wyswyg

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)