2. The method of claim 1 , wherein altering the display of the graphical representation of the first subset of the sequence of strokes further comprises: ceasing to display the graphical representation of the first subset of the sequence of strokes when the confidence level is of at least the second confidence threshold.
1. A method for recognizing characters, comprising: receiving touch-based input relating to a sequence of strokes at a touch-based interface of a computing device, wherein a first subset of the sequence of strokes corresponds to a first area of the touch-based interface and a second subset of the sequence of strokes corresponds to a second area of the touch-based interface that at least partially overlaps the first area; displaying a graphical representation of the first subset of the sequence of strokes on an output device coupled to the computing device; determining a confidence level that a first character approximately matches the first subset of the sequence of strokes, wherein the confidence level is of at least a first confidence threshold, further comprising: checking a combination of the first character and a determined character against a language reference; ranking the first character based at least in part on approximate matches of the combination of the first character and one or more previously determined characters found in the language reference, wherein the ranking is related to the confidence level; and selecting the first character when the ranking is above a selected threshold level; altering the display of the graphical representation of the first subset of the sequence of strokes based on the confidence level; and providing the first character for processing by an application executing on the computing device when the confidence level is of at least a second confidence threshold, wherein the application is designed to process characters from touch-based input.