Electronics > Beginners

EE Pros: Is RPN still relevant?

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orolo:
My argument was that RPN arises naturally from function composition. In strict algebraic terms, 2+3 is shorthand for +(2,3) where '+' is a function acting on tuples. It is, therefore, more natural to write 2 3 +, meaning you first define the tuple, and then apply the function. As I mentioned, with arithmetics there is little trouble going infix, bit with higher levels of abstraction things get different. The stack model is mostly irrelevant; it's the tuples that are important. I have often wondered if RPN should be typically used: math notation is burdened by tradition. Perhaps the worst detail is the use of - both for substraction and negative numbers. Lots of trouble for begginers.

NivagSwerdna:

--- Quote from: jakeisprobably on March 03, 2017, 08:00:46 pm ---I've been watching a few tutorials on the Fourth programming language and looking into the history of calculators. Reverse Polish Notation seems, to me, to be more intuitive due to it's linear structure.
    For a new student just getting started, is it worthwhile to learn and utilize RPN in the professional world at this point?

--- End quote ---
Cool.  FORTH was a great language of its time.  In fact I've been toying with the ideal of re-visiting it myself.  There was a really interesting book called "Threaded Interpretive Languages by Loeliger" that is worth a read is you are interested in computer archaeology; this book managed to make my interested enough to spend my last year at school porting FIG FORTH to the Commodore PET!  FORTH was big in niche areas like Astronomy for a while.

--- Quote from: jakeisprobably on March 03, 2017, 08:00:46 pm ---For a new student just getting started, is it worthwhile to learn and utilize RPN in the professional world at this point?

--- End quote ---
Short answer: NO.
Modern calculators have brackets so expressions do not need to be decomposed in the same way they used to.  My kids use fx-995ES type calculators and it does most of what they need will no RPN in sight.

Long answer: YES
RPN is fun!  There are commercial RPN calculators like HP35s which I have sitting beside me which are readily available. Personally I grew up without brackets so it works for me.

Even longer answer: YES!
Build yourself a https://sourceforge.net/projects/wp34s/.   I have made a few of these in the past and sold them on EBAY.  All you need is a HP-30B calculator, often available at bargain prices as there seems to be excess stock (or was when I last looked), a keyboard overlay from http://commerce.hpcalc.org/overlay.php and then a simple reflash using a USB Serial TTL converter.  I love my WP34S but keep forgetting how to use it!




artag:
I'm not sure what you mean by 'is RPN still relevant ?'.
It's still a pleasure. Isn't that enough ?

The thing about calculators is that they're personal. You use them to help your brain. It's reasonable to ask if some programming language is relevant, because there's a good chance you'll use it to earn money and you might want to learn a language that will get you a job. But you learn a calculator's keystrokes for your own use.

Despite that, there's probably only one calculator on the planet that IS a stock-in-trade for some profession (though, I hope, not one we'll find represented here). And that's the HP12C.

claytonedgeuk:

--- Quote from: artag on March 04, 2017, 10:42:25 pm ---I'm not sure what you mean by 'is RPN still relevant ?'.
It's still a pleasure. Isn't that enough ?

The thing about calculators is that they're personal. You use them to help your brain. It's reasonable to ask if some programming language is relevant, because there's a good chance you'll use it to earn money and you might want to learn a language that will get you a job. But you learn a calculator's keystrokes for your own use.

Despite that, there's probably only one calculator on the planet that IS a stock-in-trade for some profession (though, I hope, not one we'll find represented here). And that's the HP12C.

--- End quote ---
Haha....its actually the hp12c that got me into this.  My first rpn....set the standard really.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

xrunner:

--- Quote from: newbrain on March 04, 2017, 11:35:53 am ---Do yourself a favor, download "free42" on your phone (fruit or robot), and if you want, to your desktop (fruit, non-flying bird or glazed hole in the wall).
It's a one to one emulation of one of the best (IMHO) HP calculators.

--- End quote ---

Thank you! I still have my HP 42S right in front of me, and I didn't know of that app.  :clap:

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