Common User Access (CUA) is a set of guidelines for the user interface to personal computer operating systems and computer programs, developed by IBM starting in 1987 as part of their Systems Application Architecture. Used originally in the OS/2 and Microsoft Windows operating systems, parts of the CUA standard are now implemented in programs for other operating systems, including Mac OS X and Unix and in Java AWT and Swing. The user interface is the part of a system exposed to users. ... In computing, an operating system (OS) is the system software responsible for the direct control and management of hardware and basic system operations. ... // A computer program or software program (usually abbreviated to a program) is a step-by-step list of instructions written for a particular computer architecture in a particular computer programming language. ... International Business Machines Corporation (IBM, or colloquially, Big Blue) NYSE: IBM (incorporated June 15, 1911, in operation since 1888) is headquartered in Armonk, NY, USA. The company manufactures and sells computer hardware, software, and services. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Systems Application Architecture (SAA) is a set of standards for computer software, developed by IBM in the 1980s and implemented in IBM operating systems including OS/2. ... OS/2 is an operating system created by Microsoft and IBM and later developed by IBM exclusively. ... Microsoft Windows is a range of operating environments and operating systems for personal computers and servers. ... Mac OS X (pronounced Mac OS Ten) is an operating system designed and developed by Apple Computer for use on their current line of Macintosh computers. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Guide to UNIX Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. ... Swing is a graphics library for Java. ...

The CUA contains standards for the operation of dialog boxes, menus and keyboard shortcuts that have become so influential that they are implemented today by many programmers who have never read the CUA. Dialog boxes are special windows which are used by computer programs or by the operating system to display information to the user, or to get a response if needed. ... A menu is a graphical user interface element which allows the user to select one among several, presumably related, choices. ... A keyboard shortcut (also known as an accelerator key, shortcut key, or hotkey) is one or a set of keyboard keys that, when pressed simultaneously, perform a predefined task. ...

Some of these standards can be seen in the operation of Windows itself and DOS-based applications like the MS-DOS 5 full-screen text editor EDIT. CUA hallmarks include:

• A menu bar across the top of the window;
• All operations could be done with either the mouse or the keyboard;
• Menus opened by pressing the Alt key plus the underlined letter of the menu name; alt on its own activated the menu bar;
• Menu commands which require further information are indicated by a suffixed ellipsis ("...");
• Options are requested using dialog boxes;
• Navigation within fields in dialog boxes is by cursor key; navigation between fields is by pressing [Tab] or [Shift]+[Tab] to go backwards;
• Dialog boxes should have a "Cancel" button, activated by pressing the [Esc] key, which discards changes, and an "OK" button, activated by pressing [Return];
• The program should have online help, with a Help menu as the last option on the menu bar; context-sensitive help should be summoned by pressing the [F1] function key;
• The first menu should be called "File" and contain operations for handling files, quitting the program and so on; the next is called "Edit" and contains cut, copy, paste commands; the next is "View";
• The Cut command is [Shift]+[Del]; Copy is [Ctrl]+[Ins]; Paste is [Shift]+[Ins];
• The size of a window can be changed with by dragging one of the 8-segments of the border.

CUA was a detailed specification and set strict rules about how applications should look and function. Its aim was in part to bring about harmony between MS-DOS applications, which until then had existed in a hell of totally different user interfaces. Screenshot of Windows XP showing two menu bars Screenshot of Mac OS X showing the single menu bar at the top of the screen The menu bar in Mac OS X a horizontal bar anchored to the top of the screen, containing all application menus (e. ... The Alt key on a IBM PC keyboard is either of two keys located next to the Space bar, used to change the function of other pressed keys. ... ... can sometimes symbolize an elliptic curve It is more commonly used to mean continuing on such as in the case 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 . ... A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard which can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

Examples:

• In WordPerfect, the command to open a file was [F7], [3].
• In Lotus 1-2-3, a file was opened with [/] (to open the menus), [W] (for Workspace), [R] (for Retrieve).
• In Microsoft Word, a file was opened with [Esc] (to open the menus), [T] (for Transfer), [L] (for Load).
• In WordStar, it was [Ctrl]+[K]+[O].

