from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
QWERTY
/kwer'tee/, adj.
[from the keycaps at the upper left] Pertaining to a standard
English-language typewriter keyboard (sometimes called the Sholes
keyboard after its inventor), as opposed to Dvorak or non-US-ASCII
layouts or a {space-cadet keyboard} or APL keyboard.
Historical note: The QWERTY layout is a fine example of a {fossil}. It
is sometimes said that it was designed to slow down the typist, but
this is wrong; it was designed to allow faster typing -- under a
constraint now long obsolete. In early typewriters, fast typing using
nearby type-bars jammed the mechanism. So Sholes fiddled the layout to
separate the letters of many common digraphs (he did a far from
perfect job, though; `th', `tr', `ed', and `er', for example, each use
two nearby keys). Also, putting the letters of `typewriter' on one
line allowed it to be typed with particular speed and accuracy for
{demo}s. The jamming problem was essentially solved soon afterward by
a suitable use of springs, but the keyboard layout lives on.
The QWERTY keyboard has also spawned some unhelpful economic myths
about how technical standards get and stay established; see
http://www.reasonmag.com/9606/Fe.QWERTY.html.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
QWERTY
AZERTY
<hardware> /kwer'tee/ (From the top left row of letter keys of
most keyboards) Pertaining to a standard English-language
typewriter keyboard (sometimes called the Sholes keyboard
after its inventor), as opposed to {Dvorak} or
foreign-language layouts (e.g. "keyboard AZERTY" in
french-speaking countries) or a {space-cadet keyboard} or {APL
keyboard}.
The QWERTY layout is a fine example of a {fossil}. It is
sometimes said that it was designed to slow down the typist,
but this is wrong; it was designed to allow *faster* typing -
under a constraint now long obsolete. In early typewriters,
fast typing using nearby type-bars jammed the mechanism. So
Sholes fiddled the layout to separate the letters of many
common digraphs (he did a far from perfect job, though; "th",
"tr", "ed", and "er", for example, each use two nearby keys).
Also, putting the letters of "typewriter" on one line allowed
it to be typed with particular speed and accuracy for {demos}.
The jamming problem was essentially solved soon afterward by a
suitable use of springs, but the keyboard layout lives on.
[{Jargon File}]
(1998-01-15)