HP 50G for Maths (My experiences)

[edryer]

Having collected Calculators for many years, and never doing more than simple arithmetic on them (just enjoying playing about on them, didn't have any numerical skills only some basic Stats knowledge from University) I finally managed to start studying Math... and have progressed through High School Algebra, Trig and Geometry, and then early College level Vectors and Matrices, all at simple levels (calculating Eigenvalues are about the limits of my abilities).

This wasn't so much a choice (although I have ended up enjoying it immensely) as a necessity to improve my skills in Machine Learning as to attempt to compete in Kaggle, an online Machine Learning platform.

It is now I truly actually appreciate the power of the HP 50G. It has actually been a superb companion through my Linear Algebra studies - the entire platform seems optimized to work as a number cruncher - have set up custom menus (IDN,DET,INV,DOT,LU etc) and have written a few programs as well as customized the keyboard layout (esp love SWAP on the right arrow key).

I also particularly appreciate the multiple ways Vectors (but mostly) Matrices can be entered (straight from the keyboard simply using [] and values (no other keys just separated by spaces!), whoever in HP thought of this keyboard shortcut deserves a medal (I learnt this from the 48S manual so I guess that person has possible retired by now).

This Calculator truly is superb, and although I knew RPN before (from playing on my old HP's) can now actually appreciate its power in performing chains of computation, am now a confirmed believer.

[grsbanks]

Now you know why some of us are stockpiling the damn things

[edryer]

It is genuinely a very useful tool because I find after spending time with it much becomes intuitive as the functions merge seamlessly with the RPN.

Also entering a 3X3 Matrix by simply [[1 2 3][4 5 6][7 8 9]] (and without shifting [] with a custom key) makes entry supremely fast (and Vectors trivial). That is something that allows me to enter a 3X3 (or greater) whilst other Calculators will have you fiddling around with all sorts of key presses.

The number of inbuilt Vector/Matrix operations seems way beyond what I'll ever reach but should say that it has everything I want somewhere as a function without exception.

What I would like though is the Matrix to be fed into a Cartesian plane and transform using the 2D basis vectors î and ĵ into new space, shown in the new space against the previous space (as a unit graph), if that makes sense... 2D would be fine, but 3D would be awesome )) Graphically showing the determinant in the squashed/stretched space also would be neat. I guess this is what differentiates a Calculator from a Computer, however, I wonder if the Prime could do this, show Vector/Matrix operations geometrically?

Note: Perhaps the 50G can do this... I need to read the manual fully.

[Claudio L.]

(04-12-2019 01:15 PM)grsbanks Wrote:  Now you know why some of us are stockpiling the damn things

And some others so desperate to keep the platform alive in any form... The OP summarized very well what the 50g is all about: a number cruncher workhorse with a few custom routines to power through your work with ease.
Long live the RPL platform!

[Joe Horn]

(04-12-2019 01:32 PM)edryer Wrote:  ... Also entering a 3X3 Matrix by simply [[1 2 3][4 5 6][7 8 9]] (and without shifting [] with a custom key) makes entry supremely fast (and Vectors trivial). That is something that allows me to enter a 3X3 (or greater) whilst other Calculators will have you fiddling around with all sorts of key presses. ...

Keyboard shortcut: Only the first pair of square brackets are required when keying a matrix onto the command line. That is to say, you can key your 3×3 example this way, using the arrow key between 3 and 4:

[[ 1 2 3 ] 4 5 6 7 8 9 ENTER

Saves a few keystrokes.

[edryer]

(04-13-2019 01:10 AM)Joe Horn Wrote:  

(04-12-2019 01:32 PM)edryer Wrote:  ... Also entering a 3X3 Matrix by simply [[1 2 3][4 5 6][7 8 9]] (and without shifting [] with a custom key) makes entry supremely fast (and Vectors trivial). That is something that allows me to enter a 3X3 (or greater) whilst other Calculators will have you fiddling around with all sorts of key presses. ...

