New HP-35,45,80 Simulator: HP-1973 (A 50th Anniversary Electronic Slide Rule)

[Z80Sarah]

Hi. I've just released a new (free) simulator for the HP-35/HP-45 and HP-80 calculators on my website, and thought people here might be interested in it.
There are standalone version for MacOS and Windows, plus Python source for everything else. (The standalone versions don't need any sort of Python
installation or knowledge.) There's a download link at the end of this post.

HP-1973 (A 50th Anniversary Electronic Slide Rule)



You can select which calculator you wish to use when the application starts, and also have the option to choose between multiple ROM versions for a given calculator
(with warnings if a ROM is known to contain bugs). In total, six calculator-ROM variations are included.



Calculator operations can be performed with an onscreen keyboard, or using the computer keyboard. The simulator is designed to demonstrate the internal logic and
programming of the calculators as operations are executed.



The interface is very flexible. The keyboard, for example, can be shown on the left or the right. Values are available in decimal, hex, octal and binary. Storage registers
can be shown in raw format, as they are held internally, or in more-easily-read scientific format. And so on. Additionally, the ROM map (which shows which
addresses in the calculator's internal ROMs have been accessed), list pane and keyboard can all be hidden completely.



The list of executed ROM code can be built up as it is executed, or pre-filled with an entire ROM listing through which execution is then traced. There's also a stepping
mode which provides fine-grained control of execution. Steps can be over a certain number of instructions, but can also run all instructions up until the next
instruction of a particular type.



There's a lot going on. The simulator won't teach you how to use an RPN calculator, but the manuals for the HP35, HP-45 and HP-80 are all available online for that.
However, there are thousands of words of help included in the application, covering both the simulator options and also the internal workings of the calculators
themselves. So, without leaving the app, you can find out the meaning of all the values shown, and how the calculators use them in processing operations.



Finally, if you don't like the way the window looks, the app includes seven different colour themes (and you can always create your own by editing the preference file).



Download it here: HP-1973

Oh, and it implements the secret timer function of the HP-45.

[KeithB]

This is awesome - literally! - and clearly a labor of love.

Thanks!

[Z80Sarah]

(07-20-2023 05:54 PM)KeithB Wrote:  This is awesome - literally! - and clearly a labor of love.

Thanks!

Thanks. It's absolutely a labour of love. Hopefully it's an effective way of sharing that love.

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

Wonderful work, thank you very much for sharing that. On my not-so-new Intel MacBook Pro (with 1920x1200 pixel screen) it runs perfectly well without any adjustments.

Regards
Max

[Z80Sarah]

(07-20-2023 10:24 PM)Maximilian Hohmann Wrote:  Hello!

Wonderful work, thank you very much for sharing that. On my not-so-new Intel MacBook Pro (with 1920x1200 pixel screen) it runs perfectly well without any adjustments.

Regards
Max

Fantastic! Have fun.

[rprosperi]

Wow, just WOW! This is amazing Sarah!

I saw your initial post in FB last year seeking ROMs, etc. and your interim posts along the way, but no idea it was heading towards something like this. Holy Smokes!

Indeed the 'just a few more days...' syndrome can and does happen, and though it can (and clearly has) consume one's life for a while, all the rest of us get to enjoy the fruits of your obsession.

Thank you so much for said obsession and for sharing it here with everyone, I can't wait to check it out!!

[Z80Sarah]

(07-21-2023 12:30 AM)rprosperi Wrote:  Wow, just WOW! This is amazing Sarah!

I saw your initial post in FB last year seeking ROMs, etc. and your interim posts along the way, but no idea it was heading towards something like this. Holy Smokes!

Indeed the 'just a few more days...' syndrome can and does happen, and though it can (and clearly has) consume one's life for a while, all the rest of us get to enjoy the fruits of your obsession.

Thank you so much for said obsession and for sharing it here with everyone, I can't wait to check it out!!

Thank you so much, Bob. I really hope people have fun using it.

[dmh]

Wow! This looks like a lot of time and effort went into it!

I downloaded the Python source version and it ran fine on Windows 10 and I also tried the minimal version which worked perfectly too. I just need to work out the keyboard mapping for the minimal version. I'm sure it's in the documentation :-)

Congrats!

[Z80Sarah]

(07-21-2023 07:22 AM)dmh Wrote:  Wow! This looks like a lot of time and effort went into it!

I downloaded the Python source version and it ran fine on Windows 10 and I also tried the minimal version which worked perfectly too. I just need to work out the keyboard mapping for the minimal version. I'm sure it's in the documentation :-)

Congrats!

If you press shift+k the onscreen keyboard will show. The computer keyboard mapping for a calculator key is shown under the key. (Edited to add: and thank you for trying it out!) Edited again to add: if you don't want to run the full version to see the keyboard, the hp1973_prefs file has a section which defines the onscreen keyboard and maps the computer keyboard: it's pretty much human-readable. (hp1973_calcs.json then maps the decoded computer/onscreen keys to internal calculator keycodes.)

[Hsilop]

Nice project! Well done, Z80Sarah!

[Z80Sarah]

(07-21-2023 11:51 AM)Hsilop Wrote:  Nice project! Well done, Z80Sarah!

Thank you: I'm glad that I have the chance to share it with people who'll get some enjoyment from it.

[Dan B]

Stunning!!! Thank you!

[Z80Sarah]

(07-22-2023 01:38 AM)Dan B Wrote:  Stunning!!! Thank you!

Thanks Dan. Now that it's been available for a couple of days my nervousness around releasing it has more-or-less passed. Have fun with it!

[Paul Dale]

All I can say is "very impressive".
Overkill in fact.

You have done a sublime job here.

[Z80Sarah]

(07-22-2023 07:50 AM)Paul Dale Wrote:  All I can say is "very impressive".
Overkill in fact.

You have done a sublime job here.

Thanks Paul. It's definitely overkill: all my projects seem to start small and rapidly descend into, "It's good, but what if I just..."

[ctrclckws]

(07-22-2023 10:24 AM)Z80Sarah Wrote:  Thanks Paul. It's definitely overkill: all my projects seem to start small and rapidly descend into, "It's good, but what if I just..."

Some projects are never truly "done".
My company has a concept of MVP, or minimum viable product.
Release that, then improve it.

Thank you for your efforts.

[roberto_abraham]

Wow, this simulator is just mind-blowingly amazing! I absolutely love seeing the internal workings of the calculators displayed this way. Thanks so much!

Bob

[Z80Sarah]

(07-22-2023 02:59 PM)ctrclckws Wrote:  Some projects are never truly "done".
My company has a concept of MVP, or minimum viable product.
Release that, then improve it.

Thank you for your efforts.

I try to make sure that whatever I'm doing (a) works for me, (b) makes me smile when I use it, and (c) can be used by others without having to jump through any difficult, technical hoops. But those can always be overridden by (d) stop doing it if it's no fun any more. This project reached (a), (b) and (c) moments before (d) came into play, I'd say.

[Z80Sarah]

(07-22-2023 04:53 PM)roberto_abraham Wrote:  Wow, this simulator is just mind-blowingly amazing! I absolutely love seeing the internal workings of the calculators displayed this way. Thanks so much!

Bob

Thanks Bob. I hope you enjoy it. I think there's enough detail in the help pages to explain everything, too, which was important to me when making it more widely available.

[roberto_abraham]

Well, I confess I didn't even look at the online help when initially playing with the simulator, but I've done that now. As a result, I'm even more amazed. Everything is very clearly organized and the text is extraordinarily well-written.

This simulator is off-the-charts cool. A remarkable achievement... thanks again!