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Space-cadet keyboard

Keyboard used on MIT Lisp machines, influential to Emacs

Summary

Keyboard used on MIT Lisp machines, influential to Emacs

Symbolics keyboard]], that retained only the basic layout and the more commonly used function and [[modifier key]]s from the space-cadet keyboard.<ref>{{Cite web

The space-cadet keyboard is a keyboard designed by John L. Kulp in 1978 and used on Lisp machines at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which inspired several still-current jargon terms in the field of computer science and influenced the design of Emacs. It was inspired by the Knight keyboard, which was developed for the Knight TV system, used with MIT's Incompatible Timesharing System.

Description

The space-cadet keyboard is equipped with seven modifier keys: four keys for bucky bits (, , , and ), and three shift keys, called , , and (which is labeled on the front of the key; the top of the keycap is labeled ). had been introduced on the earlier Knight keyboard, while and were introduced by this keyboard.{{Cite book

Many keys have three symbols on them, accessible by means of the shift keys: a letter and a symbol on the top, and a Greek letter on the front. For example, the key has a "G" and an up-arrow ("↑") on the top, and the Greek letter gamma ("") on the front. By pressing this key with one hand while playing an appropriate "chord" with the other hand on the shift keys, the user can get the following results:

Key pressed	Result
	g (lowercase G)
	G (uppercase G)
	γ (lowercase gamma)
	Γ (uppercase gamma)
	↑ (upwards arrow)

Each of these might, in addition, be typed with any combination of the , , , and keys. By combining the modifier keys, it is possible to make This allows the user to type very complicated mathematical text, and also to have thousands of single-character commands at their disposal. Many users were willing to memorise the command meanings of so many characters if it reduced typing time. This attitude shaped the interface of Emacs.{{efn|The way the space-cadet keyboard influenced the design and usage conventions of the Emacs text editor compares with the influence the ADM-3A terminal's keyboard—notably its key feature—had upon the competing vi text editor.{{Cite web

Emacs uses "M-" as the prefix for when describing key presses: the "M-" stands for on the space-cadet keyboard, and when Emacs was ported to PCs, the key was used in place of .

This keyboard includes a key which has limited application support. It also includes four roman numeral keys (, , , and ) which allows for easy interaction with lists of four or fewer choices.

Notes

References

"some ideas about the keyboard design for the LISP machine".
"Re: Pretty-lambdas".
"I know this is another "neckbeard" comment (Love that term), but anyone who ever... | Hacker News".
(1996). "Learning GNU Emacs". O'Reilly.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

computer-keyboard-types lisp-(programming-language)

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