13.9 Graphics Programming

Good graphical representation of data is critical for making your results useful to your colleagues. Graphics programming language present data and results and interact with software applications via attractive and easy-to-navigate interfaces. Many bioinformatics programs deal with large amounts of data, and a graphical user interface (GUI) can mean the difference between an application that helps you do your work and one that wastes your time. GUIs such as those commonly found on web pages are important not only for the display of output but also for the collection of user input.

The point-and-click method of interacting with software applications is a basic standard. A good GUI makes an application or program much easier to use. One difficulty of GUIs and graphic data displays, however, is that they tend to be less portable than programs with simpler graphics. You may want to explore the graphics capabilities of such Perl modules as Tk and GD, among others.