Keyboard Typing: Behind the Scenes

Typing is not as simple a process as it seems. While the ease with which we type and the speed at which the text appears on-screen is indicative of a simplistic method of keyboard-to-computer interaction, nothing could be further from the truth. This ease and speed is only and indicator of exactly how fast the CPU handles such a complex process. With each individual keystroke, there is a five-step process that occurs; each step taking …

…code from the correct memory location in the keyboard buffer and passes that code on to the CPU. In closing, it is relatively easy to see exactly how much goes on "behind the scenes" in a computer. Every aspect of interaction between the user and the CPU has been simplified a great deal. This does not mean, however, that those complex processes do not occur; only that they are no longer visible to the user.