Re:UI is hell: four-function calculators
by kstrauser on Friday January 24, 2025 @11:29AM
(#42814716)
I have an HP 50g that makes it easy to flip between RPN and textbook-style graphical equations where you can arrow around and tweak any value. You can have both approaches in the same place.
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Re:UI is hell: four-function calculators
by 7thaccount on Friday January 24, 2025 @11:45AM
(#42814881)
Agreed, but the 50g is ancient and is the only calculator to my knowledge that has that capability.
For the most part the options are an older style RPN calculator (even the super nice swiss micros don't have equation scroll, although you can at least see the contents of the stack on the screen like the later HP calcs could), or what TI and Casio have.
The whole 48/49/50 series covering 1990–2015 has that equation writer functionality, or in other words: every RPN graphing calculator.
Re:UI is hell: four-function calculators
by 7thaccount on Friday January 24, 2025 @06:42PM
(#42818028)
Good point.
Still a niche within a though. They weren't that common in the wild like the old HPs were. I knew someone in the engineering program at Texas Tech with a 50g, but never saw a single engineer or stem major at my school with one. They had them in production for awhile, so they're out there (logically speaking), but they've got to be a big outlier.