xcalc is a scientific calculator desktop accessory
that can emulate a TI-30 or an HP-10C.
Options
xcalc accepts all of the standard toolkit command line
options along with two additional options:
-stipple
This option indicates that the
background of the calculator should be drawn using
a stipple of the foreground and background colors.
On monochrome displays improves the appearance.
-rpn
This option indicates that Reverse Polish Notation should be used.
In this mode the calculator will look and behave like an HP-10C.
Without this flag, it will emulate a TI-30.
Operation
PointerUsage:
Operations may be performed with pointer button 1,
or in some cases, with the keyboard.
Many common calculator operations have keyboard accelerators.
To quit, press pointer button 3 on the AC key of the
TI calculator, or the ON key of the HP calculator.
Calculator Key Usage (TI mode):
The numbered keys, the +/- key, and the +, -, *, /, and = keys all do exactly
what you would expect them to. It should be noted that the operators obey
the standard rules of precedence. Thus, entering ``3+4*5='' results in ``23'',
not ``35''. The parentheses can be used to override this. For example,
``(1+2+3)*(4+5+6)='' results in ``6*15=90''.
The entire number in the calculator display can be selected,
in order to paste the result of a calculation into text.
The action procedures associated with each function are given below.
These are useful if you are interested in defining a custom calculator.
The action used for all digit keys is digit(n),
where n is the corresponding digit, 0 - 9.
1/x
Replaces the number in the display with its reciprocal.
The corresponding action procedure is reciprocal().
x^2
Squares the number in the display.
The corresponding action procedure is square().
SQRT
Takes the square root of the number in the display.
The corresponding action procedure is squareRoot().
CE/C
When pressed once, clears the number in the display without clearing the state
of the machine. Allows you to re-enter a number if you make a mistake.
Pressing it twice clears the state, also.
The corresponding action procedure for TI mode is clear().
AC
Clears the display, the state, and the memory. Pressing it with the third
pointer button turns off the calculator, in that it exits the program.
The action procedure to clear the state is off(); to quit, quit().
INV
Invert function. See the individual function keys for details.
The corresponding action procedure is inverse().
sin
Computes the sine of the number in the display, as interpreted by the current
DRG mode (see DRG, below). If inverted, it computes the arcsine.
The corresponding action procedure is sine().
cos
Computes the cosine, or arccosine when inverted.
The corresponding action procedure is cosine().
tan
Computes the tangent, or arctangent when inverted.
The corresponding action procedure is tangent().
DRG
Changes the DRG mode, as indicated by 'DEG', 'RAD', or 'GRAD' at the bottom of
of the calculator ``liquid crystal'' display.
When in 'DEG' mode, numbers in the display are taken as being
degrees. In 'RAD' mode, numbers are in radians, and in 'GRAD' mode, numbers
are in grads. When inverted, the DRG key has a feature of
converting degrees to radians to grads and vice-versa. Example: put the
calculator into 'DEG' mode, and enter ``45 INV DRG''.
The display should now show something along the lines of ``.785398'',
which is 45 degrees converted to radians.
The corresponding action procedure is degree().
e
The constant 'e'. (2.7182818 . . .).
The corresponding action procedure is e().
EE
Used for entering exponential numbers. For example, to get
``-2.3E-4'' you'd enter ``2 . 3 +/- EE 4 +/-''.
The corresponding action procedure is scientific().
log
Calculates the log (base 10) of the number in the display. When inverted,
it raises ``10.0'' to the number in the display.
For example, entering ``3 INV log'' should result in ``1000''.
The corresponding action procedure is logarithm().
ln
Calculates the log (base e) of the number in the display. When inverted,
it raises ``e'' to the number in the display.
For example, entering ``e ln'' should result in ``1''.
The corresponding action procedure is naturalLog().
y^x
Raises the number on the left to the power of the number on the right.
For example ``2 y^x 3 ='' results in ``8'', which is 2^3.
For a further example, ``(1+2+3) y^x (1+2) ='' equals
``6 y^x 3'' which equals ``216''.
The corresponding action procedure is power().
PI
The constant 'pi'. (3.1415927 . . .)
The corresponding action procedure is pi().
x!
Computes the factorial of the number in the display. The number in the display
must be an integer in the range 0-500, though, depending on your math library,
it might overflow long before that.
The corresponding action procedure is factorial().
(
Left parenthesis. The corresponding action procedure for TI calculators
is leftParen().
)
Right parenthesis. The corresponding action procedure for TI calculators
is rightParen().
/
Division. The corresponding action procedure is divide().
*
Multiplication. The corresponding action procedure is multiply().
-
Subtraction. The corresponding action procedure is subtract().
+
Addition. The corresponding action procedure is add().
