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smp · 08-09-2015, 10:25 PM

I spent some time today paging my way through the HP Prime User Guide that I have (Edition 1, NW280-2001). I know that it's not the latest version. I do have the latest software installed in my Prime (8151).

I have already used the TICKS function: T:=TICKS

Today, I found the TIME function. It says in the manual that the syntax is TIME(program_name). I tried this a couple of different ways, and I get a syntax error:

TIME(DOLLAR)
___^
T:=TIME(DOLLAR)
______^
The editing cursor is placed right after the word TIME, right before the (.

Can anyone help me with this? The User Manual is pretty terse, and does not offer any example. I also cannot get any help if I press the Help key while editing.

Thanks in advance...

smp

Didier Lachieze · 08-09-2015, 10:54 PM

The TIME function has been replaced by TEVAL but this change has not been registered in the manual.

smp · 08-09-2015, 11:16 PM

(08-09-2015 10:54 PM)Didier Lachieze Wrote: The TIME function has been replaced by TEVAL but this change has not been registered in the manual.

Thanks very much!

smp

Joe Horn · 08-10-2015, 02:57 AM

(08-09-2015 10:54 PM)Didier Lachieze Wrote: The TIME function has been replaced by TEVAL but this change has not been registered in the manual.

Also, please note that there is another version of this function called "time" (must be typed using lowercase letters!) which returns the evaluation time without "_s" appended. This can be useful in programs when reals are needed instead of units.

Examples:
TEVAL(wait(2)) → 2_s
time(wait(2)) → 2

Warning: The TEVAL command fails in CAS, always returning 0_s. But the time (lowercase!) function works in both Home and CAS.

smp · 08-10-2015, 10:31 AM

(08-10-2015 02:57 AM)Joe Horn Wrote: Also, please note that there is another version of this function called "time" (must be typed using lowercase letters!) which returns the evaluation time without "_s" appended. This can be useful in programs when reals are needed instead of units.

Examples:
TEVAL(wait(2)) → 2_s
time(wait(2)) → 2

Warning: The TEVAL command fails in CAS, always returning 0_s. But the time (lowercase!) function works in both Home and CAS.

Hi Joe,

Thank you very much for these additional details!

Are there release notes that go along with the release of a new S/W version? If so, where do I go to view them? Of course, I am hoping to find any additional details, such as these you just provided.

smp

Joe Horn · 08-10-2015, 12:06 PM

(08-10-2015 10:31 AM)smp Wrote: Are there release notes that go along with the release of a new S/W version? If so, where do I go to view them? Of course, I am hoping to find any additional details, such as these you just provided.

(1) When you upgrade using the Connectivity Kit, the release notes get stored in the same folder as the firmware. On my computer it's here:

"C:\Users\Joe\Documents\HP Connectivity Kit\Firmware\release_info.txt"

Also look for a file called something like "release_info.html" in various languages. If it's there, it'll have some more release info.

(2) I could be wrong, but I highly doubt that the lowercase "time" function was ever mentioned in the release notes. It has been in the OS for a very, very long time, but I don't think it was ever in any sort of documentation or in the Help system. There are many such goodies hidden in the Prime. Always try both spellings for functions and commands (UPPERCASE and lowercase) to see if there's a difference.

smp · 08-10-2015, 12:44 PM

(08-10-2015 12:06 PM)Joe Horn Wrote: (1) When you upgrade using the Connectivity Kit, the release notes get stored in the same folder as the firmware. On my computer it's here:

"C:\Users\Joe\Documents\HP Connectivity Kit\Firmware\release_info.txt"

Also look for a file called something like "release_info.html" in various languages. If it's there, it'll have some more release info.

Hi Joe,

Thanks again for your assistance.

To be clear, I have found a document called Full Release Notes for 2015 06 17 (8151) on sites such as this:
http://hp-prime.de/en/id/61-firmware-update

I've been disappointed with these, because they, too, are quite terse, and do not contain any information about anything remotely sounding like, TIME() has been replaced with TEVAL(). There are the statements about issue resolution (as expected), but nothing indicating any function or command changes in the language.

I will take a look at what I have in my HP Connectivity Kit, as you suggested. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised?

smp

Didier Lachieze · 08-10-2015, 01:09 PM

(08-10-2015 10:31 AM)smp Wrote: Are there release notes that go along with the release of a new S/W version? If so, where do I go to view them? Of course, I am hoping to find any additional details, such as these you just provided.

The release notes are included in the firmware.zip file you can find here: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Prime/.
They are also generally published in this forum:

TIME was changed to TEVAL in the version 6975.

Quote:TIME was renamed to TEVAL to avoid confusion with Time variable. Also now shows up in the catalog.

smp · (This post was last modified: 08-10-2015 03:19 PM by smp.)

Thanks very much, Didier, for your attention, and pointers.

These are the same as I have been seeing elsewhere that I have found. As I said earlier:

Quote:I've been disappointed with these, because they, too, are quite terse, and do not contain any information about anything remotely sounding like, TIME() has been replaced with TEVAL(). There are the statements about issue resolution (as expected), but nothing indicating any function or command changes in the language.

So, now I look back to the Release Notes for S/W Version 6975, and I do see the mention of renaming TIME to TEVAL. Since that particular change happened three releases ago, it is not mentioned in this latest release. That is why I missed it.

Thanks very much for pointing this out. Of course, none of these changes in the software releases makes any change to the copy of the User Manual that I have, so I would still be confused when I come upon it as I did this past weekend!

smp