from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
WYSIWYG
/wiz'ee.wig/, /wiss'ee.wig/, adj.
[Traced to Flip Wilson's "Geraldine" character c.1970] Describes a
user interface under which "What You See Is What You Get", as opposed
to one that uses more-or-less obscure commands that do not result in
immediate visual feedback. True WYSIWYG in environments supporting
multiple fonts or graphics is a rarely-attained ideal; there are
variants of this term to express real-world manifestations including
WYSIAWYG (What You See Is Almost What You Get) and WYSIMOLWYG (What
You See Is More or Less What You Get). All these can be mildly
derogatory, as they are often used to refer to dumbed-down
{user-friendly} interfaces targeted at non-programmers; a hacker has
no fear of obscure commands (compare {WYSIAYG}). On the other hand,
{EMACS} was one of the very first WYSIWYG editors, replacing
(actually, at first overlaying) the extremely obscure, command-based
{TECO}. See also {WIMP environment}. [Oddly enough, WYSIWYG made it
into the 1986 supplement to the OED, in lower case yet. --ESR]
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
What You See Is What You Get
WYSIWYG
WYSWYG
<jargon> (WYSIWYG) /wiz'ee-wig/ Describes a user interface for
a document preparation system under which changes are
represented by displaying a more-or-less accurate image of the
way the document will finally appear, e.g. when printed. This
is in contrast to one that uses more-or-less obscure commands
that do not result in immediate visual feedback.
True WYSIWYG in environments supporting multiple fonts or
graphics is rarely-attained; there are variants of this term
to express real-world manifestations including WYSIAWYG (What
You See Is *Almost* What You Get) and WYSIMOLWYG (What You See
Is More or Less What You Get). All these can be mildly
derogatory, as they are often used to refer to dumbed-down
{user-friendly} interfaces targeted at non-programmers; a
hacker has no fear of obscure commands (compare {WYSIAYG}).
On the other hand, {Emacs} was one of the very first WYSIWYG
editors, replacing (actually, at first overlaying) the
extremely obscure, command-based {TECO}.
See also {WIMP}.
(1999-03-03)