QUICK: a tool for graphical user-interface construction by non-programmers

Sarah Douglas, Eckehard Doerry, David Novick

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The last decade has placed the superiority of graphical user interfaces over traditional text-based approaches beyond dispute. In almost all contexts, users have found graphical interfaces easier to learn, faster to use, and less error-prone. However, it has been shown that the creation of powerful graphical interfaces takes up to 80% of the time required to develop an application. In our work, we seek to extend the benefits of graphical interaction to the next layer of computer user-the interface designer. Our work in this area is distinguished from other efforts by two important differences. First, while other efforts focus primarily on the design of "standard" user interfaces, our approach emphasizes the creation of unique and innovative interfaces by supporting, among other things, arbitrary user-designed graphical representations, direct specification of animation, and digitized sound. Second, our goal is to cater to the nonprogrammer. Thus, we address a challenging trade-off: maximizing power and flexibility in an extremely simple environment. We explore the utility of the prototype object-oriented paradigm, a high-level userinterface language, and a direct-manipulation programming environment in this context.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)117-133
Number of pages17
JournalThe Visual Computer
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1992

Keywords

  • Object-oriented languages
  • Toolkit
  • User interface

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

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