Now available on iTunes: HP Prime Graphing Calculator iOS app

[dbbotkin]

(12-17-2015 07:29 AM)cyrille de brébisson Wrote:  Hello,

[I had this entire paragraph I wrote as a reply. But I erased it. I will say for now you should be happy we got the app on iOS. You should praise the HP team for the fantastic work they did to bring this to the App Store.

Example I love how my battery status is displayed in the calculator.]

Thanks for your thanks :-)

It actually was a huge task because we had to make the entire thing 64 bit compatible! Many mega bytes of source code had to be passed on by a fined toothed comb, and modified!
Note only does IOs force the use of 64 bits, but their characters are 32 bits (vs 16 on windows)...

Cyrille

Of course thanks are due the Prime team at HP for adding the 'Prime' to the other HP calculators that have been ported to the iOS for use on iPhones and iPads. This will not only provide more users with access to the Prime, it will enhance the profitability of the product for HP. (Hint to HP: a Season Bonus for the software team would be nice, maybe trim back on the fat checks for the marketing dept.)

My comment about 'copy and paste' relates to usability from the POV of the person operating the calculator. Departing from the edit protocol will not be appreciated. Yes, moving to 64 bits was a pain for the developers (although transparent to the user), but 32-bit characters allows for support of a much wider range of languages that don't use the 'Roman' character set.

In the iOS App Store there are many calculators ported directly from the source code by HP that work just like the physical device, however there are many more derivative implementations that enhance and extend the functionality. The 41c, for example, has useful features and speed enhancements that far exceed the original while retaining its 'look and feel'.

The Prime's 'testing' indicators in the title bar--do they work? If so, why? What teacher is going to let a kid use an iPhone on an exam? Who wants to have their phone 'wiped' just to use on a test? Instead of just copying exactly, why wasn't the Prime made into more of a 'Pro-version' for the iOS implementation? Or will it be left to the after-market developers to create a real kick-ass calculator as has been the case with the other HP calculator 'ports'?