Programmable calculators are
calculator
An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics.
The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-sized ...
s that can automatically carry out a sequence of operations under control of a stored
program
Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to:
Business and management
* Program management, the process of managing several related projects
* Time management
* Program, a part of planning
Arts and entertainment Audio
* Progra ...
. Most are
Turing complete
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
, and, as such, are theoretically general-purpose computers. However, their user interfaces and programming environments are specifically tailored to make performing small-scale numerical computations convenient, rather than general-purpose use.
The first programmable calculators such as the
IBM CPC
The IBM Card-Programmed Electronic Calculator or ''CPC'' was announced by IBM in May 1949. Later that year an improved machine, the CPC-II, was also announced.
The original CPC Calculator has the following units interconnected by cables:
*Electr ...
used
punched cards
A punched card (also punch card or punched-card) is a piece of stiff paper that holds digital data represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Punched cards were once common in data processing applications or to d ...
or other media for program storage. Hand-held electronic calculators store programs on magnetic strips, removable read-only memory cartridges, flash memory, or in battery-backed read/write memory.
Since the early 1990s, most of these flexible handheld units belong to the class of
graphing calculator
A graphing calculator (also graphics calculator or graphic display calculator) is a handheld computer that is capable of plotting graphs, solving simultaneous equations, and performing other tasks with variables. Most popular graphing calculat ...
s. Before the mass-manufacture of inexpensive
dot-matrix
A dot matrix is a 2-dimensional patterned array, used to represent characters, symbols and images. Most types of modern technology use dot matrices for display of information, including mobile phones, televisions, and printers. The system is al ...
LCDs, however, programmable calculators usually featured a one-line numeric or
alphanumeric
Alphanumericals or alphanumeric characters are a combination of alphabetical and numerical characters. More specifically, they are the collection of Latin letters and Arabic digits. An alphanumeric code is an identifier made of alphanumeric ch ...
display. The Big Four manufacturers of programmable calculators are
Casio
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
,
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
,
Sharp
Sharp or SHARP may refer to:
Acronyms
* SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme
* Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...
, and
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
. All of the above have also made
pocket computer
A pocket computer was a 1980s-era user programmable calculator-sized computer that had fewer screen lines,
Some had only one line and often fewer characters per line, than the Pocket-sized computers introduced beginning in 1989. Manufacturers in ...
s in the past, especially Casio and Sharp.
Many calculators of this type are monochrome LCD, some are four-color (red or orange, green, blue, and black), or, in the case of some machines at the top of the line as of January 2022 color similar to monitors displaying 16 or 32-bit graphics. As they are used for graphing functions, the screens of these machines are
pixel-addressable
A dot matrix is a 2-dimensional patterned array, used to represent characters, symbols and images. Most types of modern technology use dot matrices for display of information, including mobile phones, televisions, and printers. The system is al ...
. Some have a touch screen, buzzers or other sound producers, internal clocks, modems or other connectivity devices including IrDA transceivers, several types of ports for peripherals like printers, and ports for memory cards of a number of types.
The wide availability and low cost of
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s including
laptop computer
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
s,
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s and
tablets gradually made programmable calculators obsolete for most applications. However, they remain popular in
secondary education
Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...
. Specific calculator models are often required for use in many mathematics courses. Their continued use in education is usually justified by the strictly controllable functionality available. For instance, the calculators do not typically have direct Internet access and so cannot be used for illegal assistance in exams. The remaining programmable calculator manufacturers devote much effort to encourage the continued use of these calculators in high school mathematics.
Earlier devices
Calculator programming
Programmable calculators allow the user to write and store
programs in the calculator in order to solve difficult problems or automate an elaborate procedure.
Programming capability appears most commonly (although not exclusively) in
graphing calculator
A graphing calculator (also graphics calculator or graphic display calculator) is a handheld computer that is capable of plotting graphs, solving simultaneous equations, and performing other tasks with variables. Most popular graphing calculat ...
s, as the larger screen allows multiple lines of
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...
to be viewed simultaneously (i.e., without having to
scroll
A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing.
Structure
A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...
to the next/previous display line). Originally, calculator programming had to be done in the calculator's own command language, but as calculator
hackers
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
discovered ways to bypass the main interface of the calculators and write
assembly language
In computer programming, assembly language (or assembler language, or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as Assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence be ...
programs, calculator companies (particularly
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
) began to support native-mode programming on their calculator hardware, first revealing the hooks used to enable such code to operate, and later explicitly building in facilities to handle such programs directly from the user interface.
