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Dvorak Simplified Keyboard vs Norman

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When comparing Dvorak Simplified Keyboard vs Norman, the Slant community recommends Dvorak Simplified Keyboard for most people. In the question“What are the best keyboard layouts for programming?” Dvorak Simplified Keyboard is ranked 6th while Norman is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Dvorak Simplified Keyboard is:

Designed with comfort in mind.

Specs

Bottom Row Key Freq.7.3%

Consecutive Same-Hand Keystrokes (L/R)36.7%/63.3%

Home Row Key Freq.56.0%

Left Index Finger Travel26.8%

Left Index Finger Usage12.8%

Left Little Finger Travel0.7%

Left Little Finger Usage6.4%

Left Middle Finger Travel0.4%

Left Middle Finger Usage11.5%

Left Ring Finger Travel0.3%

Left Ring Finger Usage6.1%

Right Index Finger Travel30.1%

Right Index Finger Usage13.8%

Right Little Finger Travel10.7%

Right Little Finger Usage9.9%

Right Middle Finger Travel12.1%

Right Middle Finger Usage11.2%

Right Ring Finger Travel18.8%

Right Ring Finger Usage13.0%

Spacebar Row Key Freq.15.3%

Thumb Usage15.3%

Top Row Key Freq.21.4%

Bottom Row Key Freq.10.3%

Consecutive Same-Hand Keystrokes (L/R)54.3%/45.7%

Home Row Key Freq.53.7%

Left Index Finger Travel20.6%

Left Index Finger Usage13.1%

Left Little Finger Travel0.8%

Left Little Finger Usage6.4%

Left Middle Finger Travel19.6%

Left Middle Finger Usage18.2%

Left Ring Finger Travel4.6%

Left Ring Finger Usage7.1%

Right Index Finger Travel25.2%

Right Index Finger Usage14.8%

Right Little Finger Travel0.7%

Right Little Finger Usage3.0%

Right Middle Finger Travel17.2%

Right Middle Finger Usage11.8%

Right Ring Finger Travel11.2%

Right Ring Finger Usage10.4%

Spacebar Row Key Freq.15.3%

Thumb Usage15.3%

Top Row Key Freq.20.8%

Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking

Common Questions

What are the best keyboard layouts for programming?

Dvorak Simplified Keyboard

Norman

Pros

Pro
More ergonomic

Designed with comfort in mind.

Pro
Standard on all operating systems

You can find this layout on all operating systems.

Pro
Opportunity to learn proper touch typing

Most people passively learn and use QWERTY-based layouts before switching to Dvorak. The switch gives them an opportunity to completely relearn 10-finger typing, which is where a significant portion of the speedup comes from. Coupled with more ergonomic key placement, this makes for a more enjoyable typing experience.

Pro
Useful keys in home row

70% of more useful keys are placed in the home row.

Pro
You can reuse qwerty layout

Since letters and symbols only change place, but not key, you can change the keys on your keyboard and get a full comfortable Dvorak layout, without having to buy a new keyboard.

Pro
Vowels all on one hand making it easy to teach to kids

Pro
Uses the same fingers as QWERTY for most letters

Norman keeps 22/26 letters in their original QWERTY finger, making the transition easier, and, according to many tests, does so without much loss in ergonomics.

Pro
Keeps many common QWERTY shortcuts intact

Common shortcuts, such as ctrl + z, ctrl + x, etc., are kept in their original positions without much loss in ergonomics, making the transition easier.

Pro
Feels fast and comfy

Pro
Focuses on the keys easiest to reach for the human hand

Like Workman, Norman takes human anatomy into account.

Pro
Designed using normal keyboards in mind

Unlike keyboard layouts such as workman that are desgined to be used by matrix keyboards, norman is made to be used by a standard keyboard.

Pro
Favours the right hand

Unlike other layouts, such as workman, norman favours the right hand due to it usually being stronger than the left.

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Cons

Con
Inconvenient for common key-shortcuts

Key bindings common to most applications, such as Ctrl+Z/C/V, can't be done on the left hand while mousing with the right. Shortcuts for other applications are out of the QWERTY positions they were designed for and aren't so convenient to access.

Con
The U is directly under your finger while the I is far away

I is used more--by about 2.5 times. In fact, U is the least used vowel after Y. The consonants TNSHRDLC all appear more often. So why is U directly under your finger? And why should you have to stretch for I?

Con
F is too hard to reach

F is not an especially common letter, but it's used much more than the rare letters JQZ. Why is it on one of the most difficult spots on the keyboard? It's also used in OF, one of the more common bigrams, ranked at #13. Maybe some other languages use Z more than English, but why is F harder to reach than Q?

Con
L is too hard to reach

L is not a rare letter. It's used even more than U is in English. Why put it in a difficult spot for use with the weak pinky finger?

Con
Not the standard keyboard layout

It will be difficult to frequently switch between computers.

Con
The "ls" command is uncomfortable to type

This is a very common command programmers have to type often when working with the shell. It's pretty awkward in Dvorak, especially when you add common options. Try typing "ls ‐latr", and see how that feels.

Con
Difficult for occasional moments when you have only one hand free

Hand-alternation is good for touch-typing with both hands, but problematic (a lot of horizontal movement) when typing with one. Can be avoided by temporarily switching to another layout.

Con
Not easy on the right pinky finger

Most useful symbols for programming are on the right pinky finger, which is not very comfortable.

Con
Doesn't account for finger length

The keyboard layout doesn't account for E being easier to press than C for example on a QWERTY layout, this can be seen for example using the workman key cap scores done here.

Con
Not actually faster than QWERTY

Maybe it's more ergonomic, but that's debatable. You'll certainly get more benefit from an ergonomic keyboard than a change in layout. Dvorak's reputation for speed is due to a typo in the initial press report, and a biased (and since discredited) study run by Dvorak himself. Dvorak is all hype and no substance.

Con
Bad on SFBs

Lots of same finger bigrams (when 2 keys are hit simultaneously by one finger like the qwerty "ed".

Con
A very small user base and community

Con
Designed for right handed use

The Norman was designed with right handed use in mind, making it a less attractive choice for left handed users. However, tests done by some users (can be found in the comments) suggests that the Norman layout might be balanced.