Typing in the context of Keyboard (computing)

The romanization of the Russian language (the transliteration of Russian text from the Cyrillic script into the Latin script), aside from its primary use for including Russian names and words in text written in a Latin alphabet, is also essential for computer users to input Russian text who either do not have a keyboard or word processor set up for inputting Cyrillic, or else are not capable of typing rapidly using a native Russian keyboard layout (JCUKEN). In the latter case, they would type using a system of transliteration fitted for their keyboard layout, such as for English QWERTY keyboards, and then use an automated tool to convert the text into Cyrillic.

A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards have been the main input method for computers since the 1970s, supplemented by the computer mouse since the 1980s, and the touchscreen since the 2000s.

Keyboard keys (buttons) typically have a set of characters engraved or printed on them, and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written symbol. However, producing some symbols may require pressing and holding several keys simultaneously or in sequence. While most keys produce characters (letters, numbers or symbols), other keys (such as the escape key) can prompt the computer to execute system commands. In a modern computer, the interpretation of key presses is generally left to the software: the information sent to the computer, the scan code, tells it only which physical key (or keys) was pressed or released.

A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectively against the paper with a type element. Thereby, the machine produces a legible written document composed of ink and paper. By the end of the 19th century, a person who used such a device was also referred to as a typewriter.

The first commercial typewriters were introduced in 1874, but did not become common in offices in the United States until after the mid-1880s. The typewriter quickly became an indispensable tool for practically all writing other than personal handwritten correspondence. It was widely used by professional writers, in offices, in business correspondence in private homes, and by students preparing written assignments.

A headset is a combination of headphone and microphone. Headsets connect over a telephone or to a computer, allowing the user to speak and listen while keeping both hands free. They are commonly used in customer service and technical support centers, where employees can converse with customers while typing information into a computer. They are also common among computer gamers and let them talk with each other and hear others while using their keyboards and mice to play the game.

Keystroke dynamics, keystroke biometrics, typing dynamics, or typing biometrics refer to the collection of biometric information generated by key-press-related events that occur when a user types on a keyboard. Use of patterns in key operation to identify operators predates modern computing, and has been proposed as an authentication alternative to passwords and PIN numbers.

Muscle memory is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition, which has been used synonymously with motor learning. When a movement is repeated over time, the brain creates a long-term muscle memory for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed with little to no conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems. Muscle memory is found in many everyday activities that become automatic and improve with practice, such as riding bikes, driving motor vehicles, playing ball sports, musical instruments, and poker, typing on keyboards, entering PINs, performing martial arts, swimming, dancing, and drawing.

Colemak is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets, designed to make typing English more efficient and comfortable than QWERTY by placing the most frequently used letters of the English language on the home row, while keeping many common keyboard shortcuts the same as in QWERTY. Released on 1 January 2006, it is named after its inventor, Shai Coleman.

All major modern operating systems, including Microsoft Windows (as of Windows 11, version 24H2), macOS, Linux, Android, ChromeOS, and BSD-based operating systems, support Colemak natively. A program to install the layout on older versions of Windows is available. On Android and iOS, the layout is offered by several virtual keyboard apps like GBoard and SwiftKey, as well as by many apps that support physical keyboards directly.

A typographical error (often shortened to typo), also called a misprint, is a spelling or transposition mistake made in the typing of printed or electronic material. Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual typesetting. The term is used of errors caused by mechanical failure or miskeying. Before the arrival of printing, the copyist's mistake or scribal error was the equivalent for manuscripts. Most typos involve simple duplication, omission, transposition, or substitution of a small number of characters.

A business college is a school that provides education above the high school level but could not be compared to that of a traditional university or college. Unlike universities and even junior and community colleges, business colleges typically train the student for a specific vocational aspect, usually clerical tasks such as typing, stenography or simple bookkeeping. Proprietary schools can be traced back as far as 1636 to the puritans of Massachusetts. They served as a trade school for both business and necessary skills, from shipbuilding to sewing.

The first business college founded in the United States is said to have been Nelson Business College in Cincinnati, founded by Richard Nelson in 1856. The goal of a business college is not to provide a thorough education, as is the model of modern universities in the liberal arts fields, but rather to provide training for a very specific task, such as legal terms, marketing, strategy, planning, Human resources, management information systems, finance, or negotiation. Academic credits earned at a business college do not transfer to other colleges or universities and students cannot earn a bachelor's degree, though an associate degree may be offered. Business College's do offer degrees in business administration and management. These are typically offered through a 1-2 year program.

A pangram or holoalphabetic sentence is a sentence using every letter of a given alphabet at least once. Pangrams have been used to display typefaces, test equipment, and develop skills in handwriting, calligraphy, and typing.

Touch typing (also called blind typing, or touch keyboarding) is a style of typing. Although the phrase refers to typing without using the sense of sight to find the keys—specifically, a touch typist will know their location on the keyboard through muscle memory—the term is often used to refer to a specific form of touch typing that involves placing the eight fingers in a horizontal row along the middle of the keyboard (the home row) and having them reach for specific other keys. (Under this usage, typists who do not look at the keyboard but do not use home row either are referred to as hybrid typists.) Both two-handed touch typing and one-handed touch typing are possible.

Frank Edward McGurrin, a court stenographer from Salt Lake City, Utah who taught typing classes, reportedly invented home row touch typing in 1888.On a standard QWERTY keyboard for English speakers the home row keys are: "ASDF" for the left hand and "JKL;" for the right hand. Most modern computer keyboards have a raised dot or bar on the home keys for the index fingers to help touch typists maintain and rediscover the correct positioning of the fingers on the keyboard keys.