Typing
From MandarinWiki
In order to type Chinese characters, you must have an input manager installed in your operating system, and an input method installed in the input manager. The role of an input manager is to switch between input methods. The role of an input method is to translate sequences of keystrokes into Chinese characters.
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Input Managers
SCIM
SCIM is a very popular input manager for the X11/X.org environment. It is a good choice for the novice because it is easy to setup.
Quail for Emacs
Quail is Emacs' built in input manager. For typing Chinese characters in Emacs, you will find it to be better integrated than using an external piece of software.
fcitx
Fcitx is a very nice looking program, and indeed very good to use if its defaults suit you. But it seems to have three significant drawbacks: obtrusive default key bindings, poor support for binding less obtrusive keys, and poor documentation. If any of these items changed significantly, this reviewer would be willing to give it another shot.
Input Methods
Many different input methods exist for typing Chinese characters. The reason for this is that there is no one right way to translate sequences of Roman letters and numbers into Chinese characters.
Wiki readers: chime in and vouch for your favorite input method, and give reasons.
WuBi
WuBi is a character-based, as opposed to pronunciation-based input method. Every alphabetic key on the keyboard represents a set of radicals. Any character can be typed with 1 to 4 alphabetic keystrokes, and often a space to terminate input of a character. In a few cases a numeric disambiguation key is also necessary. The WuBi character-space also includes many shortcuts--common words and phrases--to lend efficiency to the skilled typist. The learning curve of WuBi is steep. The advantages over pronunciation-based input methods are the ability to find characters that you don't know how to pronounce, reinforcement in learning the radicals of characters, and not having to use number keys and visual feedback as much as some other input methods. Note, the WuBi radicals are similar to, but not the same as the radicals used in dictionaries. Recommendations: print out the WuBi chart, use WuBi tutoring software, and practice, practice, practice. Over time, the associations you learn between key sequences, WuBi radicals, and Chinese characters will strengthen your memory for Chinese characters.
Pinyin
The pinyin input method allows a user to input Chinese characters based on their pinyin pronunciation. The main advantage of the pinyin input method is its shallow learning curve. Even those who have just begun to learn Chinese will be able to input characters. Due to the multiple characters which share a common pronunciation (even tone) a GUI interface pops up on screen as a user is typing to allow the user to select the exact character intended. Most pinyin input software can recognize the previously typed characters and select the appropriate character. Even so, pinyin input methods usually learn the phases most often typed by the user and improve their default character selections over time. Pinyin input is an excellent input methods for Chinese characters for the novice or the individual who uses Chinese as a secondary language and lacks the time or motivation to learn an input method with a steeper learning curve.
