What are user interfaces and what are their components?

The more you delve into computational thinking and the world of programming, the more vital concepts you find that, although you may not know them, are essential for the development of any program or code. Therefore, It is important that you know what user interfaces are and what their components are. In this post, we talk to you about what user interfaces are, what they are for and some examples of user interfaces in programming languages.

What are user interfaces

A user interface is a control layer that allows the user to interact with your program or application. We will take as an example the control panel of a car. The dashboard functions as a user interface between the driver and the car. That is where the driver will have all control over the car: its speed, direction, the state of the car and other options. It is a layer that allows the driver or user to interact with the object. A user interface has the same dynamics in computational programming thinking.

Interface components

Within the basic concepts of user interfaces, 4 elements of an interface are conceived, which constitute them. These elements of an interface or interfaces are:

The canvas/screen/window: where you will find all the interface elements.
The controls/gaps: Another element of the interfaces is the place where the data can be displayed (by the computer) or entered (by the user). It is also used to respond to actions by the user
The disposition: Another element of an interface is the layout or position of controls or gaps.
The refresh cycle (events): Another element of interfaces is the cycle that begins when the computer updates the screen and the objects on it in an initial state. In turn, it updates our messages. There it paints the screen and waits for the user to perform an action. This is where the events are handled and the loop starts again.

Interface Examples

After learning what user interfaces are, you should know that some examples of user interface that we can see in programming languages ​​such as Python is text interfaces, such as the console, and graphical interfaces, such as the desktop or web interface. These work just like a car control panel. There is a screen or canvas that displays the information that the computer provides to the user. On the screen, there are a series of controls that allow you to enter information into the program, so that it processes them and, upon completion, returns new data.

What can you do now?

Now that you know What are user interfaces, what are their components, what is their use and some examples of user interfaces, like the web interface, in the Python programming language, you will be able to understand, increasingly, the generalities found in computational thinking. Concepts like the one in this post will give you a foundation that will make writing your programs much easier.

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