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Show HN: All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Show HN: All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own

#101

Post by slaymaker1907 »

What I usually end up doing is just using python3 (specifically not python2 because I think python3's handling of division is better for general use). I haven't finished reading your article, but it's really good. I really like that I can open up my "calculator" and use it with just the keyboard, plus it has an immutable history and variables.

Does anyone know of a good RPN calculator for Android? I currently use RealCalc, but it isn't nearly as good as PCalc on iOS. I particularly liked that PCalc was programmable with custom functions.

Re: Show HN: All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own

#102

Post by ncmncm »

I don't understand this. What do /bin/bc or /bin/dc lack? (It was hard to tell from the article, because most of the graphics did not load.)

A good thing about these bin tools is that you can cut and paste from a text editor, for scripting, and you get a transcript. And, GNU readline works, for history.

Re: Show HN: All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own

#103

Post by krallja »

CrendKing wrote: post #83

The one thing I don't get about all those calculator applications is the existence of the keypad. Like, the users already have the keypad right in front them called keyboard (the names literally share the "key" part). Why would anyone instead choose to use mouse to click those tiny buttons? I feel most calc designers still stuck at the skeuomorphism and never jump out of the box to think about what user really needs.…

What about Calca or Soulver? They don’t have keypads at all. They’re more like REPLs for calculation languages.

Re: Show HN: All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own

#104

Post by savant_penguin »

actually_a_dog wrote: post #57
savant_penguin wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also do the same although when I need fractions, having to type all the words to import and use the fraction module is a pain

Why not just save those words, and other commonly used words to a startup file? Then, you can just do export PYTHONSTARTUP=/home/savant_penguin/.python/startup.py and those things will be automatically loaded for you. (Edit: add that line to your .bashrc if you want to use it all or most of the time!) If you don't want them always loaded, but rather just for a "calculator mode," you can do something like alias pycalc…

This is a really nice idea.

Together with some from fractions import Fraction as F would be even better

Thanks

Re: Show HN: All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own

#106

Post by Aachen »

fendy3002 wrote: post #96
CrendKing wrote: post #83

The one thing I don't get about all those calculator applications is the existence of the keypad. Like, the users already have the keypad right in front them called keyboard (the names literally share the "key" part). Why would anyone instead choose to use mouse to click those tiny buttons? I feel most calc designers still stuck at the skeuomorphism and never jump out of the box to think about what user really needs.…

Well until you need scientific calculator computation, such as log, sin / cos, rad / deg, root.

I think they were talking about the number keys, and perhaps plus and equals (but that might need shift depending on the keyboard and be less convenient), not cosine and family.

Re: Show HN: All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own

#108

Post by bufferoverflow »

CrendKing wrote: post #83

The one thing I don't get about all those calculator applications is the existence of the keypad. Like, the users already have the keypad right in front them called keyboard (the names literally share the "key" part). Why would anyone instead choose to use mouse to click those tiny buttons? I feel most calc designers still stuck at the skeuomorphism and never jump out of the box to think about what user really needs.…

Touchscreens

Re: Show HN: All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own

#109

Post by topspin »

CrendKing wrote: post #83

The one thing I don't get about all those calculator applications is the existence of the keypad. Like, the users already have the keypad right in front them called keyboard (the names literally share the "key" part). Why would anyone instead choose to use mouse to click those tiny buttons? I feel most calc designers still stuck at the skeuomorphism and never jump out of the box to think about what user really needs.…

SpeQ Mathematics has been my go-to for many years. The times have left it behind, but it's still too handy to forego. It's a simple, vanishingly small (132KB) REPL.
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