Interface as a mediator

One of the very first topics covered in Week 2 of the COMP1900 course was the concept of the user interface being a mediator for human interaction with computer hardware and the internet. This concept was also at the core of the first assignment, where we were asked to explain this concept to a lay person.

The hardware of the computer would be next to uesless for us if not for operating systems, which directs the functions of the computer and enables the use of other specialised pieces of software, such as web browsers, word processors, desktop publishing programs and music programs. Operating systems also allow us to connect printers, cameras and portable music players such as iPods to our computers by utilising drivers to facilitate data transfer using a common standard.

The earliest operating systems performed only very simple commands that could only really be used by individuals proficient in the knowledge and application of programming languages. Operating systems developed in the late 1980's began to incude graphical user interfaces, arguably marking the start of the personal computing era.