Point-and-shoot interface explained

A point-and-shoot interface is an efficient object-oriented, text-based interface, usually presented on a non-GUI platform such as DOS or mainframe computers. In a point-and-shoot, many objects are displayed in a list, and to the left of each object is an input field. The operator interacts by moving the cursor to the desired object and marking it by typing a letter or number which represents a command or function.

Example

An example of a point-and-shoot is presented here (the computer is an IBM System/36):

ACT01 YOUR APPLICATION GoTo Cust#______________ WORK WITH ACCOUNTS GoTo Name_______________ SORT BY CUSTOMER NUMBER GoTo Addr_______________ CUST# NAME ADDRESS _ 29358235 SMITH, MARY 100 PARK PLAZA _ 30493404 JONES, JOHN 271 LINCOLN AVE _ 34034559 HOOTON, DENISE 56 BROADWAY _ 36359523 HOWELL, BARBARA POST OFFICE BOX 2358 (More) COMMANDS: 2=Edit 4=Delete 5=Rename H=History P=Print COMMAND KEYS: RollUp/Dn 5=Add 6=Sort 7=End 8=Change Application 9=Reports 24=Sign off The top of the display is called the header. It contains the program name and description, and it allows the operator to immediately "go to" a certain partial or complete customer ID, name, or address. It identifies the columns of data presented.

The middle of the display is called the data area. It consists of one input-capable field and one output field per line.

The bottom of the display is called the footer or the legend. It describes the commands the operator can use on each object, and the command keys the operator can use to control the application.

Further reading

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Point-and-shoot interface".

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