Re: [Usability]Re: Controls, widgets, and UI learning.

[Pat Costello <Patrick Costello Sun COM>]

Does the WIMP interface expose users to the term "widget"? Or maybe Dix et al 
are writing for the engineer-developer rather than the user in their book? 

The real problem with "widget" is that the commonly-accepted meaning of the 
word, as opposed to the technically-accepted usage of the word, is vague. 
Indeed, not only is the term "widget" vague, as defined by the AHD, the term is 
even understood to represent a non-existent entity. Bear in mind that our future 
audience belongs to the great mass of humanity that the AHD supports, rather 
than a sub-group of technically-aware HCI experts or engineer-developers. 

"Controls" is a standard defined term, and widely accepted to cover objects of 
the class we are talking about. There is no need to look for other terms. 

Pat



> >--snip--<
> 
> However, Dix et al. in their well-respected book "Human Computer
> Interaction", 2nd ed., give a very clear definition of widgets (p.123):
> 
> >--snip--<
> 3.6 Elements of the WIMP interface
> We have already noted the for key features of the WIMP interface that give
> its name - windows, icons, pointers and menus - and we will now describe
> these in turn. There are also many additional interaction objects and
> techniques commonly used in WIMP interfaces, some designed for specific
> purposes and others more general. We will look at buttons, toolbars,
> palettes and dialog boxes. (...)
> Together, these elements of the WIMP interfaces are called /widgets/, and
> they comprise the toolkit for interaction between user and system.
> >--snip--<
> 
> Dix et al. also mention controls, but they use the word in a more generic
> sense, when they talk about the logical grouping of controls and displays
> in system interfaces (p.111, chapter 3.4.1, for who wants to read it).
> 
> 
> regards,
> 
> -- 
> 
> Reinout van Schouwen			Artificial Intelligence student
> email: reinout cs vu nl			mobile phone: +31-6-44360778
> GPG public key http://www.cs.vu.nl/~reinout/reinout.asc
> 
>