1341: Types of Editors

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Types of Editors

Title text: m-x machineofdeath-mode

Explanation

WYSIWYG, pronounced, "wizz-ee-wig", 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 he is typing it. The comic compares various types of editors.

A WYSIWYG editor displays the edited document in its final, typically printed, form.

A WYSINWYG, is a source editor; in the example an HTML source editor is shown, where you enter raw HTML code and are (in a different view) presented with the rendered appearance of the page. The em 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.

Finally, the WYSIHYD ("... is how you die") "editor" is not an editor at all, but a pun on the multiple meanings of the word "get": If you see "eaten by wolves", you will get ... eaten by wolves. The white-on-black writing is probably a reference to the anime Death Note.

The title text is a fictitious command, meta-x machineofdeath-mode, to the highly extensible 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. Another fictitious emacs command can be found in comic 378. "Machine of Death" is a reference to the 2010 book Machine of Death, with Randall Munroe being one of the writers. It is a collection of short stories about a device that can predict 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.

Transcript

[There are four panels, each with different headings over them.]

[The first panel shows two titled text boxes, one above the other]

[First panel title] WYSIWYG What you see is what you get

[Upper text box title] What you see:

Hi

[Lower text box title] What you get:

Hi

[The second panel shows two titled text boxes, one above the other, the same as the first box]

[Second panel title] WYSINWYG What you see is not what you get

[Upper text box title] What you see:

<em>Hi</em>

[Lower text box title] What you get:

Hi

[The third panel is presented the same as the first two]

[Third panel title] WYSITUTWYG What you see is totally unrelated to what you get

[Upper text box title] What you see:

<em>Hi</em>

[Lower text box title] What you get:

The HORSE is a noble animal.

[The fourth panel shows two titled text areas, (which are not outlined with a border), one above the other]

[Forth panel title] WYSIHYD What you see is how you die

[Upper text area title] What you see:

[White text on a black background] EATEN BY WOLVES

[Lower text area] What you get:

Eaten By Wolves