Text-based user interface: Difference between revisions

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Under [[Linux kernel|Linux]] and other [[Unix-like]] systems, a program easily [[graceful degradation|accommodates]] to any of the three cases because the same interface (namely, [[standard streams]]) controls the display and keyboard. See [[#Windows|below]] for comparison to Windows.

Many [[#See also|TUI programming libraries]] are available to help developers build [[Console Applicationapplication|TUI applications]].

== On ANSI-compatible terminals ==

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== Oberon ==

[[File:OberonScreen.PNG|thumb|300px|Screenshot of the desktop of an Oberon System showing an image and several text viewers]]

Another kind of TUI is the primary interface of the [[Oberon (operating system)|Oberon operating system]], first released in 1988 and still maintained. Unlike most other text-based user interfaces, Oberon does not use a text-mode console or terminal, but requires a large bit-mapped display, on which text is the primary target for mouse clicks. CommandsAnalogous to a [[Hyperlink|link]] in [[hypertext]], a command has the format <code>Module.Procedure ''parameters''&nbsp;~</code> canand beis activated with a mouse middle-click, like [[hyperlink]]s. Text displayed anywhere on the screen can be edited, and if formatted with the required command syntax, can be middle-clicked and executed. Any text file containing suitably-formatted commands can be used as a so-called '''tool text''', thus serving as a user-configurable menu. Even the output of a previous command can be edited and used as a new command. This approach is radically different from both conventional dialogue-oriented console menus or [[command-line interface]]s but bears some similarities to the worksheet interface of the [[Macintosh Programmer's Workshop#look and feel|Macintosh Programmer's Workshop]].

Since it does not use graphical [[Graphical widget|widgets]], only plain text, but offers comparable functionality to a [[GUI]] with a [[tiling window manager]], it is referred to as a Text User Interface or TUI. For a short introduction, see the 2nd paragraph on page four of the first published ''Report on the Oberon System''.<ref>{{cite tech report |author1-link=Niklaus Wirth |first1=Niklaus |last1=Wirth |first2=Jürg |last2=Gutknecht |date=1988 |title=The Oberon System |url=http://e-collection.library.ethz.ch/eserv/eth:3180/eth-3180-01.pdf |volume=88 |series=ETH Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Institut für Informatik |doi=10.3929/ethz-a-000487176 }}</ref>

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== In embedded systems ==

[[File:MicroVGA TUI demoapp.jpg|thumb|300px|Embedded system displaying menu on an LCD screen]]

Modern [[embedded system]]s are capable of displaying TUI on a monitor like personal computers. This functionality is usually implemented using specialized integrated circuits, modules, or using [[FPGA]].

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* The [[full screen editor]] of the [[Commodore 64]] 8-bit computers was advanced in its market segment for its time. Users could move the cursor over the entire screen area, entering and editing [[BASIC]] program lines, as well as [[direct mode]] commands. All Commodore [[8-bit]] computers used the [[PETSCII]] character set, which included character glyphs suitable for making a TUI.

* Apple's [[Macintosh Programmer's Workshop]] programming environment included Commando, a TUI shell. It was the inspiration for BBEdit's shell worksheet.

* Later [[Apple II series|Apple II]] models included [[MouseText]], a set of graphical glyphs used for making a TUI.

* The [[Corvus Concept]] computer of 1982 used a [[function key]]-based text interface on a full-page pivoting display.

== See also ==

* [[Command-line interface]] (CLI)

* [[Console application]]

* [[Natural-language user interface]]