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whitefang

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 1, 2009
288
0
How sturdy is the built-in keyboard for programming? Can it handle 1 million lines of code?
 
The good thing about the structure of the new unibody based Macbook Pros is that the keyboard seems merged with the chassis so there is no flex and seems very sturdy. Structure wise the frame is as stiff as the IBM thinkpads I've used over the years. The only possible problem I could see are the keys itself. Those things tend to wear down fast and tend to smooth out but thats mostly just a cosmetic thing. Also the feel of the Macbook Pro keyboard might put off some people who are used to the more traditional meaty keyboards.

Also the illuminated keyboard is really nice if you are the kind of person who likes to code in the dark.
 
I've worn out two keyboards on my previous windows laptop from coding (letters worn off, cracked keys, and keys that just stop working). So far, the Unibody keyboard seems very sturdy. I'll let you know in a couple of years how it holds up...:D
 
Why are you writing that much code on a laptop keyboard? Get an external keyboard.
 
Isn't .Net a framework for windows? Why are you using a mac?

He mentioned the Mono project. I don't know a lot about it but I'm pretty sure it's cross platform.

I'm a .NET dev using Fusion. I love the keyboard; plenty sturdy for countless coding sessions.
 
The keyboard is sturdy, but if your coding your going to wear the keys shiny in about 2 days.

I've tried to keep them clean and they really just wear VERY quickly. Not a big deal though, the keyboard is still great.
 
I just wrote a 250 page dissertation on my white MacBook, and quite a bit of programming. Oh, don't forget my ridonkulous number of posts at MR. :p That's probably a good 80,000 of text on my keyboard right there.


Your keyboard will hold up.
 
Plenty of authors use MBPs, and I'd bet they type a lot more lines of text than a programmer, so yes, the keyboard should normally hold up fine for programming. A million lines of code...? A million lines of writing numerous papers, articles or novels...? Hard to say, that's a lot of lines. If you typed a thousand lines of code a day, you'd still need a thousand days to get there, which is nearly three years of constant typing.
 
best keyboard i've ever used

Nothing is better than the old IBM keyboard.


I use my mbp for program (visual studio under bootcamp) and i miss some features :

insert and scroll (is tricky to do it).
and
right button (too is too tricky).

but the rest is fine, the brackets are in a right position and the keyboard is ok, not the best of the market, just fine.
 
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