Many programs written for calculators can be found on the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
. Users can download the programs to a
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
, and then upload them to the calculator using a specialized
link cable, infrared wireless link, or through a memory card. Sometimes these programs can also be run through emulators on the PC.
Programming these machines can be done on the machine, on the PC side and uploaded as source code, or compiled on the PC side and uploaded as with Flash and some C/C++ implementations. In addition to computer-side language packages such as tigcc, hpgcc, and others, the PC link software available for TI, HP, Casio, and Sharp calculators contain program editors; there are also SDKs, emulators, and other tools for use on the computer side, and other manufacturer and third-party tools like the TI++ editor. Programs, data, and so forth can also be exchanged among similar machines via the same ports on the calculator used for PC connectivity. On-board programming tools which use non-native language implementations include the On-Board C Compiler for fx series Casio calculators and the TI-83 BBC Basic port.
One possibility arising from the above is writing interpreters, compilers, and translator programs for additional languages for programming the machines; BBC Basic has already been ported to the
TI-83 and
-84 series and other onboard languages and programming tools discussed by many include Fortran, awk, Pascal, Rexx, Perl, Common Lisp, Python, tcl, and various Unix shells.
Commonly available programs for calculators include everything from
math
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
/
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
related problem solvers to
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
, as well as so-called
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming)
...
. Much of this code is user-created freeware or even
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
, though commercial software, particularly for educational and science/engineering markets, is also available. Programmable calculators have major websites with information, documentation, message boards, tools for download, and other things useful for this pursuit; the main sites for each manufacturer's calculators are run by third parties with varying degrees of collaboration from the companies themselves: namely HPCalc.org, TICalc.org, and CasioCalc.org, (qqv.) with the SharpCalc.org domain being recently purchased by an organization which indicated intent to produce a site similar to the other three, plus information on Sharp pocket computers. The companies themselves also have sites such as TIEducation.com with information and tools for the machines.
File:TI-59 programmable calculator with magnetic card.jpg, A TI-59
The TI-59 is an early programmable calculator, that was manufactured by Texas Instruments from 1977. It is the successor to the TI SR-52, quadrupling the number of "program steps" of storage, and adding "ROM Program Modules" (an insertable ROM ...
with a magnetic storage card being inserted into the card reader on the side.
File:HP-41CX.jpg, HP-41CX
The HP-41C series are programmable, expandable, HP Continuous memory, continuous memory handheld Reverse Polish Notation, RPN calculators made by Hewlett-Packard from 1979 to 1990. The original model, HP-41C, was the first of its kind to offer ...
with magnetic card reader and thermal printer
File:Elektronika MK-52.JPG, A complete range of programmable calculators were developed in former USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. Some of them (like this MK-52
The Elektronika MK-52 (russian: Электро́ника МК-52) is an RPN-programmable calculator manufactured in the Soviet Union from 1983 to 1992 at the Quasar and Kvadr plants in Ukraine. It belongs to the third generation of Soviet progr ...
), was used even in space missions.
File:CASIO FX-602P Programmable Calculator.png, An older model FX-602P in working condition
File:Hp50.png, HP 50g
The HP 49/50 series are Hewlett-Packard (HP) manufactured graphing calculators. They are the successors of the popular HP 48 series.
There are five calculators in the 49/50 series of HP graphing calculators. These calculators have both al ...
graphing calculator, with the Equation Editor being used
File:CasioClassPad300.JPG, Casio ClassPad 300
The Casio ClassPad 300, ClassPad 330 and fx-CP400 are stylus based touch-screen graphing calculators. It comes with a collection of applications that support self-study, like 3D Graph, Geometry, eActivity, Spreadsheet, etc. A large 160x240 pixel ...
touch screen calculator
File:Computer algebra system.jpg, TI-Nspire
The TI-Nspire is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments, which was released in July 2007, notable for featuring a non-QWERTY keyboard and a different key-by-key layout than its predecessors.
Development
The original TI-Nspire ...
from Texas Instruments
Programming languages
Keystroke programming
In the early days, most programmable calculators used a very simplified programming language, often based either on recording actual keystrokes or
bytecode
Bytecode (also called portable code or p-code) is a form of instruction set designed for efficient execution by a software interpreter. Unlike human-readable source code, bytecodes are compact numeric codes, constants, and references (norma ...
if the keystrokes were merged. Calculators supporting such programming were
Turing-complete
In computability theory, a system of data-manipulation rules (such as a computer's instruction set, a programming language, or a cellular automaton) is said to be Turing-complete or computationally universal if it can be used to simulate any Tur ...
if they supported both conditional statements and indirect addressing of memory. Notable examples of Turing complete calculators were
Casio FX-602P series
The FX-601P and FX-602P were programmable calculators, manufactured by Casio from 1981. It was the successor model to the Casio FX-502P series and was itself succeeded in 1990 by the Casio FX-603P.
