HP-35S 'Guide for Dummies' being posted online

[MagyarBoy]

(04-19-2015 09:14 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  It appears to be removed at this time... I'll look at the next version after the basic improvements.

Yes, I'm embarrased that I released these documents before they were ready, so I pulled them off the site until I prepare a proper version. Thanks for your understanding.

[JimP]

I look forward to reading the next draft. Yes, you'd asked for help and a bit of proofreading for errors -- perhaps did you get a bit more than you bargained for? (not to mention a bit of ancillary bickering...) ;o) At least you're having a go. Thanks for trying. Good on you!

[MagyarBoy]

(04-19-2015 11:10 PM)JimP Wrote:  I look forward to reading the next draft. Yes, you'd asked for help and a bit of proofreading for errors -- perhaps did you get a bit more than you bargained for? (not to mention a bit of ancillary bickering...) ;o) At least you're having a go. Thanks for trying. Good on you!

I'm upset with myself that I hurried things out the door without proofreading more thoroughly in this case. So I appreciate this being pointed out.
(edit: brevity)

[Jlouis]

(04-19-2015 08:25 PM)jebem Wrote:  

(04-19-2015 02:18 PM)walter b Wrote:  BTW, Bart,

I know tiles from Lisbon. The bigger you come the harder you fall on them.
SCNR

d;-)

Do you mean the sidewalks tiles in Lisbon?

May I present a small (digest) dissertation, just for fun?

I had my fair share of crashes against the sidewalk pavements in Lisbon, specially on rainy days when using Portuguese expensive leather-soled shoes, walking around while looking to the nice nice looking people passing by.

Seriously, as I see it, the only thing worse than this, would be one Lisbon pigeon flying over your head and defecate right in your new nice shirt, while you fall down in the sidewalk tiles, trying to run out of the rain!

Actually this sequence of events have happened to me many years ago in Lisbon downtown.
Now, what are the odds of such event happening more than once in a person's lifetime?

But to be on the safe side, now I only use rubber-soled shoes made in Indonesia like everybody else, I do not run to shelter myself from the rain, I stop walking when I'm looking to nice people passing by (like any wise person would do in Lisbon ), and I pay special attention to the building eaves as it can have one or more pigeons up there waiting for me!

P.S. - Please feel free to comment on my English style. I'm not a native English speaker and I'm I'm willing to learn until the day I die

Hi Jebem,

I supose that Copacabana beach sidewalk here in Rio is made of portuguese tile too.

Thanks for the link and thanks to Portugal that gave us so many traditions and art, not forgeting our mother tongue.

P.S.: I too don't mind to be corrected in my so so english. Always have room to learn, after all it is uman to herr.

To O.P.: your work will be highly appreciated, for sure.

[r. pienne]

(04-25-2015 08:48 PM)MagyarBoy Wrote:  Hi again,

I am slowly introducing the content as chapters on a blog instead of releasing PDF files:

http://www.stacystechpubs.com/the-hp-35s...lator.html

The website is still under construction. But this section should be OK for release.

If you have comments you can email me at stacy(a)stacystechpubs.com

thanks
-Stacy

Seems to be a problem with that link. Exploring the website, it seems it should be http://www.stacystechpubs.com/the-hp-35s...lator.html . Looking forward to reading it!

R.

[MagyarBoy]

here

this should work

[walter b]

Works here.

d:-)

[walter b]

Looks better now. Though I have some nitpicky remarks as you might have expected:

• Regarding the last sentence in chapter 2: There's a dedicated character × in Unicode, you don't have to fall back to lower case x. As a technical writer you know that.
• For chapter 3, please see my remarks above. A little more visual structuring might help here, too.
• At beginning of chapter 4, you wrote: "And that too is a key point: you need to be aware of what's going on in the stack, even though you can't see all of it." I tend to disagree: IMHO one of the advantages of RPN is you don't have to care about stack details for most calculations as long as you calculate inside out. Well, it may become tight but usually works out well with four stack levels in real life. Eight levels would be better but the HP-35S doesn't feature them.
• At the end of chapter 4 I can't find the link to chapter 5.
• At the end of chapter 5 I can't find the link to chapter 6. So I guess your rework didn't reach these chapters yet.
  

At the bottom line, you started a journey - there are some miles to go still.

d:-)

[Gerald H]

You may think your Guide is for Dummies but I find the description of the UNDO key useful.

[Jlouis]

(04-26-2015 12:14 PM)Gerald H Wrote:  You may think your Guide is for Dummies but I find the description of the UNDO key useful.

+1

I found the guides very well written, very easy to understand. Congratulations.

Now I'm waiting for the next chapters, and after maybe the Prime or 50g?

Cheers

[Csaba Tizedes]

That's why I write anything in my native ("mother") language.
MagyarBoy: As I posted earlier somewhere I made some "HP Notes" for Számológép Google Group members (just for fun). If you're interesting for fonts to make docs looks like the HP manuals, just drop me a mail. If you're hungarian (magyar), akár magyarul is írhatsz!

One example, posted earlier in other topics (how SOLVE (i) works on 15C and how to use it - with examples): Down to the rabbit hole (15C-003)

[Thomas Klemm]

From 3. Introduction to RPN:

Quote:You discover the way to convert °F to °C is:

°C = (5/9) x (°F – 32)

You start with writing the numbers on the whiteboard:

9
5
72
32

But why did you chose this order? Why are 5 and 9 swapped?

Most probably because otherwise you'd have to use [x<>y] twice:

5
9
72
32
-
x<>y
/
x<>y
*


Given this example there are two possibilities I would calculate it.

Outside in:

5
9
/
72
32
-
*

This is basically how a computer translates the algebraic expression to RPN:

Code:

echo "(5 / 9)*(72 - 32)" | bc -c
 5 9/ 72 32-*ps.

Inside out:

72
32
-
5
9
/
*

In both cases there's no need to swap any values.

Quote:For good measure, let’s try the built-in calculator °F to °C function

From a pedagogical point of view this devaluates your introduction to RPN. Why do something in a complicated way when there's a dedicated key for it?

Recommendation:
You propose to push all the numbers first and only then start with the calculations. But this won't work with more than 4 numbers. Instead you should explain why and when an intermediate result is kept on the stack for later use.

Given that there's a built-in function I think that this is a bad example. I'd probably use a grocery store problem like calculating the total of buying the multiple items you need for a cake.

Kind regards
Thomas

[Gerald H]

You, Thomas Klemm, are proficient at manipulating the stack but beginners won't be- should they be immediately served up the finished product, slick, perfect? Maybe they'll spot shortcuts themselves & develop more facility in stack management? I think a text book for beginners may well contain examples demanding to be improved on.

Most of the programmes I've published in this forum are capable of being optimised but I've sadly had no suggestions on how to do it.

[Thomas Klemm]

(05-03-2015 11:37 AM)Gerald H Wrote:  I think a text book for beginners may well contain examples demanding to be improved on.

Agreed on that. My intention wasn't to provide the perfect solution. But even HP's example of Chain Calculations for the HP-41C doesn't push all the numbers onto the stack first. Only to show how "the stack automatically drops during calculations" they "do the problem differently to see this feature more clearly".

Cheers
Thomas

PS: Here's another RPN Tutorial.

[Gerald H]

Attractive document, thanks for the link.