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Carpalx QGMLWB vs Row Swap (QWDFGY)

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When comparing Carpalx QGMLWB vs Row Swap (QWDFGY), the Slant community recommends Row Swap (QWDFGY) for most people. In the question“What are the best keyboard layouts for programming?” Row Swap (QWDFGY) is ranked 9th while Carpalx QGMLWB is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose Row Swap (QWDFGY) is:

It scores 2.122 on the Carpalx effort model, vs 2.098 for Dvorak (QWERTY is 3.000).

Specs

Bottom Row Key Freq.7.9%

Consecutive Same-Hand Keystrokes (L/R)47.4%/52.6%

Home Row Key Freq.59.8%

Left Index Finger Travel35.6%

Left Index Finger Usage19.5%

Left Little Finger Travel0.6%

Left Little Finger Usage3.9%

Left Middle Finger Travel15.6%

Left Middle Finger Usage12.2%

Left Ring Finger Travel6.0%

Left Ring Finger Usage7.7%

Right Index Finger Travel31.5%

Right Index Finger Usage17.4%

Right Little Finger Travel0.9%

Right Little Finger Usage3.0%

Right Middle Finger Travel6.9%

Right Middle Finger Usage14.0%

Right Ring Finger Travel2.9%

Right Ring Finger Usage7.0%

Spacebar Row Key Freq.15.3%

Thumb Usage15.3%

Top Row Key Freq.17.0%

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Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking

Common Questions

What are the best keyboard layouts for programming?

Carpalx QGMLWB

Row Swap (QWDFGY)

Pros

Pro
Punctuation is in the same location as QWERTY

If you already know QWERTY you don't have to relearn the punctuation, with the single exception of the ;: key which is in QWERTY's P position, like Colemak.

Pro
ZXC don't move compared to QWERTY

Like Colemak, the common undo, cut and copy Ctrl-commands don't move from their QWERTY positions. The V (paste) key does though.

Pro
Uses a colemak-like character layout

Uses the colemak character layout of moving P on a standard QWERTY keyboard layout one step down, extending the home row.

Pro
Has low consecutive finger use

See the source here.

Pro
Letter positions optimized

Via a quantitative effort model.

Pro
As effortless as Dvorak

It scores 2.122 on the Carpalx effort model, vs 2.098 for Dvorak (QWERTY is 3.000).

Pro
Very easy to learn from QWERTY

The swaps are strictly vertical. No letter changes fingers. Possibly even easier to learn than other minimal-change layouts like qwpr and Minimak-4.

Pro
Common Ctrl-shortcuts don't move

Most letters are in their QWERTY position, including the important AZXCV. Those that moved are very close to their old positions.

Pro
Good for Vim users

HJKL are still in order.

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Cons

Con
Effort model is speculative

The quantitative effort model central to the optimization is based on armchair speculation, rather than a scientific biomedical study. The chosen metrics and weighting for them are likely partially correct. But no-one is really sure how correct.

Con
Doesn't take finger length into account

Unlike layouts such as norman and workman, QGMLWB doesn't take the length of fingers into account, for example on a standard QWERTY layout, it's easier to reach E than C.

Con
Punctuation is not optimized

Programmers have to use punctuation a lot, but (except for the ;: key, like Colemak) punctuation hasn't been moved from their positions on QWERTY. In fact, the non-letter characters , . - " _ ' ) ( ; 0 1 = 2 : are used more than the least-frequent letter z in a reasonable English corpus. Not optimizing punctuation at all, especially for programmers, is nonsense.

Con
V key has moved compared to QWERTY

The common paste shortcut used in for example windows has been moved to the right hand, making the layout harder to learn. This however is fixed in the QGMLWY variant of the carpalx series.

Con
A very small user base and community

Con
Doesn't favor the right hand

For right handed users, this keyboard layout doesn't use the usually stronger right hand more than the left, infact it sometimes favors the left hand more.