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
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. --
"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?
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.