Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

What You See Is All You Get
     
         (WYSIAYG) /wiz'ee-ayg/ Describes a user interface
        under which "What You See Is *All* You Get"; an unhappy
        variant of {WYSIWYG}.  Visual, "{point-and-drool interfaces}"
        are easy to learn but often lack depth; they often frustrate
        advanced users who would be better served by a command-style
        interface.  When this happens, the frustrated user has a
        WYSIAYG problem.
     
        This term is most often used of editors, {word processors},
        and document formatting programs.  WYSIWYG "{desktop
        publishing}" programs, for example, are a clear win for
        creating small documents with lots of fonts and graphics in
        them, especially things like newsletters and presentation
        slides.  When typesetting book-length manuscripts, on the
        other hand, scale changes the nature of the task; one quickly
        runs into WYSIAYG limitations, and the increased power and
        flexibility of a command-driven formatter like {TeX} or
        {Unix}'s {troff} becomes not just desirable but a necessity.
     
        Compare {YAFIYGI}.
     
        (1999-03-03)