Single document interface
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Image:Gimp-gnome-2.2.8.png In Computer Science, a single document interface or SDI is a method of organizing graphical user interface applications into individual windows that the operating system's window manager handles separately. A window does not have a "background" or "parent" window containing its menu or toolbar; instead, each window contains its own menu or toolbar. Applications which allow the editing of more than one document at a time, e.g. word processors, may therefore give the user the impression that more than one instance of an application is open.
Often, each window displays as an individual entry in the operating system's task bar or manager. Some task managers summarize windows of the same application in the taskbar. Most task-managers display these windows in a separate taskbar, necessitating the use of "tabs" or an application-specific taskbar to accomplish this display. For example, Mac OS X uses a feature called Exposé which allows the user to temporarily see all windows belonging to a particular application.
See also
de:Single Document Interface es:Interfaz de documento único nl:Single Document Interface