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0 pointsbuildsjets1y ago0 comments

QWERTY was invented to make input slower on mechanical devices and prevent the mechanical equivalent of a buffer overflow.

0 comments

gschizas1y ago

That's mostly a myth.

I've seen a YouTube video in the last couple of years that explained the true origins of the QWERTY keyboard. Originally, the keyboard was alphabetical and arranged two rows, based on a piano keyboard, the black keys went A-N left to right, and the white keys went O-Z, right to left. Then it got shortened in width and the letters got folded over (this is why at the right edge of the middle row you have HJKL and the bottom row has MN reversed as NM).

I'm not 100% sure this was the video I saw, but it has some of the points: https://youtu.be/c8f6us-Sjlo

brontitall1y ago

This was posted a few days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43381088

gschizas1y ago

Thanks - I wish I could find the video I watched. I think it had the information in that article, but in a more digestible format.

ForTheKidz1y ago

> QWERTY was invented to make input slower on mechanical devices and prevent the mechanical equivalent of a buffer overflow.

This is sort of like saying a c compiler is there to stop you from dereferencing null pointers

lproven1y ago

> This is sort of like saying a c compiler is there to stop you from dereferencing null pointers

I like it! How else could we describe it?

C compilers exist to prevent developers from writing reliable code.

C compilers caught on because they allow geeks to act macho to other geeks.

C compilers exist because programmers on 32-bit systems were nostalgic for the DEC PDP-11.

C compilers exist because the industry worked out that fast code was way more lucrative than reliable code.

Anyone got more?

esoterae1y ago

I always thought of it as more of a race condition.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

gschizas1y ago

That's mostly a myth.

I'm not 100% sure this was the video I saw, but it has some of the points: https://youtu.be/c8f6us-Sjlo

brontitall1y ago

This was posted a few days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43381088

gschizas1y ago

Thanks - I wish I could find the video I watched. I think it had the information in that article, but in a more digestible format.

ForTheKidz1y ago

> QWERTY was invented to make input slower on mechanical devices and prevent the mechanical equivalent of a buffer overflow.

This is sort of like saying a c compiler is there to stop you from dereferencing null pointers

lproven1y ago

> This is sort of like saying a c compiler is there to stop you from dereferencing null pointers

I like it! How else could we describe it?

C compilers exist to prevent developers from writing reliable code.

C compilers caught on because they allow geeks to act macho to other geeks.

C compilers exist because programmers on 32-bit systems were nostalgic for the DEC PDP-11.

C compilers exist because the industry worked out that fast code was way more lucrative than reliable code.

Anyone got more?

esoterae1y ago

I always thought of it as more of a race condition.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse