Hello All,
I have been playing with the HP-71B computer by writing BASIC programs for various algorithms. I took a peek at the User's Library Math pac (on the museum DVD) to look at numerical integration methods. I noticed that the numerical integration program used the BASIC function VAL to evaluate expressions entered by the program users!! In typical BASIC interpreters, the VAL function merely converts a string constant or the contents of a string variable into numbers.
The HP-71B VAL function does much more! It interprets the string-type argument and evaluates it, like the HP-48/49/50 EVAL function!! This means that you can write programs that work with dynamic functions (ones that the user enters at run time) instead of functions hard-coded in the program itself.
I am curious if you were aware of this feature or not??? Am I the last person on earth to learn of the special interpreter ability of the VAl function?
Are there any other HP-71B BASIC functions on steroids (meaning they do more than the same functions on other BASIC interpreters)?
Namir
Edited: 21 Dec 2008, 10:06 a.m.