Lecture №4.Human-computer interaction.

Plan:
1.User interface as means of human-computer interaction. Usability of interfaces.
2. Types of interfaces: command line interface, text interface, graphic interface.
3. Physical and mental characteristics of the user. Development stages of the user interface.
Types of testing of interfaces (testing of users). Perspectives of development of interfaces.

Aim of the lecture: to work with a system, the users need to be able to control the system
and assess the state of the system.

Having studied this session the student will be able to:

Types of interfaces:

● command line interface

● text interface
● graphic interface.

1.User interface as means of human-computer interaction. Usability of interfaces.

Human–computer interaction (commonly referred to as HCI) researches the design and
use of computer technology, focused on the interfaces between people (users) and computers.
Researchers in the field of HCI both observe the ways in which humans interact with computers
and design technologies that let humans interact with computers in novel ways.
Humans interact with computers in many ways; and the interface between humans and the
computers they use is crucial to facilitating this interaction. Desktop applications, internet
browsers, handheld computers, and computer kiosks make use of the prevalent graphical user
interfaces (GUI) of today. Voice user interfaces (VUI) are used for speech recognition and
synthesising systems, and the emerging multi-modal and gestalt User Interfaces (GUI) allow
humans to engage with embodied character agents in a way that cannot be achieved with other
interface paradigms. The growth in human-computer interaction field has been in quality of
interaction, and in different branching in its history. Instead of designing regular interfaces, the
different research branches have had different focus on the concepts of multimodality rather than
unimodality, intelligent adaptive interfaces rather than command/action based ones, and finally
active rather than passive interfaces
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) defines human-computer interaction as
"a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing
systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them". An important
facet of HCI is the securing of user satisfaction (or simply End User Computing Satisfaction).
"Because human–computer interaction studies a human and a machine in communication, it
draws from supporting knowledge on both the machine and the human side. On the machine
side, techniques in computer graphics, operating systems, programming languages, and
development environments are relevant. On the human side, communication theory, graphic and
industrial design disciplines, linguistics, social sciences, cognitive psychology, social
psychology, and human factors such as computer user satisfaction are relevant. And, of course,
engineering and design methods are relevant."Due to the multidisciplinary nature of HCI, people
with different backgrounds contribute to its success. HCI is also sometimes termed human–
machine interaction (HMI), man–machine interaction (MMI) or computer–human interaction
(CHI).
Poorly designed human-machine interfaces can lead to many unexpected problems. A
classic example of this is the Three Mile Island accident, a nuclear meltdown accident, where
investigations concluded that the design of the human–machine interface was at least partly
responsible for the disaster. Similarly, accidents in aviation have resulted from manufacturers'
decisions to use non-standard flight instrument or throttle quadrant layouts: even though the new
designs were proposed to be superior in basic human–machine interaction, pilots had already
ingrained the "standard" layout and thus the conceptually good idea actually had undesirable
results.
Human–computer interaction studies the ways in which humans make, or don't make, use of
computational artifacts, systems and infrastructures. In doing so, much of the research in the
field seeks to improve human-computer interaction by improving the usability of computer
interfaces. How usability is to be precisely understood, how it relates to other social and cultural
values and when it is, and when it may not be a desirable property of computer interfaces is
increasingly debated.
The human–computer interface can be described as the point of communication between the
human user and the computer. The flow of information between the human and computer is
defined as the loop of interaction. The loop of interaction has several aspects to it, including:
● Visual Based :The visual based human computer inter-action is probably the most
widespread area in HCI research.
● Audio Based : The audio based interaction between a computer and a human is another
important area of in HCI systems. This area deals with information acquired by different audio
signals.
● Task environment: The conditions and goals set upon the user.
● Machine environment: The environment that the computer is connected to, e.g. a laptop
in a college student's dorm room.
● Areas of the interface: Non-overlapping areas involve processes of the human and
computer not pertaining to their interaction. Meanwhile, the overlapping areas only concern
themselves with the processes pertaining to their interaction.
● Input flow: The flow of information that begins in the task environment, when the user
has some task that requires using their computer.
● Output: The flow of information that originates in the machine environment.
● Feedback: Loops through the interface that evaluate, moderate, and confirm processes as
they pass from the human through the interface to the computer and back.
● Fit: This is the match between the computer design, the user and the task to optimize the
human resources needed to accomplish the task.
Topics in HCI include:
Definition of User Interface.
In computer science and human-computer interaction, the user interface (of a computer
program) refers to the graphical, textual and auditory information the program presents to the
user. The user employs several control sequences (such as keystrokes with the computer
keyboard, movements of the computer mouse, or selections with the touchscreen) to control the
program.