Display
The FX-601P series featured a single l ...
, the
HP-41
The HP-41C series are programmable, expandable, continuous memory handheld RPN calculators made by Hewlett-Packard from 1979 to 1990. The original model, HP-41C, was the first of its kind to offer alphanumeric display capabilities. Later came ...
and the
TI-59
The TI-59 is an early programmable calculator, that was manufactured by Texas Instruments from 1977. It is the successor to the TI SR-52, quadrupling the number of "program steps" of storage, and adding "ROM Program Modules" (an insertable ROM ...
. Keystroke programming is still used in mid-range calculators like the
HP 35s
The HP 35s (F2215A) is a Hewlett-Packard non-graphing programmable scientific calculator. Although it is a successor to the HP 33s, it was introduced to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the HP-35, Hewlett-Packard's first pocket cal ...
and
HP-12C
The HP-12C is a financial calculator made by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and its successor HP Inc. as part of the HP Voyager series.
Functionality
The HP-12C is HP's longest and best-selling product, in continual production since its introduction i ...
.
BASIC
BASIC
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
is a widespread programming language commonly adapted to desktop computers and pocket computers.
The most common
languages
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
now used in high range calculators are proprietary
BASIC
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
-style dialects as used by
Casio
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
(Casio BASIC
Casio BASIC is a programming language used in the Casio calculators such as the Classpad, PRIZM Series, fx-9860G Series, fx-5800P, Algebra FX and CFX graphing calculators.
This programming language has nothing to do with the more or less standa ...
or BasicLike) and
TI (TI-BASIC
TI-BASIC is the official name of a BASIC-like language built into Texas Instruments (TI)'s graphing calculators.
TI-BASIC is a language family of three different and incompatible versions, released on different products:
* TI-BASIC 83 (on Z80 pr ...
). These BASIC dialects are optimised for calculator use, combining the advantages of BASIC and keystroke programming. They have little in common with mainstream BASIC. The version for the Ti-89 and subsequent is more fully featured, including the full set of string and character manipulation functions and statements in standard Basic.
A complete port of
BBC Basic
BBC BASIC is a version of the BASIC programming language released in 1981 as the native programming language for the BBC Micro home/personal computer, providing a standardized language for a UK computer literacy project of the BBC. It was wri ...
to the TI-83 subfamily of calculators is now available. It is installed via a cable or IrDA connection with a computer.
RPL
RPL is a special
Forth
Forth or FORTH may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine
* ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008
* ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw
* Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...
-like programming language used by
Hewlett- Packard in its high range devices. The first device with RPL calculator was the
HP-28C
The HP-28C and HP-28S were two graphing calculators produced by Hewlett-Packard from 1986 to 1992.
The HP-28C was the first handheld calculator capable of solving equations symbolically.
They were replaced by the HP 48 series of calculato ...
released in 1987.
The language
PPL was introduced with the
HP Prime
The HP Prime Graphing Calculator is a graphing calculator introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 2013 and currently manufactured by HP Inc. It was designed with features resembling those of smartphones, such as a full-color touchscreen display and t ...
calculator and is much like
Pascal
Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** Blaise Pascal, Fren ...
.
Assembly
An assembler integrated into the TI 89 and related calculators were announced and released in 2014.
Machine language programming was often discouraged on early calculator models; however, dedicated platform hackers discovered ways to bypass the built-in interpreters on some models and program the calculator directly in
assembly language
In computer programming, assembly language (or assembler language, or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as Assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence be ...
, a technique that was first discovered and utilized on the
TI-85
The TI-85 is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments based on the Zilog Z80 microprocessor. Designed in 1992 as TI's second graphing calculator (the first was the TI-81), it was replaced by the TI-86, which has also been discontinued ...
due to a programming flaw in a mode-switching key. By the time the
TI-83 came out, TI and HP had realized the need to address the support needs of homebrew programmers, and started to make assembly language libraries and documentation available for prospective developers. Software, particularly games, could now be nearly as fast and as graphical as their
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
counterparts, and TI, in particular, would later formalize assembly programming into support for packaged applications for future calculators such as the TI-83 Plus and
TI-89
The TI-89 and the TI-89 Titanium are graphing calculators developed by Texas Instruments (TI). They are differentiated from most other TI graphing calculators by their computer algebra system, which allows symbolic manipulation of algeb ...
