A standard 101 keyboard is usually divided up into 4 (or 5) parts, namely: 

• Alphanumeric keys: These are the alphabetic keys for A to Z as well as the numeric keys from 0 to 9. 

• Function Keys: These are usually rows of keys on the top of the keyboard and allow the user or program to undertake special functions such as, opening a help screen by pressing F1. 

• Directions Keys: These are arrows keys and allow the user to move (the cursor) around the screen. They are usually located on the bottom right hand side, next to the alphanumeric keys. 

• Special Keys: These are pre-programmed with useful functions such as delete, insert and more. They are usually located above the direction keys. 

• Numeric Keys: There is sometimes a fifth section, namely a numeric keypad located on the righthand side of the keyboard in the layout of a calculator keyboard making calculations easier. 

Originally, all typing was done on a typewriter, a mechanical machine that used levers to push an imprint of the letter against a ribbon which then marked the paper. This was a messy way of typing and of course, no corrections, additions or perfect copies could be made on the original. The secretarial industry was revolutionised in the 1980s when word processing on a desktop computer became the norm. Since, most typists were familiar with the standard QWERTY keyboard, the same layout was chosen for the computer keyboard. When a key is pressed, on a keyboard, an electrical signal is sent from the keyboard to the computer in the form of a Binary Code. This Binary Number has been agreed by Computer Scientists so that any keyboard manufactured around the world will work with any computer. The ASCII Code (American Standard Code of Information Interchange) was chosen so that the computer knows what character has been pressed.