Re: To be or not to be (ordinary keys ~ ^ `)
On 26/05/2008, Luis Fernando Llana Diaz <luis@ramonvazquez.net> wrote:
> But I ussually work with LaTeX, and therefore I use the chars ^ and `
> much more often.
I realise that this is probably not the best solution, but I notice
that so many coding languages are built for usage with a US keyboard
layout, that I often code with the US keyboard layout and switch to
Spanish (international sort, the one with the symbols needed for
Catalan as well) whenever I need to write prose in Spanish or French
(not Catalan, unfortunately). Since my coding is also in English in
order to make it easier to share (aren't you disappointed when code is
commented in a language you don't know?), it all works out with the US
layout.
This seems to be even more true when using Emacs, where many of the
keychords seem to be optimised for the US keyboard layout. I have
honestly tried writing C++ with a Spanish layout, but most of the
necessary symbols are in very uncomfortable keys. When writing LaTeX,
I also use the English layout and type \'acc\^e\~nts l\`ik\"e th\'is.
It seems like a small price to pay to type one extra key before typing
all accents. Every command in LaTeX begins with a backslash anyways,
and I have yet to see a Spanish layout that has a backslash in a
comfortable position for frequent usage. Indeed, most Hispanophone
Windows users I see that need to use a backslash memorise its ASCII
code and type it with Alt+$ASCII_NUMBER combinations.
So my own advice is to get used to the US layout for LaTeX and coding.
Whether that's feasible or not, I'm not sure, but if you touch-type, a
different keyboard configuration seems to be no more difficult than
learning a different language. It seems to involve a similar kind of
switch in your brain.
- Jordi G. H.
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