Computer keyboard
A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter
keyboard[1][2] 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.
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Typing on a laptop keyboard
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.[3] 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.[4]
In normal usage, the keyboard is used as a text entry interface for typing text, numbers, and
symbols into application software such as a word processor, web browser or social media app.
Touchscreens use virtual keyboards.
History
Typewriters are the definitive ancestor of all key-based text entry devices, but the computer
keyboard as a device for electromechanical data entry and communication largely comes from
the utility of two devices: teleprinters (or teletypes) and keypunches. It was through such devices
that modern computer keyboards inherited their layouts.
As early as the 1870s, teleprinter-like devices were used to simultaneously type and transmit
stock market text data from the keyboard across telegraph lines to stock ticker machines to be
immediately copied and displayed onto ticker tape. The teleprinter, in its more contemporary
form, was developed from 1907 to 1910 by American mechanical engineer Charles Krum and his
son Howard, with early contributions by electrical engineer Frank Pearne. Earlier models were
developed separately by individuals such as Royal Earl House and Frederick G. Creed.
Earlier, Herman Hollerith developed the first keypunch devices, which soon evolved to include
keys for text and number entry akin to normal typewriters by the 1930s.[5]
The keyboard on the teleprinter played a strong role in point-to-point and point-to-multipoint
communication for most of the 20th century, while the keyboard on the keypunch device played a
strong role in data entry and storage for just as long. The development of some of the earliest
computers incorporated electric typewriter keyboards: the development of the ENIAC computer
incorporated a keypunch device as both the input and paper-based output device, and the BINAC
computer made use of an electromechanically controlled typewriter for both data entry onto
magnetic tape (instead of paper) and data output.[6]
The keyboard remained the primary, most integrated computer peripheral well into the era of
personal computing until the introduction of the mouse as a consumer device in 1984. By this
time, text-only user interfaces with sparse graphics gave way to comparatively graphics-rich
icons on screen.[7] However, keyboards remain central to human-computer interaction to the
present though mobile personal computing devices such as smartphones and tablets use a
virtual keyboard.
Types and standards
A wired computer keyboard for
desktop use manufactured by Lenovo
Different types of keyboards are available and each is designed with a focus on specific features
that suit particular needs. Today, most full-size keyboards use one of three different mechanical
layouts, usually referred to as simply ISO (ISO/IEC 9995-2), ANSI (ANSI-INCITS 154-1988), and JIS
(JIS X 6002-1980), referring roughly to the organizations issuing the relevant worldwide, United
States, and Japanese standards, respectively. (In fact, the mechanical layouts referred such as
"ISO" and "ANSI" comply to the primary recommendations in the named standards, while each of
these standards in fact also allows the other way.) ANSI standard alphanumeric keyboards have
keys that are on three-quarter inch centers (0.75 inches (19 mm)), and have a key travel of at
least 0.15 inches (3.8 mm).
