Slashdot Mirror
A C Compiler For The HP49g+
Cheese Source writes "As previously mentioned on Slashdot, HP's latest and greatest calculator is the HP49g+. While it sports a very powerful (for a calculator) ARM9 cpu, it is only 3 times the speed of the 49g, running at 4MHz. This is because it has to emulate an older processor. Of course, some calculator geeks are now writing adapting a free, open-source C compiler for it. Based on GCC, you can now make programs that run natively on the CPU between 12 and 203MHz. 1000 factorial is calculated and displayed in the blink of an eye (the built in command takes 30 seconds). It will also allow for some great games."
Because the input interface (buttons vs touchpad) and output interface (greyscale vs energy-guzzling colour screen) of a calculator are more suitable for.. calculating. Pity about the crappy 49g+ keys [repaste 100000000 posts from c.s.hp48 here].
I suspect it was one of the two:
- Simple economics, if it's cheaper to use the faster processor and emulate the other one, it doesn't matter. Recoding for native operation may not have been possible. This is related to my second point:
- All glitches and problems with the existing design are well documented and hammered out. It may not have been feasible as I suspect there is a lot of verification that happens on these guys before they ship. If the calculator has been painstakenly debugged on one processor, it may very well be easier to insure 100% emulation than re-test all the functions.
..don't panic
The difference of course, pocket calculators have always had a very different, far less specific set of features to home PCs/PDAs and have traditionally been built for niche science/maths tasks.
Why start shifting calculators away from their original uses when PDAs are already available for the less specific functions such as nice graphics, sound, GPS and offer the same portability?
Also, if customers are writing their own programs with a C compiler to get speed, why not just use something like the Zaurus running Linux, and one of the many, full featured, science/math software suites for Linux?
Ah yes, rampant Consumericanism at its finest.
Maybe the reason 'they' 'don't just use something like a Zaurus running Linux' is because they've already got a fine working H49g+ in 'their' posession.
Don't you get it? You're only 'countering the view' on automatic. The solution to every cool hack is not automatically "you can buy something else instead and it'll be cooler".
(Not a Flame, not a Troll. Truly, this is Consumerican 'logic' at its finest...)
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
What course is it?
I thought that universities had gotten over programmable calculators.I imagine though they do not want students calling up answers on their wireless pdas.
"Sounds like a pretty crappy design decision to me."
You don't understand Engineering do you?
The design solution to a problem is about getting the best time, cost, risk and other constraints satisfied in the most optimal way possible. It may be lower risk to emulate an old processor than to port and regression test legacy code.
The best technical solution can often be the worst engineering solution, taking into account other cost and risk factors.
What is it that people have against the 49g+ keys? I've got just such a calculator, and the only complaint I've had is that the calculator was DOA - getting a replacement from HP was fairly painless though, even though I'd bought it on eBay.
.. plastic. Yes, if they'd made the keys from brushed aluminium or ebony, carefully hand-crafted by pure-minded tibetan nuns, that would have been nice, but who cares? Compared to my old Casio or my friend's TI, the HP kicks ass, every department. And now a C compiler? Wow. Can't wait to try it.
Regarding the keys, I find them to be just the right size, easy to read, have a distinct press, and not overly plasticy, despite being made of
Quality, performance, value; you get only two, and you don't always get to pick.
What is it that people have against the 49g+ keys?
These sound like the words of someone who has never used HP's 48 series. The keys were made out of a very solid plastic, never wobbled, gave you tactile feedback, etc. I think the other big complaint people have is the placement of the enter key, which was perfect on the 48 (big wide button, center left). Now I believe it's been shrunk and moved to the bottom right.
Now you may not care about all that, but the undeniable truth was that HP had a winning formula on the 48 and they threw it all away with the 49 series.
For true geekiness, you need to be able run a webserver on it.
See my journal, I write things there
Its not the economists, it is the investment bankers and the analysts. Take away their HP12Cs and what would they turn to for the time/money calculations? This is a very good way of committing financial suicide.
See my journal, I write things there
Frankly, I couldn't care less what the HP die-hard fanboys think. I'd rather listen to someone with a fresh perspective. To me, the 49g+ is the best calculator I've ever used. Maybe if I had also used a 48-series HP, I wouldn't think so. Does it matter? The 49g+ does its job and then some. There's a point where you get to "good enough" and after that the differences just don't matter anymore. Calling a product "mediocre" just because it doesn't live up to very high expectations is neither fair nor rational.
Quality, performance, value; you get only two, and you don't always get to pick.
The first batches of 49G+s were even worse than the current - so bad, in fact, that HP admitted the problem and tweaked a little. Everyone in the group that I'm aware of with such a unit has asked HP for a replacement, and almost everyone got one. (If they're new to the group, and haven't bothered reading any threads before replying, they're quickly pointed to the thousand other which state this.)
If you'd bothered to pick out any post from the ng (or any other HP forum, or hell, even the Amazon reviews..) that wasn't quoting the company on the quality of its own merchandise - cos that'd never be biased, no Sir - you'd see that few people think the problem is fixed. Even HP employees and ex-employees have discussed the issue for the whole 49 series.
These aren't calculator/HP/old-time zealots, they're engineers (and in fewer cases, physicists and mathematicians) who really really want an effective pocket calculating tool in the field. I'd be interested to hear from what profession you speak when you talk of "good enough".
The end is nigh.
No it's not. Calculators are bought by two kinds of people.
1) Students. Students can't use calculators with softkeys.
2) Professionals. Most professionals want calculators that actually work, not some Gameboy hack designed by Joe Shmoe that comes up with 2.99998 when asked to calculate the square root of nine. (They also want calculators with tactile feedback, long battery life, and the ability to work after being dropped a couple of times.)
[G]eneralization is cheaper than specific hardware
That's why my PC is cheaper than my XBOX. I mean, that's why my Palm is cheaper than my remote control. I mean, that's why my Hitachi 4GB Microdrive is cheaper than my iPod Mini. Hmm.
Anyway, calculators just in terms of hardware are cheap. But, er, good luck with that.
There are two kinds of people: 1) those who start arrays with one and 1) those who start them with zero.