Comment by drbawb | Hacker News Reader

Comment by drbawb | Hacker News Reader

Yes, I have a desktop calculator primarily because I like using RPN, and there are very few software RPN calculators _that aren't just HP emulators._ In a pinch I will use PCalc in RPN mode on iPadOS, and Droid48 on Android, but those just can't beat the tactile sensation of real buttons.

I bought a SwissMicros DM42: the build quality is great, the e-ink display works really nice for a calculator, and it sips power compared to more recent graphing calculators. (I've had this thing for over a year and it's still showing a full charge on the CR2032 battery it shipped with. My HP 50g used to demolish a set of like 3 or 4x AAA batteries every 2-3 months.) My only complaint is the rubber feet have exposed my office desk as not being a truly flat surface.[1] (I also have access to an HP-15C (both the original and a clone), but I like being able to see the whole stack in XYZT mode. I have no mind's eye, so seeing only the one register is torture for me.)

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ji41DzipIU

> there are very few software RPN calculators _that aren't just HP emulators._

Command line: orpie [https://github.com/pelzlpj/orpie] is okay; it has math functions that dc doesn't have.

GUI: galculator, in RPN mode

> there are very few software RPN calculators _that aren't just HP emulators

https://yiyus.info/bqrpn/

Definitively not an HP emulator.

> there are very few software RPN calculators _that aren't just HP emulators.

What about dc?

https://i.imgur.com/2gPCYOF.png

wtf ok i'm going back to my HP49 emulator

You stored 3.14159 in register i and removed it from the top of the main stack. Then you tried to print the top of the empty stack with n and pop it. That's why you got the stack empty error.

(Y)

It takes a minute to understand its operation, unlike any text editor.

The only real way to understand it is to read the man page. That said, once you get the hang of it, you can sum all numbers on the stack with the following program

    [ + z 1 <s ] ss ls x p

The [ and ] delimit the macro definition that's placed on top of the stack. ss stores the just defined macro in register s and removes it from the top of the main stack. ls loads the macro from register s and places it on the top of the main stack. x executes the macro and p prints the final result.

As for the macro, + pops the top two elements on the stack, adds them and places the result on the top of the stack. z pushes the stack size on top of the stack. 1 pushes 1 on top of the stack. <s pops the top two elemenets on the stack, compares them, and if the top element is less than the the second element, it executes the macro stored in register s. Otherwise, it doesn't do anything.

The macro will execute as long as the stack size is greater than 1. Once the stack size is 1, it will terminate and the p command prints the sum of all the numbers on the stack.

same same. but i have parked the DM42 and stick to my 50g and 11c. i also have the hp that has hex and binary mode but it’s more of a novelty than my daily driver.

I believe you’re referring to the HP 16C which has hex/bin/oct.

thank you, that is the one! unlike the others, i never owned it originally. i bought it maybe 6 or 8 years ago on ebay. back in the age of apple ][, DOS and the like, i can imagine how it might have been quite a useful tool calculator.

oh, i also have a machinists calculator. it can do specific calcs like speeds and feeds, bolt pattern spacing, inch/metric conversion, etc. i rarely use that one too, but it's nice. i love how it has "adj", "opp", "hyp" markings for trig functions.

My keyboard has an OLED display, and I built a calculator mode into it in emulation of the old Focus FK-9000.

Mine is RPN though.

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