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Definition: Sketchpad


(1) For the Windows drawing app, see Windows Ink.

(2) The first program to incorporate a graphical user interface (GUI). Developed by Ivan Sutherland for his PhD thesis in 1963, Sketchpad is considered the first application of 3D computer-aided design (CAD). Its use of "master" and "occurrences" are said to be the forerunner of objects and instances in object-oriented programming. Sutherland received the Turing Award in 1988 for his creation of Sketchpad. See Turing Award, GUI and CAD.