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Theory

The task of making technology intuitive, sometimes called Human Factors studies, is vital in our more and more technologically based culture. As computers evolve and take on a more prevalent role in day-to-day life, they must be ever more understandable to the average user but without compromising their capabilities. My project is a step in that direction. There are a variety of goals which I tried to meet in order to help make my GUI easier to understand.

The goals of my GUI include:

Precision

Compactness

Ease in writing and reading

Speed in learning

Simplicity (for error reduction)

Ease of retention over time

Higher level GUI goals include:

Close correspondence between reality and the notation

Convenience in carrying out manipulations relevant to the users' tasks

Compatibility with existing notations

Flexibility to accommodate novice and expert users

Expressiveness to encourage creativity

Visual Appeal

Python is flexible enough to accommodate all of these needs for the computer programmer.



Kelly L. Geoghegan 2003-06-03