Re: programmer's keyboard

From	BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups	comp.programming
Subject	Re: programmer's keyboard
Date	2012-12-26 21:12 -0600
Organization	albasani.net
Message-ID	<kbgefv$eqi$1@news.albasani.net> (permalink)
References	<150e1c64-726a-43cc-82f9-a52c81a2e8ce@googlegroups.com> <o0omd8184k13mdl5j9d2pn0eta2a112hik@4ax.com> <N5KCs.693987$nB6.448936@fx21.am4>

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On 12/26/2012 3:36 PM, BartC wrote:
 >
 >
 > "Robert Wessel" <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> wrote in message
 > news:o0omd8184k13mdl5j9d2pn0eta2a112hik@4ax.com...
 >> On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 11:45:02 -0800 (PST), bob <bob@coolfone.comze.com>
 >> wrote:
 >>
 >>> Wouldn't it be nice if there was an official programmer's keyboard?  So
 >>> you don't
 >>> have to hit shift for curly braces or parentheses?  And ampersands,
 >>> asterisks,
 >>> and plus signs.  And quotes.  Have you guys seen anything like this?
 >
 > You could switch languages. Some have a lot less of this stuff. Or use
 > programmable function keys or something. But I would find a keyboard with
 > keys so that each symbol has a dedicated key, probably more difficult to
 > use
 > than a regular one. And when you switch computers or use a laptop then
 > you'll be lost without that customised keyboard!
 >

I saw a show that did something to look sci-fi...
it took 3 black keyboards, and used black duct-tape to combine them 
(end-to-end) into a much bigger keyboard...

character then did keyboard actions like they were operating a piano.

funny would be if this could be followed by a person then using 2 mice 
at the same time:
2 mice for twice the point-and-click action.

well, never-mind using normal computer parts for props, and then using 
some big sci-fi looking thing, for what should have been a normal 
computer part... (in a post-apocalyptic setting, and someone asks for a 
hard drive, wouldn't it make sense to give them, well, a hard-drive...).

it is like, in a modern setting:
"hey man, I need to borrow your cell-phone", person is then handed a 
CB-radio with an analog-phone handset glued on, some blinking lights, 
and a "rabbit ears" TV antenna...

 >> OTOH, if your typing is so bad that your programming is actually being
 >> slowed down by it (after all, the time required to type text in a
 >> program is usually going to be quite small relative to the amount of
 >> time taken to develop the program overall), learning to type would be
 >> a better investment.
 >
 > If your programming style is by trial and error, eg. with a rapid
 > development language, then languages that need a lot of fussy punctuation
 > can really slow you down. Also annoying are case-sensitive languages 
where
 > names have to be just right, so hbrBackground rather than 
hbrBackGround or
 > HBRbackground.
 >
 > You shouldn't need to cross all the Ts and dot all the Is for a piece of
 > code that might be replaced by something else a few minutes later.
 >

granted, but it is usually a tradeoff:
less punctuation often means more keywords.

typically, for quickly typing things, punctuation is better than keywords.

granted, dunno about others, but typing code often involves having a 
finger semi-permanently within reach of SHIFT, typically with all the 
other fingers doing a keyboard dance to hit all the other characters.

it comes as a mystery if it would almost make sense to have shift as a 
sort of toggle (sort of like caps-lock but differently placed and 
"actually useful", in that it would behave more like a normal shift).

also maybe several additional keys which could be "similar" to the CTRL 
or ALT keys, mostly for sake of expanding the range of 
application-usable keyboard shortcuts. say, ALT2/ALT3, which could 
(functionally) take the place of the Windows and Menu keys, which are 
as-is pretty much useless, and would probably make more sense as modifiers.

as-is, the Windows key is basically something one hits accidentally and 
which breaks the flow of using another app by the start-menu popping up, 
whereas if it were a modifier (with no action on its own, and usable 
from apps), maybe it could actually be more useful for stuff...

or such...

Thread

programmer's keyboard bob <bob@coolfone.comze.com> - 2012-12-26 11:45 -0800
  Re: programmer's keyboard Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2012-12-26 15:01 -0600
    Re: programmer's keyboard "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-26 21:36 +0000
      Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-26 21:12 -0600
      Re: programmer's keyboard Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2012-12-27 23:45 -0600
        Re: programmer's keyboard "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-28 13:46 +0000
          Re: programmer's keyboard Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-29 11:42 +1300
          Re: programmer's keyboard "Chris Uppal" <chris.uppal@metagnostic.REMOVE-THIS.org> - 2012-12-29 15:15 +0000
            Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-29 14:41 -0600
              Re: programmer's keyboard "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-29 21:10 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-29 15:26 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-29 22:41 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 02:12 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-30 11:20 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com - 2012-12-30 10:19 -0800
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 14:51 -0600
              Re: programmer's keyboard Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 10:43 +1300
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 01:55 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 21:06 +1300
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 02:35 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2012-12-30 18:12 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 13:30 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-31 09:36 +1300
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 17:27 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-31 13:00 +1300
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-31 03:13 -0600
                version control (was: Re: programmer's keyboard) rugxulo@gmail.com - 2012-12-31 10:36 -0800
                Re: programmer's keyboard Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2013-01-01 09:05 +1300
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-31 16:58 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2013-01-01 13:24 +1300
                Re: programmer's keyboard Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2013-01-02 12:23 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2013-01-02 14:34 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2013-01-02 15:35 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2013-01-03 13:19 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Willem <willem@turtle.stack.nl> - 2013-01-03 08:35 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2013-01-03 13:46 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard rugxulo@gmail.com - 2013-01-03 00:52 -0800
                Re: programmer's keyboard Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2013-01-03 15:00 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2013-01-02 11:58 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2013-01-02 15:03 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard rugxulo@gmail.com - 2013-01-03 00:54 -0800
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2013-01-03 13:06 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2012-12-30 18:04 +0000
                Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-30 14:24 -0600
                Re: programmer's keyboard Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2013-01-02 11:34 +0000
          Writing Experimental Code "Aaron W. Hsu" <arcfide@sacrideo.us> - 2013-01-02 15:08 -0600
  Re: programmer's keyboard Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2012-12-28 11:45 +0000
    Re: programmer's keyboard BGB <cr88192@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-28 12:29 -0600

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