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A '''computer keyboard''' is a [[peripheral]] [[input device]] modeled after the [[typewriter]] keyboard<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/computer+keyboard|title=computer keyboard|work=TheFreeDictionary.com|access-date=2018-06-26|archive-date=26 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326195947/https://www.thefreedictionary.com/computer+keyboard|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-04 |title=Keyboard and mouse basics {{!}} nidirect |url=https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/keyboard-and-mouse-basics |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=www.nidirect.gov.uk |language=en |archive-date=7 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707173045/https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/keyboard-and-mouse-basics |url-status=live }}</ref> which uses an arrangement of buttons or [[Push-button|keys]] to act as [[Mechanical keyboard|mechanical levers]] or [[Electronic switching system|electronic switches]]. Replacing early [[punched card]]s and [[paper tape]] technology, interaction via [[teleprinter]]-style keyboards have been the main [[input device|input method]] for [[computer]]s since the 1970s, supplemented by the [[computer mouse]] since the 1980s.
Keyboard keys (buttons) typically have a set of characters [[Engraving|engraved]] or [[Printing|printed]] on them, and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written [[symbol]]. However, producing some symbols may require pressing and holding several keys simultaneously or in sequence.<ref>{{cite book|title=New Directions in Behavioral Biometrics|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_Directions_in_Behavioral_Biometrics/rISKDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=isbn:1315349310&printsec=frontcover |isbn=978-1315349312|author=Khalid Saeed|date=2016| publisher=CRC Press |access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref> While most keys produce [[character (computing)|characters]] ([[Letter (alphabet)|letters]], [[Numerical digit|numbers]] or symbols), other keys (such as the [[escape key]]) can prompt the computer to execute system commands. In a modern computer, the interpretation of key presses is generally left to the software: the information sent to the computer, the [[scan code]], tells it only which physical key (or keys) was pressed or released.<ref name="msusb13a">[http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/1/161ba512-40e2-4cc9-843a-923143f3456c/scancode.doc Microsoft Keyboard Scan Code Specification] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200909230403/https://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/1/161ba512-40e2-4cc9-843a-923143f3456c/scancode.doc |date=9 September 2020 }} ([http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/1/161ba512-40e2-4cc9-843a-923143f3456c/scancode.doc Appendix C, "USB Keyboard/Keypad Page (0x07)"] ), [[Microsoft]]. Revision 1.3a, 2000-03-16, accessed 2018-10-13.</ref>▼
▲While most keys produce [[character (computing)|characters]] ([[Letter (alphabet)|letters]], [[Numerical digit|numbers]] or symbols), other keys (such as the [[escape key]]) can prompt the computer to execute system commands. In a modern computer, the interpretation of key presses is generally left to the software: the information sent to the computer, the [[scan code]], tells it only which physical key (or keys) was pressed or released.<ref name="msusb13a">[http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/1/161ba512-40e2-4cc9-843a-923143f3456c/scancode.doc Microsoft Keyboard Scan Code Specification] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200909230403/https://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/1/161ba512-40e2-4cc9-843a-923143f3456c/scancode.doc |date=9 September 2020 }} ([http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/1/161ba512-40e2-4cc9-843a-923143f3456c/scancode.doc Appendix C, "USB Keyboard/Keypad Page (0x07)"] ), [[Microsoft]]. Revision 1.3a, 2000-03-16, accessed 2018-10-13.</ref>
In normal usage, the keyboard is used as a [[text entry interface]] for typing text, numbers, and symbols into [[application software]] such as a [[word processor]], [[web browser]] or [[social media]] app. Touchscreens use [[virtual keyboard]]s.
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