Some programs used [Esc] to cancel an action, some used it to complete one; WordPerfect used it to repeat a character. Some programs used [End] to go to the end of a line, some used it to complete filling in a form. [F1] was often help but in WordPerfect that was [F3]. [Ins] sometimes toggled between overtype and inserting characters, but some programs used it for "paste". A screenshot of WordPerfect 12 running on Windows XP WordPerfect was also the name of a road bicycle racing team. ... Mitch Kapor of Lotus Development Lotus 1-2-3 is a spreadsheet program from Lotus Software (now part of IBM). ... Microsoft Word is a word processing application from Microsoft. ... WordStar was a word processor application, published by MicroPro, originally written for the CP/M operating system but later ported to DOS, that enjoyed a dominant market share during the early-to-mid-1980s. ...

Thus, every program had to be learned individually and its complete user interface memorized. It was a sign of expertise to have learned the UIs of dozens of applications, since a novice user facing a new program would find their existing knowledge of a similar application absolutely no use whatsoever.

This detailed specification drew some of its inspiration from Apple Computer's lavishly detailed Human Interface Guidelines. The Apple HIG is a detailed book specifying exactly how software for the Apple Macintosh computer should look and function. When it was first written, the Mac was new and GUI software was a novelty, so Apple took great pains to ensure that programs would conform to a single shared look and feel. CUA had a similar aim, but faced the more difficult task of trying to impose this retroactively on an existing, thriving but chaotic industry. Apple Computer, Inc. ... Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) is a software development document which offers application developers a set of recommendations. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984. ...

However, CUA did not only cover DOS applications; it was also the standard to which the user interface of Windows was designed, as well as that for OS/2 applications - both text-mode and the Presentation Manager GUI - and IBM mainframes which conformed to the Systems Application Architecture. Thus CUA was more than just an attempt to rationalise DOS applications - it was part of a larger scheme to bring together, rationalise and harmonize the overall functions of software across IBM's entire computing range, from microcomputers to mainframes, their UIs, functioning, communications and storage protocols. As this encompassed PCs and compatibles, it extended to the entire PC industry - which is perhaps part of the reason it was not completely successful. Presentation Manager (PM) was the name given to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) which IBM introduced in version 1. ... Systems Application Architecture (SAA) is a set of standards for computer software, developed by IBM in the 1980s and implemented in IBM operating systems including OS/2. ...

The third edition of CUA took a radical departure from the first two by introducing the object-oriented workplace. This changed the emphasis of the users interactions to be the data (documents, pictures, and so on) that the user worked on. The emphasis on applications was removed with the intention of making it much easier to use that other systems. Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a computer programming paradigm in which a software system is modeled as a set of objects that interact with each other. ... The OS/2 Warp 4 desktop (with some third-party enhancements installed as SOM classes) The Workplace Shell (WPS) is an award-winning object-oriented desktop shell produced by IBMs Boca Raton development lab for OS/2 2. ...

The workplace was adopted by Microsoft in the 1995 version of Windows. Critically the Start menu was introduced which removed the emphasis on an object-oriented desktop. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) (HKSE: 4338) is the worlds largest software company, with 2005 global annual sales of 40 billion US dollars and more than 55,000 employees in 85 countries and regions. ... Microsoft Windows is a range of operating environments and operating systems for personal computers and servers. ...

References

• IBM, Systems Application Architecture: Common User Access: Panel Design and User Interaction, Document SC26-4351-0, 1987.
• IBM, Systems Application Architecture: Common User Access: Advanced Interface Design Guide, Document SC26-4582-0, 1990.
• IBM, Systems Application Architecture: Common User Access: Basic Interface Design Guide, Document SC26-4583-0, 1990.
• IBM, Systems Application Architecture: Common User Access: Guide to User Interface Design, Document SC34-4289-00 1991
• IBM, Systems Application Architecture: Common User Access: Advanced Interface Design Reference, Document SC34-4290-00 1991