look and feel

1 definition found

look and feel - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  look and feel
  
     <operating system> The appearance and function of a program's
     user interface.  The term is most often applied to
     graphical user interfaces (GUI) but might also be used by
     extension for a textual command language used to control a
     program.
  
     Look and feel includes such things as the icons used to
     represent certain functions such as opening and closing files,
     directories and application programs and changing the size
     and position of windows; conventions for the meaning of
     different buttons on a mouse and keys on the keyboard; and
     the appearance and operation of menus.
  
     A user interface with a consistent look and feel is
     considered by many to be an important factor in the ease of
     use of a computer system.  The success of the Macintosh user interface
      was partly due to its consistency.
  
     Because of the perceived importance of look and feel, there
     have been several legal actions claiming breech of copyright
     on the look and feel of user interfaces, most notably by
     Apple Computer against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard (which
  Apple
     lost) and, later, by Xerox against Apple Computer.  Such legal
     action attempts to force suppliers to make their interfaces
     inconsistent with those of other vendors' products.  This can
     only be bad for users and the industry as a whole.
  
     (1995-03-03)