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GNU Typist

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I wish I had time to re-do the original (cyan) Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. The things I loved about it were:

* error analysis (ie: transposition errors, substitution errors, etc).

* finger-by-finger analysis

* lessons tailored to target speed

* metronome / rhytmic typing

It did a fantastic job of really analyzing and focusing on trouble spots, and it did it back in 1982 or whatever. I think there's a gap / opening for this sort of typing analysis backend that could be plugged in to some different frontends.

in: Source Text + User Keystrokes + Microtimestamps

out: "analysis" + recommendations for future lessons / word lists.

There's so much cool algorithmic stuff you can do with an "analysis + dictionary + markov chain lesson generation".

You really suck at xyz? Why let me generate an infinite pile of semi-nonsense that is either word or letter-pair based and tests you on that portion.

I used this program to reteach myself touch typing a few years ago.

What I found annoying was the course's insistence on having to type two spaces after the end of a sentence. This was a practice I've never heard of before that and seemed to be pretty pointless with modern typeset software.

That's why I used sed to modify the tutorial files to only use one space after a period.

That's a bad bug and the default should be changed. In publishing production environments based on word-processing software, the default now is always to have just one space after each period in a manuscript.

(Yeah, I learned to type under the old rule, but I am OLD, and no one learning to type now should type more than one space after a period ending a sentence.)

I'm 21 and learned using the two spaces method. I still do it instinctively, I've been trying to unlearn the behaviour though.

I have no idea why you were downvoted.

Some editors prevent you from adding two spaces.

(https://www.fnal.gov/docs/products/lyx/Tutorial.tex.html)

It's something I still do. I can't break the habit.

32 here and I learned the two space rule. Still haven't broken the habit. Thankfully on iOS if you hit space twice quickly it inserts a period and one space.

20 year old here who learned the two space rule in elementary. However, they didn't teach us how to properly type until high school, so all (or most) the bad habits I learned beforehand, including the two space rule, went out the door as a result.

To my mind the two-space rule still applies when you are writing text to be displayed in a mono-space font. Otherwise, one space, yes. This unfortunately means you need different habits for the two environments, unless the software compensates somehow.

Personally, I think the two space rule is simply bad. Writing text "to be displayed in a mono-space font" confuses content with presentation.

If you're designing a system that will be displaying things in a monospace font, making it automatically add additional spacing may be reasonable but that is itself an application of the rule! If you're using an existing system (or, say, laying out a poster in a monospace font), then the notion that "you should ignore the rule because to do otherwise would be confusing content with presentation" is a confusion of another kind.

One place I'm a bit torn is comments in code, but I think I come down on the side that says "my editor shouldn't be trying to guess which comments are simply paragraphs of text and which may have things I'm trying to line up - monospace should work like monospace" and in this case you should be adding two spaces for clarity.

It was standard practice for typing on a typewriter which wasn't proportionally spaced. For some of us, especially when using monospace fonts (e.g.: in a terminal or text editor) text still looks wrong when a sentence-ending period, or a colon, aren't followed by two spaces. Contextually, it's a useful indicator to distinguish between an abberviation followed by a capital letter, vs. the proper end of a sentence. This isn't usually a problem, though it can be. Much as the Oxford comma isn't desperately needed until it is.

So I asked the Dr. Parent should we conduct the confirming test?

Incidentally, that's how emacs recognize sentences by default:

http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Sen...

But I always set sentence-end-double-space to nil.

Vi traditionally has the same behavior, vim recognises one space but in some vi compatible modes requires two.

I've always heard that monospace characters were the reason for two spaces after a period , but I don't understand that reasoning. To me, a monospaced font would especially require only one space, because the period is already using a lot of space on its own. Wouldn't having a period followed by two spaces–in a fixed-width font–be even more whitespace than in a proportional font?

Neither "So I asked the Doctor Parent should we conduct the confirming test?" nor "So I asked the Doctor. Parent should we conduct the confirming test?" are gramatical in the first place, and there are much better ways of clarifying what is intended than single or double space after the period. Having said that, I have no doubt that an example where both options are gramatical - and possibly even plausible! - could be found.

It was the best I could come up with at the time. Most certainly not an ideal example.

I think good-ol' vi follows this convention to split sentences, which can then be skipped using parentheses. vim modernized this.

