3 ms·
Most of the point is the button-feel, though. If I'm just gonna use a computer, I might as well use a full REPL.
by dmd 4mo ago
Most of the point is the button-feel, though. If I'm just gonna use a computer, I might as well use a full REPL.
- Joel_Mckay 4mo agoRunning something like Julia in Termux is possible, but not a trivial install process. =3
- whartung 4mo agoI use hp48 app on the iPhone. Obviously it does not have the tactile feedback of the original. But it’s a far cry from using on a desktop with a mouse. Using a REPL as a replacement does not mimic the experience, I don’t think. Not for me at least. Mind, I’m talking a generic REPL. Like a CL REPL or similar, obviously not some custom calculator REPL. First off, you’re missing the stack, which is significant. CL can almost mimic this with , *, and *. But while it provides a free, handy value store, it’s not the same. You’d end up with contrivances like: (* * **) Then there’s the value of the special keys (i.e. SIN et al, gives a new feeling to the term “function key”). So, for me, a calculator and its hand held form factor, especially something like the high end HPs, go hand in hand. No doubt someone could (and likely has) code up a dedicated calculating experience, but a generic REPL I find to be unsuccessful in that role.
- RodgerTheGreat 4mo agoIf you want to use a REPL as a pleasant calculator you really want an APL-family language or a modern concatenative language like Factor. Sexprs are horrendously verbose in comparison.
- wang_li 4mo ago‘dc’ has been a thing on Unix forever. It uses RPN, provides arbitrary precision arithmetic, and is programmable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dc_%28computer_program%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dc_%28computer_program%29