I'm looking for a reasonably simple algorithm to determine how difficult it is to type a word on the QWERTY layout.
The words would not necessarily be dictionary words, so a list of commonly mistyped words or the like is not an option. I'm sure there must be an existing, well-tested algorithm, but I can't find anything.
Can anyone offer any help or advice? I'm coding the algorithm in python, but any other language or pseudo-code is welcome.
There is this comparison between QWERTY, Colemak and Dvorak layouts, which calculates the distance between the keys typed, the percentage of keys on the same hand, etc. with source code in Java. These metrics in combination should give a very good estimate of the 'typeability' of a word.