The most useful key on my keyboard is:

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Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by swampyankee (Parson) on Jan 03, 2006 at 01:11 UTC
I use emacs, so I use every key, frequently simultaneously emc " When in doubt, use brute force." — Ken Thompson	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Celada (Monk) on Jan 03, 2006 at 00:47 UTC
Even though Shift and Space are both pretty much essential, my vote goes to Control because it can substitute for so many of the other ones: Enter, Backspace, Tab, and Esc are, of course, ^M, ^H, ^I, and ^[, respectively. This way I get to vote for 5 of the options for the price of one!	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by marto (Cardinal) on Jan 03, 2006 at 08:29 UTC
Wait a sec... no option to vote for the 'Any' key? Martin	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by McDarren (Abbot) on Jan 03, 2006 at 00:21 UTC
What?? No option for Caps Lock???!!! runs away :D	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Anomynous Monk (Scribe) on Jan 03, 2006 at 00:30 UTC
Let's try that again: WHAT?? NO OPTION FOR CAPS LOCK???!!! RUNS AWAY :D	[reply]
Re^3: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by davies (Prior) on Jan 05, 2006 at 00:18 UTC
Just in case anymonk hasn't seen this classic: cAN aNYONE tELL mE wHAT tHE cAPS lOCK kEY dOES? Regards, John Davies	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by BerntB (Deacon) on Jan 05, 2006 at 00:05 UTC
I have it remapped to control. It is neat.	[reply]
Re^3: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by sauoq (Abbot) on Jan 05, 2006 at 18:48 UTC
I have it remapped to control. Me too. Got used to Sun keyboards and never looked back. `-sauoq "My two cents aren't worth a dime.";`	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by bronto (Priest) on Jan 03, 2006 at 11:39 UTC
God bless Command completion! TAB forever! Ciao! `--bronto` In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by mk. (Friar) on Jan 03, 2006 at 12:11 UTC
i was so voting on space, but now that you pointed that out i guess i can't decide! space or tab, oh my....! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ grrr.... argh!	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by jmcnamara (Monsignor) on Jan 03, 2006 at 00:26 UTC
C major. -- John.	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by bassplayer (Monsignor) on Jan 03, 2006 at 03:32 UTC
D minor is much more useful and besides, it's the saddest of all keys. Of course, the brown note is the most useful note of all. bassplayer	[reply]
Re^3: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by cosecant (Monk) on Jan 06, 2006 at 22:06 UTC
it's part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I'm working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why. I call it "Lick My Love Pump"	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by esskar (Deacon) on Jan 02, 2006 at 23:59 UTC
I guess 'space' is 1st. 'backspace' is 2nd (at least it was in the very begining of my programming.)	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by wolfger (Deacon) on Jan 03, 2006 at 15:26 UTC
I guess 'space' is 1st. So you've never heard that space is "the final frontier"? -- Random Synapse Firing	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Happy-the-monk (Canon) on Jan 03, 2006 at 08:50 UTC
'space' is 1st. I am afraid, it must be. Although I think it should be "E" or rather lowercase "e" (or e-minor to the musicians =)). Cheers, Sören	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by turo (Friar) on Jan 03, 2006 at 15:45 UTC
Okay, i think it depends on how much is the terminal console in your life :-P enter space Tab ;) `perl -Te 'print map { chr((ord)-((10,20,2,7)[$i++])) } split //,"turo"'`	[reply] [d/l]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Aristotle (Chancellor) on Jan 03, 2006 at 14:13 UTC
Seriously? That has to be Tab. Between indenting code, cycling windows, moving between form input elements, switching tabs in applications with tabbed interfaces, and innumerable other uses, it gets a lot of work for vital things. On a less serious note, as a devout vi user, I was tempted to vote Esc. And on a boring note, the space bar wins hands down for most used key. Itsmerenecessitymakesitaformidablecontenderinthispoll. Makeshifts last the longest.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by hossman (Prior) on Jan 03, 2006 at 01:22 UTC
I object to this poll's discrimination against my "meta" key.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by gube (Parson) on Jan 03, 2006 at 05:43 UTC
I like Esc, If any wrong i can Escape :-p	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Hanamaki (Chaplain) on Jan 03, 2006 at 09:58 UTC
The most useful key for my mental health is the "power off" key. Unfortunately, rarely used by the fool I am.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by sen (Hermit) on Jan 03, 2006 at 05:50 UTC
i prefer ENTER, since it's most useful key for me and all	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Anonymous Monk on Jan 03, 2006 at 19:02 UTC
It's a tie between 1 and 0. All the rest of the keys are redundant :-).	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Mago (Parson) on Jan 03, 2006 at 10:08 UTC
