Bad predictions

Hi all
I am quite upset with all these comments on the market and forums saying that the "prediction algorithm" is awful, "worse than the default keyboard", and so on.
These comments don't help at all, and I will say it again, but:

- I use the same (english) word list as the stock keyboard
- I use the same suggestion algorithm as the stock keyboard. It's the same code.

So for people saying that the stock keyboard is "way better", please explain with precise examples why you think so. If there are really differences, it could be linked to the different layout which causes a different proximity detection, or to the user dictionnary, or something else... But without real examples, it will never improve

Thanks for your help

I don't know what people have been saying on the ratings, but usually they are not very informed remarks. and i agree, usually not helpful.

with regard to the prediction algorithm, for some reason it does seem different to me. and it does not have to do with the proximity or layout, as careful key presses still return the same results.

it may have to do with the stock keyboard handling short word suggestions differently.

for instance, typing "id" on the stock keyboard will suggest "I'd"... on SKP it will give you "is".
typing "te" (because the crappy droid screen often misses adjacent keys ("the")) "te" provides no suggestions on the stock, just "te", on SKP it suggests "tea".
typing "dwon" (in an attempt to type "down") on stock returns "Deon" on SKP returns "dwindle"

there are little differences like this all over the place.


motorola droid 2.0.1

Thanks a lot !
I will study these differences and check where they come from

That's very interesting... Can someone tell me what happens on a Nexus 1 ?
I cannot reproduce what you describe with "my" "stock" keyboard. I have the same results with Android keyboard, SKP, BK, and even HTC IME, so it's not related to the word list itself, and maybe there is an improved autotext in the Moto Droid.
Indeed for instance "id" should not suggest "I'd" instead of "is", as "is" has a much higher word frequency than "I'd", so this must come from somewhere else...

another inconsistency:

some users have noted that sometimes you have to type the whole word to get it to work. i have noticed this too with random words. here is one example:

typing the word "screen"

stock keyboard: sc-SC, scr-screen, scre-screen, scree-scree, screen-screen
SKP: sc-Scot, scr-scree, scre-acre, scree-scree, screen-screen

motorola droid 2.0.1

Well... then it seems "your" stock keyboard is not the same as mine, or that the moto droid has a custom word list and autotext, because I don't have the same results.
For my information, do you have other keyboards, and what do they suggest in that case with your phone ?

Thanks

hey cyril,

unfortunately i only have two keyboards, yours and the stock.

i did however try to see if i had added words to the user dictionary to see if that was influencing the results... but from what i can tell that is not an issue.

Well..... I just realized there is something in the code leading to bad predictions compared to stock
Will fix it in the next release, it will hopefully bring improvements !

Great news!

just updated to 1.9.0, moto droid 2.0.1

with regard to the specific examples i listed in this thread (th-tea, dwon-dwindle) the 1.9.0 update did not change anything. still behaves the same as before. im not saying that either prediction engine is better than the other. but it doesn't appear that the 1.9.0 update changed the way it was already behaving.

Yes I was about to explain that it will not change anything for your examples.
I am still waiting for feedback to understand the behaviour of your phone, and I need to know if it's the same on the Nexus One or other phones. What you describe is just impossible with the stock keyboard if it has the same word list as mine, so I would say the Moto Droid has a smaller dictionary and probably a different autotext from the default one.
What is improved in 1.9.0 is prediction of short words when letters are missing (e.g "sloly" -> "slowly")

andyk wrote:another inconsistency:

some users have noted that sometimes you have to type the whole word to get it to work. i have noticed this too with random words. here is one example:

typing the word "screen"

stock keyboard: sc-SC, scr-screen, scre-screen, scree-scree, screen-screen
SKP: sc-Scot, scr-scree, scre-acre, scree-scree, screen-screen

motorola droid 2.0.1

when skpro was launched i had problems with the way it handled word prediction of smaller words like 'tje' wouldn't yield 'the' but i don't know what you did perhaps make the prediction algorithm suggest for a larger area of hits or something, but now it does a better job. if you flat out type 'tje' it yields 'tje' but if you are closer to the 'h' than the 'j', it renders 'the'. i am loving it!

the example quoted above is very true. would love to see it somehow working! keep up the great work!

btw i'm on the n1 and i'm seeing:

stock: "is", "tea" and "Deon"
skp: "is", "tea" and "dwindle"

If I try to type "testing," the stock keyboard suggests it after "testi" but SKP insists on resting.

Fixed in 1.11.2, as well as other missing words

That's awesome, thanks Cyril. If I find any others, I'll let you know.

in 1.12, i can definitely notice a significant difference in word prediction. frequently, i'd type "stipid" instead of stupid, and instead of having any corrections, it would just remain as stipid. now, it's "stupid" and also, the correction of words when missing a character has increased dramatically.

cyril, great work, and keep it up. i find myself checking my Downloads in the Market 4 times a day just to see "update available" next to SKP

Does the prediction "learn" from word usage? It seems like the longer I use (and no, my accuracy hasn't improved), the better completions are.

Well... I tried on a Android 1.5 phone and indeed it seems there are problems with suggestions. But on a Android 2 phone I don't see any regression compared to the previous version. "stupid" works for me maybe you have added it by mistake in your user dictionary ? that would explain the problem

As for the learning, it is possible, as words are automatically added to the user dictionary if you type them more than 5 times. But I plan to work on a better learning method

OMG !!
I just found a huge bug which is present probably since the beginning, regarding the detection of key presses, and causing wrong key detections.
I didn't see it with Android 2.1, but with Android 1.5 it is clear that it causes very bad suggestions

I will release a fix ASAP

I read this thread with great interest. Your keyboard works really well but has a few glitches as described above.
I have a nexus one so if there are things that need trying, post here or pm me.

I will also get my Nexus One soon hopefully (thank you Google ), so I will try to understand why and how its dictionary would be better

Found one before I lost my G1.

Enter "vsck". "backs" is suggested as default. "back" is the LAST word suggested. "back" should be the default, IMO.

And I still cannot find SKP in Market. Please help.

Was typing "servers" but no prediction found. Android Keyboard does with the same key combination. :\

I type "servers" and it works... can you try again? I think this would have something to do with the location where you press the keys, but I'm not sure yet where the problem could come from

OK.. just identified a subtle bug which explains that sometimes there are no predictions at all. It happens when you move your finger quickly over different keys.
Working on a fix...

Oh, it explains why it predicts sometimes and doesn't at others - for the same word! I'll wait for the update, sir.

Don't wait, it's already there!

I have to use Market Enabler to see the updates so notifications weren't automatic.

One more check: does typing "wont" or something similar default to "wont" or "won't"? I think "won't" be a better default!

Can we have "haha" as one of the words? Currently, I have to put it in user dictionary which I lose now and then because of constant formats.

For "won't", I need to change something in the autotext, and I plan to do it very soon.
For the lost dictionary, I plan to implement a backup system (standalone or thanks to MyBackup - the developers contacted me to integrate it)