Thank you, I will try the Typing Tutor 7.

I program (C style languages), and I use Dvorak.

(Aside: Dvorak moves some of the punctuation away from the bottom row (Qwerty as reference).  And the brackets are moved to the the number row.  The hyphen and hash are found on the home row on a UK keyboard.  I _think_ I prefer these small changes.)

Qwerty, Dvorak and Colemak are designed for language rather than programming.   If you keep your hands in the classic home position (F and J nubs, Qwerty) you'll end up working the right hand more so, and the pinky will bear the brunt of the work.  Add home/end, page up/down and backspace into the mix and the pinky probably will show signs of stress.

You might be able to ease  off the pinky by using other fingers for the punctuation - perhaps having an alternative hand position for the right hand side punctuation characters.

Alternatively you might want to look at a layout that is designed with the programmer in mind.  The two examples that I can think of are Programmer's Dvorak and  Developer's Dvorak, and both take different approaches.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AZERTY
http://www.kaufmann.no/roland/dvorak/

I am for the moment  using stock Dvorak.  And I am progamming under it.  I do suffer shoulder/neck stress on the RHS, and my hands can tire.  Could well be a result of programming.

I do move my hand off the home position for some characters.   I can find the top right of the keyboard clumsy, and I make more mistakes up there.

Touch typing for programming, brings some speed gains.  I'm  more inclined to  use descriptive variable names.  But as programming is generally slower than entering normal text, it's not as noticable.

A good editor may help you with entering quotes and brackets.   Macros might help.

Some languages may be harder to key due to their syntax.  I'm thinking of something like the arrow ( -> ) operator.  That must be a nightmare under Qwerty/Colemak.  It's slightly easier under Dvorak, as angled brackets get good placement.

It will come with time.   You could practice using typing software, but day to day programming will probably be enough for you.

Most of the punctuation is placed well enough, but you need to learn it by heart. So yes, use a training regime that lets you practise these things. Amphetype can be fed actual code for you to test your mettle against (with subsequent analysis), and many tutors like TypingMaster have punctuation drills.

Check the Extend mappings from my signature link. They make editing and navigating a breeze even in places/editors that don't support that kind of functionality out of the box (like Vim does).

For better access to your favourite brackets and stuff, I'd recommend fiddling with the AltGr (lv3-4) mappings. Search around the forums, many have made something that fit them. It depends on what languages you use.

DreymaR, unfortunately I couldn't find any AltGr punctuation mappings here on the forum. Can you please post a link? Thank you in advance, I am so excited to start using it ))

Excellent, taking these experiences into account, I have built my own AltGr layout, based on my Haxe code analysis:

But I am unable to compile my layout, Keyboard Layout Creator throws this:

I look to the source and unable to find 19 key code there at all!

Here is the source: http://www.sendspace.com/file/qfmqpk
If you change one of two "P"s - another one also changes, and I want to get rid of the right one.

Why would it happen?

Thank you so much, it worked!

Why not, I do use a tutors, especially Amphetype, since it's the most balanced tutor around.

> .. Which layout for programming ..

@knightjp, I'd probably pick the layout that was most comfortable, and then modify it - something like programmers Dvorak.  Having said that, I haven't bothered to do that yet.  But I could see the benefits in not having to use shift and number key to get some punctuation.  Dreymar suggested using another level, you can then put punctuation nearer the home row if needed.

Dvorak for me is okay, but I really should free up the pinky a bit, brackets are grouped together on the top row, but that area for me, I am slightly prone to error.  I was thinking about putting them down the middle channel and using a wide mod.  I jump between Windows, Linux and OSX, so it's a bit of a headache for me to use something non standard.  That's why I picked Dvorak in the first place, because it was baked into to all three (having said that, there are still a few differences.)

Go play some typeracer.

There is now a solution for this: typing.io

It lets you practice typing real code in a variety of languages, and supports Colemak legends on the paid version. I've been practicing with it using Colemak and it has helped me.

Re-reading the thread, it looks to be a good idea to augment your favourite layout with a programming layer that places most used punctuation in the best positions.  Hitting some modifier and Qwerty F, might give you right arrow etc.

Dreymar would probably also suggest a movement layer (modifer and key to get Vim like traversal.)

Or rather design something that works for you and your chosen language.  For me that cripples portability, but defo sounds like a good idea.

Yesterday I found an online touch typing course called SOLO Touch Typing. I guess it could be useful for there is a separate course for numerals.
Also they have a dvorak course but I cannot find it on their website.