Interfaces By Ben Griffin and Laurel Baston What

Interfaces By: Ben Griffin and Laurel Baston

What is an Interface

Examples of an Interface n Driving a Car n Brushing your Teeth n Opening a Door n Using a Computer

Main Types of Interfaces Human-machine Interface n Command-line Interface n Tactile Interface n Touch Interface n

Human-machine Interface n The user interface of a mechanical system, a vehicle or an industrial installation is sometimes referred to as the human-machine interface (HMI).

Command-line Interface n A CLI (command line interface) is a user interface to a computer's operating system or an application in which the user responds to a visual prompt by typing in a command on a specified line, receives a response back from the system, and then enters another command, and so forth. The MS-DOS Prompt application in a Windows operating system is an example of the provision of a command line interface. Today, most users prefer the graphical user interface (GUI) offered by Windows, Mac OS, Be. OS, and others. Typically, most of today's Unix-based systems offer both a command line interface and a graphical user interface. n Example: Gentoo Linux

Gentoo Linux

Tactile Interface Tactile interfaces supplement or replace other forms of output with haptic (means pertaining to the sense of touch) feedback methods. Used in computerized simulators etc. Example: Braille n

Braille

Touch Interface n Touch interfaces are graphical user interfaces using a touch screen display as a combined input and output device. Used in many types of industrial processes and machines, selfservice machines etc.

Touch Screen

Two Main Types of Digital Interfaces n Graphical User Interface n Web-based user interfaces

Graphical User Interface This is a computer interface that uses icons and text to control the system. n Examples: Interaction between the Mouse and an icon. n

Web-based Computer interface n Web-based user interfaces accept input and provide output by generating web pages which are transported via the Internet and viewed by the user using a web browser program.

The End