From Keyboard, Keyboard layout to Input Method and its' scheme

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Knowledge when configuring my keyboard and input method.

Preface

This is merely an amateur article, It doesn’t has enough examples, meanings and the author doesn’t has a systematic knowledge structure. All data cames from Internet and experiment. It can be used to kill time for anyone who is interested in it.

Basic Knowledge

Keyboard

Case

Switch

  • Mechanical switch
  • Capacitive switch
  • Membrane switch

Caps

  • Material
  • Printing
  • Length
  • Height
  • Blank/Side-printed

Miscellaneous

  • Editable Key Layout
  • Lights
  • Connector
  • Powered Method

Keys and layout

Key: from pressed to printed

Physical layout: ISO, ANSI, JIS, KS…

Ctrl? Shift? Alt? AltGr? Meta? Super? Hyper? Fn?

Latin-script layout: QWERTY and its variants

Latin-script layout: others

  • Dvorak

  • Dvorak: One-handed / Programmer

  • Colemak

  • Workman / Norman

East Asian languages

  • Japanese

  • Korean

  • Chinese

Other languages

Input method

Commercial IM

Open-Source IM

Input scheme

Typing in a healthy way

Schemes for Latin script or Cyrillic script

Chinese: based on the structure

Chinese: based on the pronounciation

Japanese/Korean

Evaluation index of a scheme

Why change a layout / method / scheme

Cost

Revenue

A practical example

How to select(customize) a keyboard(and its layout)？

Select a keyboard

Modify a layout(remapping)

Depth of remapping：

Hardware level: change the scan code for physical key
OS level: change the scan code map
Software level: redirect input and output

Windows

*nix

MacOS

Nothing to write cause too poor to buy a mac.

How to select(customize) a IM?

How to select(customize) a input scheme?

Test ref1

Test ref2

Potential Risks

Syncing on differenc OS

Vi/Emacs user or IDE user

References

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