2. Types of interfaces: command line interface, text interface, graphic interface.

There exist several types of user interfaces.
 ● Command-Line Interface (CLI): The user provides the input by typing a command string
with the computer keyboard and the system provides output by printing text on the computer
monitor .
A Command Line Interface allows the user to interact directly with the computer system by
typing in commands (instructions) into a screen which looks similar to the one below: Fig 3.

Fig 3. A Command Line Interface.

You cannot just type in any kind of instruction of course, because the computer will only
react to a definite set of words.
These commands are very specific, for example in DOS you could type in:
copy c:\item.txt d:\
That tells the machine to copy the file 'item.txt' that resides in the root directory of drive C:
into the root directory of drive D:\
Many commands have what are called 'switches'. These are extra parameters or flags which
add extra functionality to the command. For example:
»Dir gives a directory listing
»Dir /w gives the listing across the page
»Dir /s includes the sub directories
»Dir /p pauses at the bottom of every page
Before Windows was developed, this type of user interface was what most people used to
get the computer to follow instructions. Nowadays, very few people have the knowledge to be
able to use a command line interface.
An example of this type of interface is DOS (Disk Operating System).
Sometimes referred to as the command screen or a text interface, the command line or
Windows command line is a user interface that is navigated by typing commands at prompts,
instead of using the mouse. For example, the Windows folder in a Windows command line ( MS-
DOS) is C:\Windows> (as shown in the picture) and in Unix or Linux, it may be % or >. Unlike
a GUIoperating system, a command line only uses a keyboard to navigate by entering commands
and does not utilize a mouse for navigating.
Because a command line interface requires unique commands, this interface is often more
difficult to learn because of the need to memorize dozens of different commands. However, a
command line operating system can be a very valuable resource and should not be ignored. For
example, users who have Microsoft Windows may find trivial tasks, such as renaming 100+ files
in a folder, a very difficult task. However, renaming 100+ files in a directory can be done in less
than a minute with a command entered into the command line.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages
If the user knows the correct commands
For someone who has never used a
then this type of interface can be much faster
CLI, it can be very confusing
than any other type of interface
This type of interface needs much less Commands have to be typed precisely.
memory (RAM) in order to use compared to If there is a spelling error the command
other types of user interfaces will fail
This type of interface does not use as If you mis-type an instruction, it is
much CPU processing time as others often necessary to start from scratch again
There are a large number of
A low resolution, cheaper monitor can
commands which need to be learned - in
be used with this type of interface
the case of Unix it can be hundreds
You can't just guess what the
A CLI does not require Windows to run instruction might be and you can't just
'have a go'.

