newRPL: Alpha demo 0.9 released [UPDATED 2017-10-25]

[Claudio L.]

(09-22-2017 10:25 PM)Neve Wrote:  Ok. I’ll give it another try with your suggestions. I hope my mind will change for the better!
As for the stack undo, I hope you’ll implement that in the future.
So where did the HIST go key?

Hehe, another confusion. I meant I miss the stack undo on the stock firmware when I use my other 50g, because when I use newRPL I use it all the time, just press left on the stack to go to the previous state of the stack, right-shift and left will do REDO. It's handy.

I always thought HIST was a wasted key, so there's no HIST for now. If somebody feels the need for it, can request it and will be added. What I do miss is CMD sometimes (to recall the last 4 things you typed) so it will be implemented (no time frame). UNDO on the HIST key is now the menu UNDO (rs-HIST does one menu, rs-hold-HIST does the other), while the stack UNDO stays at the left cursor, more accessible and intuitive, you just "go back".

(09-22-2017 10:25 PM)Neve Wrote:  PS: Even though I do love the 50g for being the most “powerful” real RPN pocket computer out there I do have to admit that my 2 main calculators are an HP41C (soon to become a CL) and an HP41CX, which are my preferred calculators of all times. Hell, I grew up with these!

On a side note, would it be possible to have a mode where the stack would act like the one on the 41? For example, on a 41 typing 25->Enter->* would give you 625.0000. But I guess that wouldn’t be RPL anymore....

On an RPL machine, pressing Enter compiles the text in the command line and puts the result in the stack. The text is gone at this point so * has only one argument to work with.
While there could be a way of "fooling" the system to recreate the RPN effect, storing the 25 on a temporary place or something, the behavior is not really defined when you put more than one object on the command line. If you type 1 2 3, then Enter, *, what is * supposed to do? { 1 2 3 } * { 1 2 3 } ? or 2*3? or 3*3?. This is the only excuse why an RPL machine can't work like an RPN does.
But, I guess a classic RPN mode could be done, limiting the stack depth, and limiting input to a single number at a time. Actually, newRPL is an open core, a single library could define an entire RPN calculator, with all its opcodes. All it needs is an accompanying GUI to match the RPN mode.
At one time I looked at the source code of the WP34s, to see how hard would it be to put it into a newRPL library, and have a WP34 mode inside newRPL. Before you get your hopes too high, it would be a lot of work, but an integrated project like this could be just what the community needs.
Imagine one firmware running on popular hardware (now 50g, perhaps Prime in the future), that can mimic the best RPN and the best RPL calculator. You choose the mode of operation depending on what you are doing that day, just hit one key and you are in the other mode.
For developers, it means less divided efforts, we all work on the same core and make improvements to both modes.
But for now I'm just dreaming out loud... newRPL is still incomplete, it needs to be completed before we can think of implementing those "extras".