Command Classic: Difference between revisions

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A keyboard concept largely based on standard Apple keyboards of the late 1980s through early 1990s. In the common parlance of the 21st-century keyboard community, it could be referred to as a 60% keyboard with a number pad, although the keymap features some important characteristics that are not generally found elsewhere.
Command Classic is a family of specifications for my self-built keyboards, mostly varying by national layout and the presence or absence of a numeric keypad. They designed primarily with Mac-like GUIs and Unix-like command line environments in mind, and most of their characteristics can be traced to prior art from Apple and Sun.
 
== Name ==
 
"Command" refers to the primary modifier key in the Macintosh environment and its spiritual relatives (NeXT, Be). Its prominent size and placement next to the space bar, like on Apple and NeXT keyboards, are one of these keyboards' most important features.
 
"Classic" is a reference to the original Mac OS, early Macintosh design principles in general, and an imitation of the way Apple affixed the word in some of its own product names (cf. Macintosh Classic).


== Apple Keyboard History ==
== Apple Keyboard History ==


=== Arrow Keys ===
Most of the direct inspiration for Command Classic originates with conventions that evolved through a series of Apple keyboards from the early 1980s through the early 1990s.


Apple included a full set of arrow keys for the first time on the Apple III, clustering them in the bottom right corner of the main bank, where they remained on every subsequent model until the Extended Keyboard.
=== Cursor Keys ===


The Lisa and the original Macintosh lacked any arrow keys at all, out of Steve Jobs' infamous belief at the time that GUI navigation should be done exclusively through the mouse, but the Macintosh Plus introduced after his departure featured arrow keys in the same reverse-L arrangement as the Apple III, shrinking the right Shift key to accommodate an up arrow.
The first Apple computer with a set of horizontal and vertical cursor navigation keys was the business-oriented Apple III (1980), and all subsequent Apple computer keyboards featured them except for the infamously mouse-centric Lisa and early Macintosh (before the Plus).


The Apple IIe in 1983, incorporating many features of the failed Apple III into the mainstream Apple II line, featured a left-right-down-up arrangement of arrows across rightmost reaches of the bottom row, that would carry through to the Apple IIc the following year, and eventually become commonplace on the Mac as well, when Apple Desktop Bus brought a unified keyboard layout for both platforms.
Apple used two variations of cursor key placement through the 1980s. The first, used by the Apple III and the Macintosh Plus [https://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_M0110A M0110A] keyboard, had up and down arrows stacked vertically in the bottom right corner of the main bank, with horizontal left and right arrows next to them on the bottom row (some third-party ADB keyboards use this layout as well).  


The left-right-down-up bottom row arrangement lasted much longer, and was far more widespread, than the Apple III/Mac Plus layout, and it remains familiar to many who used Apple computers at the time. For this reason as well as aesthetic neatness and flexibility with international layouts (JIS right Shift is too small to yield space for an arrow key), I use it in my keyboard builds.
The second variation appeared for the first time on the Apple IIe, remaining on all subsequent Apple II models and making its way to the Macintosh with the introduction of Apple Desktop Bus. It places the all cursor keys on the bottom row, in left/right/down/up order. It appears on the [https://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_Desktop_Bus_Keyboard Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard] (1986), [https://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_Standard_Keyboard M0116 "Apple Keyboard"] (1987), and the [https://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_Keyboard_II Apple Keyboard II] (1990). Command Classic uses this cursor key placement. It is more familiar and aesthetically satisfying to me, and it carries an added advantage of compatibility with standard-size Shift keys.


=== Modifiers ===
=== Modifiers ===

Revision as of 20:00, 28 January 2023

Command Classic is a family of specifications for my self-built keyboards, mostly varying by national layout and the presence or absence of a numeric keypad. They designed primarily with Mac-like GUIs and Unix-like command line environments in mind, and most of their characteristics can be traced to prior art from Apple and Sun.

Name

"Command" refers to the primary modifier key in the Macintosh environment and its spiritual relatives (NeXT, Be). Its prominent size and placement next to the space bar, like on Apple and NeXT keyboards, are one of these keyboards' most important features.

"Classic" is a reference to the original Mac OS, early Macintosh design principles in general, and an imitation of the way Apple affixed the word in some of its own product names (cf. Macintosh Classic).

Apple Keyboard History

Most of the direct inspiration for Command Classic originates with conventions that evolved through a series of Apple keyboards from the early 1980s through the early 1990s.

Cursor Keys

The first Apple computer with a set of horizontal and vertical cursor navigation keys was the business-oriented Apple III (1980), and all subsequent Apple computer keyboards featured them except for the infamously mouse-centric Lisa and early Macintosh (before the Plus).

Apple used two variations of cursor key placement through the 1980s. The first, used by the Apple III and the Macintosh Plus M0110A keyboard, had up and down arrows stacked vertically in the bottom right corner of the main bank, with horizontal left and right arrows next to them on the bottom row (some third-party ADB keyboards use this layout as well).

The second variation appeared for the first time on the Apple IIe, remaining on all subsequent Apple II models and making its way to the Macintosh with the introduction of Apple Desktop Bus. It places the all cursor keys on the bottom row, in left/right/down/up order. It appears on the Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard (1986), M0116 "Apple Keyboard" (1987), and the Apple Keyboard II (1990). Command Classic uses this cursor key placement. It is more familiar and aesthetically satisfying to me, and it carries an added advantage of compatibility with standard-size Shift keys.

