History of WIMP Interface and its components as well as its advantage and dis advantage in a short and precised way.

1. WIMP
Interface
By: Abraham D

2. WIMP stands for Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers
Windows - a rectangular area on the screen where the
commonly used applications run
Icons - a picture or symbol which is used to represent a
software application or hardware device
Menus - a list of options from which the user can choose
what they require

3. Pointers - a symbol such as an arrow which moves
around the screen as you move your mouse.
 WIMP interface was invented at Xerox PARC,
popularized by the Apple Macintosh and now available
in other varieties such as the Microsoft Windows OS.
 WIMP interfaces reduce the learning curve and are easily
used by people who are not technical.

4. Windows: Areas of the screen through which a particular
software or data file may be viewed.
Types of WIMP interfaces Windows
1. Single Document Interface (SDI)
They open new primary windows for each instance of an
application document
E.g. Notepad

5. 2. Multiple Document Interface (MDI)
 Windows resides under a single parent Window
 Multiple documents to be simultaneously visible
 Eg.Visual Basic ,Adobe Photoshop
3. Tabbed Document Interface (TDI)
 Window are arranged in a tab.
Eg.Firefox

6. Icons
 are small images or symbols that represents files,
commands, or windows
A good design of icons is important. It should be:-
 Concrete and familiar
 Visual and conceptually distinct
 Simple – unnecessary information is not needed

7. Menus
 Allow user to make selection from the list
Some Kinds of Menus
pull-down menu -A menu that is pulled down from the menu bar
and that remains available as long as the user holds it open.
drop-down menu -A menu that drops from the menu bar when
requested and remains open without further action until the user
closes it or chooses a menu item.

8. pop-up menus -is a menu in a graphical user
interface (GUI) that appears upon user interaction,
such as a right-click mouse operation.
pie menus - arranged in a circle

9. Pointers
 Usually looks like arrows and are used to select Icons
and the options found in the menu.
 WIMP style relies on pointing and selecting things
 The pointer moved around the screen via mouse
 The shape of the pointer can sometimes change
depending on the application you are using at that time.

10.  Easy to use, especially for a beginner
 You do not have to learn complicated commands
 You get the benefits of WYSIWYG
 User friendly
 Increased speed of learning.
 Provide greater productivity and efficiency in a wide
variety of applications.

11.  They use more processing power than other types of
interface
 They can be slow for experienced programmers to use.
These people often find CLI interfaces faster to use
 difficult to handle simultaneous input, even two mice
 pure WIMP doesn’t use other senses: hearing, touch, ...
 It takes more RAM and storage space on the disc.