HP Calculator Highlights since the 1980

[rprosperi]

(04-02-2018 09:28 PM)pier4r Wrote:  Surely the 71B + rom impressed me, sadly there was no follow up.

You may not realize it but the 48/49/50 series, plus all the Pioneers, all used the core math routines written initially for the 71B when the Saturn CPU was new. There have certainly been many tweaks, enhancements, bug-fixes, etc. but the core IEEE Math routines created in Saturn assembler form the basis of the actual math routines used for the next 30 years. One of the original developers has commented that it's likely many of those routines survive untouched all the way through the 50g.

So, yes I agree it's too bad there was no follow-on BASIC product, but the core proved to be a useful framework to bolt RPL onto, and build Pioneer machines around (both Algebraic and RPN families.)