Sure, though if you're looking to be pedantic, the keys they're asking you to press are neither random nor arbitrary
Edit: perhaps you're making the case that the user doesn't choose which key. This is true—but the important point is that one of the two parties did choose the specific key to press.
What's the minimum set of requested key presses that will uniquely identify a keyboard layout from a set of known types.
Given a budget of k key strokes what's the most informative subset that will reduce the ambiguity about layout.
Given the measurement from the requested key strokes find the posterior over the set of known keyboard layouts.
Given that the user is typing some free form text in his language how soon can one nail the layout when the user's language, the layout and the text are unknown. Will make a good practice exercise for hobbyist codebreaking.
I suppose you could rely on a binary code, where the user is instructed to press any two keys to repeat the code, or if there is only one key (or it's a barcode scanner), to enter the same input multiple times, separated by long and short pauses.
Still seems like it would be difficult for the average user.
alsetmusic•1h ago
Our_Benefactors•1h ago
QuercusMax•1h ago
Of course, when you're setting up your OS initially, it will ask you questions about language and keyboard layout. I suspect most people don't switch keyboards after install, and of those who do, the most common case is another keyboard with a compatible layout.
HPsquared•1h ago
jasonjayr•1h ago
masfuerte•1h ago
thebruce87m•1h ago
dlcarrier•56m ago
The most likely reason it would be a problem then would be that some Raspberry Pi images have defaulted to British English keyboard layouts. Otherwise you may be sailing through life unburdened by what can be a major pain to anyone anywhere else in the world, like a resident of Arizona wondering why the rest of the world keeps messing with their clocks.