What would you like to see in a future HP Prime II? (HP Prime², HP Prime 2X)

[Anders]

(07-12-2020 07:23 PM)John Keith Wrote:  

(07-12-2020 05:57 PM)Anders Wrote:  Obviously programming is done an a PC/mac and transferred to the handheld device...

This is one point I disagree with. Having to do programming on a PC defeats the point of a programmable calculator. Certainly writing large complex programs is best done on a PC but to me programming is an important part of interactive problem solving.

If I had to choose only one language I would choose Python because of its wide appeal and large base of users and freely available code. However, I still think of RPL as unbeatable for quick'n'dirty problem solving and I can't see a reason not to have both.

I am not saying programming has to exclusively be done on a PC. I am, saying that any complex code would be better done on a PC. So of course you would still be able to code on the Prime II. However, the limited keyboard and small screen, that any hand held format inevitable will have, shall not be the principle that force or even influence what language to select.

if you start with the handheld device you end up with a less powerful language (a compromise) but if you start with a PC you do not have to compromise one bit.

I understand that I am being sacrilegious to many here when I write this, but
RPL and other other stack based languages is not the future of programming it belong to the past - a very interesting past and that has it charm from many perspectives and so on - but nonetheless the past. We should leave it there on our old loved calculators and not continue to introduce it on a next gen machine.

Just for reference, I wrote an full screen editor in Forth in 1984 (I swear, I do not want inflict that pain on anyone ever!), massive volumes of programs on HP-42S 28S 48S etc. over the years. It is not a good programming model for any complexity beyond trivial and shall not be used in a future machine point, period. It is a second generation language model form the past that current generation students do not care much about - except a perhaps a Computer Science major.

Yes, quick and dirty programming would be the only potential reason for RPL, but you might as well use Python for that too (yes it might take a bit longer to code, but a good contextual and lexical sensitive editor could fix much of that). That way, next gen students can actually read and understand our code - even quick and dirty one.

An owner of: HP-12c, HP-15c, HP-16c, 3 HP-28S, 2 HP-42S, 3 various HP-48xx, 1 HP-50g, 1 HP-35S, HP-32S, 3 HP Primes all flavors, all the Swiss micros flavors of the same DM-xx. Let see Casio FX-602p, FX-603p and a few more I do not even remember off the top of my head...