Advantages of a Common User Interface

The CDE interface provides many advantages to both end users and application developers. Among these advantages are:

1. An easy-to-use interface, which enables the user to learn the system quickly and to use it efficiently.

2. Consistency between UNIX platforms, which enables the user to move from one computer to another easily. It also enables programmers to write a single application that can be compiled for each platform, significantly reducing development effort.

3. Similar consistency with the Microsoft Windows and IBM OS/2 environments, which enables the user to move easily between these environments and CDE.

4. Several built-in productivity applications, which enable the desktop user to be productive before buying application software.

5. Desktop specifications that have been submitted to the X/Open standards organization, ensuring that CDE is "open" and will not tie the user to proprietary solutions.