QWERTYjärjestelmään

QWERTYjärjestelmään, often referred to simply as QWERTY, is a keyboard layout. It is the most common keyboard layout in use today. The name QWERTY comes from the first six letters appearing on the top row of the keyboard. This layout was designed by Christopher Latham Sholes in the 1870s for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter.

The QWERTY layout was not designed for optimal typing speed or efficiency, but rather to prevent mechanical typewriters from jamming. Early typewriters had metal arms that would strike the ink ribbon and then the paper. If keys that were frequently used in succession were placed too close together, the arms could get tangled. By separating common letter pairs, the QWERTY layout reduced the likelihood of jams.

Despite the advent of electronic keyboards, which do not suffer from the same mechanical limitations, the QWERTY layout has persisted due to its widespread adoption. Many users are accustomed to it, and retraining can be a significant undertaking. Over time, it has become the de facto standard.

Variations of the QWERTY layout exist, such as the QWERTZ layout used in many Central European countries, where the Z and Y keys are swapped to better suit the German language. Another variation is the AZERTY layout, used in France and Belgium, which also rearranges some keys. However, the core QWERTY arrangement of the first six letters remains the most prevalent worldwide.