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9. MEDLEY FORGIVENESS: DWIM

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DWIM (Do What I Mean) is an Interlisp utility that makes life easier.


DWIM tries to match unrecognized variable and function names to known ones. This allows Lisp to interpret minor typing errors or misspellings in a function, without

causing a break. Line 152 of Figure 9-1 illustrates how the misspelled BANNANNA was replaced by BANANA before the expression was evaluated.



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Figure 9-1. Examples of DWIM Features


Sometimes DWIM may alter an expression you didn’t want it to. This may occur if, for

example, a hyphenated function name (e.g., (MY-FUNCTION) ) is misused. If the system does not recognize the function name, it may think you are trying to subtract "FUNCTION" from "MY". DWIM also takes the liberty of updating the function, so it will

have to be fixed. However, this is as much a blessing as a curse, since it points out the misused expression!