[openbeos] Re: Calculator
- From: DarkWyrm <darkwyrm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2006 16:06:59 -0400
Or even a nice pretty-printer. :))
I don't really know why we should have this real-world interface. Can't
we only
have buttons for special functions like square-root, raised-to, sin,
cos, tan,
ln, e? Well, maybe also +,-,*,/. But who needs numbers if the normal
keyboard
has them?
BTW, "," and "." should have the same meaning ("2,3" = "2.3"). This is
the most
annoying "bug" in (simple) text-based calculators.
There's something to be said about metaphors, like having all the
buttons in a way that resembles a real-world calculator. Most people
will expect a calculator that looks and acts like one that you're used
to. A programmer would feel very comfortable with just a text box and an
'Evaluate' button, but my mother-in-law wouldn't have a clue. This
should be an app with a zero learning curve for anyone remotely familiar
with a calculator. The buttons really do need to stay. Having a choice
of modes, like Stephan mentioned, could be a workable compromise.
Having a calculator based on an expression parser is actually easier
than a regular calculator because the user can immediately see what will
happen before hitting '=' - the user is not required to remember the
calculator's state at each press of a function button. Regular
calculators don't allow for this and if you make a mistake, it makes you
wonder whether hitting the clear button cleared out the entry or the
entire calculation.
--DarkWyrm
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