; HP includes some onboard support for assembler programming on the
HP-50g, its current top-of-the-line calculator model.
Programs and toolkits to allow on-board assembly-like programming (often
Intel 80x86
x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...
even if the actual processor in the calculator is something completely different like a Zilog or Motorola chip) are in the beta stage in at least two implementations—the native Basic variant can be enhanced by user-defined functions and procedures as well as assembly and C modules developed on a computer and uploaded to the calculator which allow for writing and running "pseudo assembly" programs just as one would the Basic type ones. Other languages like Rexx, awk, Perl, and some Unix shells can also be implemented in this fashion on many calculators of this type.
Other Languages
The
GCC development suite is available for several models of Casio, HP, and TI calculators, meaning that
C,
C++
C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...
,
Fortran 77, and
inline assembly language can be used to develop a program on the computer side and then upload it to the calculator.
Projects in development by third parties include on-board and/or computer-side converters, interpreters, code generators, macro assemblers, or compilers for
Fortran, other Basic variants,
awk
AWK (''awk'') is a domain-specific language designed for text processing and typically used as a data extraction and reporting tool. Like sed and grep, it is a filter, and is a standard feature of most Unix-like operating systems.
The AWK lang ...
,
C,
Cobol
COBOL (; an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily us ...
,
Rexx
Rexx (Restructured Extended Executor) is a programming language that can be interpreted or compiled. It was developed at IBM by Mike Cowlishaw. It is a structured, high-level programming language designed for ease of learning and reading. ...
,
Perl
Perl is a family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages. "Perl" refers to Perl 5, but from 2000 to 2019 it also referred to its redesigned "sister language", Perl 6, before the latter's name was offici ...
,
Python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
,
Tcl
TCL or Tcl or TCLs may refer to:
Business
* TCL Technology, a Chinese consumer electronics and appliance company
**TCL Electronics, a subsidiary of TCL Technology
* Texas Collegiate League, a collegiate baseball league
* Trade Centre Limited ...
,
Pascal
Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** Blaise Pascal, Fren ...
,
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
, and operating system shells like DOS/Win95 batch, OS/2 batch, WinNT/2000 shell,
Unix shells
A Unix shell is a command-line interpreter or shell that provides a command line user interface for Unix-like operating systems. The shell is both an interactive command language and a scripting language, and is used by the operating system to ...
, and
DCL.
Many TI, Casio, Sharp, and HP models have Lua interpreters which are part of the default configuration or can be optionally added.
Some calculators run a subset of Fortran 77 called Mini-Fortran; the compiler is on the calculator so connecting to a PC to put programs onto the machine is not needed.
The OnCalc C Compiler for the Casio fx-9860 series is now available. The Sharp PC G850V pocket computer has an onboard C compiler in addition to an assembler and a Basic interpreter.
Persistent memory
One important feature of programmable calculators is the availability of some form of persistent memory. Without persistent memory, programs have to be re-entered whenever power is lost, making the device cumbersome. Persistent memory can be internal or on a separate device. Some programmable calculators employ both schemes.
Magnetic card reader / writer
Magnetic card readers were among the first persistent memory options available. The entered programs are stored on magnetic strips. Those were easy to transport, and the reader/writer was compact in size. However, the reader/writer as well as the magnetic strips were quite expensive. The last and most notable devices to use magnetic strips were the
HP-41C
The HP-41C series are programmable, expandable, continuous memory handheld RPN calculators made by Hewlett-Packard from 1979 to 1990. The original model, HP-41C, was the first of its kind to offer alphanumeric display capabilities. Later cam ...
and
TI-59
The TI-59 is an early programmable calculator, that was manufactured by Texas Instruments from 1977. It is the successor to the TI SR-52, quadrupling the number of "program steps" of storage, and adding "ROM Program Modules" (an insertable ROM ...
.
Continuous memory
Continuous memory does not lose its content when the calculator is switched off. With continuous memory the user can, for example, change batteries without losing the entered programs.
Cassette tape
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...
s offered a simple, inexpensive alternative to magnetic cards. Usually, an interface module, such as the
Casio FA-1 FA1 or FA-1 may refer to :
* Arrows FA1, a racing car
* FA-1 (cable system), a fiber cable crossing the Atlantic
* Fresh Aire, the first album in the Fresh Aire album series
* ALCO FA-1, a diesel-electric locomotive
* Formula Acceleration 1, a form ...
