dwim

DWIM
 /dwim/

   [acronym, `Do What I Mean']

   1. adj. Able to guess, sometimes even correctly, the result intended
   when bogus input was provided.

   2. n. obs. The BBNLISP/INTERLISP function that attempted to accomplish
   this feat by correcting many of the more common errors. See {hairy}.

   3. Occasionally, an interjection hurled at a balky computer, esp. when
   one senses one might be tripping over legalisms (see {legalese}).

   4. Of a person, someone whose directions are incomprehensible and
   vague, but who nevertheless has the expectation that you will solve
   the problem using the specific method he/she has in mind.

   Warren Teitelman originally wrote DWIM to fix his typos and spelling
   errors, so it was somewhat idiosyncratic to his style, and would often
   make hash of anyone else's typos if they were stylistically different.
   Some victims of DWIM thus claimed that the acronym stood for `Damn
   Warren's Infernal Machine!'.

   In one notorious incident, Warren added a DWIM feature to the command
   interpreter used at Xerox PARC. One day another hacker there typed
   delete *$ to free up some disk space. (The editor there named backup
   files by appending $ to the original file name, so he was trying to
   delete any backup files left over from old editing sessions.) It
   happened that there weren't any editor backup files, so DWIM helpfully
   reported *$ not found, assuming you meant 'delete *'. It then started
   to delete all the files on the disk! The hacker managed to stop it
   with a {Vulcan nerve pinch} after only a half dozen or so files were
   lost.

   The disgruntled victim later said he had been sorely tempted to go to
   Warren's office, tie Warren down in his chair in front of his
   workstation, and then type delete *$ twice.

   DWIM is often suggested in jest as a desired feature for a complex
   program; it is also occasionally described as the single instruction
   the ideal computer would have. Back when proofs of program correctness
   were in vogue, there were also jokes about DWIMC (Do What I Mean,
   Correctly). A related term, more often seen as a verb, is DTRT (Do The
   Right Thing); see {Right Thing}.
    

DWIM

   /dwim/ [acronym, "Do What I Mean" (not what I say)] 1. Able to
   guess, sometimes even correctly, the result intended when
   bogus input was provided.

   2. The BBNLISP/INTERLISP function that attempted to accomplish
   this feat by correcting many of the more common errors.  See
   {hairy}.

   3. Occasionally, an interjection hurled at a balky computer,
   especially when one senses one might be tripping over
   legalisms (see {legalese}).

   Warren Teitelman originally wrote DWIM to fix his typos and
   spelling errors, so it was somewhat idiosyncratic to his
   style, and would often make hash of anyone else's typos if
   they were stylistically different.  Some victims of DWIM thus
   claimed that the acronym stood for "Damn Warren's Infernal
   Machine!'.

   In one notorious incident, Warren added a DWIM feature to the
   command interpreter used at {Xerox PARC}.  One day another
   hacker there typed "delete *$" to free up some disk space.
   (The editor there named backup files by appending "$" to the
   original file name, so he was trying to delete any backup
   files left over from old editing sessions.)  It happened that
   there weren't any editor backup files, so DWIM helpfully
   reported "*$ not found, assuming you meant 'delete *'".  It
   then started to delete all the files on the disk!  The hacker
   managed to stop it with a {Vulcan nerve pinch} after only a
   half dozen or so files were lost.

   The disgruntled victim later said he had been sorely tempted
   to go to Warren's office, tie Warren down in his chair in
   front of his workstation, and then type "delete *$" twice.

   DWIM is often suggested in jest as a desired feature for a
   complex program; it is also occasionally described as the
   single instruction the ideal computer would have.  Back when
   proofs of program correctness were in vogue, there were also
   jokes about "DWIMC" (Do What I Mean, Correctly).  A related
   term, more often seen as a verb, is DTRT (Do The Right Thing);
   see {Right Thing}.

   [{Jargon File}]
    

DWIM
       Do What I Mean (telecommunication, Usenet, IRC)