A Calculator's Most Important Button Has Been Removed (theatlantic.com)
- Reference: 0175295909
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/10/21/1628257/a-calculators-most-important-button-has-been-removed
- Source link: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/10/iphone-broke-its-calculator/680271/
> The "C" button's function is vestigial. Back when calculators were commercialized, starting in the mid-1960s, their electronics were designed to operate as efficiently as possible. If you opened up a desktop calculator in 1967, you might have found a dozen individual circuit boards to run and display its four basic mathematical functions. Among these would have been an input buffer or temporary register that could store an input value for calculation and display. The "C" button, which was sometimes labeled "CE" (Clear Entry) or "CI" (Clear Input), provided a direct interface to zero out -- or "clear" -- such a register. A second button, "AC" (All Clear), did the same thing, but for other parts of the circuit, including previously stored operations and pending calculations. (A traditional calculator's memory buttons -- "M+," "M-," "MC" -- would perform simple operations on a register.)
>
> By 1971, Mostech and Texas Instruments had developed a "calculator on a chip," which condensed all of that into a single integrated circuit. Those chips retained the functions of their predecessors, including the ones that were engaged by "C" and "AC" buttons. And this design continued on into the era of pocket calculators, financial calculators, and even scientific calculators such as the ones you may have used in school. Some of the latter were, in essence, programmable pocket computers themselves, and they could have been configured with a backspace key. They were not.
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/10/iphone-broke-its-calculator/680271/
The most important button on a calculator (Score:5, Insightful)
is the Enter key
Re: (Score:2)
Followed by the xy button.
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I mainly use a nice RPN calculator on my phone. It's vastly superior to regular infix calculators, especially when you know how to manipulate the stack and set it to show several values.
I took a look because I never really thought about the fact that it lacks a normal clear button. It has a backspace, which clears the last typed character, or if the top-of-stack is a calculation result, sets the whole register to zero (never realized that feature). It also has a clear stack (similar to AC), and a "drop" to
Can still clear everything ... (Score:3)
From TFA:
> ... the iPhone’s “AC” button remains. When no value sits in the input buffer awaiting its desired mathematical operation, the [backspace] button changes to “AC.” The ability to destroy all local mathematics remains, at least for now.
Forth Calculator (Score:2)
I use Gforth as a calculator [1]https://gforth.org/ [gforth.org] .
When my computer boots up, I have it automatically pop up a terminal window running Gforth so it is always available for a quick calculation:
ok 2.0e pi f* f. 6.2832
[1] https://gforth.org/
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Now we are into something interesting.
Re: Forth Calculator (Score:2)
Thats pretty cool, but why not just use wcalc, or a built in tool like bc?
It's expensive (Score:2)
To run a server that does only one thing. Once we found that we didn't need a cloud service that cleared the input buffer, we just eliminated the skeuomorph. You'll still have the backspace ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H delete key.
slow news day? (Score:2)
This is newsworthy?
And Apple's redesign is inferior (Score:3)
And Apple's redesign is inferior. All three buttons are useful.
[BS], backspace, operates on individual digits and operators
[C] clear, operates on operands (collections of digits) and operators
[CA] clear all, operates on the entire pending expression (all operands and operators)
You might want to do any of the following depending on the nature of a typo, consider "12 + 34"
[BS]: "12 + 3"
[BS][BS]: "12 +"
[BS][BS][BS]: "12"
[BS][BS][BS][BS]: "1"
[BS][BS][BS][BS][BS]:""
[C]: "12 +"
[C][C]: "12"
[C][C][C]: ""
[CA]: ""
Re:And Apple's redesign is inferior (Score:4, Funny)
I think the word you are looking for is "courageous"
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It's obnoxious. I'm no longer using the macOS calculator.
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Long-press [BS] and it will [AC]
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The old app was single entry and worked like a single entry calculator. The new app is algebraic entry and works like an algebraic entry calculator.
Your example is for algebraic entry but I don't think I've ever seen an algebraic that supports C, only AC and backspace. I looked at all of my Casios, Sharps, TIs, and HPs and none of them support it. Can you provide an example that does?
Apple computers keyboards (Score:2)
That's kind of an weird and inconsistent change, considering that Apple's computer keypads have a Clear key. That convention goes as far back as the Apple Lisa in 1983, if not further.
