DM-42 and WP-43S

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(04-04-2017 03:43 PM)c785 Wrote:  I'm new to this forum, but not to HP, having got through university (and beyond) on an HP48G extended to 128kB.

I recently discovered WP34s, that's why I came here, and I'm in fact going to own one soon. Playing around with the simulator (as well as with Free42) I discovered that I don't quite understand why people love these machines so much, apart from the "geek factor": just those two lines in the display with X: and Y: on the 42 should put almost everybody off immediately. I'm not new to keypress programming, having had a chance to write some serious stuff in the 99 (cryptic!) steps offered on the HP20s, but that's another story because it isn't RPN.

What I don't get is why nobody considered actually adapting to the possibilities of new hardware. Faster processors and matrix LCDs would be ideal for:

1. fixing the RPN logic, which is somewhat weird on the 42 and WP34s (when exactly to press ENTER and when not); in fact, the HP48 has already done it.

2. fixing the fixed-size stack, also done on the HP48.

3. replacing keypress programming and its labels and gotos with RPL or similar for a much more robust and scalable programming experience. Again, the HP48 is miles ahead of everything else in this respect. Actually, it isn't even that different from keypress programming as far as program entry is concerned.

So, why isn't there any need for HP48-like features on the DM42, and why is exact HP42 compatibility such a high priority? I'm not talking about graphing, just the stack logic and programming.

Since you asked... Simple: RPL sucks.

;)