Python comes to the Casio fx-CG 50

[Nigel (UK)]

(10-24-2018 08:07 AM)tcab Wrote:  Also, can anybody compare this calc to our venerable mighty Prime? I can predict the Prime will be way faster, but in terms of design and UI I'd be interested in a quick opinion from someone who owns both.

I own the Prime (hardware version A). I don't own the Casio CG-50, but I do have a Casio CG-20 and the school at which I teach encourages sixth-form maths students (ages 16-18) to buy the CG-50, so I know what it is like.

The two calculators have a similar price: on amazon.co.uk the CG-50 is about £10 cheaper than the Prime V2. Both are well built. The Prime keyboard is more of a classic HP feel; some people don't like the softer Casio keyboards, but they are completely reliable (as is the Prime, in my experience). The colour display of the Casio is lower-resolution but it is clearer: it uses bit-mapped fonts as opposed to the antialiased fonts on the Prime. This isn't an issue; the Prime is plenty clear enough.

There is no touch screen on the Casio. I use the touch screen on the Prime a lot - for moving graphs around, selecting previous inputs / outputs, etc. - if you've never had one you won't miss it, of course!

Both calculators use apps, with a good number built in on each. Without exception, I think that the apps on the Prime are well ahead of the corresponding app on the Casio machine. I don't think that there is anything like the Prime's advanced graphing app on the Casio. The Prime numerical solver handles multiple equations with ease; the Casio solver doesn't. Casio's BASIC programming language is an app - it works, but it isn't great. It doesn't begin to compare with programming on the Prime - very little structure and (I think) only single-character variable names. There is no built-in CAS app on the Casio; the Prime's CAS is, of course, very powerful. Finally, the Prime does have an RPN mode built in: this may or may not matter to you.

Extra apps are available for the Casio: C.Basic is much faster and fuller-featured than Casio Basic; Bernhard Parisse has ported XCas to the Casio, so you can have a CAS if you want one. There is even a (rather limited) RPN calculator that I wrote a long time ago: this runs on the CG-20, so it will probably run on the CG-50 too.

But on the Prime, everything is fully integrated. All of the built-in apps and the CAS have been designed to work together, or at least to work in the same way. The Prime user experience is better, in my opinion.

For school use: in the UK, Casio calculators rule. HP appears to do zero marketing here, and even TI is rarely seen in high street shops. The Casio calculator is approved for use in exams, so long as its memory is cleared beforehand (so, naturally, no CAS or pre-written programs!). In exam mode the Prime should be fine as well, but schools won't be familiar with it and will probably not allow it unless they are introduced to it well in advance. Schools will be familiar with Casio machines.

Documentation: there are complete online manuals for each machine. People have complained about the lack of CAS documentation for the Prime, but most questions can be answered if you look around or ask here. The Prime has excellent built-in help; the Casio doesn't.

I can't comment on the Python as I don't actually have the CG-50. For Python on the Prime, see this thread.

My verdict (as you've probably guessed): the Prime, unless you're buying it for use in a UK school. Both calculators are great, but the Prime does far more. However, the Casio does what it does do very well (and it comes with a periodic table built in!).

Nigel (UK)