Re: [What is RPN exactly?] Message #39 Posted by Cristian Arezzini on 19 June 2012, 8:21 p.m., in response to message #38 by Tim Wessman
Quote:
ENTER as most people understand means "accept the input you just gave" or else "move to the next line". Note that is not in reference to calculators, but general understanding and usage of most modern electronics.
Exactly, this is just my problem. I end up doing i.e. 2 ENTER 3 ENTER + (which I intend as "Enter number 2, now enter number 3, now sum them") and getting 6 instead of 5 as a result. My brain has problems getting comfortable with the fact that the first argument must be ENTERed, while the second doesn't have to.
I especially get confused on one-line machines when I don't immediately see that X and Y are the same.
A specific usage case where the DUP on ENTER is unconfortable to me, happens often in my job. I often have to enter a number, before knowing if I have to apply an operation to it or if I have to enter another number.
So if I enter the number then I happen to not have to enter another number, I have to remember to press Rv before performing the operation, otherwise the operation is performed on the duplicated X values. I have actually lost money (not much luckily) after starting to use the WP34s, because I was so used to RPL.
The solution would be to enter the digits *without* pressing ENTER, and pressing it only if I have to add another number, before entering it. But this feels weird.
And anyway: I haven't seen many people that, having "grown" on RPL, and meeting RPN later, find the latter more efficient. And the other way around. This leads me to believe that there's no "best", but there's just "what we got used to".
Cristian
(Edit: wording)
Edited: 19 June 2012, 8:23 p.m.
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