Hypothetical: 12C program editing

[brouhaha]

(01-13-2023 08:07 AM)Csaba Tizedes Wrote:  

(01-12-2023 11:27 PM)brouhaha Wrote:  My hypothetical INS would potentially convert a register to program steps, changing the partitioning. If there were already the maximum number of program steps, it would result in Error 4.

This is the possible worst method! What if your program requires ALL the currently available registers for proper running and your INS re-partitioning the memory (and decreases the number of storage registers)? Your program can't run.
Thats why DIM on 15C and all the scientific programmable TI's has PART command. You MUST to keep the original memory partitioning unless the user do not want to change.

Cs.

That's not how HP calculators of that era with automatic partitioning (HP-34C, HP-38E, HP-38C, HP-10C, HP-11C, HP-12C, HP-16C) work. They all will convert numbered registers to program steps automatically as the program grows, without any warning. On these calculators, the "MEM' function shows the current partitioning. On the HP-10C, HP-11C, HP-12C, and HP-16C, MEM will also show you how many program steps you can add before you will lose a numbered data register.

The calculators with manual partitioning (HP-41C series, HP-15C) are the exception, not the rule.

Changing the 12C to manual partitioning would require a huge amount of work.

In my opinion, changing the 12C to manual partitioning would fundamentally change the nature of 12C programming, and would not be what 12C users would expect.