Overview
A minimal typing tutor for iPad. Based on gTypist.
Problem
Touch typing was always something I neglected. Like many, I learned to type without learning, picking away however felt comfortable. As a software developer, I spend most of my time interfacing via the keyboard, so this skill seemed like an easy productivity win.
gTypist is a good, free, typing tutor but only available on desktop operating systems. I am one of those handful of weird people who insist on using their iPad as a productivity device. I’ve been using various iPads as learning/light work tools for years now and think they are great if a bit limited. More luggable than most laptops, has better battery life, and less stress than carrying around a multi-thousand dollar laptop.
Various web apps like Keybr exist and they work well, but I prefer the structured lesson format of gTypist.
Lastly, as always, I enjoy building things. If I can throw together a relatively polished app over a Christmas break so much the better.
Solution
iTypist is more or less a straight gTypist clone. I didn’t attempt to port the code or even look at it. The interface is as simple as it gets. The user is prompted to type a character and they either do so successfully and move to the next character or fail and try again. Not too tricky to figure out. The lessons are from gTypist, or at least a subset of them. Aside from a lesson selection menu and some simple theming, that’s is.
