Windows and Unix

Windows 1.01. The boundary between the two windows was changed By the time of release, in 1985, Windows was color and had standard GUI tags: scroll bars, window controls and menus. Although, the menu was similar to the Lisa and Macintosh menus, the main difference was that the menu bar under the window title had all the applications. Another deviation was the use of a mosaic interface instead of an overlapping one. It was assumed that the overlapping windows would mislead the users. However, Bill Gates did not like it, and in all subsequent versions of Windows an overlapping model of the interface will be used (when one window can overlap some of the other). Microsoft was one of the early third-party developers for the Macintosh and, surprisingly, received a beta model of the first Mac before it was introduced to the world. This undoubtedly affected all the next versions of Windows. Just before the end of the 80s, new GUIs began to appear on Unix platforms. A network window architecture, known as X, which later would be the basis for the Linux GUI. These were simple GUIs that mimicked the Microsoft Windows interface, but allowed the use of all the power of Unix. X also introduces us to the new idea of ​​interfaces: simply moving the mouse cursor over the window automatically activates it, allowing users to start typing right away. The original architectural idea of ​​the X Window System (which was invented in 1984 in MIT) was the simple provision of a set of tools for displaying composite shell commands (the Unix shell) and the clock. Philosophy X was the separation of species and representation, i.e. X had to handle primitive requests for graphics and window management, and the overall appearance of the interface remained at the discretion of the applications. To provide the interface, we needed a second layer of code, called "window manager". The window manager handled the creation and manipulation of windows and their elements, but was not a full GUI. On top of the window manager was another layer called "desktop environment" or DE and changed depending on the Unix vendor. Thus. The interface from Sun will look different than the interface from SGI. With the advent of free Unix clones in the early 90s, there was a need for a free, open environment that implements the desktop environment. The two most prominent candidates for this role were KDE and GNOME, launched in 1996 and 1997 respectively. An early version of the K Desktop Environment, or KDE, for Linux and FreeBSD.

The WIMP concept

Desktop Metaphor

The WIMP interface has conceptual integrity, achieved by adopting a familiar ideal model - the desktop metaphor - the flat surface on whThe WIMP concept Desktop Metaphor The WIMP interface has conceptual integrity, achieved by adopting a familiar ideal model - the desktop metaphor - the flat surface on which objects and folders are located, and its careful, consistent development for using the embodiment in computer graphics. The main change in the appearance of the interface is the iconic representation of objects in the form of miniature graphic images - pictograms. In addition to purely external changes, the iconicon generated the ability to manipulate objects through manipulation of their images. Documents, folders and a trash can are exact analogues of subjects on a table. Cutting, copying and pasting accurately simulate the operations that are usually performed with the documents on the table. Transportation follows directly from the metaphor of the desktop; Selecting icons or windows with the cursor is a direct analogy to the capture of objects by hand. From the metaphor of the desktop immediately follows the decision to overlap the windows instead of placing them one next to the other. Representing the active window as a document "lying on top", intuitively understandably solves the problem of identifying the addressee. The ability to change the size and shape of windows does not have a direct analogy with paper documents, but is a sequential extension, giving the user new opportunities provided by computer graphics In some cases, the WIMP interface departs from the desktop metaphor. The main differences: the menu and work with one hand. The menu is not the commission of an action, but the issuance of a command to someone (system) to carry out an action, moreover, this command is not formulated by language means, but is selected from the list. Even on purely text-based video terminals, it was possible to display several windows at the same time, but for the graphic mode this possibility has significantly expanded. Since the appearance of the graphic interface in Apple and Windows coincided with the introduction of multitasking (first - without displacement), a natural decision arose to allocate each of the running applications own window (primary panel). If several applications work simultaneously, their windows can overlap one another, partially or completely, but in the foreground there is always a window of the currently active application. Because the abundance of windows can make it difficult for the user to be oriented, it is possible to minimize or hide windows - windows of inactive applications may decrease in size or not be displayed at all. To prevent "loss" of hidden windows, the user should be able to view the list of running applications at any time and restore normal visualization of selected windows. The high resolution of graphic displays also allows you to simulate three-dimensional panels, creating an illusion of light-and-shadow on a flat screen. On the "volumetric" panel, graphic elements are used - controls such as buttons, a ruler of broach, etc. It is generally accepted to represent the input fields in a "recessed" form, and the controls to "elevated". By now, the appearance of the 3D interface in modern OS has almost completely formed and includes a single "light source" and the same type of controls on all panels.