An Input-Output Model for Interactive Systems

Interactive user interfaces depend critically on underlying computing system facilities for input and output. However, most computing systems still have input-output facilities designed for batch processing. These facilities are not adequate for interfaces that rely on graphical output,interactive input, or software constructed with modern methodologies. This paper details the deficiencies of batch-style input-output for modern interactive systems, presents a new model for input-output that overcomes these deficiencies, and suggests software organizations to take advantage of the new model.