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Subject: Re: Calculators revisited (TI-86, HP 48gx)
From: Chuck Taylor (ctaylor@XXX.XXX)
Date: Sat Dec 09 2000 - 16:26:00 EST
Geoff Kuenning wrote:
>
> I heartily agree with Dan in general, but my experience leads me to
> one caveat.
>
> ... I have found that, at least for my mind, RPN is the perfect
> notation for ad-hoc calculations, but it is much less handy for
> writing complicated programs. The problem is that when you are
> writing a long program, it is very difficult to keep track of what is
> on the stack.
When programming with the HP48G series, you have a choice. Suppose for
example, you want to multiply the sine of latitude times the sine of
declination. You can either use RPN:
Lat
SIN
Dec
SIN
*
or algebraic notation enclosed in single quotes:
'SIN(Lat) * SIN(Dec)'
It gives you the best of both worlds.
Chuck Taylor
Everett, WA, USA
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