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I find these calculators fascinating. I'm not a computer scientist, but I find it really intriguing that their processors naturally handled binary encoded deci
by dm319 3y ago
I find these calculators fascinating. I'm not a computer scientist, but I find it really intriguing that their processors naturally handled binary encoded decimal, and also their algorithms for calculating trig and log functions on such limited processing power. I understand the early HPs excelled themselves on returning accurate results, often more accurate than more modern machines.
Day to day I use free42/plus42 on my phone for working out quick calculations. I find the RPN works best when you're trying to solve numerical questions as you go. It also has great time/date functions which help me to plan driving trips etc, and it is programmable, so I have a few useful calculators on it for EV charging etc.
- scrlk 3y agoA series of articles in the HP Journal explained how these algorithms worked: May 1977 - Square Roots (pg. 22): https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1977-05.pdf https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1977-05.pdf June 1977 - Trigonometric Functions (pg. 17): https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1977-06.pdf https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1977-06.pdf November 1977 - Inverse Trigonometric Functions (pg. 22): https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1977-11.pdf https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1977-11.pdf April 1978 - Logarithmic Functions (pg. 29): https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1978-04.pdf https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1978-04.pdf
- nhatcher 3y agoBeautiful resources. Thank you!
- baz00 3y agoI still use a descendent, the HP 50g for a lot of stuff. I've got programs I use regularly that are 30 years old now!
- jgrahamc 3y agoWould love to know what old programs you still use regularly do.
- baz00 3y agoMostly statistics operations on simple lists, a decision analysis tool and financial planning.
- tiltowait 3y agoThe 50g remains the best calculator I've ever used. I've also got a prime, and while it may be faster and come with a larger library, it feels so much more limited and clunky.