How the keyboard works
The part of the computer that we come into most contact with is probably the piece that we think about the least. But the keyboard is an amazing piece of technology. For instance, did you know that the keyboard on a typical computer system is actually a computer itself?
At its essence, a keyboard is a series of switches connected to a microprocessor that monitors the state of each switch and initiates a specific response to a change in that state.
Types of Keyboards
Keyboards have changed very little in layout since their introduction. In fact, the most common change has simply been the natural evolution of adding more keys that provide additional functionality.
The most common keyboards are:
- 101-key Enhanced keyboard
- 104-key Windows keyboard
- 82-key Apple standard keyboard
- 108-key Apple Extended keyboard
Portable computers such as laptops quite often have custom keyboards that have slightly different key arrangements than a standard keyboard. Also, many system manufacturers add specialty buttons to the standard layout. A typical keyboard has four basic types of keys:
- Typing keys
- Numeric keypad
- Function keys
- Control keys
