The Spice of Life: GUI Toolkits

Abstract

Spawned in the early 1970s the decade of sartorial flamboyance that brought us sequined jump suits, ridiculously flared trousers, and the expression “Fat Elvis phase,” the graphical user interface (GUI) has grown from a hacker’s convenience tool into the public facade of the multibillion-dollar business that we all know and love. The impact that a good user interface has on an application should not be underestimated, and many projects, careers, and fortunes have been lost and found in the twinkling of a treeview.