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 }]
安装中文字典英文字典查询工具!
中文字典英文字典工具:
复制到剪贴板
英文字典中文字典相关资料:
Current Local Time in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Current local time in United Arab Emirates – Dubai – Dubai Get Dubai's weather and area codes, time zone and DST Explore Dubai's sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset
Current Time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (+04) | Time. now Current time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 10:57 +04 Live clock with seconds, sunrise sunset, timezone info and daylight-saving status - updated every second
Time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates now Exact time now, time zone, time difference, sunrise sunset time and key facts for Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Current local time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Try our World Meeting Planner and get a color-coded chart comparing the time of day in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with all of the other international locations where others will be participating
Time Now in Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Time. now Get the exact current time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Representative IANA timezone is Asia Dubai Includes time for its main city: Dubai
Current time in Dubai Current time in Dubai Live local time in Dubai with seconds Start typing the name of the country city where you want to know the current time
What time is it in Dubai, United Arab Emirates right now? Exact time in Dubai time zone now Official Dubai timezone and time change dates for year 2026
Current Time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Live Clock What time is it in Dubai, United Arab Emirates right now? See the current local time in Dubai (GST, GMT+4) Live, accurate, and free
Current Time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Live Clock, Weather . . . What time is it in Dubai right now? Live clock with seconds, current weather, timezone info, top attractions, restaurants, hotels and travel tips for Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Current Local Time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates - The Time Now Current local time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Get maps, travel information, Dubai Timezone and