, was used to connect the calculator to an ordinary cassette recorder, and digital data were encoded as
frequency-shift keyed audio signals.
Sharp
Sharp or SHARP may refer to:
Acronyms
* SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme
* Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...
and
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
also sold dedicated
micro-
''Micro'' (Greek letter μ ( U+03BC) or the legacy symbol µ (U+00B5)) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of 10−6 (one millionth). Confirmed in 1960, the prefix comes from the Greek ('), meaning "small".
The symbol for th ...
or
mini-cassette
The Mini-Cassette, often written minicassette, is a magnetic tape audio cassette format introduced by Philips in 1967.
It is used primarily in dictation machines and was also employed as a data storage for the Philips P2000 home computer. As of ...
recorders that connected directly to the calculator. These set-ups, while being more practical and reliable, we're also more expensive.
Semi-continuous memory
As memory demands rose, it became more difficult to create true continuous memory and developers sought alternatives. With semi-continuous memory content was only preserved if specific battery-changing rules were observed. The most common rules were:
# A special backup battery would ensure that the memory was not lost while the main batteries were changed.
# Battery removal and replacement had to be completed in a relatively short time. For example, with the
HP 35s
The HP 35s (F2215A) is a Hewlett-Packard non-graphing programmable scientific calculator. Although it is a successor to the HP 33s, it was introduced to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the HP-35, Hewlett-Packard's first pocket cal ...
, battery replacement had to be completed in less than 2 minutes after removal.
# At least two main batteries were used and could only be changed one at a time.
PC-connection
Programs and data are transferred to a
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
for storage. The transfer is done by the following connection methods
(chronological order of appearance) RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such a ...
,
IrDA
The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) is an industry-driven interest group that was founded in 1994 by around 50 companies. IrDA provides specifications for a complete set of protocols for wireless infrared communications, and the name "IrDA" also ...
and
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
. This method has the advantage of being very cost-efficient and is usually faster than the cassette interface. These advantages are offset by the need for a personal computer. An early example of a PC connection is the
Casio FX-603P in conjunction with the
Casio FA-6 interface. In this set-up, transfer was done in
plain text
In computing, plain text is a loose term for data (e.g. file contents) that represent only characters of readable material but not its graphical representation nor other objects (floating-point numbers, images, etc.). It may also include a limit ...
so the program and data could be stored and
edited
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
with a standard
text editor
A text editor is a type of computer program that edits plain text. Such programs are sometimes known as "notepad" software (e.g. Windows Notepad). Text editors are provided with operating systems and software development packages, and can be us ...
.
Flash memory
Programmable calculators and pocket computers
Throughout the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, programmable calculators stood in competition with
pocket computer
A pocket computer was a 1980s-era user programmable calculator-sized computer that had fewer screen lines,
Some had only one line and often fewer characters per line, than the Pocket-sized computers introduced beginning in 1989. Manufacturers in ...
s, with high-end calculators sharing many similarities. For example, both devices types were programmable in unstructured BASIC and with few exceptions featured
QWERTY
QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six Computer keyboard keys#Types, keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created f ...
keyboards. However, there were also some differences:
* BASIC-programmable calculators often featured an additional "calculator-like" keyboard and a special calculator mode in which the system behaved like a
scientific calculator
A scientific calculator is an electronic calculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform mathematical operations. They have completely replaced slide rules and are used in both educational and professional settings.
In some areas ...
.
* Pocket computers often offered additional programming languages as option. The
Casio PB-2000 for example offered
ANSI-C,
BASIC
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
,
Assembler
Assembler may refer to:
Arts and media
* Nobukazu Takemura, avant-garde electronic musician, stage name Assembler
* Assemblers, a fictional race in the ''Star Wars'' universe
* Assemblers, an alternative name of the superhero group Champions of A ...
and
Lisp
A lisp is a speech impairment in which a person misarticulates sibilants (, , , , , , , ). These misarticulations often result in unclear speech.
Types
* A frontal lisp occurs when the tongue is placed anterior to the target. Interdental lisping ...
.
Companies often had both device types in their product portfolio. Casio, for example, sold some BASIC-programmable calculators as part of their "fx-" calculator series
[The picture of th]
FX-700P
an
show the text "programmable calculator" and pocket computer the dedicated "pb-" series while
Sharp
Sharp or SHARP may refer to:
Acronyms
* SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme
* Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...
marketed all BASIC-programmable devices as pocket computers.
Related tools
Some programmable calculators have one or more methods of connecting to a PC for the interchange of data, programs, and software. These methods include IrDA, other wireless, serial ports -including USB or RS-232 via.125 inch or other size audio plugs, etc.
