6 ms·

GNU Typist (2017)

wbazant 7y ago
That seems like the kind of program for which it is much better to be delivered through a website with some Javascript on it. No need to get the whole classroom to download anything and stuff.
- unwiredben 7y ago
  The earliest version of this program on the GNU FTP is v 2.5 from 2003, so it definitely predates the trend of all web apps... it may even predate the web going back to 1.0.
  - wwarner 7y ago
    It goes pretty far back -- to 1997. https://www.gnu.org/software/gtypist/doc/gtypist.html#History https://www.gnu.org/software/gtypist/doc/gtypist.html#Histor...
- scandox 7y ago
  Immersion is something I find I get much easier in a terminal window. Also absolutely no lag ever. Also it's a really excellent program.
- yjftsjthsd-h 7y ago
  This page actually links to jsTypingTutor if you want that:) On the other hand, while I can see the benefits in a well-connected classroom, GNU Typist works on decade-old hardware, without X (or Wayland, or whatever), with no internet connection, anywhere on Earth, on a tiny CPU/RAM/battery budget. I like it more as a clean, minimal, local program, personally.
- LeoPanthera 7y ago
  I really dread the future of computing where every application is a website, and the supercomputer sitting under my desk becomes useless whenever the internet goes down. This is an enormous retrograde step. There's no reason for everything to be running on someone elses computer. Gigaflops are so cheap that I have more of them in my pocket than could be found in the worlds fastest supercomputers only a few years ago.
  - badsectoracula 7y ago
    Your future is just the regular bleak one, my dark future is the one where there is no supercomputer under the desk but instead a glorified web terminal that is meant to run the web apps for the next 2-3 years until support ends (regardless of computing power) and the terminal doesn't get any more updates so it cannot run most of the newer stuff (think iPad/Chromebook, except larger). Obviously nothing works without active internet connection and local storage is only used for caching - all your data, programs and (of course) licenses for said programs and media are saved on the cloud. Everyone can make their own software as long as it exists on said cloud (ie. a computer owned and controlled by someone else), they are able to access any of "their" files from anywhere - be it their home, work, their friend/parent's places, the terminals at the cafe, their mobiles or whatever and work from anywhere they'd want. Parents love that the terminals of their kids filter out anything that could be considered inappropriate and the more knowledgeable of them customize these filters for their and their friends' kids. Some may have at the back of their mind that some of that could be abused and have a vague idea of how that could be done, but as it doesn't affect their day-by-day lives they do not pay much attention to it. Big computers still exist but they are prohibitively expensive for personal use by the vast majority of people.
  - dyingkneepad 7y ago
    While I don't necessarily disagree with your point, in the future my crystal ball shows your desk will not have a supercomputer below it. Most people have fully converted to doing everything through their smartphones. It's been years since my wife had to do anything on a computer outside her work... Besides, those "website applications" generally rely heavily on Javascript, so they are in fact running in your computer (just in a very very inefficient way!). Besides, one can also argue that phones are the supercomputer anyway...
- catalogia 7y ago
  Plenty of those already exist, the world doesn't need another. If that's the sort of thing you want, why not use something like that instead of moaning about the existence of other things?
- dyingkneepad 7y ago
  IMHO gamification really enhances the learning experience, so I would argue for things like https://zty.pe/ https://zty.pe/ lol :) (yes, I know, it doesn't teach you how to properly use your fingers on the keyboard)
- scbrg 7y ago
  apt-get install gtypist Wow, that was so much harder than manually copying the URL from the teacher's Power Point presentation ;-)
Kaze404 7y ago
I used it a while ago when I decided to learn Colemak. It served me well enough, but I never got around to using Colemak full time.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
sigmonsays 7y ago
fun to take the speed tests for a whirl and see you can accurately type 80-90wpm.
- clarry 7y ago
  One thing I've noticed with speed tests is that the results vary massively with content. Common, easy English words with no punctuation or capitalization? Easily 100 wpm and more. Source code with all the symbols, numbers, and capitalization? Can dip below 50 wpm...
  - JoeAcchino 7y ago
    Bottleneck is the brain, English is not my first language and I usually score 10 wpm less than my native language.
dang 7y ago
A thread from 2012: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4967075 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4967075
mnemonicsloth 7y ago
This program should have a special mode for programmers who need to learn the !@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\| keys.
- iamsomewalrus 7y ago
  Can’t find a reference, but i think it does. I used in the past year for that purpose exactly. Also, checkout typing.io which has lessons based on open source code.
