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}).

   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}.