Prime lags after extensive processing

[bobkrohn]

cyrille de brébisson,

First off, thanks for the informative information on RAM in Part 2 of your posting.
I am saving that in my "Auxiliary Documentation" folder.
I know how much time it takes to create a posting like yours and I for one, appreciate it.
I like getting information like this. I wish there was a depository or document with more of this type thing.

-----
My comments:

Do I have a Lemon?
Well, since have Enter Key and now ESC Key failure in the last few days would tend to answer YES.
But, since I can consistently replicate the Notes crash on the Emulator too, would tend to say NO.
BTW, I finally found an email link to Customer Support and have requested a replacement machine.
One doorway to Customer Support
It's apparently for "HP Store" bought items but I tried anyway.

-----

"leads me to think (and I might be wrong), that you do not have extensive experience programming."

I am NOT a Computer Science graduate. I am not an expert on the internal, low level workings of computers.

However, I have been writing programs for various devices since the late 70's. HP41 through PC.
Have written fairly complex Surveying software that was sold and used by many firms.
Not to brag, just fact, but in the last 15 years I have only encountered maybe a half dozen bugs in my software after release.
None were major and when encountered and reported by users, they were fixed immediately. (days or less)
Testing, testing and more testing.
Anticipate all possible erroneous data that the user may enter and trap it.
Assume bizarre, strange input from users.

-----

"you are not using the most efficient ways to deal with your very large data set"
That I may not be most efficient is not relevant.
It's not my responsibility to worry how the Spreadsheet works internally.
All I should have to worry about is putting the right numbers in and getting the right numbers out. Reliably.
As I have said, I'm not doing anything super complex. Or out of the ordinary.
NO CAS no solver thing or whatever it's called.
Just a whole lot of fairly simple things in one big package.
SIN(), COS(), TAN() ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY, DIVIDE, Lists, Matrices.
I guess the only "fancy" thing I've done is to use the Triangle Solver in a couple of places.
My Spreadsheet database? typically only use less than 200 records. In my current development phase about 50.

-----

Using the analogy of a motor vehicle I would consider myself similar to a commercial truck driver.
I may not understand the complex engineering required to design and manufacture a truck but I understand its practical use.
I wouldn't, and shouldn't have to, worry about the tolerances in the engine or what mixture the fuel needs to be.
I assume that those that have the expertise to design and manufacture the truck know what they are doing. Create a safe and reliable product.
They anticipate problems and provide for them.
If the truck brakes will not stop the truck then there is something wrong with the truck not the driver.
Granted, nobody is going to be killed because a HP Prime crashes versus when a truck crashes.
Vehicles are tested by the manufacturers to destruction to figure out the weak areas, and strengthen them.
Maybe I'm testing the Prime to destruction?
HP should consider hiring me or a bunch like me to sit in a room and just test the Prime to destruction all day long.
I would seriously consider that if I could get an exclusive right to provide a built-in Surveying App for the Prime.
Casio already has such a critter. The Casio FX-FD10_Pro Surveying Calculator at $500.
HP used to market a Survey Module for the HP41. Surveyors today are still using those 35 year old machines and they command a good price on ebay.

-----

And your thoughts on the Thrashing of RAM due to heavy use:
Like I said, I am not a computer scientist. So some assumptions here may be way off.
The Prime is shown as having 32mg of memory available.
My program is about 300kb. I think my Custom Spreadsheet comes in at 6-10k
Doing the simple math leads me to believe that there is 100 times more RAM than my program occupies. That's ONE HUNDRED.
That's not enough elbow room to operate for more than a day or two without the memory becoming so Thrashed that it crashes the computer??
I don't know how the standard Spreadsheet App (I'm just using a Saved Copy of) at 1.6 mg fits into this, but still is not significant in my view.
Someone here mentions that their iPhone (and mine) rarely need a reboot.
The prime should sense fragmented memory and compress it automatically. Or does it do that every time it's turned of/on or reset?
Then there is even less excuse for Thrashing.
Another point here is all the points you made are REASONS but they are not EXCUSES for Prime bad behavior.

-----

To me the computer is a "Black Box".
A set of "rules" for its use are provided and I assume that if I abide by those rules the Black Box will perform as advertised.
I shouldn't have to worry about what's inside the Black Box.

Implied Warranty

Here, in the USA, we have a legal concept called the "Implied Warranty".
Simply speaking it presumes that something sold for a particular purpose has to be useable for that purpose.
The example used is that if you bought apples at the grocery store that looked cosmetically edible,
took them home and found them to be full of worms then the store has a LEGAL obligation to provide a replacement or refund.
A LEGAL but also MORAL responsibility.
No written document is required. it's an old and accepted point of law.
The only way LEGALLY to get around this is to state, in the advertisements,
that the product is being sold "As-Is" or "for no specific purpose".
Not to open a can of worms here but HP was very disingenuous in advertising the Prime as having wireless capability.
I saw that and reasonably assumed that I would have standard WiFi type communications available. Not so.

-----

I understand you are working on fixing bugs as they are discovered.
There is another component to this effort. Timeliness.
How long it takes to produce an essentially bug free, useable product is the issue.
Yes, there is work being done to remedy the problems with the Prime.
But how long is a reasonable amount of time to accomplish that end?
When I see, what to me seem to be, easy fixes that go undone it bothers me.
Ex. the Connectivity Kit Program editor. with NO Search & Replace. My God, not even a Search!
Not even the functionality of Windows NotePad!
This causes my mind to immediately ask the question:
What other easy fixes that are not as obvious or under the covers go unfixed?

(a thought just occurred to me. Does the Program Editor use the same "engine" as Notes does? Could program corruption be a product of the Notes Bug?)

Anyway, I've run out of steam for now so will sign off.
Thanks for your time.