- temp_l2kh3h56lk 7y ago
  I can recommend this: https://wwwtyro.github.io/keyzen/ https://wwwtyro.github.io/keyzen/
- codesections 7y ago
  > This program should have a special mode for programmers who need to learn the !@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\| keys. I thought so too, so I wrote one: https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characters/ https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characte... (I submitted it upstream, but the pace of development lately hasn't been all that fast)
wtfrmyinitials 7y ago
Interesting to see this pop up now, I recently finished building an open source command line typing tutor myself! The idea of mine is you pass it an existing text file (plain text, markdown, source code, etc) and it tests your ability to re-create that file. This way you can practice typing in any syntax. https://github.com/wtfaremyinitials/monktype https://github.com/wtfaremyinitials/monktype
- butterthebuddha 7y ago
  Very cool! I never formally learned to type, and have picked up some bad habits over the years because of that. I found GNU typist and finally decided to learn how to touch type "correctly". I'll definitely supplement GNU typist with your tool for practicing.
eloy 7y ago
I used this tool to learn Dvorak a few years ago... worked pretty well for me :)
- 1MachineElf 7y ago
  I also used this to learn Dvorak, back in 2016.
ginko 7y ago
I used GNU typist when I taught myself touch typing with a Das Keyboard back in the day. One thing I found annoying was that it insisted on two spaces after a period. I found that annoying so I replaces ". " with ". " in all tutorial files.
- samatman 7y ago
  That's an emacs-ism, it's used for M-a and M-e, go to beginning and end of sentence. I've adopted the convention myself, because of the utility. It isn't typographically sound, but typing is not typography.
  - philsnow 7y ago
    > [double spacing between sentences] isn't topographically sound Why not? In speech, pauses between sentences are longer than pauses between words... I've never understood this debate. But then, I'm the kind of guy who will write prose like > He shouted, "Watch out!". ... with duplicated punctuation inside the quotation marks (because they carry meaning and are part of the quotation), so clearly I don't know the MLA or whatever.
    - samatman 7y ago
      It's not typographically sound. That is to say, typographers don't typeset books, newspapers, or magazine with double-spacing after a sentence. It's a style that emerged from typewriting, because it makes it easier to read monospaced text. Which is another reason I do it, I'm usually typing in a mono font even when I'm working on prose. That was my point, actually. Amusingly, the two sentences in the above paragraph have two spaces between them, as do this and the next. But you won't see it, because browsers typeset with one space between sentences.
      - globular-toast 7y ago
        They don't double space, but most will allow more space. You can double space in TeX source but TeX will apply its own spacing rules which, by default, leave more space after a full stop.
codesections 7y ago
I love Gtypist, but wanted it to have a lesson focused on programming keys like !@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\| So I wrote one: https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characters/ https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characte... It builds up to typing out the full code of a (very small) compiler.
xwowsersx 7y ago
I would like to relearn typing and "do it right" this time. I've tried in the past, but end up reverting to my old habits. What can I do? (⊙_◎)
- chacha2 7y ago
  Try a new keyboard layout to reset your muscle memory, perhaps.
- alpaca128 7y ago
  The ortholinear layout of my current keyboard forces me to use the right fingers for the right keys - it's actually hard to do it wrong intentionally in some cases. Switching is frustrating in the first couple of days, though. However, in the end I don't know if it really matters that much if you type "correctly" or not unless you have problems with accuracy.
  - xwowsersx 7y ago
    I think I over-rely on my right hand and it causes some strain. "Correct" typing feels very comfortable but also very slow right now. Other than that, I think you're right and it doesn't matter.
- clarry 7y ago
  If the problem is that you're not properly touch typing, consider blank key caps. Or, as others suggested, learn a different layout but keep your physical keycap arrangement so you have no choice but to commit to memory. I learned touch typing at the same time when I learned Dvorak, around 15 years ago or so. I still can't touch type qwerty. If your problem is using the wrong finger sometimes, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But consider a split ergonomic keyboard, which prevents reaching over to the wrong side.
  - xwowsersx 7y ago
    Thanks. My goal really is to be able to have my fingers above keys and not have to move around as much as I currently do. I am not accustomed to using the correct fingers so end up doing a lot hand moving and contorting which is inefficient and uncomfortable. I'll try correct typing for a while then revert to my old ways because it's faster for now and have work to do.

