HP-50G Reading List

[ColinJDenman]

After a recent acquisition, I'm browsing through the supplied documentation, but wondering what else is suitable to gain good insight into the system. Any thoughts?

[mfleming]

A good start would be the documentation to be found at http://hpcalc.org/ for the HP50 and earlier 49/48 models as well. I've found printed documentation for the HP49+ and HP48GII on TAS (eBay to those not familiar with the TLA's used here ) at reasonable prices (often with the calculator attached!) These are more or less the same as the HP50 PDF documentation.

Happy browsing,
~ Mark

[xmehq]

I've found these tutorials helpful for getting up to speed: https://resources.thiel.edu/MathProject/...efault.htm

[David Hayden]

If you're new to the HP 48/50 series, then I recommend that you don't start with the 184 page HP 50g User's Manual (on the CD and you may have received a printed copy). That document is more at the level of a Quick Start Guide. I found it impossible as a beginner with no prior RPL calculator experience.

Instead, you could start with the 887 page User's Guide (on the CD). This has more detail and it's easier to follow. But it's slow going because it tends to cover the four main interface settings (RPN mode vs. ALG mode, and soft menus vs. choose boxes).

To me, the easiest, most pleasant way to learn about these calculators is actually the (HP 48 Series User's Guide). It assumes RPN and soft menus. Just be aware that some things changed between the 48 and 50g.

Once you get hooked, you'll want to download a copy of the Advanced User's Reference Manual (or AUR for short). This contains detailed documentation on every command. The link provided is for the 49G version, which I prefer because it has PDF links to the commands in the index and the "see also" sections.

If you really want to geek out with programming, check out Programming in System RPL.

[ColinJDenman]

Thank you for the useful pointers, particularly on hpcalc.org and the importance of older 48/9 docs.

I must admit my early skimming suggests the AUR is a better (older, more thoughtfully written and thorough style) compared to the 50 user guide which does give the impression of being written by several people at different times and in the repetitious boilerplate style of more modern manuals (although it does attempt also to be an introduction to the large range of mathematics encompassed by the 50).

Certainly a far cry from my 41 and 16 manuals!
Many thanks to all.

[rprosperi]

For basic introduction to RPL and the vast number of different functions in the 50g, the manuals recommended above are very good, however you also asked for some that provide "good insight into the system".

For the latter, you should read Bill Wickes' "HP-48 Insights" books, Vols 1 & 2. These books are a bit harder to read than the manuals, but they are truly well-named as they do in fact provide insights that will give you a much deeper and more effective understanding of how RPL works, which empowers you to use it in many more ways than simply saving keys (as compared to algebraic machines). "Advanced" topics like extreme stack-juggling, list-processing and structured storage techniques are well explained with non-trivial problem-solving examples that you can put to work as-is, or readily tailor to your own needs.

Read the above books first, get the basics down, then come read this when you're ready to take it to the next level.

All 3 (2 x SX and 1 x GX flavor) books are included in the MoHPC collection of documents available here.

[ColinJDenman]

(11-10-2016 10:57 PM)rprosperi Wrote:  For the latter, you should read Bill Wickes' "HP-48 Insights" books, Vols 1 & 2.

Thanks for this, I will look into them later.