newRPL: proposal for Alpha mode

[Claudio L.]

(05-01-2015 08:10 PM)Helix Wrote:  When I press and hold the number 1, I don't expect 11111111111, because:
- the hp50g doesn't work like that (and probably any other calculator)
- the same thing applies to letters
- I don't see the usefulness of this feature. If by accident I have to enter such a number, I must count the number of digits, so a keystroke for each is the right solution
- the subscripts (and superscripts?) should be accessible only in alpha mode

You are right! I had to actually take the calculator and press and hold a number to test it. I assumed auto repeat was active (which means I never use it, otherwise I should know), but it's only for the cursors, backspace and delete. It makes perfect sense not having autorepeat, and that makes your idea incredibly useful. Long-press cycling is yet another useful way to use the keyboard. It complicates things from an implementation perspective since we'd have to store the state of each key and what it's inserting on the command line, so it can be "replaced" with the next item in the cycling list.

And thinking about it, it could have many uses. For example, in Alpha mode, you could press and hold the letter S, and it could cycle between S, SIN, ASIN, and Σ (all the symbols printed on the keyboard), in case you don't like to use Shifts.
This could eliminate the need for a "Greek" mode, making all greek letters available as one cycling option.