DB48X for iOS now available

[c3d]

If you own an iPhone or iPad, you can now run DB48X on it.

Pros: Since the CPU on today's iPhones is much faster than on the DM32 or DM42, this gives you a significant boost in terms of performance. The files you save can be backed up in iCloud directly, making it easy to edit them from a Mac (assuming you are in the Apple ecosystem). The screen is more readable than the SwissMicros devices when in the dark. Finally, the iPhone version of DB50X (coming soon) will support colour.

Cons: There is no real keyboard, you tap on a screen (there is some optional tactile feedback, though).

If you feel like supporting the project, sharing this link around is a very good way.

[Allaman]

Good job! Runs great on an iPhone 15 Pro.

Another advantage I would like to add: My phone is always with me, my calculator (unfortunately) not

[mahi]

Purchased! Thanks Christophe!

It runs fine on my iPhone 12 mini, but I seem to miss key presses a lot more often than for example in iHP48. I think the problem is that the key hit boxes are too small. Sure, they follow the outline of the keys, but the keys are small on a 12 mini and the space between the keys serves no purpose. In my opinion it would be better to expand the hit box size in all directions so that there is no inactive space between the keys.

The hit box does not have to respect the labels around the keys. The actual key should be centered in the hit box, as that is what you are aiming for with your finger. So, it's okay when a key's hit box includes a (small) portion of the labels of the key below or left from it. #1118

Update: Is "Save state on exit" broken? Whenever I close DB48X and launch it again, I start with a blank calculator. Enabling "Save state when deactivating" seems to fix it, but then I get spammed with "Saving state" messages whenever simply switching between apps. #1119

Update 2: There's a weird lag that is not present on the physical calculator. Start with an empty stack, type 1 (fast), press ENTER (takes 1.5s to move to the stack), press Backspace to drop the value (takes 1.5s). #1120

[sunpazed]

Great news Christophe!

Having db48x on my mobile was part of the motivation for the WASM hack. Now that you’ve released it natively, I’m excited to be running the fully featured version on my iPhone. Thanks again!

[nickapos]

Purchased to support your work. As I don’t have a DM calculator and will probably not get one, this is the closest I can get. Keep up the good work.

[nickapos]

(08-18-2024 06:09 PM)mahi Wrote:  Purchased! Thanks Christophe!

It runs fine on my iPhone 12 mini, but I seem to miss key presses a lot more often than for example in iHP48. I think the problem is that the key hit boxes are too small. Sure, they follow the outline of the keys, but the keys are small on a 12 mini and the space between the keys serves no purpose. In my opinion it would be better to expand the hit box size in all directions so that there is no inactive space between the keys.

The hit box does not have to respect the labels around the keys. The actual key should be centered in the hit box, as that is what you are aiming for with your finger. So, it's okay when a key's hit box includes a (small) portion of the labels of the key below or left from it. #1118

Update: Is "Save state on exit" broken? Whenever I close DB48X and launch it again, I start with a blank calculator. Enabling "Save state when deactivating" seems to fix it, but then I get spammed with "Saving state" messages whenever simply switching between apps. #1119

Update 2: There's a weird lag that is not present on the physical calculator. Start with an empty stack, type 1 (fast), press ENTER (takes 1.5s to move to the stack), press Backspace to drop the value (takes 1.5s). #1120

I see this lag as well, it’s only on the arithmetic operations, not on function calls. Also in the documentation you mention the EEX button but this button is labeled x10 in the app. It is a bit confusing.

[c3d]

(08-18-2024 06:09 PM)mahi Wrote:  Purchased! Thanks Christophe!

It runs fine on my iPhone 12 mini, but I seem to miss key presses a lot more often than for example in iHP48. I think the problem is that the key hit boxes are too small. Sure, they follow the outline of the keys, but the keys are small on a 12 mini and the space between the keys serves no purpose. In my opinion it would be better to expand the hit box size in all directions so that there is no inactive space between the keys.

The hit box does not have to respect the labels around the keys. The actual key should be centered in the hit box, as that is what you are aiming for with your finger. So, it's okay when a key's hit box includes a (small) portion of the labels of the key below or left from it. #1118

Thanks for reporting. This should be better with 0.7.14 submitted today. It may take a couple of days for Apple to process and distribute the new version.

