HHC 2018 Programming Contests

[Valentin Albillo]

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Hi, everyone:

(09-13-2018 10:10 PM)Zaphod Wrote:  I don’t know the exact production numbers in relation to the others, and it’s just my observation:but maybe it is because there weren’t many of them made ?
I wish I had a 71B

I also don't know the exact production numbers but I do know that several large companies both private and public did buy very large batches of HP-71B's, which later were dumped to be sold as secondhand and so the market became actually flooded with them and they were sold at utterly ridiculous prices (say 5 €/$) or even presented as a gift at HP-fan events.

I bought several at such low prices and all of them came with a 4K RAM module *and* a Math ROM. So HP-71Bs aren't rare at all, they're extremely easy to find.

(09-13-2018 10:56 PM)Gene Wrote:  The HP 71B is an amazing machine, but out of 40 people at the conference, not very many are going to try programming it as a contest machine, IMO. Does not mean it can't be done, but we try to judge ceteris paribus.

The goal is to see who comes up with a unique, fast, innovative solution using a common feature set. If speed is an issue, then you can't have the WP-34S in the mix vs. a vanilla HP-41C.[...]

So Valentin... NO offense meant... :-)

None taken. Thanks for your valuable explanation.

(09-13-2018 11:34 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  Indeed, since the contest is being judged on elegance (vs. Speed or Size), go ahead and submit a 71B solution; it can't help but be more elegant than any 41C solution (I guess my 71B bias is showing here...)

I won't submit any 71B solution to the HHC contest. Never have, never will. However I might try to privately implement an "elegant" solution and if I feel it might be of interest to the community I would post it here. Or not.

Quote:Alternate approach: Do you have a 41 Translator ROM for the 71B? Seems that meets the criteria as stated.

But it would defeat the purpose of my plea, which is that I think unfair to exclude HP-71B *BASIC*, not to run some "translated" HP-41 RPN program in the HP-71B.

(09-14-2018 04:42 AM)Joe Horn Wrote:  I hope you don't mind that I find this very funny, since I only wrote one book in my whole life, and it was about the HP-71 which I *still* love dearly. The very notion of ME ("The HP-71 Answer Man" back in the day) holding the HP-71 in contempt is hilarious.

First of all, I wasn't particularly addressing you as the one responsible for chosing those three languages and leaving 71B BASIC aside because I had no idea (nor do you mention the fact in your original post) that you are the Contest Judge (or one of them).

Thus, as you are a rational person in my book and a pretty sympathetic one at that, I was asking you only for an explanation of the rationale for excluding it, your opinion so to say. I didn't know that you were the one (or one of the ones) who actually created the rules. Anyway, I'm glad to have made you laugh ("very funny", "hilarious") with my plea.

Quote:But the primary purpose of the contest is FUN, and it would NOT be fun (but instead quite exasperating) if I had to judge more than a few different models in the VERY short amount of time allocated for judging. So I'm only including the top three HP models that attendees are most likely to bring with them. THREE is already pushing it. Most years we've only had one or two models.

Understood. That's a sufficiently sound rationale, thanks.

Quote:However, as others here have said, please post your HP-71 program, and if it's elegant enough, you might even win an Honorable Mention which will live forever in the MoHPC Digital Archive.

Thanks for the kind offer, I appreciate it, but I won't submit any 71B solution to the HHC contest. Never have, never will. However I might try to privately implement an "elegant" solution and if I feel it might be of interest to the community I would post it here. Or not.

Thanks to all who replied for your valuable comments. The subject is over as far as I'm concerned.

Best regards and have a nice weekend.
V.
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