Modifiers

The Open Apple and Closed Apple keys began as a clustered pair on the bottom left of the Apple III keyboard, adopting their familiar positions flanking the space bar when brought to the Apple IIe.

Number Pads

Number pads first appeared alongside the main key bank on Apple computers in the early 1980s, when they tried in vain to target businesses with the Apple III in 1981 and the Lisa in 1983. The specific arrangement of keys varied, but it established a feature set for Apple's "professional" computer keyboards that would become standard equipment beginning with the Macintosh Plus and the Apple IIGS in 1986.

Intended Use

Command Classic is designed with Mac-like desktop environments in mind, like

Layout Variations

JIS Layout (with both IME keys)
ANSI Layout

The design concept is layout-agnostic, but was originally envisioned as a JIS keyboard.

JIS

  • View on Keyboard Layout Editor
  • 3.5U spacebar
    • Not known to be available anywhere currently
    • Existing builds make compromises with IME keys to use available spacebars
      • Model 1 omits the 英数 key to accomodate a 4.5U spacebar
  • Two 1U keys for input method mode control
  • Nearly identical the Macway TP-110JIS

ANSI

  • 5.5U spacebar
    • Uncommon but available
  • Sun "UNIX Keyboard" layout

Prior Art

The keyboard design mostly derives from Apple layouts of the 1980s through the mid-1990s, before the AppleDesign keyboard made Apple's variant of the IBM AT Enhanced layout a de facto standard on the Mac platform.

  • Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard and Apple Keyboard (M0116)
    • Main bank with dedicated number pad
    • Arrow keys on bottom row in left, right, down, up sequence
      • Also used by Apple IIe and Apple IIc keyboards
    • Escape on number row
    • Control left of A
    • Large Command key
  • Apple Keyboard II JIS
    • Adaptation of prior ADB Keyboard design to JIS layout
  • Macway TP-110JIS
    • More balanced main bank than Apple's keyboard
      • Spacebar centered between homing keys
    • Command Classic JIS uses this keymap minus function key row and power key
  • NeXT Keyboard and Sun Type 5, 6, 7
    • Examples of main bank concept outside the Macintosh platform

Counterexamples

At risk of defining something by what it is not, it is worth contrasting the design from common archetypes.

IBM Enhanced Keyboard (Model M)

The Tsundoku Keyboard is in many ways an Apple user's rebellion against a mainstream dominated by descendants of this keyboard. Our objections:

  • Caps Lock occupying a prominent position even though it is rarely used
    • Command Classic currently has no Caps Lock
    • Pressing both Shift keys to activate Caps Lock (NeXT style) is under consideration, if QMK can support it
  • Control in bottom left corner even though it is frequently used
    • Command Classic has Control to the left of A, like many other layouts
  • Escape is far away from the main bank
    • Command Classic has Escape on number row, like Sun keyboards and traditional Apple keyboards
  • Empty space on bottom row (between Control and Alt)
    • 104 keyboards from the Windows 95 era onward fill this space with additional keys, but they are small to fit into this space
    • Command Classic has a Mac-style layout designed for easy activation of GUI keybindings
  • Num Lock
    • The number pad doubles up as a navigation cluster
    • Vestige of earlier IBM PC keyboard layouts without a dedicated nav cluster
    • Command Classic takes the Apple approach (no modes!) with dedicated number pad

Happy Hacking Keyboard

  • Command key positions are identical
  • Larger Option key instead of leaving blank space on bottom row
  • Arrow keys
  • Fn on bottom left instead of taking a piece off of right Shift
    • HHKB Fn layer navigation and function keys found to be difficult to use
    • A JIS right Shift with HHKB-style Fn placement would be reduced to 0.75U

Builds

All Command Classic keyboards in existence to date are handmade one-off prototypes. Designing or commissioning standardized parts for on-demand reproduction is a future goal, but in the meantime, I have been throwing some together so that I may have something to use until such time, and in order to test combinations of parts and materials.

# Date Form Factor Keymap Opt Size IME Key Connection Plate Switch Key Material Key Profile Case
1 2020.07-08 Full-Size JIS 1.5U 1U Kana USB C Stainless BOX White PBT Cherry Acrylic Sandwich
2 2022.01 Compact JIS 1.25U 1.25U Eisuu/Kana USB A (cable) Aluminum BOX Jade PBT Cherry Poker
3 2022.07 Compact ANSI 1.5U - Bluetooth Stainless BOX Silent Brown PBT XDA Poker

Compromises

  • (JIS only) No 英数 key left of spacebar
    • 3.5U spacebars unavailable. Would need to be custom made
    • Use slightly more common 4.5U spacebar
  • IBM style number pad operator keys
    • Mac-style operators would require custom keycaps
    • IBM style operator keys are not particularly objectionable


National Variants

Design Goals

    • Large Command and Option keys for people who use them often
  • Not minimalist
    • Dedicated arrow keys
    • Coincidentally smaller than 101/104 keyboards, but compactness itself is not a goal
  • No IBM-style nav cluster
    • Arrow keys can go on the bottom row as on many Apple keyboards
    • Home/End/PageUp/PageDown on Fn layer of arrow keys
  • Has a tenkey
    • No Num Lock (no modes!). Always numbers

Problems with existing PCBs

Reasons why the Tsundoku Keyboard must be designed from scratch.

  • No JIS Right Shift support
  • Layouts all referenced from AT101/Windows 104
    • 75%, 60%, etc... all expressed as reductions of AT101
    • No consideration for different combinations of elements. Tenkeyless? 75% 60%? What about a tenkey but no IBM nav cluster?
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