Quote:Update: Is "Save state on exit" broken? Whenever I close DB48X and launch it again, I start with a blank calculator. Enabling "Save state when deactivating" seems to fix it, but then I get spammed with "Saving state" messages whenever simply switching between apps. #1119

It was indeed broken, a bad case of copy/paste inheritance, where it was using the "save state when deactivating" flag instead of "save state on exit".

That being said, when you explicitly kill the application, it essentially receives a Unix SIGKILL (signal 9), and AFAICT, the save callback is not invoked.

Quote:Update 2: There's a weird lag that is not present on the physical calculator. Start with an empty stack, type 1 (fast), press ENTER (takes 1.5s to move to the stack), press Backspace to drop the value (takes 1.5s). #1120

I made a few fixes earlier, I don't see that anymore, but it was a bit "capricious". So might be fixed, might be something I did not catch yet.

[c3d]

(08-19-2024 05:26 AM)sunpazed Wrote:  Great news Christophe!

Having db48x on my mobile was part of the motivation for the WASM hack. Now that you’ve released it natively, I’m excited to be running the fully featured version on my iPhone. Thanks again!

Thanks again for the WASM code.

For the others around here, Sunpazed's contribution, with a few enhancements on my side, is what animates 48calc.org. This remains the best way to run on Android today.

Query: how many people in this forum would like a native Android version?

[nickapos]

(08-19-2024 10:30 PM)c3d Wrote:  

(08-19-2024 05:26 AM)sunpazed Wrote:  Great news Christophe!

Having db48x on my mobile was part of the motivation for the WASM hack. Now that you’ve released it natively, I’m excited to be running the fully featured version on my iPhone. Thanks again!

Thanks again for the WASM code.

For the others around here, Sunpazed's contribution, with a few enhancements on my side, is what animates 48calc.org. This remains the best way to run on Android today.

Query: how many people in this forum would like a native Android version?

I use both platforms, so I would most likely get it for Android as well.

[gwh]

(08-19-2024 10:30 PM)c3d Wrote:  

(08-19-2024 05:26 AM)sunpazed Wrote:  Great news Christophe!

Having db48x on my mobile was part of the motivation for the WASM hack. Now that you’ve released it natively, I’m excited to be running the fully featured version on my iPhone. Thanks again!

Thanks again for the WASM code.

For the others around here, Sunpazed's contribution, with a few enhancements on my side, is what animates 48calc.org. This remains the best way to run on Android today.

Query: how many people in this forum would like a native Android version?

I would love an Android version

[c3d]

(08-18-2024 10:55 AM)c3d Wrote:  If you own an iPhone or iPad, you can now run DB48X on it.

Pros: Since the CPU on today's iPhones is much faster than on the DM32 or DM42, this gives you a significant boost in terms of performance. The files you save can be backed up in iCloud directly, making it easy to edit them from a Mac (assuming you are in the Apple ecosystem). The screen is more readable than the SwissMicros devices when in the dark. Finally, the iPhone version of DB50X (coming soon) will support colour.

Cons: There is no real keyboard, you tap on a screen (there is some optional tactile feedback, though).

If you feel like supporting the project, sharing this link around is a very good way.

I forgot to mention that this led me to create a more detailed logo for the project. Let me share it, with the hope that the OFFIMG gallery picks it up.


  DB48XLogo.002.bmp (Size: 12.25 KB / Downloads: 13)

There is also a color version of the logo:

   

which can be turned into a BMP as well, but I prefer the black and white for that.


  DB48XLogo.001.bmp (Size: 12.25 KB / Downloads: 8)

[Eric Rechlin]

(08-20-2024 06:28 AM)gwh Wrote:  

(08-19-2024 10:30 PM)c3d Wrote:  Thanks again for the WASM code.

For the others around here, Sunpazed's contribution, with a few enhancements on my side, is what animates 48calc.org. This remains the best way to run on Android today.

Query: how many people in this forum would like a native Android version?

I would love an Android version

I third this. An iOS version is useless for me, but an Android version would be great.

[rprosperi]

(08-20-2024 01:43 PM)Eric Rechlin Wrote:  

(08-20-2024 06:28 AM)gwh Wrote:  I would love an Android version

I third this. An iOS version is useless for me, but an Android version would be great.

And I fourth this, for same reason.

[John Keith]

(08-19-2024 10:30 PM)c3d Wrote:  Query: how many people in this forum would like a native Android version?

I would as well. I also humbly suggest that you ask this question in the main DB48X thread, as an Android user I only checked this thread out of random curiosity.

[jeanwilson]

The same for me, I would appreciate an Android version. And also a true Windows version.

