Sinhala input methods are ways of writing the Sinhala language, spoken primarily in Sri Lanka, using a computer. Sinhala input methods can be broadly classified into two main groups: ones based on

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

keyboard layouts, and ones that are meant to be typed on

QWERTY QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six Computer keyboard keys#Types, keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created f ...

keyboards using an input method, known as "Singlish".

Wijesekara keyboard

The Wijesekara keyboard is the standard

keyboard for the Sinhala script. This keyboard layout was first created and approved by the

government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the is ...

in 1964.

In 2004, it was given the SLS standards as the Sri Lanka Sinhala Character Code for Information Interchange, SLS 1134 : 2004.

Implementations

The first standards compliant Sinhala Keyboard for

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

iOS was created by Bhagya Silva. This implementation featured a copyrighted custom layout that was based on SLS 1134:2004 optimised for mobile keyboards.

Virtual Keyboards

The first Sinhala virtual keyboard is Helakuru. Helakuru was developed by Bhasha Lanka (Pvt) Ltd for Android and iOS devices. It was first released on Android in 2011 and in 2015 it was released on App Store also. In 2019,

allowed Sinhala to be a keyboard layout and an iPhone language to boost Apple product sales in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

References

Data interchange standards Digital typography Encodings of Asian languages Keyboard layouts Sinhala language Sinhala script {{tool-stub