[comp.sys.misc] HP Function Comparison

dex@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Dex Smith) (03/10/89)

When I count HP-42S functions I get 252 (and that's not including [FIND],
[MIN], and [MAX]).

Dex Smith

pam@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Pam Raby) (03/14/89)

I thoroughly enjoyed your comparison of HP calculators - it was a
lot of work!

> BINARY
> The 42S actually feels the best for interactive bit operations, but
> its wordsize is fixed at 36 bits.

We chose 36 bits because it is divisible by both 3 and 4.  Thus it
works out nicely for hex as well as octal.  We couldn't afford to
implement 64-bit binary operations/display (ROM constraints) and felt
36 bits was a reasonable compromise.

> COMPLEX
> The 42S is the best of the pack, however, as it is the first to display
> complex numbers in polar as well as rectangular coordinates.  ...
> The 42S particularly is a great complex arithmetic machine ...

> MATRIX
> The 42S is the winner again for incorporating matricies smoothly with
> other types of numbers and overloading the operators ... The 28S does
> pretty good as well, but it is not near as slick as the 42S.

> MENUS
> The 42S is an improvement on the 28S with it automatically popping
> back out of a menu after you have used it, but menus still are slow to
> use.

> STATS
> The 42S has done the best job of generalized curve fitting, with its
> BEST fit function.

Not bad for *half* the ROM !!!!!!!

Pam "I couldn't resist - I worked on the 42" Raby
pam@hp-pcd

WMartin@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL (William G. Martin) (03/16/89)

We've seen two follow-ups with the Subject: line as above, dated 9 and 13 Ma,
but have NEVER seen the basic posting with the actual HP calculator
comparison! We feel very deprived! Would whoever posted that originally
please re-post it, or mail a copy to "info-micro@wsmr-simtel20.army.mil"
so it gets on the info-micro mailing list on the ARPA/MILNET side, please!?!
Thanks much!

Regards, Will Martin
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