An input method (or input method editor, commonly abbreviated IME) is an
operating system component or program that enables users to generate characters not natively available on their
input device
In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system, such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, mouse, scanners, cameras ...
s by using sequences of characters (or mouse operations) that are natively available on their input devices. Using an input method is usually necessary for languages that have more
grapheme
In linguistics, a grapheme is the smallest functional unit of a writing system.
The word ''grapheme'' is derived and the suffix ''-eme'' by analogy with ''phoneme'' and other names of emic units. The study of graphemes is called ''graphemics' ...
s than there are keys on the keyboard.
For instance, on the computer, this allows the user of
Latin keyboards to input
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Korean and
Indic characters. On hand-held devices, it enables the user to type on the
numeric keypad to enter
Latin alphabet characters (or any other alphabet characters) or touch a screen display to input text. On some operating systems, an input method is also used to define the behaviour of the
dead key
A dead key is a special kind of modifier key on a mechanical typewriter, or computer keyboard, that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a (complete) character by itself, but modifies ...
s.
Implementations
Although originally coined for
CJK (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) computing, the term is now sometimes used generically to refer to a program to support the input of any language. To illustrate, in the
X Window System
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting wi ...
, the facility to allow the input of
Latin character
The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern Ita ...
s with
diacritics is also called an input method.
On
Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
or later
Windows, Input method, or IME, are also called ''Text Input Processor'', which are implemented by the
Text Services Framework
The Text Services Framework (TSF) is a COM framework and API in Windows XP and later Windows operating systems that supports advanced text input and text processing. The Language Bar is the core user interface for Text Services Framework.
Over ...
API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
.
Relationship between the methodology and implementation
While the term ''input method editor'' was originally used for
Microsoft Windows, its use has now gained acceptance in other operating systems, especially when it is important to distinguish between the
computer interface and implementation of input methods, or among the input methods themselves, the editing functionality of the program or operating system component providing the input method, and the general support of input methods in an operating system. This term has, for example, gained general acceptance on the Linux operating system; it is also used on the Mac OS.
*The term ''input method'' generally refers to a particular way to use the keyboard to input a particular language, for example the
Cangjie method
The Cangjie input method (Tsang-chieh input method, sometimes called Changjie, Cang Jie, Changjei or Chongkit) is a system for entering Chinese characters into a computer using a standard computer keyboard. In filenames and elsewhere, the name Can ...
, the
pinyin method
The pinyin method () refers to a family of input methods based on the pinyin method of romanization.
In the most basic form, the pinyin method allows a user to input Chinese characters by entering the pinyin of a Chinese character and then pre ...
, or the use of
dead key
A dead key is a special kind of modifier key on a mechanical typewriter, or computer keyboard, that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a (complete) character by itself, but modifies ...
s.
*On the other hand, the term ''input method editor'' on Microsoft products refers to the actual program that allows an input method to be used (for example MS New Pinyin).
PRIME
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
or
SCIM prefer the term of ''Input Method Engine'', ''Input Method platform'' or ''Input Method environment'', or the actual ''editing area'' that allows the user to do the input. It can also refer to a character palette, which allows any Unicode character to be input individually. One might also interpret IME to refer to the editor used for creating or modifying the data files upon which an input method relies.
See also
*
Internationalization and localization
*
CJK characters
In internationalization, CJK characters is a collective term for the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages, all of which include Chinese characters and derivatives in their writing systems, sometimes paired with other scripts. Collectively, ...
Related techniques
*
Alt codes
On personal computers with numeric keypads that use Microsoft operating systems, such as Windows, many characters that do not have a dedicated key combination on the keyboard may nevertheless be entered using the Alt code (the Alt numpad input m ...
*
Keyboard layout
A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key-meaning associations (respectively) of a computer keyboard, mobile phone, or other computer-controlled typographic keyboard.
is the actua ...
, in particular ''dead keys''
Input methods versus language
*
Chinese input methods for computers
Chinese input methods are methods that allow a computer user to input Chinese characters. Most, if not all, Chinese input methods fall into one of two categories: phonetic readings or root shapes. Methods under the phonetic category usually are e ...
*
Japanese language and computers
In relation to the Japanese language and computers many adaptation issues arise, some unique to Japanese and others common to languages which have a very large number of characters. The number of characters needed in order to write in English is ...
and
Japanese input methods
*
Korean language and computers
*
Vietnamese language and computers
*
Indic scripts input methods for languages used in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and parts of Central Asia and East Asia.
Specific input methods
*
List of input methods for Unix platforms
*
ATOK
ATOK (エイトック /ˈeitokku/ or /ˈeɪtɔːk/) is a Japanese input method editor (IME) produced by JustSystems, a Japanese software company.
ATOK is an IME with roots from KTIS (Kana-Kanji Transfer Input System) come with JS-WORD, the Japane ...
, and
MS IME for Windows
*
Tise—Tibetan IM for Windows
*
Wnn
Wnn ( or ) is a Japanese input system. The network-extensible Kana-to-Kanji conversion system was jointly developed and released by the Software Research Group of Kyoto University Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Omron Tateisi Elect ...
Input methods for handheld devices
*
Multi-tap
Multi-tap (multi-press)
refers to a text entry system for mobile phones. The alphabet is printed under each key (beginning on "2") in a three-letter sequence as follows; ABC under 2 key, DEF under 3 key, etc. Exceptions are the "7" key, which ...
—Used on many mobile telephones—hit the (combined alphanumeric) key for the letter you want until it comes up, then wait or proceed with a different key.
*
T9/
XT9 XT9 is a text predicting and correcting system for mobile devices with full keyboards rather than the 3x4 keypad on old phones. It was originally developed by Tegic Communications, now part of Nuance Communications.iTap
iTap is a predictive text technology developed for mobile phones, developed by Motorola employees as a competitor to T9. It was designed as a replacement for the old letter mappings on phones to help with word entry. This makes some of the mode ...
—Similar to first-generation T9, with word
autocomplete
Autocomplete, or word completion, is a feature in which an application predicts the rest of a word a user is typing. In Android and iOS smartphones, this is called predictive text. In graphical user interfaces, users can typically press the tab ...
.
*
LetterWise
LetterWise and WordWise were predictive text entry systems developed by Eatoni Ergonomics (Eatoni) for handheld devices with ambiguous keyboards / keypads, typically non-smart traditional cellphones and portable devices with keypads. All patents ...
—"Hit the key with the letter you want, if it doesn't come up, hit Next until it does."
*
FITALY An array, almost square, which minimizes distance traveled from one letter to another.
*
MessagEase, an input method optimized for the most common letters, that can enter hundreds of characters with single hand motions
*
8pen, an input method using circular swipes in an attempt to mimic hand movements
*
Graffiti, the Palm OS input method, entered using a stylus
*
Pouces, an input method using touches and swipes
Virtual keyboards
*
Fleksy
Fleksy is a third-party, proprietary virtual keyboard app for Android and iOS devices. It attempts to improve traditional typing speed and accuracy through enhanced auto-correction and gesture controls. Fleksy uses error-correcting algorithms ...
—Eyes-free touch typing for touchscreen devices, also used by blind / visually impaired people.
*
SwiftKey
Microsoft SwiftKey is a virtual keyboard app originally developed by TouchType for Android and iOS devices. It was first released for Android in July 2010, followed by an iOS release in September 2014 after Apple implemented third-party key ...
—context-sensitive word-prediction
[
]
*
Swype
Swype was a virtual keyboard for touchscreen smartphones and tablets originally developed by Swype Inc., founded in 2002, where the user enters words by sliding a finger or stylus from the first letter of a word to its last letter, lifting only be ...
, an input method that uses swiping gestures instead of tapping to quickly enter text
*
Gboard
Gboard is a virtual keyboard app developed by Google for Android and iOS devices. It was first released on iOS in May 2016, followed by a release on Android in December 2016, debuting as a major update to the already-established Google Keyboard ...
, the keyboard that comes bundled with the Android operating system
References
External links
Microsoft Input Method Editors (IMEs) for Chinese, Japanese and KoreanBhashaIndia the Microsoft portal for Indic languages, which has Indic IME for download.
Google Transliteration IMEs
{{Microsoft APIs
Input/output
User interface techniques
Natural language and computing
Articles containing video clips