Some of the latest programmable calculators contain cellular modems as an additional channel of connectivity.
The programmable calculators can in many cases, via these connections, be used with peripherals such as data loggers and interfaces for instruments like thermometers, pH meters, weather instruments of all kinds, light meters, audio probes and microphones, dynamometers, pressure gauges, voltmeters, ammeters, ohm meters, atmospheric electricity measurement apparatus, ion counters, Geiger counters and scintillometers, altimeters, scales, accelerometers, and many others. Some machines can be used with oscilloscopes and their peripherals as well. Others can be configured—for example, collecting bio-feedback data by connecting devices for a pulse, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, galvanic skin resistance, body temperature, and even EKG and EEG probes to a data logger which is then connected to the calculator and, then or later, a PC.
The HP programmables and others have an IrDA interface which allows them to interface with the printers specially designed for the calculators, HP's main lines of laser printers, computers, other calculators, and other devices.
Also commonly available from many companies are small printers made specifically for calculators which tend to use cash register tape paper, ports and cables for connecting the calculators to a computer and/or another calculator, cassette recorders for recording programs and data, overhead projector displays, and connectors for auxiliary display devices. The earlier programmable calculators, as well as the pocket computers mentioned above, also had such things as video interfaces for televisions and composite monitors, 2½ inch mini floppy disc drives, bar-code readers, and standard
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such a ...
connectivity which provided for other such things as modems, external hard drives and more. The printer selection for the pocket computers was a bit wider as well, including thermal, impact, dot matrix, daisy wheel, 4-colour pen, printers of the type used in simpler printing calculators. Some calculators and pocket computers had external 3½ and 5¼ inch floppy drives, cables for connecting two cassette recorders, cradles containing a printer and/or cassette recorder into which the machine slid, and so on.
It is also possible to connect some machines to certain electric typewriters for use as a printer (the typewriters are also able to be connected to PCs for this purpose, and the interface tends to be a standard RS-232 and/or DIN plug), and in some cases to access the typewriter's floppy or micro floppy drives.
List of selected programmable calculators
![DM-15C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/DM-15C.JPG)
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Casio
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
:
Casio FX-502P series
The FX-501P and FX-502P were programmable calculators, manufactured by Casio from 1978/1979. They were the predecessors of the '' FX-601P'' and '' FX-602P''.
It is likely that the FX-501P/502P were the first LCD programmable calculators to be pro ...
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Casio FX-602P series
The FX-601P and FX-602P were programmable calculators, manufactured by Casio from 1981. It was the successor model to the Casio FX-502P series and was itself succeeded in 1990 by the Casio FX-603P.
Display
The FX-601P series featured a single l ...
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Casio FX-603P ·
FX-702P ·
FX-850P ·
Casio 9850 series ·
Casio 9860 series The Casio fx-9860G is a series of graphing calculators manufactured by Casio, successor of the fx-9750G PLUS/CFX-9850 PLUS/CFX-9950 PLUS/CFX-9970 family of calculators. All of them are capable of being programmed by means of sophisticated languages ...
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Casio ClassPad 300
The Casio ClassPad 300, ClassPad 330 and fx-CP400 are stylus based touch-screen graphing calculators. It comes with a collection of applications that support self-study, like 3D Graph, Geometry, eActivity, Spreadsheet, etc. A large 160x240 pixel ...
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Elektronika
Elektronika, also spelt Electronika and Electronica (russian: Электроника, "Electronics"), is the brand name used for many different electronics, electronic products built by factories belonging to the Soviet Ministry of Electronic Ind ...
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B3-21
Elektronika B3-21 (Cyrillic: Электроника Б3-21) was the first Soviet programmable calculator. It was released in 1977 and was sold initially for 350 rubles (190 in 1980-81, and just 80 rubles at late 1981). For comparison, 120 ruble ...
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B3-34
Elektronika B3-34 (Cyrillic: Электроника Б3-34) was a Soviet programmable calculator. It was released in 1980 and was sold for 85 rubles.
B3-34 used reverse Polish notation and had 98 bytes of instruction memory, four stack user regist ...
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MK-61
{{No footnotes, date=September 2008
The Elektronika MK-61 is a third-generation non- BASIC, RPN programmable calculator which was manufactured in the Soviet Union during the years 1983 to 1994. Its original selling price was 85 rubles.
The ...