The key on my keyboard is SPACE ... Because the source code identation is Important ! Mago mago@rio.pm.org	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Hanamaki (Chaplain) on Jan 03, 2006 at 10:20 UTC
With "SPACE"? .... Oh my....! ;-)	[reply]
Re^3: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by ruoso (Curate) on Jan 03, 2006 at 18:17 UTC
That's why I love tab-always-indent... daniel	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by parv (Parson) on Jan 03, 2006 at 07:19 UTC
Most USEFUL are "ctrl+alt+backspace" (to get out of a X session for any reason), then "ctrl+alt+delete" to reboot/power off computer, followed by "power button" for hard reboot. Sure, most USED key would be "space" for me.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Dr. Mu (Hermit) on Jan 04, 2006 at 00:26 UTC
Semicolon!!! For heaven's sake, we're not Python programmers!	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by ambrus (Abbot) on Jan 03, 2006 at 10:30 UTC
I voted for Control because I like to control things. (Control is also very useful because you search buildings (other than the town center) with it in Age of Mythology.) I also find Escape very useful because (in the fortunate case) you can cancel drags with it before you drop, and that's a very useful function. I don't understand why IDEs aren't made so that clicking the right button while still dragging something with the left button cancels the drag -- that combination never does anything useful currently.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by wolfger (Deacon) on Jan 03, 2006 at 15:30 UTC
Most useful pair of keys (at least, for the criminally disposed): Break and Enter. -- Random Synapse Firing	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Fletch (Bishop) on Jan 03, 2006 at 19:13 UTC
But if one has the keys, why does one need to Break in order to Enter . . .	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by kwaping (Priest) on Jan 03, 2006 at 16:15 UTC
I voted for Delete; however, if semicolon had been present, I would've voted for it. ;)	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by pajout (Curate) on Jan 03, 2006 at 15:32 UTC
Examining wearing of my notebook keybord, comparing with dirtiness of my workstation kyebord, weighting the areas of keys, ehmmm..., it is... space, e and i in this order.	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by abcde (Scribe) on Jan 03, 2006 at 19:49 UTC
If I were you, I'd compare with the cleanliness of the keys, not how dirty they are - space, shift, control and friends are all sparkly clean but the numpad is showing its grime. ~abseed	[reply]
Re^3: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by pajout (Curate) on Jan 04, 2006 at 12:14 UTC
Of course :-)	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by sauoq (Abbot) on Jan 05, 2006 at 18:58 UTC
Tab. Between tab completion and ":set expandtab" it saves me the most typing, hands down. `-sauoq "My two cents aren't worth a dime.";`	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by gregor42 (Parson) on Jan 03, 2006 at 17:33 UTC
Most Useful = Most Powerful, no? Hence Ctrl is the most useful since it's the root for all hot-keys. (windows Alt based not withstanding - and many have Ctrl equivalents now) I'm going to go a step further & point out that the CMD key is missing from the list - which is the most useful key on a Mac. However almost all of those hot-keys have their equivalents mapped to Ctrl on other platforms - and since those platforms vastly outnumber the overall number of macs (at least outside my house) then clearly Ctrl is the hands down winner. And by "hands down" I mean don't touch that mouse since it can only slow you down. Then again - if I were talking about using the vi editor than the most useful key is the ':' key. Wait! This isn't a Parachute, this is a Backpack!	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by TedPride (Priest) on Jan 03, 2006 at 09:07 UTC
You didn't define what "most useful key" means. There are several keys that are all absolutely essential and that there are only one of, so the only good way to make a final choice is on frequency of use. Space wins hands down.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by qbxk (Friar) on Jan 03, 2006 at 10:16 UTC
what about the `any key`? It's not what you look like, when you're doin' what you�re doin'. It's what you�re doin' when you�re doin' what you look like you�re doin'! - Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band	[reply] [d/l]
Caps Lock (Missing option!) by BerntB (Deacon) on Jan 05, 2006 at 00:02 UTC
Caps Lock is the most important key. No question about it. (I have it remapped to ctrl after reading this. Even a Perl-hater like that gets a good idea sometimes :-) ).	[reply]
Re: Caps Lock (Missing option!) by abcde (Scribe) on Jan 05, 2006 at 14:05 UTC
I have done the same. Hooray for xmodmap! You bring up an important point, though - are we voting on what a key does, or the key in its position does? I press Pause/Break a lot, since I remapped it to open a terminal, but it's never been used for its original purpose (whatever it is) in years. ~abseed	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by master_son (Acolyte) on Jan 03, 2006 at 14:46 UTC
