
GNU Typist (2017) - butterthebuddha
https://www.gnu.org/software/gtypist/
======
codesections
I love Gtypist, but wanted it to have a lesson focused on programming keys
like !@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\|

So I wrote one:
[https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characte...](https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characters/)

It builds up to typing out the full code of a (very small) compiler.

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ginko
I used GNU typist when I taught myself touch typing with a Das Keyboard back
in the day.

One thing I found annoying was that it insisted on two spaces after a period.
I found that annoying so I replaces ". " with ". " in all tutorial files.

~~~
_TwoFinger
> One thing I found annoying was that it insisted on two spaces after a
> period.

GNU Emacs' manual has a good explanation:

 _The sentence commands assume that you follow the American typist 's
convention of putting two spaces at the end of a sentence. It is useful to
follow this convention, because it allows the Emacs sentence commands to
distinguish between periods that end a sentence and periods that indicate
abbreviations._

~~~
donio
Thankfully this is customizable, like everything else in Emacs

    
    
      (setq sentence-end-double-space nil)

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wtfrmyinitials
Interesting to see this pop up now, I recently finished building an open
source command line typing tutor myself! The idea of mine is you pass it an
existing text file (plain text, markdown, source code, etc) and it tests your
ability to re-create that file. This way you can practice typing in any
syntax.
[https://github.com/wtfaremyinitials/monktype](https://github.com/wtfaremyinitials/monktype)

~~~
butterthebuddha
Very cool!

I never formally learned to type, and have picked up some bad habits over the
years because of that. I found GNU typist and finally decided to learn how to
touch type "correctly".

I'll definitely supplement GNU typist with your tool for practicing.

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xwowsersx
I would like to relearn typing and "do it right" this time. I've tried in the
past, but end up reverting to my old habits. What can I do? (⊙_◎)

~~~
alpaca128
The ortholinear layout of my current keyboard forces me to use the right
fingers for the right keys - it's actually hard to do it wrong intentionally
in some cases. Switching is frustrating in the first couple of days, though.

However, in the end I don't know if it really matters that much if you type
"correctly" or not unless you have problems with accuracy.

~~~
xwowsersx
I think I over-rely on my right hand and it causes some strain. "Correct"
typing feels very comfortable but also very slow right now. Other than that, I
think you're right and it doesn't matter.

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mnemonicsloth
This program should have a special mode for programmers who need to learn the
!@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\| keys.

~~~
codesections
> This program should have a special mode for programmers who need to learn
> the !@#$%^&*()-=[]{}\| keys.

I thought so too, so I wrote one:
[https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characte...](https://github.com/codesections/gtypist_programming_characters/)

(I submitted it upstream, but the pace of development lately hasn't been all
that fast)

------
eloy
I used this tool to learn Dvorak a few years ago... worked pretty well for me
:)

~~~
1MachineElf
I also used this to learn Dvorak, back in 2016.

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dang
A thread from 2012:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4967075](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4967075)

------
Kaze404
I used it a while ago when I decided to learn Colemak. It served me well
enough, but I never got around to using Colemak full time.

------
sigmonsays
fun to take the speed tests for a whirl and see you can accurately type
80-90wpm.

~~~
clarry
One thing I've noticed with speed tests is that the results vary massively
with content. Common, easy English words with no punctuation or
capitalization? Easily 100 wpm and more. Source code with all the symbols,
numbers, and capitalization? Can dip below 50 wpm...

~~~
JoeAcchino
Bottleneck is the brain, English is not my first language and I usually score
10 wpm less than my native language.

------
wbazant
That seems like the kind of program for which it is much better to be
delivered through a website with some Javascript on it. No need to get the
whole classroom to download anything and stuff.

~~~
LeoPanthera
I really dread the future of computing where every application is a website,
and the supercomputer sitting under my desk becomes useless whenever the
internet goes down.

This is an enormous retrograde step. There's no reason for everything to be
running on someone elses computer. Gigaflops are so cheap that I have more of
them in my pocket than could be found in the worlds fastest supercomputers
only a few years ago.

~~~
badsectoracula
Your future is just the regular bleak one, my dark future is the one where
there is no supercomputer under the desk but instead a glorified web terminal
that is meant to run the web apps for the next 2-3 years until support ends
(regardless of computing power) and the terminal doesn't get any more updates
so it cannot run most of the newer stuff (think iPad/Chromebook, except
larger). Obviously nothing works without active internet connection and local
storage is only used for caching - all your data, programs and (of course)
licenses for said programs and media are saved on the cloud.

Everyone can make their own software as long as it exists on said cloud (ie. a
computer owned and controlled by someone else), they are able to access any of
"their" files from anywhere - be it their home, work, their friend/parent's
places, the terminals at the cafe, their mobiles or whatever and work from
anywhere they'd want. Parents love that the terminals of their kids filter out
anything that could be considered inappropriate and the more knowledgeable of
them customize these filters for their and their friends' kids.

Some may have at the back of their mind that some of that could be abused and
have a vague idea of how that could be done, but as it doesn't affect their
day-by-day lives they do not pay much attention to it.

Big computers still exist but they are prohibitively expensive for personal
use by the vast majority of people.

