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Skin (computing)

 
Skin (computing)

 
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Skin (computing)
 
 
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In computing
Computing

Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and developing computer technology, computer hardware and computer software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology....
, skins may be associated with themes as custom graphical appearances (GUIs
Graphical user interface

A graphical user interface is a type of user interface which allows people to human-computer interaction such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment....
) that can be applied to certain software
Computer software

Computer software, or just software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, Algorithm and Software documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system....
 and website
Website

A Web site is a collection of related Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are hosted on one Web server, usually accessible via the Internet....
s in order to suit the different tastes of different users.

Software which is capable of having a skin applied is referred to as being skinnable, and the process of writing or applying such a skin is known as skinning. Applying a skin changes a piece of software's look and feel
Look and feel

Look and feel is a term used in descriptions of products and fields such as product design, marketing, branding and trademarking, to describe the main features of its appearance....
 — some skins merely make the program more aesthetically pleasing, but others can rearrange elements of the interface, potentially making the program easier to use.






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In computing
Computing

Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and developing computer technology, computer hardware and computer software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology....
, skins may be associated with themes as custom graphical appearances (GUIs
Graphical user interface

A graphical user interface is a type of user interface which allows people to human-computer interaction such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment....
) that can be applied to certain software
Computer software

Computer software, or just software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, Algorithm and Software documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system....
 and website
Website

A Web site is a collection of related Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are hosted on one Web server, usually accessible via the Internet....
s in order to suit the different tastes of different users.

Software which is capable of having a skin applied is referred to as being skinnable, and the process of writing or applying such a skin is known as skinning. Applying a skin changes a piece of software's look and feel
Look and feel

Look and feel is a term used in descriptions of products and fields such as product design, marketing, branding and trademarking, to describe the main features of its appearance....
 — some skins merely make the program more aesthetically pleasing, but others can rearrange elements of the interface, potentially making the program easier to use. Although often used simply as a synonym for skin, the term theme normally refers to less-complex customisations, such as a set of icon
Icon (computing)

On computer displays, a computer icon is a small pictogram. Icons have been used to supplement the normal alphanumerics of the computer. Modern computers now can handle bitmapped graphics on the display terminal, so the icons are widely used to assist users....
s and matching colour scheme for an operating system
Operating system

An operating system is an interface between hardware and applications; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the limited resources of the computer....
 — notably, this is how the term was used in association with Windows 95
Windows 95

Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Microsoft Windows products....
 and Microsoft Plus!
Microsoft Plus!

Microsoft Plus! is a commercial operating system enhancement product by Microsoft. The last edition is the Plus! SuperPack, which includes an assortment of screensavers, themes, and games, as well as multimedia applications....
 for Windows 95.

Common skinnable applications

Probably the most popular customised skins are for instant messaging
Instant messaging

Instant messaging is a form of Real-time computing communication between two or more people based on typed text. The Written language is conveyed via devices connected over a network such as the Internet....
 client
Client (computing)

A client is an Application software or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a Server , by way of a Computer network....
s and media players, such as Trillian and Winamp
Winamp

Winamp is a proprietary software media player written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of Time Warner. It is skin nable, multi-format freeware/shareware....
, due to the association with fun such programs try to encourage. However, in programs which use a cross-platform
Cross-platform

In computing, cross-platform is a term used to refer to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms....
 GUI toolkit, rather than using the standard interface for the operating system
Operating system

An operating system is an interface between hardware and applications; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the limited resources of the computer....
 on which they are running, it is relatively easy to add functionality to alter this interface from within the program. For instance, both the Mozilla
Mozilla

Mozilla was the official, public, original name of Mozilla Application Suite by the Mozilla Foundation, currently known as SeaMonkey internet suite....
 and Opera
Opera (web browser)

Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by the Opera Software company. Opera handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, IRC online chatting, downloading files via BitTorrent , and reading web feeds....
 web browser
Web browser

A Web browser is a application software which enables a user to display and interact with text, images, videos, music, games and other information typically located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network....
s are skinnable because they take advantage of a cross-platform toolkit. In the case of Mozilla, the entire interface is written in XUL
XUL

XUL , the XML User Interface Language, is an XML user interface markup language developed by the Mozilla project which operates in Mozilla cross-platform applications such as Mozilla Firefox and Flock ....
, CSS
Cascading Style Sheets

Cascading Style Sheets is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in a markup language. Its most common application is to style web pages written in HTML and XHTML, but the language can be applied to any kind of XML document, including Scalable Vector Graphics and XUL....
, and JavaScript
JavaScript

JavaScript is a scripting language widely used for client-side web development. It was the originating Programming language dialect of the ECMAScript standard....
. Those who know these languages are free to modify both its look and its behavior.

Standard interface

Of course, it is also possible to change the standard interface. Some platforms have inbuilt support for this, including most using the X Window System
X Window System

The X Window System is a computing software system and network protocol that provides a graphical user interface for networked computers. It implements the X Window System protocols and architecture and provides windowing system on raster graphics Visual display units and manages Keyboard and pointing device control functions....
. For those that do not, there are usually programs that can add this functionality, like WindowBlinds
WindowBlinds

WindowBlinds is a computer program that allows users to skin the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface. It has been developed by Stardock since 1998, and is the most popular component of their flagship software suite, Object Desktop....
 for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces ....
 and ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter

ShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying Skin through ?injection? into running code and without modifying system files, very much like Kaleidoscope or WindowBlinds....
 for Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
.

Model-view-controller

Skinning is typically implemented with a Model-view-controller
Model-view-controller

Model?View?Controller is an Architectural pattern used in software engineering. Successful use of the pattern isolates business logic from user interface considerations, resulting in an application where it is easier to modify either the visual appearance of the application or the underlying business rules without affecting the other....
 architecture, which allows for a flexible structure in which the interface is independent from and indirectly linked to application functionality, so the GUI can be easily customized. This allows the user to select or design a different skin at will, and also allows for more deep changes in the position and function of the interface elements
Elements of graphical user interfaces

Graphical user interfaces, also known as GUIs, make it easier for people with little computer skills to work with and use computer software. It is a visual front to a piece of software that links the user to the internal workings of a computer, or piece of software....
.

Pros and cons

The benefit of skinning in user interfaces is disputed. While some find it useful or pleasant to be able to change the appearance of software they use, a changed appearance can complicate technical support
Technical support

Technical support is a range of Customer service providing assistance with technology products such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, or other electronic or mechanical goods....
 and training. A user interface that has been extensively customized by one person may appear totally unfamiliar to another person who knows the same software under a different appearance. It is often said by usability
Usability

Usability is a term used to denote the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal....
 practitioners that this flexibility "requires the user to be an expert interaction designer" in order to tailor the software for best use.

Websites

Many websites are also skinnable, particularly those which provide some social
Social

Social refers to a characteristic of living organisms . It always refers to the interaction of organisms with other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary....
 capabilities. Again, some sites offer skins that make primarily cosmetic changes, while some — such as H2G2
H2g2

h2g2 is a collaborative Internet Internet encyclopedia project engaged in the construction of, in its own words, "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication The Guide from the comic science fiction series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams....
 — allow major changes to the layout of pages. As with standalone software interfaces, this is facilitated by the underlying technology of the website — the use of XML and XSLT, for instance, facilitates major changes of layout, while CSS
Cascading Style Sheets

Cascading Style Sheets is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in a markup language. Its most common application is to style web pages written in HTML and XHTML, but the language can be applied to any kind of XML document, including Scalable Vector Graphics and XUL....
 can be used to easily produce different visual styles.