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Windows 10 Calculator Will Soon Be Able To Graph Math Equations (zdnet.com)

Earlier this month, Microsoft made the source code for its Windows calculator available on GitHub. This has spurred developers to add new features to the app, like a new graphing mode that will make its way to the official Windows Calculator app. The "Graphing Mode" is one of 30+ suggestions that open-source contributors have proposed so far. The ZDNet reports: As its name implies, Graphing Mode will allow users to create graphs based on mathematical equations, in a similar way to Matlab's (way more advanced) Plotting Mode. The feature was proposed by Microsoft engineer Dave Grochocki, also a member of the Windows Calculator team. In a GitHub issue Grochocki submitted to support his proposal, he argued that a graphing mode would help students learn algebra easier.

"High school algebra is the gateway to mathematics and all other disciplines of STEM," Grochocki said. "However, algebra is the single most failed course in high school, as well as the most failed course in community college." By adding a Graphing Mode to Windows Calculator, an app included with all Windows 10 versions, the Microsoft engineer hopes to provide students and teachers with a free tool to help schools across the world.
"Physical graphing calculators can be expensive, software solutions require licenses and configuration by school IT departments, and online solutions are not always an option," he added. "Graphing capabilities in their daily tools are essential for students who are beginning to explore linear algebra as early as 8th grade. [...] At present, Windows Calculator does not currently have the needed functionality to meet the demands of students."

There's no timeline for when the new graphing mode will arrive, but it should arrive soon.

12 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Heh... by Pezbian · · Score: 2

    "Nobody carries a calculator wherever they go." -- every math teacher in history
    My Dad's cellphone already had a calculator in the early 90s.

    I'm sure TI will figure out plenty of ways to force a $100+ price on 1980s technology.

    --
    In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
    1. Re: Heh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Didn't know if it was Base 10 or Hex multiplication, so I did both.

  2. Notepad Next by mentil · · Score: 2

    What I'd REALLY like is for MS to open-source Notepad. That's in more dire need of new features than the (now quite decent) Calculator app is.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re: Notepad Next by aglider · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Forget about that.
      Maybe MS will buy notepad++.
      It's the normal MS strategy: don't do anything meaningful, do nonsense.

      --
      Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  3. Like solitaire by qubezz · · Score: 2

    And it can be ad-free for just $10 a year...

  4. Redmond, start your photocopiers by Tom · · Score: 2, Informative

    You mean windows will get a feature that's been built-in to every Mac I've ever owned?

    (to those who don't own a Mac - I'm speaking of Grapher).

    So amazing... so revolutionary... please do let me know when windows get another feature that real operating systems have had for a quarter century.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    1. Re:Redmond, start your photocopiers by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

      Because MacOS is a pain in the ass. It's that simple.
      If you are a windows user, then there is actually not much of a difference.

      Fact is there is no good OS on the market. They just all suck for different reasons.
      Perhaps you are mixing up UI with OS?

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  5. Windows filling out features for MacOS8.6 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Slowly but surely MS is catching up. XD lul.

  6. They already have it? by abelenky17 · · Score: 2

    Microsoft already has Microsoft Mathematics (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15702), that does exactly this, and a lot more.

  7. Mac os had this back in the mid 90's! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

    Mac os had this back in the mid 90's!
    https://www.pacifict.com/Story...

  8. RPN by clifwlkr · · Score: 2

    How about adding an RPN mode? I know it is not that popular, but I still prefer it for rapid calculations in chains. So much quicker to type and figure out the numbers as you go along then adding all the parens, etc.

  9. Linear often means affine by tepples · · Score: 2

    "Linear" means different things in different contexts. In high school, a "linear equation" in fact means affine equation. "Linear" doesn't gain the specialized meaning related to the superposition principle until college.