{"id":242,"date":"2021-04-22T05:35:31","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T05:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/?page_id=242"},"modified":"2022-01-25T05:37:54","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T05:37:54","slug":"how-do-keyboards-work","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/how-do-keyboards-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How do keyboards work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"responsive-tabs\">\n<h2 class=\"tabtitle\">Tutorial Video<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tabcontent\">\n\n<h3>Tutorial Video<\/h3>\n<div class=\"nv-iframe-embed\">\n<div class=\"container-lazyload preview-lazyload container-youtube js-lazyload--not-loaded\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ewE8b7zzej0\" class=\"lazy-load-youtube preview-lazyload preview-youtube\" data-video-title=\"What Happens When I Press a Key? - Computerphile\" title=\"Play video &quot;What Happens When I Press a Key? - Computerphile&quot;\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ewE8b7zzej0<\/a><noscript>Video can&#8217;t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ewE8b7zzej0\" title=\"What Happens When I Press a Key? - Computerphile\">What Happens When I Press a Key? &#8211; Computerphile (https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ewE8b7zzej0)<\/a><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<\/div><h2 class=\"tabtitle\">How do keyboards work?<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tabcontent\">\n\n<h3>How do keyboards work?<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Step 1 &#8211; The user presses a key on the keyboard<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_251\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Flexible_keyboard_interior.JPG\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-251\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-251\" src=\"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/keyboard-interior-circuit-igcse-cs-300x217.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/keyboard-interior-circuit-igcse-cs-300x217.png 300w, https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/keyboard-interior-circuit-igcse-cs-768x554.png 768w, https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/keyboard-interior-circuit-igcse-cs-1024x739.png 1024w, https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/keyboard-interior-circuit-igcse-cs.png 1553w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-251\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The flexible circuit inside of a keyboard. Click Image for source<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The carbon pad on the base of the key hits the circuit board, completing the circuit<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 2 &#8211; The keyboard detects a keypress<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The microcontroller in the keyboard detects which key that has been pressed by sending electrical pulses through the circuits running under the base of each key.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 3 &#8211; The keyboard sends the scan code to the computer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The microcontroller sends an <em>interrupt signal<\/em> via a USB serial connection (or Bluetooth) to the computer, informing the processer that a key has been pressed together with the scan code of the key(s) that was pressed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 4 &#8211; The scan code is converted to the letter\/number that was pressed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The operating system converts the scan code into the binary code for letter \/ symbol that was pressed, depending on the keyboard language\u00a0 installed on the operating system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 5 &#8211; The letter is passed to the software<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The operating system passes data onto the software to be handled as required (for example displaying a letter on screen or turning a player&#8217;s character in a game)<\/p>\n\n<\/div><h2 class=\"tabtitle\">Pros &amp; Cons<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tabcontent\">\n\n<p><strong>Advantages of keyboards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Great general purpose devices<\/li>\n<li>Very high speed of text input &#8211; up to 60-80 words per minute for a professional typist<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Disadvantages of keyboards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Not great for dirty or wet environments<\/li>\n<li>Not the best input device where input requirements are limited (e.g.\u00a0 restaurant ordering screen).<\/li>\n<li>Physical keyboards can be subject to keylogging attacks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Alternative to Physical Keyboards<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Concept Keyboards<\/li>\n<li>Touch Screen Interfaces \/ keyboards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div><h2 class=\"tabtitle\">Concept Keyboard<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tabcontent\">\n\n<h3>Concept Keyboards<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_248\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Concept_Keyboard_A4-128_Keyboard_(top).jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-248\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-248 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/convept-keyboard-300x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/convept-keyboard-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/convept-keyboard.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-248\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Wikipedia &#8211; click for link<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A concept keyboard is similar to a normal keyboard except the the keys do not have any letters on them. The keyboard requires an overlay to be fitted on top of the keyboard to indicate the functionality when pressing the key.<\/p>\n<p>In a restaurant you might have each item for sale on a separate key, together with buttons for total, change, cancel order etc.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Advantages<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once a server has become familiar with the layout of the keyboard it makes the ordering process very efficient, even for those with limited ICT experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Disadvantages<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The keyboards are more expensive to buy than normal keyboards<\/p>\n<p>If a change of use is required (new items are sold) then you will need to replace the overlay.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><h2 class=\"tabtitle\">Resources<\/h2>\n<div class=\"tabcontent\">\n\n<h3>Resources<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Exam Past Paper Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pastpapers.papacambridge.com\/viewer\/caie\/cambridge-upper-secondary-igcse-computer-science-0478-2016-nov-0478-w16-qp-11-pdf\">0478\/11 &#8211; Paper 1 Theory October\/November 2016 4a\/b (Concept keyboard)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tutorial Video https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ewE8b7zzej0Video can&#8217;t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: What Happens When I Press a Key? &#8211; Computerphile (https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ewE8b7zzej0) &nbsp; How do keyboards work? Step 1 &#8211; The user presses a key on the keyboard The carbon pad on the base of the key hits the circuit board, completing the circuit Step 2 &#8211;&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/how-do-keyboards-work\/\" class=\"\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How do keyboards work?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"on","neve_meta_content_width":77,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How do keyboards work? | IGCSE Computer Science | Learnlearn.uk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/how-do-keyboards-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do keyboards work? | IGCSE Computer Science | Learnlearn.uk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tutorial Video https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ewE8b7zzej0Video can&#8217;t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: What Happens When I Press a Key? &#8211; Computerphile (https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ewE8b7zzej0) &nbsp; How do keyboards work? 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Step 1 &#8211; The user presses a key on the keyboard The carbon pad on the base of the key hits the circuit board, completing the circuit Step 2 &#8211;&hellip;&nbsp;Read&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/242"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":695,"href":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/242\/revisions\/695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnlearn.uk\/igcsecs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}