Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!jhunix!bio_zwbb
From: bio_zwbb@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (William Busa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: HP 48 revisions
Message-ID: <6447@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
Date: 18 Sep 90 12:39:44 GMT
References: <25590057@hpcvra.CV.HP.COM>
Reply-To: bio_zwbb@jhunix.UUCP (Dr. William B. Busa)
Organization: Dept. of Biology, The Johns Hopkins University
Lines: 29


	An unfriendly behavior of the 48 which I have run afoul of several
times, but have never seen listed as a bug, involves INPUT (by the by, I
have a Revision D ROM). Try the following:

\<< "" "" INPUT
    DO
    UNTIL 0
    END
\>>

INPUT puts the 48 into Program Entry Mode, but PROGRAM ENTRY MODE IS NOT
EXITED once INPUT has done its job! The command line, with an ugly frozen
cursor, is still displayed while the DO loop runs. Dr. Wickes, is this a
bug? It seems to me that INPUT should leave the machine in the same state
it found it in -- i.e., Program Entry Mode should be cleared.

	I originally became aware of this while playing with Rick
Grevelle's SYSEVALed keys. I wrote a short program employing INPUT to
permit me to input a SYSEVAL number to execute. The "alpha" SYSEVALs
behave in an interesting fashion when called while Program Entry Mode is
active -- a program won't terminate until it receives alpha input. But if
the same SYSEVAL is called when the computer is NOT in Program Entry Mode,
the program will terminate normally even WITHOUT alpha input. 

	I realize that nothing can be guaranteed to function correctly
when you start messing with SYSEVALS, so I mention this only as a
for-instance. However, I DO maintain that INPUT should leave the 48 in the
same state in which it found it!