Jeff Heard wrote:
Similarly, I've been wondering what's at the core of a GUI? It seems
in recent years that more people have been moving towards web-based
applications, and away from traditional GUIs, so the meaning of them
may be changing. The old question seemed to be Page vs.
Control-Board, but that seems like implementation, when the real
essence of a GUI is taking in common kinds of user input and
displaying output in a sensible way.
I would go with Bret Victor's argument (http://worrydream.com/
MagicInk/) that the concept of user interface as primarily
_interaction_ is misguided. What GUIs are really about is visual
_presentation_ of information. The semantic questions are about what
it means graphically to compose information sources. We spend more
time reading, viewing, and absorbing that information, than
rearranging it, or adding to it.
Interaction changes the sources, or the way they compose, but is (or
should be) fundamentally an infrequent activity. The better the
visual presentation, the less you need to interact with it.
Regards,
Malcolm
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