Chapter 12. Graphical Interfaces for Ruby

There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.

—Ansel Adams

There is no denying that we are in the age of the graphical user interface (GUI). For as far into the future as we can see, some form of graphical interface is going to be the preferred way to interact with a computer.

I don’t see the command line going away anytime soon; it definitely has its place in the world. But even the old-time hackers (who would rather use cp -R than a mouse) still enjoy a GUI when it is appropriate.

However, there are new difficulties when it comes to programming graphically. The first problem, of course, is designing a meaningful, usable “front end” for a program. In interface design, a picture is not ...

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