Text interface with menus

A text interface can be made easier to navigate using menus created with text and ASCII
extended characters. For example, many command line text editors have some type of interface
with menus and shortcut keys that make navigating the file being edited easier. The picture
below is an example of the MS-DOS editor used to edit files while at the MS-DOS or Windows
command line.
WIMP or GUI Interface
A graphical user interface (GUI) is the most common type of user interface in use today. It
is a very 'friendly' way for people to interact with the computer because it makes use of pictures,
graphics and icons - hence why it is called 'graphical'.
A GUI (pronounced gooey) is also known as a WIMP interface because it makes use of:
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
Pointers - a symbol such as an arrow which moves around the screen as you move your
mouse. Helps you to select objects.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages
This type of user interface is easy GUIs take up a much larger amount of hard
to use, especially for a beginner disk space than other interfaces
It is easy to explore and find your They need significantly more memory
way around the system using a WIMP/ (RAM) to run than other interface types
 Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages Disadvantages
GUI interface
You do not have to learn They use more processing power than other
complicated commands types of interface
There are usually a reasonable They can be slow for experienced
'help' system included with WIMP programmers to use. These people often find
interfaces CLI interfaces much faster to use
You get the benefits of
WYSIWYG
They let you exchange data
between different software
applications
A GUI is an interface built around visual (graphical) things:
● Windows are regions of the screen used to display information
● Icons are small pictures that are used to represent folders, software, etc.
● Menus are lists of options the user can select from
● A pointer is an arrow that can be moved around the screen and is used to select things
Windows XP is an example of an operating system with a GUI.
GUIs are quite easy to use due to the visual nature of the interface – the user has lots of
visual clues as to what things do.
However, to display all of the nice graphics required by a GUI takes a lot of computing
power so quite a powerful computer is needed.
● Graphical User Interface (GUI): The use of pictures rather than just words to represent
the input and output of a program. Input is accepted via devices such as keyboard and mouse.
Many years ago when computers were not very powerful they could not display the
colourful graphics required for a GUI. The only interface available to most computer uses was
the ‘command line’.
The user would see nothing but a black screen. They would have to type a command to
make anything happen.
To copy a text file called NOTES from a floppy disc to the hard drive the user would have to
type:
> COPY A:\NOTES.TXT C:\
The user would have to learn a whole set of strange commands so that they could make use
of the computer system. Plus it was not very interesting look at – no visual clues to tell you what
to do next.

3. Physical and mental characteristics of the user. Development stages of the user interface.
Types of testing of interfaces (testing of users). Perspectives of development of interfaces.
This meant computers used to be quite difficult to use, so this type of interface is only really
suitable for expert users.
The system that people use to interact with a computer (to give it commands, to see the
results of those commands, etc.) is known as the user interface.
Graphical user interface
In computer science, a graphical user interface (GUI/ɡuːiː/), is a type of user interface that
allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and visual indicators such
as secondary notation, instead of text-based user interfaces, typed command labels or text
navigation. GUIs were introduced in reaction to the perceived steep learning curve of command-
line interfaces (CLIs), which require commands to be typed on a computer keyboard.
 The actions in a GUI are usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical
elements.[4] Beyond computers, GUIs are used in many handheld mobile devices such as MP3
players, portable media players, gaming devices, smartphones and smaller household, office and
industrial equipment. The term GUI tends not to be applied to other lower-display
resolutiontypes of interfaces, such as video games (where head-up display (HUD) is preferred),
or not restricted to flat screens, like volumetric displays[6] because the term is restricted to the
scope of two-dimensional display screens able to describe generic information, in the tradition of
the computer science research at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).
Post-WIMP interfaces
Smaller mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smartphones typically
use the WIMP elements with different unifying metaphors, due to constraints in space and
available input devices. Applications for which WIMP is not well suited may use newer
interaction techniques, collectively termed post-WIMP user interfaces. As of 2011, some
touchscreen-based operating systems such as Apple's iOS (iPhone) and Android use the class of
GUIs named post-WIMP. These support styles of interaction using more than one finger in
contact with a display, which allows actions such as pinching and rotating, which are
unsupported by one pointer and mouse.
Human interface devices, for the efficient interaction with a GUI include a computer
keyboard, especially used together with keyboard shortcuts, pointing devices for the cursor (or
rather pointer) control: mouse, pointing stick, touchpad, trackball, joystick, virtual keyboards,
and head-up displays (translucent information devices at the eye level).
There are also actions performed by programs that affect the GUI. For example, there are
components like inotify or D-Bus to facilitate communication between computer programs.
Operating system command-line interfaces
Operating system (OS) command line interfaces are usually distinct programs supplied with
the operating system.
A program that implements such a text interface is often called a command-line interpreter,
command processor or shell.
Examples of command-line interpreters include DEC'sDIGITAL Command Language
(DCL) in OpenVMS and RSX-11, the various Unix shells (sh, ksh, csh, tcsh, bash, etc.), the
historical CP/M CCP, and MS-DOS/IBM-DOS/DR-DOS's COMMAND.COM, as well as the
OS/2 and the Windows CMD.EXE programs, the latter groups being based heavily on DEC's
RSX-11 and RSTS CLIs. Under most operating systems, it is possible to replace the default shell
program with alternatives; examples include 4DOS for DOS, 4OS2 for OS/2, and 4NT or Take
Command for Windows.
Although the term 'shell' is often used to describe a command-line interpreter, strictly
speaking a 'shell' can be any program that constitutes the user-interface, including fully
graphically oriented ones. For example, the default Windows GUI is a shell program named
EXPLORER.EXE, as defined in the SHELL=EXPLORER.EXE line in the WIN.INI
configuration file. These programs are shells, but not CLIs.
Application command-line interfaces
Application programs (as opposed to operating systems) may also have command line
interfaces.
An application program may support none, any, or all of these three major types of
command line interface mechanisms:
1. Parameters: Most operating systems support a means to pass additional information to a
program when it is launched. When a program is launched from an OS command line shell,
additional text provided along with the program name is passed to the launched program.
2. Interactive command line sessions: After launch, a program may provide an operator with
an independent means to enter commands in the form of text.
 3. OS inter-process communication: Most operating systems support means of inter-process
communication (for example; standard streams or named pipes). Command lines from client
processes may be redirected to a CLI program by one of these methods.
Menu Interface
This type of interface lets you interact with a computer or device by working your way
through a series of screens or menus.
Think about your iPod or mobile phone, they both use a menu driven interface. You are
presented with a menu, you make a choice and then the next menu appears on the screen. You
make another choice and so on.
Cashpoint machines (ATMs) are another good example of a menu driven interface.
Menu driven interfaces can also be verbal rather than visual. Have you ever made a
telephone call and been asked to 'press 1 for abc, press 2 for def, press 3 for ghi'?
Most of the software that you use have menu interfaces. You can use many features of the
software by working your way through the menu options. Have a look at the menus in your word
processor or spreadsheet package and see how many different choices you are given.
A well designed menu interface is simple to use, you just follow the instructions and make
your choices.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages
Extremely easy to use.
Someone who has never seen the A poorly designed menu interface may be slow
interface before can work out what to use
to do
It can be irritating if there are too many menu
There are no commands to
screens to work through - users get annoyed or
learn or remember
bored if it takes too long
You often can't go to the exact place you want
Step-by-step options are given
right at the start. You have to work your way
so that the user doesn't have to
through the menu screens even if you know where
remember anything
you want to get to.
Even if you don't know what to The menu can take up a large part of the screen
do, you can usually guess your way so you have to keep flicking back and forwards
around the options between applications
Menu interfaces don't have to If the menu is poorly designed it might be hard
be visual, they can be spoken - to read e.g. writing is too small for people with poor
good for telephones or for visually sight, colours might clash and be difficult to read,
impaired people font style might be hard to read.

