Editing 1341: Types of Editors

{{comic
| number    = 1341
| date      = March 12, 2014
| title     = Types of Editors
| image     = types_of_editors.png
| titletext = m-x machineofdeath-mode
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|WYSIWYG}}, pronounced, "wizzy-wig" IPA /ˈwɪziˌwɪg/, is an acronym that stands for "What you see is what you get". In regards to computers, it refers to text editors in which the user can see exactly what will be published as they are typing it. The comic compares various types of editors, each one a play-on-words on WYSIWYG.

*A WYSIWYG editor displays the edited document in its final form. This could be a printed paper, a web page, a PDF document, and more. This is a real term used for text editors.
*A WYSINWYG editor is the opposite; there is a distinct difference between what the editor displays, and what will be printed. Hence, what you see is ''not'' what you get. They are also known as source editors, such as a {{w|wiki markup}} editor or {{w|TeX}}. In the comic an HTML source editor is shown, where you enter raw HTML code and then presented with the rendered appearance of the final page. The <nowiki><em></nowiki>-tag marks text that has stress emphasis.
*The WYSITUTWYG ("... is totally unrelated to ...") editor apparently takes your input and proceeds to ignore it entirely, instead displaying totally unrelated words. Possibly a commentary on the Autocorrect function. Randall seems to have made this term up. The phrase "The HORSE is a noble animal" seems to refer to the {{w|Stereotypes of animals#Horses|stereotypes}} commonly associated with horses, or possibly to {{w|Houyhnhnm}} in ''{{w|Gulliver's Travels}}'', an extreme version of those stereotypes.
*WYSIHYD ("... is how you die") shows an "editor" which is not really an editor at all, but rather a pun on the multiple meanings of the word "get": If you ''see'' "eaten by wolves", you will ''get''... eaten by wolves. As in physically attacked and devoured by wolves. This is an example of the [[wikipedia:use-mention distinction|use-mention distinction]], or simply ''get'' meaning "to receive" or "to become" (compare German's different evolution: ''werden'' ("to become") but ''bekommen'' ("to receive")).

The title text is a fictitious command, {{w|meta key|meta}}-x machineofdeath-mode, to the highly extensible {{w|Emacs}} text editor. Emacs operates in various "modes", which are customizations for specific purposes. Placing Emacs into "Machine of Death" mode would turn it into a WYSIHYD editor. (For another fictitious emacs command see [[378: Real Programmers]]). See [[#Machine of Death book|below]] for why this was used.

===Machine of Death book===
The title text is a reference to "{{w|Machine of Death}}". This book from 2010 is a collection of short stories edited by amongst other {{w|Ryan North}} (of {{w|Dinosaur Comics}}) mentioned here since the idea was based on one of [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=675 his comics]. Since [[Randall Munroe]] wrote one of the stories the reference is very likely, and would be Randall's first [[:Category:Book promotion|book promotion]] in xkcd, but not the last. All the stories are based around a device, the "Machine of Death", that can predict, with 100% accuracy though generally with extreme ambiguity, how people die from a drop of their blood. In many of the stories very unusual deaths are predicted, often in a very literal way, but not so you know when or where you will die. From the [http://machineofdeath.net/ official home page] the entire book can be downloaded for free as a [http://machineofdeath.net/ebook PDF file]. Randall's story begins on page 421 - or page 218 of the two-sided PDF file. It is simply called "?". In [[1525: Emojic 8 Ball]] the default question is ''How will I die?'' and can then be answered by an ''Emojic 8 Ball'', which would make it a type of Machine of Death.

==Transcript==
:[There are four panels, each with different headings and explanations of the headings above the panels.]

:[The first three panels show two titled text boxes, one above the other, with text inside. This text is formatted with both small and capital letters as opposed to all capital letters in the rest of the comic.]

:[Heading panel 1:]
:'''WYSIWYG''' 
:What you see is 
:what you get

:[Panel 1.]
:What you see:
:''Hi''
:What you get:
:''Hi''

:[Heading panel 2:]
:'''WYSINWYG''' 
:What you see is 
:not what you get

:[Panel 2.]
:What you see:
:<nowiki><em>Hi</em></nowiki>
:What you get:
:''Hi''

:[Heading panel 3:]
:'''WYSITUTWYG''' 
:What you see is totally 
:unrelated to what you get

:[Panel 3.]
:What you see:
:<nowiki><em>Hi</em></nowiki>
:What you get:
:The HORSE is a noble animal.

:[The fourth panel shows two titled text areas, the top is a black rectangle with white text in a very large font, and the bottom text area is not outlined with a border.]

:[Heading panel 4:]
:'''WYSIHYD''' 
:What you see is 
:how you die

:[Panel 4.]
:What you see:
:'''EATEN BY WOLVES'''
:What you get:
::Eaten by wolves

==Trivia==
*"The horse is a noble animal" is the name of a giant rocking-horse sculpture in {{w|Yorkshire}}.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Emacs]]
[[Category:Book promotion]] <!-- Machine of Death in title text -->