undefined | Better HN

0 pointsdlcarrier6mo ago0 comments

I used to write software on my HP calculator, when I was bored in classes, before smartphones existed. It used a tokenized language called RPL, and the editor would read and parse just enough tokens to fill up the screen.

I miss how fast it was, compared to modern computers. VS Code is much laggier in comparison.

0 comments

ConceptJunkie6mo ago

I used to dream about owning a programmable calculator in the late 70s/early 80s, but by 1980 we had Apple ][s in my high school and in 1982, I was able to use the PCs in college, first programming in BASIC and later Turbo Pascal, which was the best PC development tool in the 1980s. Most of my classes were in Pascal. My first job was in C++ and I was doing C++ by 1993 and still am.

Now I write Python for fun.

dlcarrierOP6mo ago

Have you tried Lazarus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_%28software%29, https://www.lazarus-ide.org/)? When doing something for the fun of it, I would much rather work with Pascal than Python. Both languages were developed to be quick and dirty, but I feel like Pascal is more on the quick side, and Python is more on the dirty side.

fuzztester6mo ago

Which model of HP calculator?

And what kinds of programs could you write with it?

dlcarrierOP6mo ago

I had a 48S then a 49g+. I played around with a few games and a Magic Eye style (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_dot_stereogram) 3D image generator, as well as programs to do actual math in my math classes. The math teachers teachers at my high school had a policy that, on exams, students could run any program they wrote, so I wrote programs to do the math and "show my work". Solving equations on paper was half of the grade, and getting the correct answer was the other half, but my handwriting is really bad, so I'd always get the wrong answer if I did it by hand.

HP's calculators are pretty capable, with built-in commands for image processing, so RPL programs could rival the capabilities of assembly language programs on TI-8x calculators.

fuzztester6mo ago

Thanks for the reply.

I had asked because I was thinking of getting some small device like a PDA or programmable calculator, to use to write small programs for fun and possibly actual use, when I'm not with my laptop.

I am not sure if any PDAs or such calculators are still made these days. I have googled some, but so far did not find any, IIRC. So I may have to buy a used calculator or PDA, if I can find a model I like.

I used to have 2 different Palm PDA models earlier, first a V and then a Zire, but I never did any programming with them, although I do remember trying to use Pippy, a Python 2.x version ported to the Palm. But it used to crash all the time, so I could not really do any programming on it, unfortunately.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

ConceptJunkie6mo ago

Now I write Python for fun.

dlcarrierOP6mo ago

fuzztester6mo ago

Which model of HP calculator?

And what kinds of programs could you write with it?

dlcarrierOP6mo ago

HP's calculators are pretty capable, with built-in commands for image processing, so RPL programs could rival the capabilities of assembly language programs on TI-8x calculators.

fuzztester6mo ago

Thanks for the reply.

I had asked because I was thinking of getting some small device like a PDA or programmable calculator, to use to write small programs for fun and possibly actual use, when I'm not with my laptop.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse