Real Programmer's Calculator

Question

Hi I know there are plenty of good software "programmer's" calculator, but I often find myself in places where access to my favorite soft calculator is not possible.

Where can I find real (ie: hardware) programmer's calculators? I already did a google but the vast majority of results are of software or calculators that are no longer being sold.

Things I am looking for

• Arithmetic and Display in base 2,10,16 as a minimum.
• Binary operations (bit shift, XOR, OR, AND and NOT)
• Ability to Switch between left and right endianess is a plus
• Nice Display :)

Answer 1

If you don't mind an online solution, I've found InstaCalc to be an excellent tool to add to my programmer's arsenal. Yes, I know it's software, but I mentioned it because I found that I can use it via my phone's web browser if I find myself stuck.

Your other option might be to try and find out if there is an application you can download into your phone to do the job. As an example, a quick search gave me the Calc 0x0 programmer's calculator for the iPhone.

As to hardware, that's probably a very rare item, because most programmers usually find themselves at their PC when they want to work stuff out for bitwise operations. Hell, I'm so old school, I'll still use a pencil and paper! ;-)

Answer 2

You can find used Palms for... cheap. And there are decent calculators of all types available for them.

Answer 3

calc.exe in windows 7 (programmer mode) got everything on your list except endian switch

Answer 4

Speedcrunch cannot handle all of your requirements, but it is open source so it should be possible to implement.

Answer 5

Hi

Well, since the HP15C has been withdrawn from sale you might have to look at one of their current range of scientific calculators. The specs for the HP49G+ indicate that it does all of what I would expect from a programmer's calculator. That will probably seem like expensive overkill.

As you know, what you really want is a 15C. Mine is not for sale.

Regards

Mark

Answer 6

I personally use a HP-42s which I received from my parents as a birthday gift. If you are running Linux, there is a package called Qalculate! which is extremely powerful.