Difference between pocket computer and programmable calculator?

[Steve Simpkin]

(09-09-2022 01:11 AM)Valentin Albillo Wrote:  .
Hi,

(09-07-2022 10:04 PM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  Here is an interesting article that has a brief history of the "Pocket Computer".
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp....er=9040018

Hehe, I'm mentioned by my full name in that article (page 88 in the whole publication, page 2 of the PDF).

If interested, my article mentioned there can be downloaded as a PDF from my site by clicking here.

Very nice Valentin and I have read this and many of your other articles before I agree that the advantages of a pocket computer over a key-step programmable calculator are very clear for many (most) types of problems. I still prefer the programmable calculators and RPL machines for most of the calculations I did but I also never progressed much above assembly language in the field of programming. I do think the RPL machines with their ease of using algebraic equations and limited higher level program constructs did blur the line between pocket computers and programmable calculators (at least until you had to go back and try to understand how your RPL program works).

Of course graphing calculators effectively replaced both programmable calculators and pocket computers in the marketplace. Most of them use a form of BASIC for their primary programming language so I think the spirit of the pocket computer lives on in them.