Sound and speech interface

This type of interface allows the user to speak or type in their normal everyday language in
order to interact with the computer.
For example, some applications such as speech recognition software accepts the spoken
words and converts them into text on the computer. These applications have a much wider
vocabularly than the dialogue interface.
 An example of a natural language interface which makes use of written text is a 'chat bot'.
This software mimics a conversation - you ask it questions and it will come back with a suitable
comment for you.
This is the most technically challenging form of interface for the designers as it has to cope
with different accents, dialects, slang, homonyms (bare or bear) etc.

Questions:
1. What are the most popular types of application software?
2. What basic utilities are included with Windows and Mac operating systems?
3. How do iPhones provide adaptive utilities for people who can’t see the screen?

References
1. June J. Parsons and Dan Oja, New Perspectives on Computer Concepts 16th Edition -
Comprehensive, Thomson Course Technology, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc Cambridge,
MA, COPYRIGHT © 2014.
2. Lorenzo Cantoni (University of Lugano, Switzerland) James A. Danowski (University of
Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA) Communication and Technology, 576 pages.
3. Craig Van Slyke Information Communication Technologies: Concepts, Methodologies,
Tools, and Applications (6 Volumes). ISBN13: 9781599049496, 2008, Pages: 4288
4. Utelbaeva A.K.,Utelbaeva A.K. Study guide for lectures on discipline “Computer
science”, Shimkent 2008, 84 pages.