(wp34S) Am I Using alphaRCL Correctly?

[Jake Schwartz]

Hi,

In the 34S (version 1444 at present), when I store 1.0 in Register 00, clear the alpha register and do alphaRCL 00, alpha shows the "x-bar" symbol. I was expecting it to show the characters for the numeric value in R00 (such as "1.00"), similar to in the HP41. The manual (version 1457) on page 52 indicates that alphaRCL "Interprets the content of the source s as characters and appends them to alpha". Am I interpreting the meaning of alphaRCL incorrectly?

Thanks,
Jake

[Paul Dale]

Yes, you're misinterpreting it. Try [alpha]RC# instead.

We've got no way to distinguish between numeric and alpha data in registers so we needed two different commands to recall them. [alpha]RCL treats the register as containing alpha data, [alpha]RC# treats it as numeric.

Something slated to be addressed in the successor.

- Pauli

[Jake Schwartz]

Thanks for that clarification....after reading the description for alphaRCL in the index of operations, I unfortunately stopped reading and missed the alphaRC# immediately after. Shame on me. :-)

Jake

[Jake Schwartz]

Quote:

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Something slated to be addressed in the successor.

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Has anything been hinted on the goals for that successor? Still destined for the same hardware platform, for instance?

Thanks,
Jake

[Paul Dale]

Not really, just a few pie in the sky ideas.

We're pretty much stuck with the 30b hardware. There isn't any better reprogrammable hardware at the moment.

- Pauli

[Walter B]

I think we've packed so much into the WP 34S it will be hard to find an habitat for another scientific based on the same hardware. Things will change with a better display, but hardly earlier IMHO.

Walter

[Paul Dale]

I know how to pack lots more software into the hardware. It will require a lot of code to be rewriting.

Other things mentioned include using flash for programs not RAM. This will ease pressure on the most precious resource on the device.
Which will, in turn, allow us to tag register contents as integer/string/real/complex/whatever.

I also suggested removing the 16C integer mode in favour of a more 50g like integer mode. Maintaining carry and overflow requires quite a bit of code space and execution time. People who want these features will still have the 34S which pushes them pretty much to their limits.

But as Walter wrote, the display is the big impediment to doing lots more.

- Pauli

[Walter B]

Quote:

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I know how to pack lots more software into the hardware. It will require a lot of code to be rewritten.

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Correct - with the amount of flash memory available, a lot more is loadable in addition to some quite arcane stuff we've got even now. But IMHO the UI is pretty much loaded already, and I regard this as the limiting factor. So after Gene will have completed his matrix package, including reliably solving systems of equations, I can hardly imagine anything important missing. Perhaps a second constants catalog for esoteric mathematical stuff? ;-)

Walter