1. Introduction

People need a way of interacting with machines if they are to be useful.

Think of a vending machine - you want a drink, but how do you get the machine to give it to you?

Well, you will have to read the display and follow the instructions, put your money in the slot, press the right buttons and eventually your drink will pop out (hopefully!).

You got the machine to give you a drink by interacting with it via its 'user interface'.

The interface that we are really concerned about in this section is the one that helps you to use your computer.

There are various types of user interface but the e.c.d.l syllabus only asks you to know about one of them, the 'Graphical User Interface'.

We will be looking at this in a little bit more detail over the next few pages.

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