User interface history: Early graphical user interfaces (GUIs) were pioneered at Xerox. Which Xerox environment is widely associated with introducing GUI concepts later adopted industry-wide?

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Smalltalk

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
The modern GUI—windows, icons, menus, and pointing—owes much to work done at Xerox PARC. Understanding which environments showcased these ideas helps trace the lineage from research systems to commercial desktops at Apple and Microsoft.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The environment was developed at Xerox PARC.
  • It is specifically associated with GUI exploration and demonstration.
  • We are choosing among names that include languages and unrelated technologies.


Concept / Approach:
Smalltalk at Xerox PARC was both a programming language and an interactive environment exhibiting overlapping windows, direct manipulation, and object-oriented design—core GUI concepts. While the Xerox Star workstation later commercialized a GUI, Smalltalk is the best match among the provided options for “graphical interfaces first used in a Xerox product called …”. Ethernet is a networking technology; InterLISP and ZetaLISP are Lisp systems not singled out for GUI invention in the same way.


Step-by-Step Solution:

Identify Xerox PARC GUI demonstrators: Alto + Smalltalk environment.Match the option list: Smalltalk is the PARC GUI environment listed.Eliminate networking and non-GUI-focused Lisp variants.Choose “Smalltalk.”


Verification / Alternative check:
Histories of GUI credit PARC’s Smalltalk environment and the later Xerox Star; among the listed names, Smalltalk uniquely fits GUI origins.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • InterLISP and ZetaLISP: primarily Lisp systems, not the canonical GUI showcase.
  • Ethernet: network technology, unrelated to GUI.
  • None of the above: incorrect because Smalltalk is correct.


Common Pitfalls:
Confusing the research environment (Smalltalk on Alto) with later commercial products; attributing GUI firsts to networking or unrelated language distributions.


Final Answer:
Smalltalk

More Questions from Artificial Intelligence

Discussion & Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Join Discussion