GNU Typist (2017)

That seems like the kind of program for which it is much better to be delivered through a website with some Javascript on it. No need to get the whole classroom to download anything and stuff.

unwiredben 7y ago
The earliest version of this program on the GNU FTP is v 2.5 from 2003, so it definitely predates the trend of all web apps... it may even predate the web going back to 1.0.
- wwarner 7y ago
  It goes pretty far back -- to 1997. https://www.gnu.org/software/gtypist/doc/gtypist.html#History https://www.gnu.org/software/gtypist/doc/gtypist.html#Histor...
scandox 7y ago
Immersion is something I find I get much easier in a terminal window. Also absolutely no lag ever. Also it's a really excellent program.
yjftsjthsd-h 7y ago
This page actually links to jsTypingTutor if you want that:) On the other hand, while I can see the benefits in a well-connected classroom, GNU Typist works on decade-old hardware, without X (or Wayland, or whatever), with no internet connection, anywhere on Earth, on a tiny CPU/RAM/battery budget. I like it more as a clean, minimal, local program, personally.
LeoPanthera 7y ago
I really dread the future of computing where every application is a website, and the supercomputer sitting under my desk becomes useless whenever the internet goes down. This is an enormous retrograde step. There's no reason for everything to be running on someone elses computer. Gigaflops are so cheap that I have more of them in my pocket than could be found in the worlds fastest supercomputers only a few years ago.
- badsectoracula 7y ago
  Your future is just the regular bleak one, my dark future is the one where there is no supercomputer under the desk but instead a glorified web terminal that is meant to run the web apps for the next 2-3 years until support ends (regardless of computing power) and the terminal doesn't get any more updates so it cannot run most of the newer stuff (think iPad/Chromebook, except larger). Obviously nothing works without active internet connection and local storage is only used for caching - all your data, programs and (of course) licenses for said programs and media are saved on the cloud. Everyone can make their own software as long as it exists on said cloud (ie. a computer owned and controlled by someone else), they are able to access any of "their" files from anywhere - be it their home, work, their friend/parent's places, the terminals at the cafe, their mobiles or whatever and work from anywhere they'd want. Parents love that the terminals of their kids filter out anything that could be considered inappropriate and the more knowledgeable of them customize these filters for their and their friends' kids. Some may have at the back of their mind that some of that could be abused and have a vague idea of how that could be done, but as it doesn't affect their day-by-day lives they do not pay much attention to it. Big computers still exist but they are prohibitively expensive for personal use by the vast majority of people.
- dyingkneepad 7y ago
  While I don't necessarily disagree with your point, in the future my crystal ball shows your desk will not have a supercomputer below it. Most people have fully converted to doing everything through their smartphones. It's been years since my wife had to do anything on a computer outside her work... Besides, those "website applications" generally rely heavily on Javascript, so they are in fact running in your computer (just in a very very inefficient way!). Besides, one can also argue that phones are the supercomputer anyway...
catalogia 7y ago
Plenty of those already exist, the world doesn't need another. If that's the sort of thing you want, why not use something like that instead of moaning about the existence of other things?
dyingkneepad 7y ago
IMHO gamification really enhances the learning experience, so I would argue for things like https://zty.pe/ https://zty.pe/ lol :) (yes, I know, it doesn't teach you how to properly use your fingers on the keyboard)
scbrg 7y ago
apt-get install gtypist Wow, that was so much harder than manually copying the URL from the teacher's Power Point presentation ;-)

Kaze404 7y ago

I used it a while ago when I decided to learn Colemak. It served me well enough, but I never got around to using Colemak full time.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

sigmonsays 7y ago

fun to take the speed tests for a whirl and see you can accurately type 80-90wpm.

clarry 7y ago
One thing I've noticed with speed tests is that the results vary massively with content. Common, easy English words with no punctuation or capitalization? Easily 100 wpm and more. Source code with all the symbols, numbers, and capitalization? Can dip below 50 wpm...
- JoeAcchino 7y ago
  Bottleneck is the brain, English is not my first language and I usually score 10 wpm less than my native language.

dang 7y ago

A thread from 2012: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4967075 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4967075

mnemonicsloth 7y ago

This program should have a special mode for programmers who need to learn the !@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\| keys.

