Интерфейсы MDI и SDI: Сравнение и особенности реализации

Type of software application interface

A multiple document interface (MDI) is a graphical user interface in which multiple windows reside under a single parent window. Such systems often allow child windows to embed other windows inside them as well, creating complex nested hierarchies. This contrasts with single document interfaces (SDI) where all windows are independent of each other.

In the usability community, there has been much debate about whether the multiple document or single document interface is preferable. Software companies have used both interfaces with mixed responses. For example, Microsoft changed its Office applications from SDI to MDI mode and then back to SDI, although the degree of implementation varies from one component to another. SDI can be more useful in cases where users switch more often between separate applications than among the windows of one application. MDI can be confusing if it has a lack of information about the currently opened windows. In MDI applications, the application developer must provide a way to switch between documents or view a list of open windows, and the user might have to use an application specific menu ("window list" or something similar) to switch between open documents. This is different from SDI applications where the window manager's task bar or task manager displays the currently opened windows. In recent years it has become increasingly common for MDI applications to use "tabs" to display the currently opened windows. An interface in which tabs are used to manage open documents is referred to as a "tabbed document interface" (TDI). Another option is "tiled" panes or windows, which make it easier to prevent content from overlapping. Some applications allow the user to switch between these modes at their choosing, depending on personal preference or the task at hand. Nearly all graphical user interface toolkits to date provide at least one solution for designing MDIs. A notable exception was Apple's Cocoa API until the advent of tabbed window groups in MacOS High Sierra. The Java GUI toolkit, Swing, for instance, provides the class which serves as a container for individual frames (class ). GTK lacks any standardized support for MDI.

With multiple document interfaces (and also tabbed document interfaces), a single menu bar and/or toolbar is shared between all child windows, reducing clutter and increasing efficient use of screen space. This argument is less relevant on an operating system which uses a common menu bar. An application's child windows can be hidden/shown/minimized/maximized as a whole. Features such as "Tile" and "Cascade" can be implemented for the child windows. Authors of cross platform applications can provide their users with consistent application behaviour between platforms. If the windowing environment and OS lack good window management, the application author can implement it themselves. Modularity: An advanced window manager can be upgraded independently of the applications.

A common convention for child windows in IDE style applications is the ability to collapse child windows, either when inactive, or when specified by the user. Child windows that are collapsed will conform to one of the four outer boundaries of the parent window, with some kind of label or indicator that allows them to be expanded again.

In contrast to (MDI) applications, which ordinarily allow a single tabbed interface for the parent window, applications with an IDE style interface allow tabs for organizing one or more subpanes of the parent window.

MacOS and its GUI are document centric instead of window centric or application centric. Every document window is an object with which the user can work. The menu bar changes to reflect whatever application the front window belongs to. Application windows can be hidden and manipulated as a group, and the user may switch between applications (i. e., groups of windows) or between individual windows, automatically hiding palettes, and most programs will stay running even with no open windows. Indeed, prior to Mac OS X, it was purposely impossible to interleave windows from multiple applications. In spite of this, some unusual applications breaking the human interface guidelines (most notably Photoshop) do exhibit different behavior.