F5 - That "Reload-Refresh" button comes in real handy when building pages. space - second (since tab doesn't work well for precision lineup:)	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Perl Mouse (Chaplain) on Jan 04, 2006 at 00:32 UTC
The key of the liquor cabinet, which is usually resting on my keyboard, of course! `Perl --((8:>*`	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by wazoox (Prior) on Jan 04, 2006 at 11:19 UTC
My left control key is completely blank, so it must be the most used I suppose ;)	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by ysth (Canon) on Jan 04, 2006 at 14:03 UTC
Ok, I give up. What is labelled on your space key?	[reply]
Re^3: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by wazoox (Prior) on Jan 04, 2006 at 22:24 UTC
Got me :)	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by ambrus (Abbot) on Jan 05, 2006 at 11:41 UTC
It's the `=` key. Have you ever tried programmin without side-effects? It's difficult.	[reply] [d/l]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by BigRare (Pilgrim) on Jan 05, 2006 at 16:39 UTC
J - For Junk - in Thunderbird. While I'm dredging through my Inbox.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by radiantmatrix (Parson) on Jan 03, 2006 at 16:08 UTC
Ivotedspacebecauseit'sreallyhardtoreadthingswithoutspacesinthem,thoughnotimpossible. Besides, the lack of a space bar would really annoy the Python heads in my office. ;-) (I actually like Python, aside from the significant-whitespace thing). <-radiant.matrix-> A collection of thoughts and links from the minds of geeks The Code that can be seen is not the true Code "In any sufficiently large group of people, most are idiots" - Kaa's Law	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by BigLug (Chaplain) on Jan 06, 2006 at 04:27 UTC
Without a doubt the 'power' key is the most useful on my keyboard. I've tested and not one of the keys mentioned in this poll will work without first pressing the power key. Thus I declare it to be the most useful.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Paulster2 (Priest) on Jan 03, 2006 at 16:29 UTC
I can backspace with the best of them......Unfortunately you know what that means ;-) Paulster2 .oO( If only I could think of something perlish to write.... )	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by tweetiepooh (Hermit) on Jan 04, 2006 at 10:50 UTC
Judging by the noice my two year old make on my Technics keyboard the most useful key/button is OFF.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by tbone1 (Monsignor) on Jan 03, 2006 at 13:35 UTC
I voted 'Alt', which corresponds to the command/apple key on my Mac. However, the F9-F11 keys are used by Expose, and that alone was worth the $129 for upgrading to OS X 10.3. If you haven't seen it, try it out at their web site which has a demo (requires Quicktime ... of course). It may not seem like much, but once you use it, you think "Good Lord, how in the world did I ever live without this before?" -- tbone1, YAPS (Yet Another Perl Schlub) And remember, if he succeeds, so what. - Chick McGee	[reply]
Re^2: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Fletch (Bishop) on Jan 03, 2006 at 19:11 UTC
Actually "Alt" is "Option", not Cmd / Apple / Pretzel.</pedant> But yeah, I was going to say something about it being omitted as well. Not to mention what's really most useful is the chord of Ctrl-Opt-Pretzel-Space that opens QS (at least for me; default's Ctrl-Space, but that's just . . . meh).	[reply]
Re^3: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by tbone1 (Monsignor) on Jan 03, 2006 at 19:54 UTC
A fair point, but my Windows keyboard here at work has a passel of extra keys in that area of the keyboard, so it's easy for me to get confused. Well, easiER. Apparently it was designed by the same person who named all the "Peach" streets in Atlanta. -- tbone1, YAPS (Yet Another Perl Schlub) And remember, if he succeeds, so what. - Chick McGee	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by HoRi555 (Novice) on Jan 07, 2006 at 14:45 UTC
Space key ftw! ---- Data..for the sake of data.	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by ruoso (Curate) on Jan 03, 2006 at 18:15 UTC
Certh^Hainn^Hlyi^H iss^H yh^H^Hthe bec^H^Hackspad^Hcem^H,^H;^H. daniel	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by QM (Parson) on Jan 04, 2006 at 23:19 UTC
Space, aka "Any". -QM -- Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by blue_cowdawg (Monsignor) on Jan 05, 2006 at 15:09 UTC
What? No "any" key? I'm always being asked to hit "any key." Where in hell is that key on this keyboard anyway? Anybody got a spare "any" key? Peter L. Berghold -- Unix Professional Peter -at- Berghold -dot- Net; AOL IM redcowdawg Yahoo IM: blue_cowdawg	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Knom (Beadle) on Jan 07, 2006 at 11:50 UTC
Space: Ohter wsie yuo wolud ton eb eabl to rade tihs. (sp?)	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Tosco (Novice) on Apr 30, 2007 at 07:31 UTC
SPACE KEY !!!	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by nothingmuch (Priest) on Jan 07, 2006 at 22:07 UTC
vim users know what their key is =) -nuffin zz zZ Z Z #!perl	[reply]
Re: The most useful key on my keyboard is: by Anonymous Monk on Feb 17, 2013 at 15:37 UTC
WASD... anyone?	[reply]


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