[nickapos]

Is the only difference between DB48x and DB50x the colour support? Are these two apps going to have a different feature set eventually?

[c3d]

(08-21-2024 10:54 AM)nickapos Wrote:  Is the only difference between DB48x and DB50x the colour support? Are these two apps going to have a different feature set eventually?

Colour support, amount of user-accessible, memory and a few minor details are the main differences at the moment.

Ultimately, yes, DB50X will have more features, when I reach the memory limits of the DM42. But I keep finding ways to not hit that limit just yet.

[c3d]

(08-21-2024 11:48 PM)c3d Wrote:  

(08-21-2024 10:54 AM)nickapos Wrote:  Is the only difference between DB48x and DB50x the colour support? Are these two apps going to have a different feature set eventually?

Colour support, amount of user-accessible, memory and a few minor details are the main differences at the moment.

Ultimately, yes, DB50X will have more features, when I reach the memory limits of the DM42. But I keep finding ways to not hit that limit just yet.

As a matter of fact, there was a build error and DB50X had less memory than anticipated. Fixed in the recently pushed i0.7.15, along with the screen refresh bug (hopefully, this one is a race condition that I had trouble to hit).

[jthole]

I am a bit confused about the three different apps in the iOS app store; db40x, db48x, and db50x.

I bought and downloaded the db48x app, but should I have bought the db50x app for all features? Or doesn't it matter?

(Thinking about it - since I only have a DM42, I want alignment between the calculator and app as much as possible)

Thanks!

[c3d]

(08-26-2024 11:56 AM)jthole Wrote:  I am a bit confused about the three different apps in the iOS app store; db40x, db48x, and db50x.

The idea was to let people choose between:

* a free app with limited features, e.g. no save. That's DB40X.
* an app that will track DB48X running on the DM42 as closely as possible. That app is currently limited in terms of the memory exposed to the user to roughly approximate the amount you get on a physical DM42. The rationale is that owners of a DM42 may want to share programs between the two and have identical behaviours and limits.
* an app that will track DB50X running on the DM32 as closely as possible. That app will have the user-accessible memory be closer to what you get on a DM32. I added colour as a bonus, to motivate people who do not own SwissMicros hardware to pick the more expensive option ;-)

If having colour on the iPhone gives ideas to SwissMicros about finding a provider of color e-Ink displays, so much the better. BTW, colour support was baked in the firmware initially in order to be able to target the HP Prime someday. I thought it was cool to have at least one place where you'd take advantage of that work. It is likely that I will add colour support to DB48X at some point, maybe as a Christmas incentive. But shh, it's a secret.

The price difference also allows enthusiasts to select the level of financial support they want to give this project ;-)

At some point, it is possible that I will hit program-size limitations with the DM42 that will force me to restrict some features to DB50X only. I have not reached that point yet. Actually, I dodged the bullet twice already with tricks such as rewriting the entire decimal computation library from scratch. So I'm doing as much as I can to keep feature parity between DM32 and DM42, but I'm pretty sure that at some point I may fail to fit everything I want on the DM42.

When this happens, then the iPhone versions will track their respective SwissMicros variants, i.e. DB50X will get features that are not on DB48X. In all likelihood, it will be somewhat obscure HP50G features, like the HORNER or ICHINREM commands. DB48X should remain comparatively "pretty good", and I expect that by the time we label it 1.0, it should have reached feature parity with the HP48 (except in areas relying on hardware such as infrared communications, kermit or extension port management).

Quote:I bought and downloaded the db48x app, but should I have bought the db50x app for all features? Or doesn't it matter?

I apologise if I misled you into buying the less expensive but more limited option if the other one would have suited you better. The reason for that is pretty stupid. When I initially submitted the three apps for review, Apple accepted DB48X, which I had submitted first, and then rejected the other two because they had an icon that Apple found too similar to an existing app (duh...). And also, in the case of DB40X, because I was stating in the description that it was free, which is apparently verboten.

So I had to redesign icons that were "sufficiently dissimilar" between the three variants before re-submitting. And since this happened while I was on vacation in a place with very poor connectivity, and that submitting app revisions requires a somewhat decent network, this took a bit of time. So DB50X and DB40X came out with a slight delay. Call that a learning curve.

Again, my apologies, there was no intention to mislead.

Quote:(Thinking about it - since I only have a DM42, I want alignment between the calculator and app as much as possible)

That's the idea, but ideally, you should have known your options at the time of purchase.