What are shortcuts in operating systems?

After the distribution of operating systems and corresponding applications with graphical shells, the dictionary of computer terms was supplemented with a new term - "shortcuts to the desktop". To some extent, it can be argued that they are the basis for making the user interact more easily with the programs. By the way, this element of the interface has moved to mobile devices - tablets, phones and others, where it is successfully used. Microsoft's attempts to replace desktop shortcuts in personal computers and mobile phones with so-called "tiles" met resistance from the entire computer community. This shows that the idea of labels was to the liking of the majority and without special need no one will refuse it.

What are labels?

If you look at the desktop of any modern operating system, then there are always small icons on it. Sometimes they are called icons, but this is not entirely true, as it does not fully reflect the essence. After all, as a rule, icons are not only labels, but also any other symbolic designation of a certain program. Therefore, it is necessary to understand what labels and icons are, to understand their similarities and differences. This allows you to correctly use computer terms.

So, what are labels? You can say that they are part of the graphical interface. Are located not only on the desktop, but in the quick launch panel, various windows of the operating system and even the menu of the Start button in Windows.

Analogy

To make it easier to understand what labels are, we use a comparison. Imagine that there is a chest in front of you, in which a lot of things lie in disorder. How to find the right one? Of course, you can go through them all, but if the chest is too large or there is no desire to spend time searching, then such a decision is not applicable. In addition, sometimes you have to look for something that functions are known, and the appearance is not. In this case, the search in general will be a useless occupation. However, everything can be very simply solved if you attach a rope to each thing, the second end of which is taken out of the chest and placed on it a tag with a name. To get the thing out, the person will only have to pull for the right thing. Incredibly simple and effective.

So the label: for a small picture that the user sees, a certain team is hiding. Thus, a double click on a shortcut causes the shell to start and process the job. Most often, shortcuts hide commands for launching certain programs. For example, if you right-click on the custom shortcut and select "Properties", the path to the application will be displayed in the "Object" line. In older operating systems that worked in text modes, it was necessary not only to prescribe it manually, but also to remember it well. With the appearance of labels, the need for this has disappeared: by clicking on the free area of the desktop with the right mouse button and selecting "Create shortcut", you can specify the path once. After that, just double-click the mouse to launch it, so that the application has been sent for execution.