HP-12C gets 'Entry-RPN' or Error in the QSG?

[Joe Horn]

(07-06-2014 01:01 AM)Les Bell Wrote:  I think we're in a tangle because the whole thing is so badly written...

We definitely agree on that!

(07-06-2014 01:09 AM)Les Bell Wrote:  Hang on - I see the confusion. That's not what's at issue; what I'm writing about is

"Number [ENTER] Operation"

in response to the original quote: "Pressing ENTER is optional after entering a number, if the next key pressed is an operation." ...

In my famously humble opinion, that's not what the sentence by HP means at all. "The next key pressed" is syntactically after "after entering a number" and therefore means "if the next key pressed after entering a number is an operation". An example of that is:

Number Operation ENTER Number

And as we all know, that ENTER is optional. Wow, HP's explanation really is worded poorly. A gold star goes to the person who words it most clearly. Here's my first attempt:

"Separating numeric entries can be done either by pressing ENTER or by performing an operation, e.g. 2 ENTER 3 + performs 2+3, and 2 √ 3 + performs √2+3."

Too wordy. Please simplify... but not too much, as per Einstein's dictum, lest ambiguity reappear.