=
Perform calculation. The TI-specific action procedure is equal().
STO
Copies the number in the display to the memory location.
The corresponding action procedure is store().
RCL
Copies the number from the memory location to the display.
The corresponding action procedure is recall().
SUM
Adds the number in the display to the number in the memory location.
The corresponding action procedure is sum().
EXC
Swaps the number in the display with the number in the memory location.
The corresponding action procedure for the TI calculator is exchange().
+/-
Negate; change sign. The corresponding action procedure is negate().
.
Decimal point. The action procedure is decimal().
Calculator Key Usage (RPN mode):
The number keys, CHS (change sign), +, -, *, /, and ENTR keys all do exactly
what you would expect them to do. Many of the remaining keys are the same as
in TI mode. The differences are detailed below. The action procedure
for the ENTR key is enter().
<-
This is a backspace key that can be used if you make a mistake while entering
a number. It will erase digits from the display. (See BUGS).
Inverse backspace will clear the X register.
The corresponding action procedure is back().
ON
Clears the display, the state, and the memory. Pressing it with the third
pointer button turns off the calculator, in that it exits the program.
To clear state, the action procedure is off; to quit, quit().
INV
Inverts the meaning of the function keys. This would be the f key
on an HP calculator, but xcalc does not display
multiple legends on each key. See the individual function keys for details.
10^x
Raises ``10.0'' to the number in the top of the stack.
When inverted, it calculates the log (base 10) of the number in the display.
The corresponding action procedure is tenpower().
e^x
Raises ``e'' to the number in the top of the stack.
When inverted, it calculates the log (base e) of the number in the display.
The action procedure is epower().
STO
Copies the number in the top of the stack to a memory location.
There are 10 memory locations. The desired memory is specified
by following this key with a digit key.
RCL
Pushes the number from the specified memory location onto the stack.
SUM
Adds the number on top of the stack to the number in the specified
memory location.
x:y
Exchanges the numbers in the top two stack positions, the X and Y registers.
The corresponding action procedure is XexchangeY().
Rv
Rolls the stack downward. When inverted, it rolls the stack upward.
The corresponding action procedure is roll().
blank
These keys were used for programming functions on the HP-10C. Their
functionality has not been duplicated in xcalc.
Finally, there are two additional action procedures:
bell(), which rings the bell;
and selection(), which performs a cut on the
entire number in the calculator's ``liquid crystal'' display.
Accelerators
Accelerators are shortcuts for entering commands. xcalc provides
some sample keyboard accelerators; also users can customize accelerators.
The numeric keypad accelerators provided by xcalc
correspond to the keypad of a standard calculator.
The accelerators defined by xcalc on the main keyboard are given below:
Keyboard
TI Key
HP Key
Accelerator
TI Function
HP Function
SQRT
SQRT
r
squareRoot()
squareRoot()
AC
ON
space
clear()
clear()
AC
<-
Delete
clear()
back()
AC
<-
Backspace
clear()
back()
AC
<-
Control-H
clear()
back()
AC
Clear
clear()
AC
ON
q
quit()
quit()
AC
ON
Control-C
quit()
quit()
INV
i
i
inverse()
inverse()
sin
s
s
sine()
sine()
cos
c
c
cosine()
cosine()
tan
t
t
tangent()
tangent()
DRG
DRG
d
degree()
degree()
e
e
e()
ln
ln
l
naturalLog()
naturalLog()
y^x
y^x
^
power()
power()
PI
PI
p
pi()
pi()
x!
x!
!
factorial()
factorial()
(
(
leftParen()
)
)
rightParen()
/
/
/
divide()
divide()
*
*
*
multiply()
multiply()
-
-
-
subtract()
subtract()
+
+
+
add()
add()
=
=
equal()
0..9
0..9
0..9
digit()
digit()
+/-
CHS
n
negate()
negate()
x:y
x
XexchangeY()
ENTR
Return
enter()
ENTR
Linefeed
enter()
Customization
The application class name is XCalc.
xcalc has a large application defaults file which specifies
the position, label, and function of each key on the calculator.
It also gives translations to serve as keyboard accelerators.
The foreground and background colors of each calculator key can be
individually specified.
For the TI calculator, a possible color resource specification might be:
XCalc.ti.XmPushButton.background: gray50
XCalc.ti.XmPushButton.foreground: white
For each of buttons 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40, specify:
XCalc.ti*button20.background: black
XCalc.ti*button20.foreground: white
For each of buttons 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, and 39:
XCalc.ti*button22.background: white
XCalc.ti*button22.foreground: black
Widget hierarchy
In order to specify resources, it is useful to know the hierarchy of
the widgets which compose xcalc. In the notation below,
indentation indicates hierarchical structure. The widget class name
is given first, followed by the widget instance name.