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Ask HN: Best Keyboard layout

4 points by drKarl 16y ago

I am interested in switching to a keyboard layout better than QWERTY. The usual choices are Dvorak and Colemak. I found an old article about finding the optimal layout with a genetic algorithm http://boingboing.net/2002/07/06/hyperevolved-keyboar.html Other layouts http://mtgap.bilfo.com/official_keyboard.html http://klausler.com/evolved.html Regarding letter frequency, which layout is optimal?

waratuman 16y ago
I tried to switch to Dvorak. It is great for writing text. The one downside is that I have already trained my fingers to the short cuts and coding with Dvorak may not actually be better because the keys you will be using are not what would be used when doing normal typing. I may be wrong though. I just found it really difficult to adjust to the new position of my key bindings.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
aoeudvorak 16y ago
I've been using dvorak for ~10 years now. Relearning the shortcuts is a huge pain in the butt since shortcuts are qwerty oriented (x,c,v are in a row for example). In OS X there is a dvorak mode where the command key will swap the keyboard back into qwerty while the cmd key is pressed which will help the transition. I think there are similar 'remapping' settings for vim/emacs, but I've always just remembered the proper keys to hit. If you're doing a lot of c-like coding, the default '[',']' position may frustrate you. In short you need to decide if the effort is worth it and analyze what you're actually writing- code or english.
subsection1h 16y ago
See "Case Studies": http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/ http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/
- drKarl 16y ago
  Basing on case studies I would learn and use QGMLWY, but this layout is downloadable as a pkl layout, and pkl is only for windows. If I switch to QGMLWY and I'm in another computer, it is problematic to download and install not only a layout, but a software, and if I'm on linux I can't even use it. Dvorak is the most versatile on this regard, but given the case studies, Colemak is superior to Dvorak (I agree, that is debatable) , and easier to switch to as it shares some keys with QWERTY, so the shortcuts would be no problem (it has Z, X, C, V in the same place as in QWERTY). Moreover, Colemak has layouts for Windows, Linux and Mac. I think I'll give Colemak a try!! Thank you very much for your answers!
lelele 16y ago
Dvorak user here. Consider swapping symbols and numbers. And use a Vi clone for editing. Dvorak works great with Vi clones.

4 points by drKarl 16y ago

waratuman 16y ago

I tried to switch to Dvorak. It is great for writing text. The one downside is that I have already trained my fingers to the short cuts and coding with Dvorak may not actually be better because the keys you will be using are not what would be used when doing normal typing. I may be wrong though. I just found it really difficult to adjust to the new position of my key bindings.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

aoeudvorak 16y ago

I've been using dvorak for ~10 years now. Relearning the shortcuts is a huge pain in the butt since shortcuts are qwerty oriented (x,c,v are in a row for example). In OS X there is a dvorak mode where the command key will swap the keyboard back into qwerty while the cmd key is pressed which will help the transition. I think there are similar 'remapping' settings for vim/emacs, but I've always just remembered the proper keys to hit. If you're doing a lot of c-like coding, the default '[',']' position may frustrate you. In short you need to decide if the effort is worth it and analyze what you're actually writing- code or english.

subsection1h 16y ago

See "Case Studies": http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/ http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/

drKarl 16y ago
Basing on case studies I would learn and use QGMLWY, but this layout is downloadable as a pkl layout, and pkl is only for windows. If I switch to QGMLWY and I'm in another computer, it is problematic to download and install not only a layout, but a software, and if I'm on linux I can't even use it. Dvorak is the most versatile on this regard, but given the case studies, Colemak is superior to Dvorak (I agree, that is debatable) , and easier to switch to as it shares some keys with QWERTY, so the shortcuts would be no problem (it has Z, X, C, V in the same place as in QWERTY). Moreover, Colemak has layouts for Windows, Linux and Mac. I think I'll give Colemak a try!! Thank you very much for your answers!

lelele 16y ago

Dvorak user here. Consider swapping symbols and numbers. And use a Vi clone for editing. Dvorak works great with Vi clones.