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Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: RE:  Jim Donnely's book.
Message-ID: <9104022028.AA06965@engga>
From: waterman@engg.ucalgary.ca (jason waterman)
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 91 13:28:12 MST
Return-path: <waterman@engg.ucalgary.ca>
To: handhelds@gac.edu
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Hi there,

In a previous posting joe writes:

>Hello all,
>
>I am curious as to who has a copy of Jim Donnely's HP48sx handbook.  My main
>question is whether you found it useful.  In my continuing search for inside
>information about the 48SX, I seem to recall references to this book for things
>like the various self tests.  
>
>Does the book contain much in the way of internals, or is it pretty much just
>another rehash of the user manuals.  
>
>The same questions apply to Dr. Wickes recent "HP48SX Insights".  Anyone have
>that book yet?


	I've had Jim Donnely's HP48 Handbook for several months now and find
that I use it just about every day.

	The book does have information on all the system operations such as the
self tests and memory scanner.  The explains about how the calculator uses
temporary memory and how to write programs to use this most efficiently.  That
is about the extent of the internals information contained in the book.

	What I find most useful is the command reference which has information
and stack diagrams for every command listed in alphabetical order.  I assume
that the programmer's reference guide has a similar reference, but the HP48
Handbook's compact size (5"x7") makes it easy to carry.  There is also an index
of commands grouped by subject.

	Overall, I found that I've got my money's worth out of the book 
and would recommend it if you don't already have the programmer's reference
guide and would like a manual that eliminates the need to keep the bulky 
owner's manuals nearby.

Hope this helps.

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Jason Waterman
The University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Email: waterman@engg.ucalgary.ca
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