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MK-52
The Elektronika MK-52 (russian: Электро́ника МК-52) is an RPN-programmable calculator manufactured in the Soviet Union from 1983 to 1992 at the Quasar and Kvadr plants in Ukraine. It belongs to the third generation of Soviet progr ...
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Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
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HP-19C
The HP-19C and HP-29C were scientific/engineering pocket calculators made by Hewlett-Packard between 1977 and 1979. They were the most advanced and last models of the "20" family (compare HP-25) and included '' Continuous Memory'' (battery-bac ...
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HP-25
The HP-25 was a hand-held programmable scientific/engineering calculator made by Hewlett-Packard between early January 1975 and 1978. The HP-25 was introduced as a cheaper (US$195 MSRP) alternative to the ground-breaking HP-65.
To reduce cost, ...
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HP-25C
The HP-25 was a hand-held programmable scientific/engineering calculator made by Hewlett-Packard between early January 1975 and 1978. The HP-25 was introduced as a cheaper (US$195 MSRP) alternative to the ground-breaking HP-65.
To reduce cost ...
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HP-28C
The HP-28C and HP-28S were two graphing calculators produced by Hewlett-Packard from 1986 to 1992.
The HP-28C was the first handheld calculator capable of solving equations symbolically.
They were replaced by the HP 48 series of calculato ...
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HP-28S
The HP-28C and HP-28S were two graphing calculators produced by Hewlett-Packard from 1986 to 1992.
The HP-28C was the first handheld calculator capable of solving equations symbolically.
They were replaced by the HP 48 series of calculat ...
·
HP-29C
The HP-19C and HP-29C were scientific/engineering pocket calculators made by Hewlett-Packard between 1977 and 1979. They were the most advanced and last models of the "20" family (compare HP-25) and included '' Continuous Memory'' (battery-bac ...
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HP-32S
The HP-32S was a programmable Reverse Polish notation, RPN Scientific Calculator introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1988 and discontinued in 1991. It continued the tradition of the HP-15C programmable Reverse Polish Notation, RPN Scientific Calc ...
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HP-32sII ·
HP 35s
The HP 35s (F2215A) is a Hewlett-Packard non-graphing programmable scientific calculator. Although it is a successor to the HP 33s, it was introduced to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the HP-35, Hewlett-Packard's first pocket cal ...
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HP-41C
The HP-41C series are programmable, expandable, continuous memory handheld RPN calculators made by Hewlett-Packard from 1979 to 1990. The original model, HP-41C, was the first of its kind to offer alphanumeric display capabilities. Later cam ...
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HP-41CV ·
HP-41CX
The HP-41C series are programmable, expandable, HP Continuous memory, continuous memory handheld Reverse Polish Notation, RPN calculators made by Hewlett-Packard from 1979 to 1990. The original model, HP-41C, was the first of its kind to offer ...
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HP-42S
The HP-42S RPN Scientific is a programmable RPN Scientific hand held calculator introduced by Hewlett Packard in 1988. It has advanced functions suitable for applications in mathematics, linear algebra, statistical analysis, computer science and ...
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HP-48SX ·
HP-48G
The HP 48 is a series of graphing calculators designed and produced by Hewlett-Packard from 1990 until 2003. The series includes the HP 48S, HP 48SX, HP 48G, HP 48GX, and HP 48G+, the G models being expanded and im ...
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HP-48GX ·
HP-49 ·
HP-50 ·
HP-65
The HP-65 is the first magnetic card-programmable handheld calculator. Introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1974 at an MSRP of $795 (), it featured nine storage registers and room for 100 keystroke instructions. It also included a magnetic card re ...
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HP-67
The HP-67 is a magnetic card-programmable handheld calculator, introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1976 at an MSRP of $450. A desktop version with built-in thermal printer was sold as the HP-97 at a price of $750.
Marketed as improved successor ...
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HP-97
The HP-67 is a magnetic card-programmable handheld calculator, introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1976 at an MSRP of $450. A desktop version with built-in thermal printer was sold as the HP-97 at a price of $750.
Marketed as improved successors ...
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NumWorks
NumWorks is a technology company that designs, develops, and sells graphing calculators. Their calculators are source-available and have their hardware design available under a Creative Commons license. Its first calculator, the N0100, was releas ...
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Sharp
Sharp or SHARP may refer to:
Acronyms
* SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme
* Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 19 ...
:
Sharp PC-1350
The Sharp PC-1350 is a small pocket computer manufactured by Sharp Corporation, Sharp. The PC-1350 was introduced in 1984 and was used by engineers, and favored by programmers for its programming and graphical capabilities. It was superseded in 19 ...