I was taught this way and I happen to be rather young (19). I find that most of my classmates were never taught this rule, and they usually think it's some sort of error when proofreading my writing. It reminds me of the "don't button the bottom button on a suit" story.

There's a startup option (-w for word processor mode [1]) that changes this behaviour (as well as enabling word wrap). It's a big improvement, but not quite perfect IIRC.

[1] http://www.gnu.org/software/gtypist/doc/#Invoking

GNU Emacs supports sentence skip only if there are two spaces after the period. Its not surprising that another GNU product would reinforce this behavior. Ya, its also an old publishing practice, but at least LaTex will ignore it.

You should be able to customize that by setting 'sentence-end-double-space' to nil.

I'm not a heavy emacs user, but my adviser was (and he wanted the two spaces for his benefit).

These days I put my sentences on separate lines anyways, which works out well for LaTeX and RCS.

I still prefer to use two spaces after a period.

(Genuinely asking) Are modern typesetting software applications able to tell when a dot is really an end-of-sentence marker and when it is not? I know this is not too hard but getting it right everytime is.

Based on my experience writing this Ruby library (https://github.com/SlyShy/Tactful_Tokenizer/) it's a somewhat difficult challenge. Most programs don't bother doing it accurately, as a naive solution will get you 80% of the way there. Of course, if you actually care about sentences (like I do), that's unacceptable.

That is why good typing tests, online or not, do allow for either one or two spaces after the end of a sentence. There are a lot of people used to just one, just are there a lot of people used to two.

> on having to type two spaces after the end of a sentence.

Sounds like Markdown.

As the founder AND developer behind two of the largest (maybe they are the largest) free typing tutors on the net (http://www.typingweb.com and http://www.nitrotype.com) I wanted to point out that there are more enjoyable ways to learn to type now :)

And I built Nitro Type's real time game engine in Node, which I learned about as an avid HN reader. Anyways happy holidays everyone.

How do you define more enjoyable? Have you even tried GNU typist?

Since both of your links are web services, they are not even comparable to GNU typist, which one can run on ones own computer.

Are the webservice accessible when on a bus without internet connectivity? Is it modifiable so one can customize it fit each personal need and requirements? Is it discoverable for a school to certify that the program is teaching correctly? Can it be certified, under legal liability, as to be safe?

On all of those, neither of the web services can say Yes on those questions. This is a fact when dealing with webservices. On other hand, GNU Typist can be run even when one is without internet connectivity. It can be customized to fit the exact need of a pupil. It can be verified to teach correctly, and can be certified under legal liability to be safe. It can also be verifiable shown as not storing any logs on who is using the tool.

I downvoted you.

All the OP really said was

> I wanted to point out that there are more enjoyable ways to learn to type now :)

But you went off on a rant about using it offline and customization and certification and "facts" about web services.

Chill!

I did go a bit over the top there, and to that Im sorry. My tone was unfriendly and below the expected standards for comments.

The OP presented the two webservices as replacement tutor software. Even if one is only showcasing a replacement as "more fun", other aspects of the software still matters. If the only aspect one cares about is how fun the software is, there are plenty of games with no tutoring features at all but which has plenty of funness. Thus a replacement tutor software need to be viewed with all its aspects in mind, including customization and always online requirements. Thus while funness is an important factor when selecting which tutor software to use in education, I in my somewhat humble opinion, consider customization as a vast more important feature.

Since GNU is an executable program, it is not even comparable to web services, which one can run on any computer with a web browser.

Is GNU typist accessible when on a computer where I cannot install or compile software? Does it work on every computer with a web browser?

On all of those, GNU typist cannot say Yes. This is a fact when dealing with GNU software. On other hand, a web service can be run even when one only has a browser. It can be run on a friend's computer or in an internet café etc.

Have a downvote, sir.

The online/offline availability of a program has very little to do with its enjoyability. The OP did not claim to support any of your use cases, hence the aggressive tone of your comment is out of place.

Kudos. I had fun with your site, made an account and intend to return for more races. I hope this leads to something for you.

Why is it that GNU Project pages so rarely have screen shots?

Here are a few images of GNU Typist in action:

http://imgur.com/a/ahjuo

"asdf lkj;" brings back memories of the tutorial I used to learn how to type with, on an actual typewriter.

