A minimalistic scientific calculator with reverse polish notation
Beta test phase. Please see beta notes and quick introduction below.
DetailsRPN Calculator provides a minimalistic, yet powerful and efficient interface to the world of reverse polish notation. It boils down the gist of Hewlett Packard's RPN calculators into one consistent, modern user interface, while focusing on the most important functionality and workflows.
If you're familiar with the likes of HP 35s, HP 15C, or the HP 49 model family, you will feel right at home when it comes to everyday number crunching. If RPN isn't familiar to you, RPN Calculator's simplicity won't confuse you with all the functionality that crowds the keypad a full-featured, programmable scientific calculator.
Notable features
RPN input
Four-level stack
Consistent keyboard layout and inverse mapping
Display precision of 16 significant digits (a lot more internally)
Standard trigonometric and arithmetic functions
Rudimentary support for complex numbers (result only, no input)
Portrait and landscape mode
Quick introduction
On an RPN calculator, you must first push values onto the stack using the ENTER key (↵), and then use the desired operator key to calculate the result which will end up on top the stack, often referenced by its variable name x.
To calculate (7+6)/(2-5), for example, enter the following sequence:
7↵ 6↵ + 2↵ 5↵ - ÷
Note that RPN Calculator lets you skip ↵ when followed immediately by an operator, so the following shorter sequence yields the same result:
7↵ 6+ 2↵ 5- ÷
Use x⇄y and R↓ to move values around on the stack and INV to access the keypad layer with inverse or related functionality.
RPN may be confusing at first, but once you catch on, you likely won't want to go back to the classic infix notation which is hopelessly cumbersome for complex calculations.
Beta test disclaimer
This version is intended for public beta testing, so please expect not only obvious bugs and calculation errors, but also subtle arithmetic mistakes. Don't bet your life or exam on the results.Known issues
Trigonometric functions yield erratic results when fed with very large values.
Fractional remainders below display precision will be omitted on display, but not for calculation. Eg, the result of 1 + 1E-20 is shown as 1, but subtract 1 from the result to get 1E-20 again
The Android version shows a white box on the DEL key, because the default font lacks the ⌫ symbol.
Please provide feedback via RPN Calculator's github page (linked below), or via e-mail.
I hope you enjoy this app.
