FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: Calculator

[j_freeman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi guys,

First off, let me thank you for working to get Haiku a bundled calculator app.
This is definitely something the BeOS needed.

That said, I'd like to give my two cents from one user's perspective (if you'll
have it). Most of the bundled apps with BeOS had the theme of Simplicity and
Consistency:

Simplicity; prime example is the ShowImage app, which did basically that and
not
much more.
Consistency; the bundled apps were consistent in their appearance, using the
common UI controls. (No big blue buttons or skinning or non-intuitive ways for
user input, etc.)

My point? I think the bundled calculator app should be simple and consistent
with the rest of the bundled apps. That doesn't sound so crazy, does it? :)

Most users probably won't need much more than basic calulations. And if they
do,
they can go get a third-party calculator app... just like if I need to do
more-than-basic word processing, I'll go pick up Productive--I don't expect
StyledEdit to do everything. I don't expect our bundled calculator to
have a million things it can do.

RPN, base conversions, advanced expressions... these are all things that would
be great in our calculator, but anything more than that I think is losing sight
of what a bundled app is about. (Or maybe I have the wrong idea of what a
bundled app is about.)

And in regards to the real-world interface... maybe I'm the only one but I like
it. I haven't used DeskCalc (so I don't know how it works) but why not have a
real-world interface, but still be able to input numbers and expressions via
the keypad as well? (I always use the keypad, but others might want to use a
mouse--give the user the option of inputting how they want.)

Anyway, just my two cents. You guys are the developers, and I trust that
whatever you decide on will be great. :)


Regards,

J. Freeman

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