The graphical user interface for the Microsoft Windows operating system (including the desktop, taskbar, Smart menu, task switcher, Autoplay feature and many other not readily identifiable elements) hosted by Windows Explorer, and also a namespace that enables computer programs running on Windows to access the computer's resources via the hierarchy of shell objects
The Windows shell is the graphical user interface for the Microsoft Windows operating system. Its readily identifiable elements consists of the desktop, the taskbar, the Smart menu, the task switcher and the Autoplay feature. On some versions of Windows, it also includes Flip 3D and the charms. However, the Windows shell also implements a shell namespace that enables computer programs running on Windows to access the computer's resources via the hierarchy of shell objects. "Desktop" is the top object of the hierarchy; below it there are a number of files and folders stored on the disk, as well as a number of special folders whose contents are either virtual or dynamically created. Recycle Bin, Libraries, Control Panel, This PC and Network are examples of such shell objects.
The Windows shell, as known today, is an evolution of what is started with Windows 95, released in 1995. It is intimately identified with File Explorer, a Windows component that can browse the whole shell namespace.