They may have avoided screenshots because the software isn't quite a looker.

I've avoided learning touch typing because a few people I know who learned it early have RSIs now. I know my sample size is low and I have no scientific evidence, but the concern has been just enough to keep me from pursuing it over the years.

Most of the damage I did to my wrist was through hunt and peck. You have to think about ergonomics and treat your wrists right, touch or not.

I've been changing my typing style ever since I was 16 and I really haven't fond one I've particularly liked(19 now).

I've gone from two fingers, to five(asdf gjhk) to (asdf hjkl). Changing is a painful process as I have to retrain my entire brain to have different fingers touch different keys. This starts up a slow process, then eventually I get to the same speed that I used to with the other method and in some cases surpass the quickness.

What this is suggesting is that your fingers should be on the home keys (asdf hkl;), noting the pointer is on h and not j.

Is that the typical/best way of typing or just some preference some people have? Seeing as I can't seem to pass 80wpm with what ever method I try and follow(Haven't tried the suggesting method yet).

Also what home keys do you have your fingers on, how long have you been doing it and what's your average WPM?

I just discovered this program and immediately installed and tried it out. I do not like the fact that backspace seems not to work correctly after when mistyping a letter. It is strange as well having 2 spaces at the end of phrases. I would like a nice typing tutor program for the Unix console.

Some months ago I discovered the program "Klavaro". It exists for Linux and Windows (and maybe others). I quite like its behavior when typing the text, including handling typing errors.

Update: I just discovered, that I judged too quickly. The behavior seems to depend on lessons. For example in Lesson V19/3 there is text that you just overwrite. And when making errors you can come back with the backspace.

The speed tests don't require correcting mistakes by backspacing like the accuracy ones.

I like Klavaro, but it has a couple of annoying bugs. One is the text entry box doesn't actually follow quite what you are typing.

These "features" clearly spell out the author's priorities:

- free software

- multiple languages and keyboard layouts

- interpreted language for lessons

There is no mention of teaching methods, kid-friendliness, or any other feature that one would use to compare against Mavis Beacon.

I never spent specific time learning typing. I learned typing almost instinctively while working at the call center. Well I didn't even realize I had learned typing, it was the same feeling while I was learning to ride the bicycle. One fine day I just realized I was riding the bicycle. It was like a 'aha' moment.

I think it what led to learning type(and type quickly) was the call centers quick back to back calls. I had to take notes, solve problems and sometime ship products to some address. It was not possible to do all that unless you learned to type quickly. It just happened one fine day I was just typing, and I realized I was doing that without looking at the keyboard.

It has helped me greatly as a programmer as I don't have to constantly shift my attention to looking at the keyboard every 5 seconds. I can type code at the speed of thought, simply as though my fingers are just dancing on the keyboards like an expert pianist would play at a symphony.

Sometimes the best thing that can happen to you is to be in a tough situation. You will(find a way to) learn things, and you will just make it happen.

Just got this from macports ("port install gtypist") and I really struggled with it using the HOME position. I can type about 105-110 WPM (typeracer.com) but I don't use the HOME position like gtypist wants you to. My default finger position is:

Left hand: sdfv Right hand: njkl

Anyone else?

Reading this reminded me I can `brew install gtypist` rather than piss about with make. Thank you.

Where did you learn to type like that?

I type like that, I was a self-taught typer.

It's more comfortable that way. The HOME position causes my wrists to be running parallel to each other unless I stretch my pointer finger. With the position I use all my fingers are comfortably curved. But to answer your question I was not formally taught to type -- I assume most people aren't formally taught to type. You just do it more and more and more until you have no need to get any faster.

I learned typing using Sierra's Spooky typing [1]

Pretty great for the time.

[1] http://www.sierrachest.com/index.php?a=g&id=429&fld=...

Seems neat, I'd love to try it out.

Am I the only one having a tough time installing this on osx though? No fink package available for osx >10.6. Installing from sources complains about ncursesw lib missing.

I love this program, I and I've been using it very heavily for years.

Why is this being submitted now? This is not recent.

The guidelines say that good posts are: "Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity."

Don't see anything there about things having to be "recent."

Hacker News.

News is defined as either newly received or noteworthy.

Or, as I see more often, "The last posting finally timed out, so I can re-post this one to try and whore some more karma"

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