before guis were developed the most common interface was a(n) ____ interface
Graphical user interface
Ivan Sutherland developed Sketchpad in 1963 , widely held as the first graphical computer - aided design program . It used a light pen to create and manipulate objects in engineering drawings in realtime with coordinated graphics . In the late 1960s , researchers at the Stanford Research Institute , led by Douglas Engelbart , developed the On - Line System ( NLS ) , which used text - based hyperlinks manipulated with a then new device : the mouse . In the 1970s , Engelbart 's ideas were further refined and extended to graphics by researchers at Xerox PARC and specifically Alan Kay , who went beyond text - based hyperlinks and used a GUI as the main interface for the Xerox Alto computer , released in 1973 . Most modern general - purpose GUIs are derived from this system . The 
Ivan Sutherland developed Sketchpad in 1963 , widely held as the first graphical computer - aided design program . It used a light pen to create and manipulate objects in engineering drawings in realtime with coordinated graphics . In the late 1960s , researchers at the Stanford Research Institute , led by Douglas Engelbart , developed the On - Line System ( NLS ) , which used text - based hyperlinks manipulated with a then new device : the mouse . In the 1970s , Engelbart 's ideas were further refined and extended to graphics by researchers at Xerox PARC and specifically Alan Kay , who went beyond text - based hyperlinks and used a GUI as the main interface for the Xerox Alto computer , released in 1973 . Most modern general - purpose GUIs are derived from this system . The
Ivan Sutherland developed Sketchpad in 1963 , widely held as the first graphical computer - aided design program . In the late 1960s , researchers at the Stanford Research Institute , led by Douglas Engelbart , developed the On - Line System ( NLS ) , which used text - based hyperlinks manipulated with a then new device : the mouse .
Ivan Sutherland developed Sketchpad in 1963 , widely held as the first graphical computer - aided design program . In the late 1960s , researchers at the Stanford Research Institute , led by Douglas Engelbart , developed the On - Line System ( NLS ) , which used text - based hyperlinks manipulated with a then new device : the mouse .