paulh@copper.UUCP (Paul Hubbard) (12/09/85)
I have been playing with ttype for while now, and its quite a fun program. However, I didn't like the fact that you couldn't use the backspace key to recover from mistakes. I usually type on a terminal, and many modern typewriters allow you to backspace, so I altered ttype to accept backspaces. With the altered ttype, if you make one or more errors, you can backspace to recover from the errors, and they do not affect your score. You can also backspace over correct characters and retype them. As an example, in the following lines the typist made three errors: Serendipity moonlight arsenal plight Serendipity moonKiFGt_ To recover from these errors, he could backspace to the mistyped "k" and retype "light". The score would not include the errors, but the extra time needed to backspace would affect the wpm rating. In altering ttype, I also did the following: 1. Shortened the error message to just say "Error". I found it distracting, otherwise. 2. Removed the option for echo or no_echo. The altered ttype echoes your input just like a terminal or typewriter. 3. Changed how the program processed the RUBOUT key. The RUBOUT key is treated identically to BACKSPACE. Before, when I hit RUBOUT, my terminal would hang. 3. Revised the help messages. 4. Removed the tacky copyright notice from the output (not the source). If enough people want the altered ttype, and Chris Bertin doesn't object, I will post the source. Let me know what you think. Paul Hubbard