Touch Typing for a Developer?

The Whinger asks: "I've been programming in various forms for about 20 years now, and I still can't type. I keep thinking, "I must learn to touch type". Unfortunately, two finger typing, 'touch typing tutorial' into your search engine of choice throws back a minefield of hits. Of course, picking something to try does not guarantee success. Does touch typing help with programming? Do you know of any tutorials that you would recommend or avoid? I can't spend the next forty years two finger typing ;)."

One thing you could try

[Henry V .009]

When I was a little kid I used "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing" on my Commodore 128. You should be able to master the letters in a couple of hours. After that comes the other symbols and finally comes speed. Without putting any special work into it since I was 7, I type at about 60 words per minute now.

gtypist, tuxtype

[LarryRiedel]

I feel pretty good recommending gtypist [gnu.org] for the tty, and tuxtype [sourceforge.net] for the GUI.

I think the ability to have words come out as effortlessly via typing as via speaking is invaluable.

apt-get install tuxtype

apt-get install gtypist

Larry

Re:One thing you could try

[moosesocks]

Yep. This annoying computerized woman will still teach you how to type, and the software has been kept up to date and should work on all modern Wintel PCs. You can get it here [broderbund.com]

And yes, Mavis is fictional [google.com]

Anyhow, I learned how to type through this program, and the help of an excellent teacher (the human variety)

Re:One thing you could try

[MBCook]

I've used Mavis and it's good, but I really learned on Mario Teaches Typing. There is a little page on it here [mobygames.com], but I can't find a screenshot. I probably still have the disks somewhere.

That said, I think that learning to type will definatly help you.

How I learned how to touch type

[Sevn]

For me it was just getting my head around it. It's logical.

You have ten fingers at your disposal. I used no typing tutors or books or classes.

First, get your pointer fingers on the home keys. F, and J. You'll notice those keys have raised bumps, nubs, or generally feel different than every other key in some way. Line up the rest of your fingers on the keys next to them. Pinkys on A and ":". Rest of your fingers on the keys in between. You'll have a G and H staring back at you.

Next, get a piece of paper. Look at the keys around those "home position" keys. Figure out what keys out of the keys that are left are closest to each finger. Obviously, you'll hit G with your left pointer finger and H with your right pointer finger. Y and U with your right pointer finger and so on. There is an optimal finger for each key starting from that home position. Your pinkies end up hitting lots of keys.

Once you figure out what keys go with what finger,
Start out slow, cheating by looking and type out:

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy red dog.

Do it again and again and again and again. At some point you'll stop looking.

After that, concentrate on making a letter appear on the screen at random. Try to hit the A without having to look. If you can't, look. Then do it again without looking. Eventually you'll be able to type like you would on a typewriter without having to look for keys. Slowly work in the rest of the keys.

Pitfalls to avoid:

Get used to using the opposite hand to hit the SHIFT key for the other hand.

Learn to use the number keys above your letters instead of the crutch that is the number pad. You'll be much faster if you don't have to move your hands from the home position to hit numbers.

Take your time and don't get discouraged. Every little victory in the form of memorizing where a new letter is without having to look keeps you going.

I'm doing about 90wpm now. A lot of that has to do with spending 10 years on IRC before finally walking away for good. IRC is a great way to get really fast at touch typing.

This is how I did it.

Get "Typing of the Dead." Seriously.

[Gothic_Walrus]

One of the best typing tutors I've ever used is "Typing of the Dead," which you can find for both the PC and the Dreamcast. The game began as "House of the Dead 2," and Sega modified the graphics slightly (all of the characters have keyboards strapped onto their torsos...) and the method of attack. Now, you use your keyboard to kill zombies instead of a light gun.

This program is effective because it's fun. It has a (somewhat pathetic) tutorial mode, and the first level or so in the game is easy. It gets hard very quickly, though. If you want to continue playing, you've got to learn how to touch type, and do it quickly - if you can't type quickly, you're toast. And there's something gratifying about watching the zombies explode into green piles of goo...

If you can find the game (should be less than $20), get it. You won't regret it.

Focus on home keys.

[Fished]

There are two basic elements of touch typing. One is to learn where all the keys are - you already have this. The second is to learn to use all your fingers to type - this you lack. Just spend a few days typing, consciously focusing on keeping your pointer fingers on f & j, and you will pretty soon be touch typing.

Re:Hundreds?

[Henry V .009]

Anything above 100 wpm would put you in about the top 2/10ths of 1% of typists. Take this test and tell us how you do. [typingtest.com]

On the other hand...

[clambake]

Rapid touch typing like you are thinking can be a cause of carpel tunnel... So, if you have a choice between touch typing or cronic hand pain for the next 40 years, which one is it going to be?

Re:One thing you could try

[higuy48]

Forget Mavis Beacon, how about either "Mario Teaches Typing [mobygames.com]" (which is how I learned to touch type, and is probably available somewhere for download by now) or the new breed, "Typing of the Dead [empireinteractive.com]" which is basically "House of the Dead" but instead of guns, you use a keyboard weapon. It's true.