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Calculator Community => Other Calculators => Topic started by: Spyro543 on September 20, 2011, 08:59:43 pm

Title: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 20, 2011, 08:59:43 pm
OK, here are a few questions I have about the Prizm:

1. Can it do fractions (mixed numbers and fractions, and converting these to/from decimal, improper fractions to/from mixed numbers)?
2. Does it show fractions, square roots, etc. the way they are shown in textbooks)?
3. What programming languages does it support?
4. Can it do percents?
5. How many programs are there for it? How active is the development?
6. Does everyone here that has one really like theirs?
7. How stable is it? Does it crash frequently or not?
8. Can it run programs made for fx-9860G?

I might think of more later.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Yeong on September 20, 2011, 09:01:44 pm
3. C.
5. More active than Nspire CX
6. I didn't see anyone complaining about it
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Darl181 on September 20, 2011, 09:02:04 pm
I'm not too sure about the technical stuff but the math abilities are pretty much the same as on the 9860.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: ralphdspam on September 20, 2011, 09:10:24 pm
Both have C programming, so porting shouldn't be too big of a problem.  Both use the SuperH 3, iirc., so ASM programs can be ported without too much trouble. 
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 20, 2011, 09:11:51 pm
What about BASIC programs?
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Darl181 on September 20, 2011, 09:17:36 pm
Those are supported too.  (in fact two of the contest entries were BASIC)
They're the same for hte most part, tho I think 9860→prizm conversion inflates pixel values by 3

EDIT: I'll do my best to answer these questions, prizm in hand.
OK, here are a few questions I have about the Prizm:
1. Can it do fractions (mixed numbers and fractions, and converting these to/from decimal, improper fractions to/from mixed numbers)?
Yes.  The [F-D] key on the prizm works as it does on the 9860, with improper/proper fraction toggle as the second function.
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2. Does it show fractions, square roots, etc. the way they are shown in textbooks)?
Yes.  Also like the 9860.
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3. What programming languages does it support?
C, BASIC, SH3 Asm.  More planned.
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4. Can it do percents?
AFAICT yes.  Haven't tried it much tho.
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5. How many programs are there for it? How active is the development?
It's fairly active, tho because it's still a relatively new platform there's not much out for it yet.
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6. Does everyone here that has one really like theirs?
I'm liking mine.
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7. How stable is it? Does it crash frequently or not?
I have yet to crash mine..even the reset button doesn't seem to delete anything but the settings.
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8. Can it run programs made for fx-9860G?
I think BASIC is a yes and I'm not sure about C.

EDIT2: blarg editninja'd.  oh well
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: AngelFish on September 20, 2011, 09:49:30 pm

1 ) Yes, it can work with fractions. The calculator doesn't handle them perfectly (odd decimals are occasionally not recognized), but it does a pretty good job for the most part.
2 ) If you set the options properly, yes. You can also disable much of that.
3 ) At present: BASIC, C, brainf*ck, and ASM. In the future, probably Lua, Java, C++, Groovy, Khavi Scripting Language (and derivatives), etc.
4 ) Yes, although I can't remember how in-depth it is.
5 ) There are a few programs out there. It's not a TI-84+, but there are people working on it.
6 ) I like mine.
7 ) I have *tried* to crash mine and it's extremely difficult, even in ASM. The worst that normally happens is that you reset the calc, which rarely causes data loss.
8 ) BASIC programs, yes. C programs, not as easily.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: z80man on September 20, 2011, 11:20:00 pm

