Editing Operating system (section)

===User interface===
{{Main|Shell (computing){{!}}Operating system user interface}}

A [[user interface]] (UI) is essential to support human interaction with a computer. The two most common user interface types for any computer are

*[[command-line interface]], where computer commands are typed, line-by-line,
*[[graphical user interface]] (GUI) using a visual environment, most commonly a combination of the window, icon, menu, and pointer elements, also known as [[WIMP (computing)|WIMP]].

For personal computers, including [[smartphone]]s and [[tablet computer]]s, and for [[workstation]]s, user input is typically from a combination of [[Keyboard technology|keyboard]], [[mouse (computing)|mouse]], and [[trackpad]] or [[touchscreen]], all of which are connected to the operating system with specialized software.{{sfn|Tanenbaum|Bos|2023|pp=396, 402}} Personal computer users who are not software developers or coders often prefer GUIs for both input and output; GUIs are supported by most personal computers.{{sfn|Tanenbaum|Bos|2023|pp=395, 408}} The software to support GUIs is more complex than a command line for input and plain text output. Plain text output is often preferred by programmers, and is easy to support.{{sfn|Tanenbaum|Bos|2023|p=402}}