Auto-complete

Definition
Auto-complete (also spelled autocomplete), or word completion, is a feature provided by many web browsers, e-mail programs, search engine interfaces, source code editors, database query tools, word processors, and command line interpreters. Autocomplete is also available for, or already integrated in, general text editors. Autocomplete involves the program predicting a word or phrase that the user wants to type in without the user actually typing it in completely. This feature is effective when it is easy to predict the word being typed based on those already typed, such as when there are a limited number of possible or commonly used words (as is the case with e-mail programs, web browsers, or command line interpreters), or when editing text written in a highly structured, easy-to-predict language (as in source code editors). It can also be very useful in text editors, when the prediction is based on a list of words in one or more languages. For special purposes, like medical or technical texts a word list of terms in that field is used. Many autocomplete programs are also learning new words as the user has written them a few times, and can suggest alternatives based on the habits of the individual user.