A software calculator is a

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-si ...

that has been implemented as a

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to Execution (computing), execute. It is one component of software, which also includes software documentation, documentation and other intangibl ...

, rather than as a physical hardware device. They are among the simpler interactive software tools, and, as such, they provide operations for the user to select one at a time. They can be used to perform any process that consists of a sequence of steps each of which applies one of these operations, and have no purpose other than these processes, because the operations are the sole, or at least the primary, features of the calculator, rather than being secondary features that support other functionality that is not normally known simply as calculation. As a ''calculator'', rather than a

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

, they usually have a small set of relatively simple operations, perform short processes that are not compute intensive and do not accept large amounts of input data or produce many results, though many software calculators can emulate handheld

scientific calculator A scientific calculator is an Electronics, electronic calculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform calculations using basic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, Division (mathematics), division) and advanced (Trigonometric fun ...

and

graphing calculator Graphing Calculator may refer to: * Graphing calculators, calculators that are able to display and/or analyze mathematical function graphs * NuCalc, a computer software program able to perform many graphing calculator functions * Grapher, th ...

features such as

trigonometric functions In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) are real functions which relate an angle of a right-angled triangle to ratios of two side lengths. They are widely used in all ...

, approximations of pi, and making plots of functions.

Platforms

Software calculators are available for many different platforms, and they can be: * A program for, or included with an

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

. * A program implemented as server or

client-side scripting A dynamic web page is a web page constructed at runtime (during software execution), as opposed to a ''static web page'', delivered as it is stored. A server-side dynamic web page is a web page whose construction is controlled by an application ...

(such as

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...

) within a

web page A web page (or webpage) is a World Wide Web, Web document that is accessed in a web browser. A website typically consists of many web pages hyperlink, linked together under a common domain name. The term "web page" is therefore a metaphor of pap ...

. * Embedded in a

calculator watch A calculator watch is a digital watch with a built-in calculator, usually including buttons on the watch face. Calculator watches were first introduced in the 1970s and continue to be produced, despite falling from their peak popularity duri ...

. * Also complex software may have calculator-like dialogs, sometimes with the full calculator functionality, to enter data into the system.

History

Early years

Modern computers first emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. The software that they ran was naturally used to perform calculations, but it was specially designed for a substantial application that was not limited to simple calculations. For example, the LEO computer was designed to run business application software such as

payroll A payroll is a list of employment, employees of a company who are entitled to receive compensation as well as other work benefits, as well as the amounts that each should obtain. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time ...

. Software specifically to perform calculations as its main purpose was first written in the 1960s, and the first software package for general calculations to obtain widespread use was released in 1978.Power, D. J., A Brief History of Spreadsheets, DSSResources.COM, World Wide Web, http://dssresources.com/history/sshistory.html, version 3.6, 30 August 2004. Photo added September 24, 2002. This was

VisiCalc VisiCalc ("visible calculator") is the first spreadsheet computer program for personal computers, originally released for the Apple II by VisiCorp on October 17, 1979. It is considered the killer application for the Apple II, turning the microco ...

and it was called an ''interactive visible calculator'', but it was actually a

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in c ...

, and these are now not normally known simply as calculators. The

Unix Unix (, ; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multi-user computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, a ...

version released in 1979, V7 Unix, contained a command-line accessible calculator.

Simulation of hardware calculators

Calculators have been used since ancient times and until the advent of software they were physical, hardware machines. The most recent hardware calculators are electronic hand-held devices with buttons for digits and operations, and a small display for inputs and results. The first software calculators imitated these hardware calculators by implementing the same functionality with mouse-operated, rather than finger-operated, buttons. Such software calculators first emerged in the 1980s as part of the original

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

operating system (

System 1 The Macintosh "System 1" is the first major release of the classic Mac OS operating system. It was developed for the Motorola 68000 microprocessor. System 1 was released on January 24, 1984, along with the Macintosh 128K, the first in the Maci ...

) and the

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

operating system ( Windows 1.0). Some software calculators directly simulate one of the hardware calculators, by presenting an image that looks like the calculator, and by providing the same functionality.

