xeyes is a graphical computer program

Computer program

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...

 showing two googly eyes

Googly eyes

Googly eyes or wiggly eyes are small plastic craft supplies used to imitate eyeballs. Googly eyes traditionally are composed of a clear, hard-plastic shell, with a smaller, black plastic disk trapped within. The plastic shells come in a variety of sizes ranging from 3/16" to over 3" diameter...

 which follow the cursor

Cursor (computers)

In computing, a cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a computer monitor or other display device that will respond to input from a text input or pointing device. The flashing text cursor may be referred to as a caret in some cases...

 movements on the screen as if they were watching it. According to the X Window System

X Window System

The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...

 manual page, it was initially written by Jeremy Huxtable for the NeWS

NeWS

NeWS was a windowing system developed by Sun Microsystems in the mid 1980s. Originally known as "SunDew", its primary authors were James Gosling and David S. H. Rosenthal...

 system and presented at the SIGGRAPH

SIGGRAPH

SIGGRAPH is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization. The first SIGGRAPH conference was in 1974. The conference is attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals...

 conference in 1988. It was then ported to X11 by Keith Packard

Keith Packard

Keith Packard is a software developer, best known for his work on the X Window System.Packard is responsible for many X extensions and technical papers on X...

. Its popularity is due to its having been run by default at the startup of the GUI

Gui

Gui or guee is a generic term to refer to grilled dishes in Korean cuisine. These most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetarian ingredients. The term derives from the verb, "gupda" in Korean, which literally...

 in many installations.

Many similar programs have been developed for X and other systems, such as Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

 and Java.

The manual pages of xeyes typically claim tongue-in-cheek

Tongue-in-cheek

Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...

that the program reports the user's activities to an unspecified “Boss”.

External links

• Jeremy Huxtable's 1988 version in NeWS Postscript
• Source repository for current version of xeyes
• Xeyes in Javascript
• XEyes for Windows, ReactOS and Wine
• iEyes for Mac OS X
• Gnome Eyes, a clone for the Gnome Panel
• LookAtMe! is a step forward making the eyes follow the user (camera vision), not the mouse pointer