Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - Printable Version +- HP Forums (https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum) +-- Forum: HP Calculators (and very old HP Computers) (/forum-3.html) +--- Forum: HP Prime (/forum-5.html) +--- Thread: Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? (/thread-686.html) Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - DeucesAx - 02-16-2014 02:24 AM I googled and searched this forum without finding a satisfying answer. What are the advantages of separating the two modes? RE: Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - Joe Horn - 02-16-2014 02:53 AM A discussion on that topic was held last December before the board went to the new software: http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/archv021.cgi?read=257591#257591 RE: Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - DeucesAx - 02-16-2014 03:25 AM Is that it? It boils down to me either wanting 3.46... or 2*sqrt(3)? Why not just something more like press enter for exact and shift enter for approx? (I don't even have the calculator yet it arrives Monday, but I really need to hit the ground running with it) Can I turn off the default setting that each variable is initialized as 0 in the home mode? Im scared I forget about that in an exam. RE: Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - Joe Horn - 02-16-2014 08:44 AM (02-16-2014 03:25 AM)DeucesAx Wrote:  Is that it? It boils down to me either wanting 3.46... or 2*sqrt(3)? Why not just something more like press enter for exact and shift enter for approx? Good news: They must have either read your mind, or you read theirs. You can do exactly what you suggested in CAS. Check it out: $$\sqrt{12}$$ Enter --> $$2\sqrt{3}$$ $$\sqrt{12}$$ Shift Enter --> 3.46410161514 $$\sqrt{12}$$ Enter [a b/c] --> both answers (best of both worlds!) HP made it exactly the way you suggested. Cool, huh? Quote:Can I turn off the default setting that each variable is initialized as 0 in the home mode? No, because the built-in Home variables are like the 4 stack levels in traditional RPN calculators, always existing and always containing something. Prime's A through Z always exist, and contain zero until you replace the zero with some other real number; Z0 through Z9 always exist and contain zero until you store a complex number in them; and so on. Quote:Im scared I forget about that in an exam. No problem: to avoid accidentally using a variable that you didn't initialize, stick to user-created variables, which can nicely have descriptive names, and do not exist until you store something in them, and cease to exist when they are deleted. RE: Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - Dominik Holenstein - 02-16-2014 02:46 PM Here is a similar apporach if Exact is checked in your CAS settings: $$\sqrt{12}$$ Enter --> $$2\sqrt{3}$$ --> symbolic result [a b/c] --> 3.46410161514 --> numeric result [a b/c] --> 3650401 / 1053780 --> exact result See the attached screenshot. Best, Dominik RE: Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - DeucesAx - 02-19-2014 03:18 AM Thank you. I guess for now Ill just use the CAS mode at all times. Could you give some examples where it would be advantageous to use both at the same time? RE: Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - eried - 02-22-2014 05:33 PM :O maybe this separation (illogical from an engineer viewpoint) was to offer the ability to block the CAS :O? (I realized this thinking on how TI handled this... 2 different calculators, one without CAS, one with... a much worse decision, imagine if you got the non-cas as a gift, instant boomer; but at last something kinda required by education viewpoint) RE: Why did they separate Cas and non-cas? - John R. Graham - 02-23-2014 09:56 PM One other nuance is that CAS mode doesn't currently support RPN entry: if you want exact results, you're stuck with algebraic entry—and extra keystrokes. - John