A series of switches, arranged somewhat like a standard "QWERTY" typewriter that allows you to send information to a computer. There is no such animal as a "standard" computer keyboard.
Information and resources about computer hardware - keyboards.
The QWERTY keyboard layout of 1874 was originally devised by typewriter inventor Christopher Sholes.
The Dvorak layout, a more efficient and ergonomic alternative to QWERTY and its variants devised by August Dvorak in 1932 after almost two decades of research.