Are there any open-source typing tests?
January 31, 2006 12:02 PM Subscribe
Are there any polished open-source typing tests, either for Windows, or as a web app?
Not open-source, but free and web/online is TypingTest.com which seems to work pretty well based on a couple of tries. It is a Java application, so you need your browser to have Java support turned on. Is access to source a requirement, or is 'free' the important part?
If you need open-source programs with native Windows support, SourceForge has TypeFaster Typing Tutor which includes typing statistics and lessons, though not specifically geared to tests. It's beta status, updated within the past year, and has a current 88% activity percentile for SourceForge projects -- which is mediocre as active SF projects go, but given its limited appeal, not so bad. There's also the popular and mature Tux Typing on SourceForge, but it appears very child- and game-oriented. A polished interface, but probably not in the manner you wish.
posted by mdevore at 12:50 PM on January 31, 2006
If you need open-source programs with native Windows support, SourceForge has TypeFaster Typing Tutor which includes typing statistics and lessons, though not specifically geared to tests. It's beta status, updated within the past year, and has a current 88% activity percentile for SourceForge projects -- which is mediocre as active SF projects go, but given its limited appeal, not so bad. There's also the popular and mature Tux Typing on SourceForge, but it appears very child- and game-oriented. A polished interface, but probably not in the manner you wish.
posted by mdevore at 12:50 PM on January 31, 2006
Response by poster: TypingTest.com isn't too shabby, but the most important part of the featureset I'm looking for is the ability to use your own source text, which it doesn't seem to allow. I could hack something together using diff, but I'd spend more time calculating the appropriate stats than I'd like
It looks like the TypingTest.com people offer an enterprise version with the ability to customize the test text, but it appears to be closed-source, and $990 USD.
posted by Jairus at 1:04 PM on January 31, 2006
It looks like the TypingTest.com people offer an enterprise version with the ability to customize the test text, but it appears to be closed-source, and $990 USD.
posted by Jairus at 1:04 PM on January 31, 2006
Seconding TypeFaster.
Check out also Power Typing typing test
posted by Sharcho at 1:44 PM on January 31, 2006
Check out also Power Typing typing test
posted by Sharcho at 1:44 PM on January 31, 2006
If you key off the custom word list feature and drop the open-source/free req, then Typing Tester should work. Not expensive for a personal copy, but you have to request a quote for network licensing, and frankly the software has a minimalist, early 1990's look based on the screenshots. A free downloadable demo is available if you have any interest.
As a second non-free choice, TypeMaster Pro looks slicker and is cheaper than Typing Tester, and also has statistics, network licensing and a downloadable demo. The education version implies you can use your own word list, although the exact phrase is "customizable typing tests" which I suppose could be interpreted to mean something else.
No personal experience with either, including the demos.
posted by mdevore at 10:39 PM on January 31, 2006
As a second non-free choice, TypeMaster Pro looks slicker and is cheaper than Typing Tester, and also has statistics, network licensing and a downloadable demo. The education version implies you can use your own word list, although the exact phrase is "customizable typing tests" which I suppose could be interpreted to mean something else.
No personal experience with either, including the demos.
posted by mdevore at 10:39 PM on January 31, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
I wrote a basic web typing test a few years ago. It's not too hard if you've got a good diff algorithm already written for you. I did it in Perl, using Algorithm::Diff from CPAN.
posted by weston at 12:46 PM on January 31, 2006