Software calculators on the Internet

There is now a very wide range of software calculators, and searching the Internet produces very large numbers of programs that are called ''calculators''. The results include numerical calculators that apply arithmetic operations or mathematical functions to numbers, and that produce numerical results or graphs of numerical functions, plus some non-numerical tools and games that are also called calculators. Many of the results are calculators that do not imitate or simulate hardware calculators, but that take advantage of the greater power of computer software to implement alternative types of calculators. Software calculators are provided on the Internet which are customizable to use any conceivable algebraic expression. These user-customizable software calculators can also be used in conjunction with formula or equation creation capabilities so that the software calculator can now be created to perform all possible mathematical functions. No longer limited to a set of trigonometric and simple algebraic expressions, versions of the software calculator are now tailored to any and all topical applications.

Examples

Numerical calculators

Every type of hardware calculator has been implemented in software, including conversion,

financial Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, graphing, programmable and

scientific Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

calculators. Other numerical calculators that do not imitate traditional hardware calculators include: *

Formula calculator A formula calculator is a software calculator that can perform a calculation in two steps: # Enter the calculation by typing it in from the keyboard. # Press a single button or key to see the final result. This is unlike button-operated calculat ...

s * Window-based calculators: Window-based calculators present a dialog box that allows users to enter data, rather than data ''and'' operations, and they have a built-in formula that is automatically applied to this data. There are many examples of such calculators in finance, mathematics, science and other disciplines. * Specialised calculators: There are software calculators that contain operations relevant to a specific application area and profession, including automotive, construction and electrical engineering.

Non-numerical calculators

Not all software-based calculators take numerical data or algebraic expressions as their input. Calculators can also take in arbitrary information ranging from lifestyle information to scientific notation. Some examples of these types of software calculators include: * Love calculator: The input is two ''names'', and there is a button to work out the ''compatibility'', as a percentage, of two people with these names. *Formula weight calculator: The input is a '' chemical molecular formula'', using the periodic-table symbols and notation, and there is a button to work out the ''percentages'' of its constituents. * Astronomical calculator: The input is a date and one or multiple celestial bodies (usually the sun, moon, planets, planetoids or comets). The program calculates the position of these bodies to the given date and gives a numerical output of the position (usually in right ascension and declination, whereby the used equinox may be settable), sometimes also from brightness, angle diameter and phase. Some programs can generate a list of astronomical events of certain types during a period of time, e.g. a year. Astronomical calculators can be also a part of a simulation software, displaying the sky at a certain time.

Games

There are also types of software used to help solve games that are sometimes referred to as calculators, including: * Sudoku calculators: The input is a Sudoku ''puzzle'', the operations support ''solving'' the puzzle, such as selecting a digit as the solution for a cell, and the result is a ''solution'' of the entire puzzle. * Poker calculators: A common feature of these is to calculate the ''odds'' of winning with a given

Poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

hand.

Related software packages

There are many interactive software packages that provide user-accessible calculation features, but that are not normally called ''calculators'', because the calculation features play only a supporting role rather than being an end in themselves. These include: *

Spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in c ...

s, where user-supplied calculations can define a cell’s content. *

Computer algebra system A computer algebra system (CAS) or symbolic algebra system (SAS) is any mathematical software with the ability to manipulate mathematical expressions in a way similar to the traditional manual computations of mathematicians and scientists. The de ...

s, which can manipulate mathematical expressions, including evaluating simple calculations. *

Database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

s, where user-supplied calculations can specify a field’s value. ;Spreadsheets :Spreadsheets are not normally called ''calculators'' because their main purpose is to organise data in rows and columns, and to automatically update the values of possibly many dependent cells when the value in another cell changes. The calculation features are only used in a supporting role to specify the values in some cells. ;Computer algebra systems :Computer algebra systems are not normally called ''calculators'' because their main purpose is to perform symbolic manipulation of mathematical expressions that can contain variables and complex operations, such as integration. However, the expressions can be basic calculations that do not use variables, and that are simply evaluated, as with a calculator. ;Databases :Databases are not normally called ''calculators'' because their main purpose is data entry and storage, plus reporting against this data. The calculation features are only used in a supporting role to specify the values in some fields.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Software Calculator Office equipment Mathematical notation