[lorenzhs]

This looks interesting but the symbol still look very qwerty-ish. I type on Neo-2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#Neo), which uses ISO keyboards and primarily targets German, even though the majority of my typing is in English. Its entire third layer is for symbols that are common in programming. Layer 3 is activated via either caps-lock or the key above Right Shift, and has \/{}* ?()-:@ as the home row, …_[]^ !<>=& above it and #$|~` +%"'; below it (there's a picture in the Wikipedia article linked above).

Layer 4 (right alt or the key to the right of left shift) is also pretty cool, it has lots of navigation keys and a numblock in convenient positions, but I somehow never got around to learning that. All the layers are shown on https://neo-layout.org/ (in German, but that doesn't matter for the pictures).

With a Trackpoint (Thinkpad USB keyboard), this means that my hands don't have to leave the home row at all. It's super convenient.

[eigengrau]

German users might also be interested in the AdNW layout (http://www.adnw.de/). They started out with Neo’s excellent and logical arrangement of the non-alphabetical layers, but replaced the alphabetic layers with a layout created by running an optimization algorithm on a text corpus of 50% English and 50% German text (whereas in Neo the key arrangement was created manually, based on intuition). The metrics they used were largely inspired by Dvorak’s research.

[scns]

Had a look at it and it is not useful for me. I use Vim or vimbindings and the f is in a pretty bad spot, i will stay with neo.

[scns]

Have to check that out thanks

[scns]

Can not recommend this layout highly enough. Every time i am forced to use qwertz shows me how bad a standard layout is. Qwerty was developed at the times of the first typewriters to prevent jamming by slowing typists down

[jstanley]

This is a common but enduring myth. It was designed to separate the levers for common digraphs, to prevent jams. It was not designed to slow the typist down, but to ensure typing at full speed did not cause jams.

[scns]

You are pedantically correct, the best kind of correct. Or just better at expressing what i meant.