Graphical user interface

A graphical user interface, or GUI, lets a person operate a computer by seeing and manipulating visual objects, icons, windows, buttons and menus, rather than typing commands at a text prompt. Actions happen through direct manipulation: pointing at an on-screen element with a mouse or a finger and dragging, clicking or dropping it produces an immediate, visible response, so the interface itself teaches much of how to use it. GUIs emerged specifically as an alternative to command-line interfaces, whose reliance on typed, memorized commands presented a steep learning curve for new users. That shift from typed instructions to visible, pointable objects became the dominant way people interact with computers, phones and countless other electronic devices.