On Thu, 06 Oct 2005 18:46:11 -0700, tim Rowledge <tim at rowledge.org> wrote:

> Multiple Document Interface - the old style Windows silliness where an  
> application had a single window and all it's stuff was done inside with  
> sub-windows as if the application had a private screen. I think it was a  
> sort of attempt to be like Mac with a screen menubar (now _there's_ a  
> dumb idea) and yet be a bit different to avoid shouts of "plaigarist!".  
> Not that it worked of course - remember the lawsuits back in the 90s?

There is a Windows API for MDI apps though it was pretty quickly  
deprecated and, from what I've heard, never really completed.

That said, a lot of apps default to an MDI state (MS Word and all the  
office apps, Visual Studio and most development environments) or have an  
optional MDI state (like Opera). People who use their computer mainly to  
do one thing seem to like it. (Context-sensitive menus: The bane of my  
existence.)