface •Command line interface •Menu-driven interface •Graphical user interface (GUI)
- 11. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT. Command Line User Interface A command line interface is when interaction with a computer is by means of individual lines of text. For example, in the MS-DOS operating system the command ‘DIR’ means ‘Display a list of files and subdirectories in a directory’
- 12. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT. Command line interfaces are still in use but are restricted to specialist roles such as system administrators, program developers, database administrators, network managers and home enthusiasts.
- 13. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT. Menu-Driven Interface A Menu-Driven Interface is when interaction with a computer is by the user selecting one option from a list of presented options. A menu is a list of options from which the user has to select one. The user is then presented with another menu depending on their first selection.
- 14. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT. For example, at an ATM machine when you have inserted your card and entered your personal identification number (PIN) you are presented with a menu of options. If you select Withdraw Cash you are presented with another menu.
- 15. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT. The menu-driven interface is ideally suited for applications used for ‘walk-up-and use systems’, such as: • ATMs • kiosks that vend/sell mobile phone top-up (credit) • self-service food and beverage kiosks in casual dining establishments such as Big Banana, BK, KFC, Mothers (Jamaica) and Pizza Boys (Trinidad).
- 16. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT. Touchscreen software interfaces are similar to menu- driven and are often found in fast-food outlets. When you order your meal the operator simply touches your selection on their terminal. Some of the larger fast-food outlets even have self service touch-interface machines for quicker service.
- 17. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT. Graphical user interface (GUI) The most common software interface that we are all familiar with, is the Graphical User Interface. A Graphical user interface (GUI) is when interaction with a computer is by using a pointing device
- 18. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT. A GUI displays elements such as Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers (WIMP) on the screen and the user points and clicks with a mouse or types on a keyboard to operate the computer. A more complex GUI will include onscreen controls such as radio buttons (select one only), check boxes (select many) and command buttons (perform an action).
- 19. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT The pointing device may be a trackball, joystick or touchscreen instead of a mouse and actions may include drag and drop, click and drag to select as well as simple click. The GUI interface is ideally suited for applications in which users interact with a range of elements on a screen in various ways. These include:
- 20. SOFTWARE USER INTEFACES CONT •desktops/home screens (on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computer systems) provided by operating systems such as those in the Android, iOS, Mac OS, Linux and Windows families • information/entertainment systems in motor vehicles used to set temperatures, make phone calls and set up playlists
- 22. USER INTERFACE (CSEC IT QUESTIONS) Short-answer questions 1. What is a user interface? •2. Describe the difference between a graphical user interface (GUI) and a command-line interface (CLI).
- 23. USER INTERFACE (CSEC IT QUESTIONS) Essay questions •1. Discuss the importance of user interface design in software development. •2. Compare and contrast different types of user interfaces (e.g., GUI, CLI, voice UI)
- 24. USER INTERFACE (CSEC IT QUESTIONS) Multiple-choice questions 1. Which of the following is an example of a GUI? - Command prompt - Windows desktop - Voice assistant - typing with the keyboard 2. What is the primary purpose of a user interface? - To store data - To process information - To share - To enable user interaction
- 25. REFERENCE Information Technology for CSEC® Examinations 3rd Edition Howard Campbell and Alan Wood