Keyboard shortcut: Only the first pair of square brackets are required when keying a matrix onto the command line. That is to say, you can key your 3×3 example this way, using the arrow key between 3 and 4:

[[ 1 2 3 ] 4 5 6 7 8 9 ENTER

Saves a few keystrokes.

Oh great thank you very much for that.. will help me speed up a little ) I cannot think of any other calculator on the planet (outside 48/49/50) that allows entry so rapidly.

I should have mentioned that this input method can also be used to enter numbers on the stack ( assume that's where they go) (by separating values by spaces and operations performed on them without having to use the enter key... that was something else I believe I picked up from the 48S manual.

[Valentin Albillo]

.
Hi,

Quote:I cannot think of any other calculator on the planet (outside 48/49/50) that allows entry so rapidly.

Well, I can think of one. The HP-71B allows entering a number of matrices (or 1-dimensional arrays), real or complex, by executing a single MAT INPUT statement (which can be assigned to a key for instant execution), which will then prompt you for the first element of the first matrix and you can then enter any number of elements (including just one or all of them) by simply keying them in separated by commas, like this:

MAT INPUT A
A(1,1)?    1,3,14,28,0.047,64,-27,33,0,1.23e38 [END LINE]

For extra flexibilty, you can enter several matrices and/or arrays at once by simply sequentially entering all their elements separated by commas, no need to key in any extra separators between elements of distinct matrices or arrays:

MAT INPUT A,B,M
A(1,1)?    1,3,14,28,0.047,64,-27,33,0,1.23e38,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,-23,-32,117 [END LINE]

And for ultimate convenience, the elements might be arbitrary expressions, including elements of matrices:

MAT INPUT A
A(1,1)?    1,3,14,28,0.047*SIN(X+J),64*REPT(CONJ(2+P,3-Q))),-27,33*B(I,J),0,1+C(6+I,7-J) [END LINE]

V.
.

[edryer]

Unfortunately, I sold the only 71B I have ever had some years ago... to my eternal regret, it was British Government surplus with a module entitled "DHSS" (Department of Health and Social Security as it was then called).

Recall though it was a fine machine.

[Dave Frederickson]

(04-14-2019 04:29 PM)edryer Wrote:  Unfortunately, I sold the only 71B I have ever had some years ago... to my eternal regret, it was British Government surplus with a module entitled "DHSS" (Department of Health and Social Security as it was then called).

Recall though it was a fine machine.

I have one I can sell.

[TheKaneB]

Thank you for sharing your experience! The 50g is a true "work" machine, it's difficult to learn but once you master it, you unleash a math beast that can handle everything you can throw at it!

[pier4r]

(04-13-2019 11:57 PM)Valentin Albillo Wrote:  MAT INPUT A
A(1,1)?    1,3,14,28,0.047*SIN(X+J),64*REPT(CONJ(2+P,3-Q))),-27,33*B(I,J),0,1+FNF(1.23e38) [END LINE]

V.
.

Wow.

I knew from my little dives that the 71B-basic was a fine language (well, aside from variables of short length) and it was a pity it wasn't used for later models (48 G/50G). But matrices with functions is pretty amazing.

One day I will really need to try the HTBasic (according to other threads, htbasic should be the closes to the 71B basic, as it is the successor of rocky mountain basic that was the basic from HP).

edit: thanks Valentin for the subsequent clarification.

[Valentin Albillo]

(04-18-2019 06:50 PM)pier4r Wrote:  

(04-13-2019 11:57 PM)Valentin Albillo Wrote:  MAT INPUT A
A(1,1)?    1,3,14,28,0.047*SIN(X+J),64*REPT(CONJ(2+P,3-Q))),-27,33*B(I,J),0,1+FNF(1.23e38) [END LINE]

Wow.
I knew from my little dives that the 71B-basic was a fine language (well, aside from variables of short length) and it was a pity it wasn't used for later models (48 G/50G). But matrices with functions is pretty amazing.

Sorry, pier4r, I've checked in an emulator and specifying a user-defined function (FNF) while assigning values to matrix elements with MAT INPUT is not allowed and results in an error, so I've corrected my post.

Best regards.
V.
.