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using factorial in probability question
10-02-2017, 12:07 PM
Post: #18
RE: using factorial in probability question
(10-02-2017 08:49 AM)chromos Wrote:  
(10-02-2017 05:48 AM)Joe Horn Wrote:  ... That's not a bug; it's behaving precisely according to design.

Dear Joe, I really appreciate your knowledge, and please, I don't want my post to sound like an attack to you.

Every reputable software gives a message to user about overflow... [but] hp prime doesn't tell you.

So, "it's behaving precisely according to design" as you wrote, but I think it is bad design, especially if hp prime is targeted to students.

We actually agree that Prime's failure to give any sort of warning that an overflow occurred is a Bad Thing. My only point was a linguistic one: this cannot be called a "bug" per se, because a "bug" is a behavior that is contrary to the intentions of the designers. (That's different from a misfeature, and different from an anomaly). I do not know why HP intended to design Prime that way, but they did, so it's not a bug. Perhaps "It's not a bug; it's a misfeature" would be appropriate in this case.

I also agree with toml_12953: Prime should give an overflow message of SOME sort, or at least offer options related to it (like the RPL models do). Meanwhile, being aware of how the machine works internally should help avoid unexpected results.

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-Joe-
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RE: using factorial in probability question - Joe Horn - 10-02-2017 12:07 PM



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