Voice Recognition Software For Developers [closed]

Question

Well the docs finally said it, I need to take it easy on my wrist for a few months. Being that I'm a .NET Developer this could end my livelihood for a little while, something I'm not anxious to do. That said, are there any good handsfree options for developers? Anyone had success using any of the speech recognition software out there?

POSTSCRIPT: I've recovered my arm again to the point where two-handed programming isn't a problem. Dragon Naturally speaking worked well enough, but was slower, not like the keyboard where I was programming faster than I thought.

Answer 1

I tried Dragon a couple of years ago and it was a nightmare of mish-mashed words and phrases - not recommended. I understand that it was the best thing going at that point in time so I'm not optimistic.

As a fellow sufferer, recommendations would be:

1. Find a job that demands as little OT as possible
2. Try a variety of keyboards. In my experience, working on a laptop full-time worked best.
3. Start a program of low-moderate stress weight lifting.

Answer 2

I dictate VB.net and TSQL using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Professional. VB.net is inherently closer to a "spoken" language, but I don't see any reason why it couldn't work for C# or others. I start with a completely empty vocabulary, and build it from scratch to suit my needs (which is why I use the professional version).

Here's the basic steps (this assumes you have already created and trained a user):

1. Create a new vocabulary based on "Base General - Empty Dictation".
2. Don't have it scan your documents or email.
3. Add lists of keywords with pronunciation specific to your programming language (Dim, ByVal\by-val, etc.).
4. Create a .txt document that contains all of your code minus comments.
5. Harvest words from this document and add them with pronunciations.
6. Use the document to train the vocabulary's language model.

I'll write up something with more detail when I get a chance if anyone is interested.

Edit:

Here's how to dictate SQL code. The word list created here can be included in other vocabularies if you are a database developer.

Answer 3

Scott Hanselman uses voice recognition quite a bit.

Answer 4

I can't find a link to one (I did look) but there are keyboards with only 5 keys, allowing you to type with one hand, I assume that you only have one bad wrist.

If I find a link I'll try to message you.

Answer 5

Check out Using Python to Code by Voice.

Answer 6

As to the wrist issue, I learned using mouse with both hands some 10 years back.

It's surprisingly easy, and relieves the tension substantially. Currently, I'm using a laptop and pressing the touchpad button is straining my thumb.

Be careful. These problems can last way longer than one would think.

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p.s. you might add a tag 'ergonomics' or something - the title can be seen to be about developing for voice recognition.