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From: rond@pro-grouch.cts.com (Ron Dippold)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: HP-48sx<->IIGS
Message-ID: <3018.apple.net2@pro-grouch>
Date: 11 Jul 90 05:10:05 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 56

In-Reply-To: message from bchurch@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU

> Sorry, I don't have an answer for your post, just more questions. Does
> your HP actually support Kermit protocal xfers? I'd really like to hear
> more about the calculator.

It's the top of the line HP calculator, which means its the top of the line
calculator _period._  regarding your question, the calculator is actually a
full kermit server.  Hook it up to your PC and send and recieve stuff at 9600
baud (even though kermit makes the throughput much less) from your calculator.

The calculator itself has 32K RAM standard, expandable to 288K, and a ROM of
256K.  It has a full programming language built in (RPN with all the
structures).  It does anything in probability, statistics, graphing (it has 5
or 6 types of graphs, including parametric, polar, etc...), bases, any math
function you can think of.


It works well with objects... it handles strings very well.  Matrixes are a
primitive object and you can perform any matrix operation (I just solved a 64
x 64 matrix with mine...), as are lists (it does primitive list processing).

It is a fully symbolic calculator, you can put 'X' or any symbol you want
anywhere (except in a matrix, dammit, but there are programs to do it) and it
will carry through.  It solves for variables symbolically, takes symbolic
derivatives, and even (gasp) integrates symbolically.  It completely takes
care of units if you wish.  You can attach units to any number and it will
carry them through and keep track of the current units, as well as translating
into any other units, SI units, or whatever you want to do.

My favorite part (as an electrical engineer) is that it treats complex numbers
the same way it does real numbers... You can do any operation with them.  it
just checks to see which you're using and does the appropriate thing.  There's
nothing like finding node-voltage by having your HP solve a 6x6 complex matrix
while the rest of the class is trying to divide two complex numbers with their
Casios...

Hmmm...  it has a big lcd screen, 7 lines by 23 characters visibile at once,
or a big graph.  It has essentially an infinite stack, although it warns you
not to put more than "a couple hundred" items on the stack at once or you
could slow it down.

Oh yeah, thought of something about the kermit... It's a complete kermit
server, which means you can operate it remotely from the PC and use it as sort
of an external co-processor.  I can have my program send it a series of
commands and it will send the result back to the Apple.

By the time my class graduated, 80% of the electrical engineering computer
engineers and physics major seniors owned the predecesor, the HP-28x.

I've even got a SPICE program for it... Give it the circuit and it will solve
for everything.

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