Syntax-directed keyboard extension: Evolution and evaluation
Islam Almusaly, Ronald Metoyer, Carlos Jensen · 2017
The syntax-directed keyboard extension presented by Almusaly et al. in 2015 allows programmers to input Java source code with fewer errors and keystrokes compared to the soft QWERTY keyboard and it supports a comparable typing speed. While these results were obtained after only 10 minutes of practice, it is unclear how long term use affects performance. In this paper, we present an updated design for the original syntax-directed keyboard extension, replicate the original results, and evaluate the evolved design with Java programmers over eight sessions in a period of two weeks. Our results indicate that a programmer using the new keyboard extension for two weeks can input Java programs 16.5% faster (words per minute) than an expert QWERTY keyboard typist. In addition, we demonstrate that the efficiency and accuracy for inputting Java source code improves with repeated use over time and that perceived mental, physical, and temporal demands of the keyboard extension decrease over time.