What can a stock 41CX do that a 42S can't?

[Dave Britten]

I'm trying to get a general idea of functionality that would be lost going from a barebones 41CX to a 42S, mostly to get a feel for what my DM41L can do that my DM42 can't. I know Free42 adds some of the time module functions, but is obviously lacking 41 extended memory functions. One could possibly implement them using matrices as the backing data structure, but I'm not sure if that's feasible, practical, or even necessary. The stopwatch and text editor are missing as well.

Is there anything else that would make sense to adapt to the 42? I'm primarily concerned with the basic 41CX functionality for the most part, but some of the more common ROM modules might be worth considering (Math, Stat, Advantage, etc.).

[Thomas Okken]

(01-02-2018 03:00 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  I'm trying to get a general idea of functionality that would be lost going from a barebones 41CX to a 42S, mostly to get a feel for what my DM41L can do that my DM42 can't. I know Free42 adds some of the time module functions, but is obviously lacking 41 extended memory functions.

Unless you're thinking of running programs that specifically use Extended Memory, you won't miss it on the 42S. The 42S has more available RAM than a 41CX with two Extended Memory modules, so you won't need program files, and matrices can do most of what data files can do, including sequential access. And the DM42 has even more RAM, and its own version of Extended Memory in the form of a flash disk (but without the ability to access it programmatically: no SAVEP, GETP, etc.)

The real HP-42S has no clock, while Free42 and the DM42 have a subset of the Time Module functionality, which includes DATE and TIME, but not alarms or the stopwatch.

The most significant downside of the real HP-42S is the lack of bi-directional I/O, and the DM42 fixes that with its flash drive that can be mounted on a PC or Mac.

[Dave Britten]

(01-02-2018 03:18 PM)Thomas Okken Wrote:  Unless you're thinking of running programs that specifically use Extended Memory, you won't miss it on the 42S. The 42S has more available RAM than a 41CX with two Extended Memory modules, so you won't need program files, and matrices can do most of what data files can do, including sequential access. And the DM42 has even more RAM, and its own version of Extended Memory in the form of a flash disk (but without the ability to access it programmatically: no SAVEP, GETP, etc.)

Yeah, program files are obviously unnecessary. Data files could be emulated easily enough with single-column matrices. ASCII files might be a little trickier, but I'm not sure if there's any compelling use case for going to the trouble.

(01-02-2018 03:18 PM)Thomas Okken Wrote:  The real HP-42S has no clock, while Free42 and the DM42 have a subset of the Time Module functionality, which includes DATE and TIME, but not alarms or the stopwatch.

Oh right, can't forget alarms. That's something I'm hoping makes it to the DM42, even though it obviously doesn't make sense to support them in the mainstream builds of Free42.

[larthurl]

(01-02-2018 03:18 PM)Thomas Okken Wrote:  

(01-02-2018 03:00 PM)Dave Britten Wrote:  I'm trying to get a general idea of functionality that would be lost going from a barebones 41CX to a 42S, mostly to get a feel for what my DM41L can do that my DM42 can't. I know Free42 adds some of the time module functions, but is obviously lacking 41 extended memory functions.

Unless you're thinking of running programs that specifically use Extended Memory, you won't miss it on the 42S. The 42S has more available RAM than a 41CX with two Extended Memory modules, so you won't need program files, and matrices can do most of what data files can do, including sequential access. And the DM42 has even more RAM, and its own version of Extended Memory in the form of a flash disk (but without the ability to access it programmatically: no SAVEP, GETP, etc.)

The real HP-42S has no clock, while Free42 and the DM42 have a subset of the Time Module functionality, which includes DATE and TIME, but not alarms or the stopwatch.

The most significant downside of the real HP-42S is the lack of bi-directional I/O, and the DM42 fixes that with its flash drive that can be mounted on a PC or Mac.

I'm really liking the USB-based I/O on the DM42. So much more relaiable then mag cards, although for historical (and personal) reasons, I still think my 65, 67 and 41 variants are cool.

.....Aty