On USB keyboards it is the same key as Num Lock on PC but interpreted differently. Microsoft in its Apple-envy even added a separate Clear key to some of its own keyboards even though that one isn't normally supported by MS-Windows and requires a driver.
80085 (Score:1)
80085
Re:80085 (Score:4, Funny)
5318008
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What the hell is that one? A breast abscess?
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3200 8008 379009
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710.77345
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"Shell Oil"...um, OK.
The headline is wrong (Score:1)
The Atlantic got it wrong (and the Slashdot editor just went with it) but "C" is not the most important button. I don't know which button is, but the "1" button is more important that "C". A power cycle will substitute for a "C" button but you won't get far with a missing "1". "2". "3", "4", etc. are more important that "C" too.
No C-button on Android (Score:1)
Samsung's calculator app on Android has only backspace.
But, progress, maaan *inhales* (Score:2)
But, progress, maan. *inhales and keeps it in*
What, you gonna do what those pale stale males did 60 years ago? Get wiiith it maaan.. *inhales*
Yeaaah. All that progress for progress' sake, never stopping to think that sometimes holding on to what was is better than being a bleeding-edge radical.
I thought change and progress was this group's bag, no? Is this suddenly too much?
Make up your minds. Keep it as it was, or move fast and break everything.
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Good nyborg, man
Welcome change (Score:2)
As I am prone to âoefat-fingeringâ a digit or 2, this seems more intuitive to me than a âoeCâ button
You insenstive clod! (Score:3)
All I have is this stinkin' slide rule.
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A slide rule!? You must be wealthy - I am stuck using an abacus
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you must be middle class I am stuck using my phalanges and for advanced calculations I have to take off my shoes.
HiperCalc Pro (Score:2)
I bought HiperCalc Pro and it keeps getting significant new features. My kids use it too for their advanced math classes and prefer it to a TI.
A good blend of traditional calculator and phone capabilities.
cz.hipercalc.pro on Android - maybe iPhone people can get it too.
It's just nice to see small developers still making great software.
Apple: Unburdened by what has been (Score:1)
Or innovation by imbeciles
HP Calculators Use Arrow Key (Score:2)
I've been an HP calc user for half a century, love using RPN instead of Algebraic input method. I looked at my HP-11C and confirm that it uses a left arrow key for CLEAR or DEL function.
Re: (Score:2)
Ugh, should have kept editing... Anyway, I was going to continue by saying I installed an app called RealCalc from Google Play store that implements RPN logic, and it too employs a left arrow key (large red key with white arrow) to properly simulate the HP experience.
Bullshit (Score:2)
> Some of the latter were, in essence, programmable pocket computers themselves, and they could have been configured with a backspace key. They were not.
I have a 1990s HP48G somewhere. It has both a backspace and a delete key. If you want clear you have to hit shift. I also have a Casio CFX-9800. It's got a backspace and an AC button but no C.
Scientific Calculator (Score:2)
I still use my TI-89s (yes, plural), and take one with me on trips. Never use the âoeCâ functionality. Backspace FTW.
Busywork (Score:2)
Change for change sake. And it's not even something done for marketing. So...?
Not surprising (Score:3)
In my experience of a few decades, almost no-one knows the difference between C and AC. Even after itâ(TM)s explained when they ask if they do, why there 2 clear buttons.
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> In my experience of a few decades, almost no-one knows the difference between C and AC. Even after itâ(TM)s explained when they ask if they do, why there 2 clear buttons.
That is largely due to inconsistency between calculators. For example "C" erasing an entire operand or a single digit. The latter case where "C" is just a backspace. Or where "C" is overloaded, a clear operand if pressed once and clear all if pressed twice in a row. The latter assuming a typo was in the last operand.
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Who needs a calculator?
A true geek uses a bash prompt to enter python3 -c "print()"
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Python? Hah. *True* geeks use bc.
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bc -l
all the way. I mean, there is a shell somewhere on the virtual desktop I'm at anyway.
Re: Not surprising (Score:2)
True geeks build their own calculator on a breadboard and handle their own digital logic.
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Python???
@Technetium:~$ calc 3^10
59049
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I just press both buttons thrice to make sure...