RPN83P: RPN calculator for TI-83+ TI-84+ inspired by HP-42S

[johnb]

(03-02-2024 10:38 PM)bxparks Wrote:  

(03-02-2024 06:10 PM)johnb Wrote:  ...we might have maybe 70% of our effort already done...

While your heart is in the right place, I think you are being overly optimistic.

LOL! As I presume you're either a professional software engineer like me, or else a professional-caliber amateur with the time occasionally on his hands to do things right (a luxury the professional craves and rarely has), I have to say you're not the first colleague who has pointed out this trend (in general) I seem to have! ;-D

(03-02-2024 10:38 PM)bxparks Wrote:  I would guess that almost nothing of RPN83P is transferable to the 89/92/200 calculators. The Z80 assembly code of RPN83P is tightly coupled to the TI83/84 OS, because the OS provides all of the low-level float routines, all of the keyboard scanning and button decoding, and all of the font rendering and printing to the LCD screen.

I was fearing you might say exactly this. Sigh...

(03-02-2024 10:38 PM)bxparks Wrote:  I think it would be easier to rewrite the app in C, rather than trying to convert Z80 into 68000 assembly and emulating the 83/84 OS environment under the 89/92/200 OS environment.

Likely, but given your statement below (taken out of order, sorry), I'm sadly losing the motivation to do so. I'm really looking for a project that I can gain traction on quickly, because when Real Life [tm] gets busy, it's altogether too easy to abandon a project that hasn't produced something concrete, whereas if you have something to show and that people are using, somehow the time gets "made" to continue development and maintenance!

(03-02-2024 10:38 PM)bxparks Wrote:  Anyway, my impression is that the developer community around the 89/92/200 collapsed around 10-15 years ago, most 3rd party compilers and tools are unmaintained and in disrepair, and much of the technical knowledge on creating 3rd party apps have been scattered and lost.

Amplifying my previous statement above... "well, drat."

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(03-02-2024 06:10 PM)johnb Wrote:  Which brings me to a vaguely related question: "From the viewpoint of a user, not a feature implementor, what's the difference between the Ti-89 series and the 83/84 series?" If I don't snag a Ti-89, what would I miss -- if anything -- by grabbing an 84, for example?

(03-02-2024 10:38 PM)bxparks Wrote:  I'm not sure what you are asking... The 89/92/200 calculators are clearly more powerful machines, for example, they have CAS capabilities, while the 83/84 calculators don't. But for 3rd party apps, the 83/84 machines are better documented and supported by the community as far as I can tell.

Actually, that pretty much answers exactly what I'm asking. It tells me (a) if I snag a Ti-89 titanium for my desired price range, I'll be happy I got it, and will enjoy playing with it and comparing results with my beloved HP's, (b) if I don't snag one I won't be heartbroken, and (c) regardless of the a/b outcome, I probably should grab me an 84+ and try out your application!

(03-02-2024 10:38 PM)bxparks Wrote:  I don't know if you are aware, someone on reddit told me that there is already an RPN program for the TI-89 that was created 20 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/calculators/com..._for_ti89/ . Apparently it runs only on the TI-89, not the 89-T, 92, 92+, or 200. I don't think the source code is available.

Nope, was not aware. By "89-T" do you mean the Ti-89 titanium? Sounds like I might need to acquire Yet Another Calculator. LOL.

(03-02-2024 10:38 PM)bxparks Wrote:  Personally, I'm more interested in the Casio 9750giii and cg50 series of calculators. These calculators are cheap, currently in production, and use relatively modern processors. The 3rd party development community seems active, and the compiler tools and libraries are readily available and maintained.

I will have to try to find one to look at and play with to see if I want to dive down this additional rabbit hole.

I can hear my wife now, saying "please don't encourage him!!" :-D