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PC-1401 ·
PC-1403 EL-9600c ·
EL-9900
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SwissMicros
The Hewlett-Packard Voyager series of calculators were introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1981. All members of this series are programmable, use Reverse Polish Notation, and feature continuous memory. Nearly identical in appearance, each model ...
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SwissMicros DM11
The Hewlett-Packard Voyager series of calculators were introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1981. All members of this series are programmable, use Reverse Polish Notation, and feature continuous memory. Nearly identical in appearance, each model ...
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SwissMicros DM12
The HP-12C is a financial calculator made by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and its successor HP Inc. as part of the HP Voyager series.
Functionality
The HP-12C is HP's longest and best-selling product, in continual production since its introduction i ...
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SwissMicros DM15
The HP-15C is a high-end scientific programmable calculator of Hewlett-Packard's HP Voyager series, Voyager series produced between 1982 and 1989.
Models
HP-15C
The HP-15C is a high-end scientific pocket calculator with a root-solver and numeri ...
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SwissMicros DM16 ·
SwissMicros DM41 ·
SwissMicros DM42
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Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
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TI-51-III ·
SR-52
The following highways are numbered 52:
Australia
* Kings Highway (Australia)
* Isis Highway (Childers, Queensland, Childers to Ban Ban Springs, Queensland, Ban Ban Springs) - Queensland State Route 52 (Wide Bay–Burnett Region)
* Gillies Highw ...
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SR-56
The following highways are numbered 56:
International
* European route E56
Australia
* Oxley Highway
Canada
* Alberta Highway 56
* Saskatchewan Highway 56
China
* G56 Hangzhou–Ruili Expressway, G56 Expressway
Czech Republic
* R56 expressw ...
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TI-57
The TI-57 was a programmable calculator made by Texas Instruments between 1977 and 1982. There were three machines by this name made by TI, the first was the TI-57 with LED display released in September 1977 along the more powerful TI-58 and ...
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TI-58 C ·
TI-59
The TI-59 is an early programmable calculator, that was manufactured by Texas Instruments from 1977. It is the successor to the TI SR-52, quadrupling the number of "program steps" of storage, and adding "ROM Program Modules" (an insertable ROM ...
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Galaxy 67 ·
TI-83 Plus
The TI-83 series is a series of graphing calculators manufactured by Texas Instruments.
The original TI-83 is itself an upgraded version of the TI-82. Released in 1996, it was one of the most popular graphing calculators for students. In additio ...
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TI-84 Plus
The TI-84 Plus is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments which was released in early 2004. There is no original TI-84, only the TI-84 Plus, the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition models, and the TI-84 Plus CE. The TI-84 Plus is an enhanced ve ...
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TI-85
The TI-85 is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments based on the Zilog Z80 microprocessor. Designed in 1992 as TI's second graphing calculator (the first was the TI-81), it was replaced by the TI-86, which has also been discontinued ...
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TI-89
The TI-89 and the TI-89 Titanium are graphing calculators developed by Texas Instruments (TI). They are differentiated from most other TI graphing calculators by their computer algebra system, which allows symbolic manipulation of algeb ...
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TI-92
The TI-92 series of graphing calculators are a line of calculators produced by Texas Instruments. They include: the TI-92 (1995), the TI-92 II (1996), the TI-92 Plus (1998, 1999) and the Voyage 200 (2002). The design of these relatively large ...
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Voyage 200
The TI-92 series of graphing calculators are a line of calculators produced by Texas Instruments. They include: the TI-92 (1995), the TI-92 II (1996), the TI-92 Plus (1998, 1999) and the Voyage 200 (2002). The design of these relatively large ...
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TI-Nspire
The TI-Nspire is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments, which was released in July 2007, notable for featuring a non-QWERTY keyboard and a different key-by-key layout than its predecessors.
Development
The original TI-Nspire ...
See also
*
Calculator input methods
There are various ways in which calculators interpret keystrokes. These can be categorized into two main types:
* On a single-step or immediate-execution calculator, the user presses a key for each operation, calculating all the intermediate resul ...
*
Graphics calculator
*
Pocket computer
A pocket computer was a 1980s-era user programmable calculator-sized computer that had fewer screen lines,
Some had only one line and often fewer characters per line, than the Pocket-sized computers introduced beginning in 1989. Manufacturers in ...
*
Scientific calculator
A scientific calculator is an electronic calculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform mathematical operations. They have completely replaced slide rules and are used in both educational and professional settings.
In some areas ...
References
{{Computer sizes
*