Stitch & Motif Maker uses a variety of handknitting symbols. Some are easily recognizable, other esoteric. The important thing to remember is no matter how the symbols are labeled, use the symbols that are meaningful to you as a knitter.
I don’t think there is anything more frustrating than having to look at a legend on every row because I cannot remember what the symbol means.
For myself, I always use | to mean knit and – to mean purl, no matter the side. The official meaning of | is "knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side". I see | and my brain computes knit.
You will also find a variety of letters and shapes. Use these symbols for black and white printouts of color work.
The modular cable system is terrific for building complex twist stitches.
For more, see Symbol Definitions.