Typing speed for programmers

Most of a programmer's time goes to reading and thinking, not typing. Still, a comfortable typing speed and good accuracy with symbols make the work smoother.

How fast do programmers type?

Developers usually type somewhere between 40 and 70 WPM on normal text, and a bit slower when typing code, because code has many symbols, brackets and short names. There is no required speed, and being able to type 100 WPM will not make you a better programmer.

What helps more than raw speed

• Accuracy with symbols. Brackets, quotes and operators are where most code typos happen.
• Not looking at the keys. Switching eye focus between screen and keyboard breaks your train of thought.
• Editor skills. Shortcuts, autocomplete and multiple cursors save more keystrokes than typing faster.

Practise the keys you use

Lesson 14 in the typing lessons covers symbols, and the punctuation test and numbers test train the keys that code leans on. Learn where square brackets, curly brackets, the backslash and the pipe key are on your keyboard, because their places differ between layouts.

Hands and health

Long coding sessions are hard on hands and wrists. Read how to avoid hand strain and take breaks.

Questions

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