Difference between pocket computer and programmable calculator?

[Valentin Albillo]

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Hi, Steve,

(09-10-2022 07:23 AM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  Very nice Valentin and I have read this and many of your other articles before

Thank you very much for your appreciation, Steve.

Quote:I do think the RPL machines [...] 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).

I don't think that's possible without lots of written comments/documentation but then again, I've never ever used RPL, just looked at it in shock that anyone would consider using that unholy write-only cryptoprogramming style, which makes Obfuscated C look like Small BASIC in comparison.

Quote: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.

Might be ... Anyway, the one truly "pocket computer" I still consider capable of being used even nowadays to solve complex modern problems with ease while on the go it's a virtual HP-71B running on a suitably powerful modern device (smartphone, tablet), extended with maximum RAM and a number of ROMs and LEX files (e.g., Math, JPC, HP-IL, FORTH/Assembler, etc.)

With it, you can solve complex problems easily and quickly while on the go, using just your handheld device and nothing else, not even a notepad to write your scratch code. Attempting to do that on the go using RPL or most other systems would get you stumbled head first, in the initial design phase. After a while you'll cry in despair, will put the thing aside and do something else instead (listening to music, playing games, ...), waiting till you get home.

Furthermore, the 71 code can be perfectly understood many months or years after the fact, I know because I've done it oftentimes. Just sayin' ...

Best regards.
V.