Practical Standards for Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET, Second Edition

The Necessity of Consistent Interface Design

Developing for Microsoft Windows has many benefits, including the fact that when creating a Windows-based application, you don’t have to focus on the foundation of the interface design. For instance, Windows already contains the code for drawing forms, complete with menus, Minimize and Maximize buttons, and a border. Windows draws forms consistently, using system colors and standard sizes for common elements. MS-DOS application developers, on the other hand, had to individually create their own interfaces—which led to a bewildering amount of variety. Switching from one MS-DOS program to another was more than just a physical task (usually requiring that the first program be shut down before the second ...