1 ) Yes, it can work with fractions. The calculator doesn't handle them perfectly (odd decimals are occasionally not recognized), but it does a pretty good job for the most part.
2 ) If you set the options properly, yes. You can also disable much of that.
3 ) At present: BASIC, C, brainf*ck, and ASM. In the future, probably Lua, Java, C++, Groovy, Khavi Scripting Language (and derivatives), etc.
4 ) Yes, although I can't remember how in-depth it is.
5 ) There are a few programs out there. It's not a TI-84+, but there are people working on it.
6 ) I like mine.
7 ) I have *tried* to crash mine and it's extremely difficult, even in ASM. The worst that normally happens is that you reset the calc, which rarely causes data loss.
8 ) BASIC programs, yes. C programs, not as easily.
I thought we could already code in C++ or is the linker not done yet? Because PrizmSDK comes with an sh-elf gnu g++ compiler but I haven't used tried it yet. Most of the time with C I compile with the -std=c99 option because it provides all the C++ features that I need such as inline code, asm, and // comments.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: AngelFish on September 21, 2011, 01:15:04 am
C++ relies on the existence of the standard lib for the target platform. Since the Prizm doesn't have a fullly [implemented] standard library, not all C++ will compile for the Prizm.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: z80man on September 21, 2011, 03:19:41 am
C++ relies on the existence of the standard lib for the target platform. Since the Prizm doesn't have a fullly [implemented] standard library, not all C++ will compile for the Prizm.
That reminds me, once I can get my first release of Walnut out I need to start working on newlib. On the documentation page there is a list of OS subroutines that newlib relies on, with many of them not being too hard to write. For the more complex routines such as multi tasking, newlib provides default routines that just specify that the feature is missing while allowing all the libs to compile properly still.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: AngelFish on September 21, 2011, 03:48:41 am
Oh, I already wrote most of the newlib routines and gave them to Jonimus (with the threading related ones being left as the "minimum implementation" you mentioned). There's some other part of the compiler infrastructure that needs to be fixed before we can have a stdlib.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 03:19:14 pm
2 ) If you set the options properly, yes. You can also disable much of that.
So it shows fractions, exponents, and other stuff normally instead of using that wierd bakcwards L shpae and ^?
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Darl181 on September 21, 2011, 03:22:19 pm
Yes.  there's an option to display/input in "Math" format or "Line" format.  "Line" is like the ti-30xii, while "Math" is the textbook-style view (and the default).
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: flyingfisch on September 21, 2011, 05:01:30 pm
Umm, would you PRIZM guys say that its worth the money, or is the fx-9860 just as good?
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 05:08:42 pm
Question; would anyone here recommend me buying this calc?
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: AngelFish on September 21, 2011, 05:09:09 pm
If you need another calc, yes.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: flyingfisch on September 21, 2011, 05:09:14 pm
Thats pretty much what I'm asking, too
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 05:11:15 pm
If you need another calc, yes.
Well my TI-Nspire failed me. And I'm asking questions to make sure that this is a good calc.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: flyingfisch on September 21, 2011, 05:13:32 pm
The fx-9750GII hasn't failed me (I hacked it to fx-9860GII)
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 05:15:02 pm
That's because Casio makes good calcs.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: flyingfisch on September 21, 2011, 05:16:07 pm
your RIGHT!
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 05:22:02 pm
I miss my Casio :'( It never crashed, unlike TI's horrid blob of crashiness. And Prizm is popular-ish for development so I think I just might want to get one.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: flyingfisch on September 21, 2011, 05:23:27 pm
I got my fx-9750GII for just south of 40 bucks, if your looking for somthing cheap.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 05:24:43 pm
The local Wal-Mart sells these Prizms for approx $100. I guess that's reasonable :/
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: flyingfisch on September 21, 2011, 05:28:14 pm
Woah! Cheap! I thought they were like 120 bucks.??!!
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 06:13:49 pm
Maybe they're cheaper online. IDK.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Rienzi on September 21, 2011, 06:16:20 pm
Nope, I got mine at an OfficeMax, $99 + Tax, great deal compared to the $150-160 Nspire...
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 06:17:23 pm
Hm...new for $92...
http://qr.net/e6k0
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: flyingfisch on September 21, 2011, 06:19:34 pm
Wow! Great deal! But I'm not buying one any time soon.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Rienzi on September 21, 2011, 06:21:39 pm
Hm...new for $92...
http://qr.net/e6k0
Sorry I typed $99 when I meant $90... whoops. Anyways you're right it's an amazing deal.
Title: Re: Prizm, good calculator?
Post by: Spyro543 on September 21, 2011, 08:51:09 pm
I know! I should get one!