A multiple frames interface (MFI) is a type of
user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
which displays information in a set of frames or panels that can be scrolled vertically on a screen. It is an integrated interface designed to bring together virtually all the services of an
internet portal
A web portal is a specially designed website that brings information from diverse sources, like emails, online forums and search engines, together in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displayi ...
or an
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...
onto a single screen.
History
Paned windows were introduced in file browsers in the 1990s in order to divide the window into sections for a more intuitive approach.
Netscape
Netscape Communications Corporation (originally Mosaic Communications Corporation) was an American independent computer services company with headquarters in Mountain View, California and then Dulles, Virginia. Its Netscape web browser was on ...
2.0 introduced the elements used for html frames in the 1990s (see
Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator was a web browser, and the original browser of the Netscape line, from versions 1 to 4.08, and 9.x. It was the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corp and was the dominant web browser in terms of usage share in ...
). At that time, Netscape proposed frames to the W3C for inclusion in the
HTML
The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScri ...
3.0 standard.
IGoogle with its
gadgets is an early type of MFI.
Description
An MFI consists of a set of panels that can be maximized, minimized, restored, or moved, being tiled on a scrollable "page" on the screen. As of January 2009, only HTML-based MFIs are functional, and no "desktop" versions are available. The HTML-based MFI is an alternative to the
web desktop, allowing simultaneous use of multiple
rich web applications
A rich web application (originally called a rich Internet application, or RIA or installable Internet application) is a web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software. The concept is closely related to a sin ...
.
Advantages
The MFIs have several advantages over
desktop environments:
*From a visual standpoint, the work with frames is more fluent.
*Frames do not overlap on the screen.
*The number of frames on the screen is limited to a number that can be handled by the user.
*Several frames are permanently on screen.
Shortcomings
*Scrolling the set of frames can be difficult.
*Many panels open permanently use more memory.
External links
iGoogle
User interfaces
User interface techniques
Widget engines