<P> The 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 . </P> <P> The actions in a GUI are usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements . 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 controls . The term GUI tends not to be applied to other lower - display resolution types of interfaces, such as video games (where head - up display (HUD) is preferred), or not including flat screens, like volumetric displays 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 . </P>

What is the meaning of gui in computer