A computer keyboard is a 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.
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.
^"computer keyboard". TheFreeDictionary.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
^"Keyboard and mouse basics | nidirect". www.nidirect.gov.uk. 4 December 2015. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
^Khalid Saeed (2016). New Directions in Behavioral Biometrics. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1315349312. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
^Microsoft Keyboard Scan Code Specification Archived 9 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine (Appendix C, "USB Keyboard/Keypad Page (0x07)" Archived 9 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine), Microsoft. Revision 1.3a, 2000-03-16, accessed 2018-10-13.
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