iamsomewalrus 7y ago
Can’t find a reference, but i think it does. I used in the past year for that purpose exactly. Also, checkout typing.io which has lessons based on open source code.
temp_l2kh3h56lk 7y ago
I can recommend this: https://wwwtyro.github.io/keyzen/ https://wwwtyro.github.io/keyzen/
codesections 7y ago
> This program should have a special mode for programmers who need to learn the !@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\| keys. I thought so too, so I wrote one: https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characters/ https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characte... (I submitted it upstream, but the pace of development lately hasn't been all that fast)

wtfrmyinitials 7y ago

Interesting to see this pop up now, I recently finished building an open source command line typing tutor myself! The idea of mine is you pass it an existing text file (plain text, markdown, source code, etc) and it tests your ability to re-create that file. This way you can practice typing in any syntax. https://github.com/wtfaremyinitials/monktype https://github.com/wtfaremyinitials/monktype

butterthebuddha 7y ago
Very cool! I never formally learned to type, and have picked up some bad habits over the years because of that. I found GNU typist and finally decided to learn how to touch type "correctly". I'll definitely supplement GNU typist with your tool for practicing.

eloy 7y ago

I used this tool to learn Dvorak a few years ago... worked pretty well for me :)

1MachineElf 7y ago
I also used this to learn Dvorak, back in 2016.

ginko 7y ago

I used GNU typist when I taught myself touch typing with a Das Keyboard back in the day. One thing I found annoying was that it insisted on two spaces after a period. I found that annoying so I replaces ". " with ". " in all tutorial files.

samatman 7y ago
That's an emacs-ism, it's used for M-a and M-e, go to beginning and end of sentence. I've adopted the convention myself, because of the utility. It isn't typographically sound, but typing is not typography.
- philsnow 7y ago
  > [double spacing between sentences] isn't topographically sound Why not? In speech, pauses between sentences are longer than pauses between words... I've never understood this debate. But then, I'm the kind of guy who will write prose like > He shouted, "Watch out!". ... with duplicated punctuation inside the quotation marks (because they carry meaning and are part of the quotation), so clearly I don't know the MLA or whatever.
  - samatman 7y ago
    It's not typographically sound. That is to say, typographers don't typeset books, newspapers, or magazine with double-spacing after a sentence. It's a style that emerged from typewriting, because it makes it easier to read monospaced text. Which is another reason I do it, I'm usually typing in a mono font even when I'm working on prose. That was my point, actually. Amusingly, the two sentences in the above paragraph have two spaces between them, as do this and the next. But you won't see it, because browsers typeset with one space between sentences.
    - globular-toast 7y ago
      They don't double space, but most will allow more space. You can double space in TeX source but TeX will apply its own spacing rules which, by default, leave more space after a full stop.

codesections 7y ago

I love Gtypist, but wanted it to have a lesson focused on programming keys like !@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\| So I wrote one: https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characters/ https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characte... It builds up to typing out the full code of a (very small) compiler.

xwowsersx 7y ago

I would like to relearn typing and "do it right" this time. I've tried in the past, but end up reverting to my old habits. What can I do? (⊙_◎)

chacha2 7y ago
Try a new keyboard layout to reset your muscle memory, perhaps.
alpaca128 7y ago
The ortholinear layout of my current keyboard forces me to use the right fingers for the right keys - it's actually hard to do it wrong intentionally in some cases. Switching is frustrating in the first couple of days, though. However, in the end I don't know if it really matters that much if you type "correctly" or not unless you have problems with accuracy.
- xwowsersx 7y ago
  I think I over-rely on my right hand and it causes some strain. "Correct" typing feels very comfortable but also very slow right now. Other than that, I think you're right and it doesn't matter.
clarry 7y ago
If the problem is that you're not properly touch typing, consider blank key caps. Or, as others suggested, learn a different layout but keep your physical keycap arrangement so you have no choice but to commit to memory. I learned touch typing at the same time when I learned Dvorak, around 15 years ago or so. I still can't touch type qwerty. If your problem is using the wrong finger sometimes, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But consider a split ergonomic keyboard, which prevents reaching over to the wrong side.
- xwowsersx 7y ago
  Thanks. My goal really is to be able to have my fingers above keys and not have to move around as much as I currently do. I am not accustomed to using the correct fingers so end up doing a lot hand moving and contorting which is inefficient and uncomfortable. I'll try correct typing for a while then revert to my old ways because it's faster for now and have work to do.