Conference bulova::decw_jan-89_to_nov-90

    We have MIT's xcalc on Ultrix. The sources are public. Seems like
    adding the necessary VMS #ifdefs should be real simple. However, note
    that (at least on UWS 2.0) xcalc has the slight defect of not
    supporting cut/paste.
    
    (We have gotten tons of grief over the simple-mindedness of the
    DECwindows calculator. It would be funny if the customers weren't
    serious. They don't seem to appreciate our innovation in giving the
    calculator on-line help :-)

Last year, at the Cincinatti DECUS, there was a guy that kept comming around 
asking "Why don't we have the MIT calculator...". I think that he asked everyone
that has gone to stand in front of a workstation. Anyway, by the end of the 
week, after he had asked every day - apparently we were going to change our
mind there at DECUS - there was at least one group that I know of who were
so complete hacked off with this guy they wanted to take up money and just go
buy him a calculator and ask him to go away. The reasoning was that if the only
thing he could make a suggestion about was the calculator, then he either didn't
know what to use a workstation for - or didn't need one.

I wonder....

The V2.0 of the calculator has all of the functions of the MIT calculator except
parentheses.

You also get clipboard support, visable memory and resiability and a random
number key.

The reasons why these functions were not in V1.0 version have been discussed in
a previous notesfile and I would rather not go into them here.

Neal

>The reasons why these functions were not in V1.0 version have been discussed in
>a previous notesfile and I would rather not go into them here.

Neal,

I remember that discusion very well.  Some powers above pulled the plug
on your ambitious dreams for "niffty" (quoted) Out-of-the-box applications.

;^ ..;^)

Kris..

    re .1, the calculator I saw running on the PMAX at the show looked
    the same as the PVAX.  Are there 2 of them - xcalculator (ie. MIT)
    and dxcalculator (DEC)?
    
    He is looking for more useful function keys like square root and
    other scientific math functions.
    
    I agree with you - I'm not sure how many customers would really
    use a more elaborate calculator.
    
    re 3., it probably is the same guy.  He said he has talked to people
    about this before. 
    
    Carolyn

RE: .2

It always tickles me how some sales types develop the attitude that they
know what the customer needs much better that the guy who writes the
check.

 and .5:

I'd use it.  Pretend I'm a customer....

 and .2 again:

Does that mean that I dont know what a workstation is for, or that I don't
need one?

Ultrix ships both dxcalc (The DECwindows version) and xcalc (the MIT version).

VMS only ships decw$calc (The DECwindows version)

Neal

While on the calculator subject, has anyone written an RPN scientific
calculator for X?

Kevin

The MIT X11R3 tape calculator (xcalc) does RPN. Try xcalc -rpn. For grins
try xcalc -analog.

-marc

copy LEWTLS::USER2:[MCLEMAN]XCALC.EXE for a VMS version of this.

Also, if you do a XCALC -ANALOG, you get a slide rule.

Jeff

Thanks! The image is linked against a copy of VAXCRTL which is newer than the
one on my workstation, so I couldn't try it out, but I'll install the new C and
see what happens...

Kevin

    I don't think installing C will help.  VAXCRTL is a part of the
    operating system, not of the compiler kit.

	Can you make the sources availiable or link it against 5.1?

	I would love to use it!

	Paul H.

Ok copy LEWTLS::USER2:[MCLEMAN]XCALC.OBJ,SR.OBJ

and link as follows:

	$ link xcalc,sr,sys$input/opt
	  sys$share:decw$xlibshr.exe/share
	  sys$share:vaxcrtl.exe/share
	  ^Z
	$

Jeff

*** WARNING *** You're on your own. This is definitely a non supported toy.
		If you find bugs, well, I might someday look at them.

RE: .6

Who's a sales type? Not me... And I'm not claiming to know the customer's 
business better than the customer either. But then again you've not been a 
pain in the backside all week either. After hearing the guy gripe all week about
something as trivial as a demo, you get tired of it. Especially when people
are standing there trying to ask the intellegent question of "What is DECwindows
and how can it help me better run my business?"

As you if you know what a workstation is - I don't know - do you?

James

When I look for the XCALC files, I get this:

$ dir lewtls::user2:[mcleman]xcalc.*
%DIRECT-E-OPENIN, error opening LEWTLS::USER2:[MCLEMAN]XCALC.*;* as input
-RMS-F-DEV, error in device name or inappropriate device type for operation
$

Dave

    Unfortunately, I don't work in that group anymore, so it is tough
    to access a directory that doesn't exist. 
    
    Jeff
    

Could you, or anyone who has a copy of the calculator, post a vaild pointer?

Thanks,
-Bruce

>> Could you, or anyone who has a copy of the calculator, post a vaild pointer?

Directory ZFC::ZFC$DISK1:[PUBLIC.XCALC]

SR.OBJ;1                 20   5-APR-1989 13:49:14.00  (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
XCALC-MAKE.COM;1          1  27-MAY-1989 22:56:55.11  (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
XCALC.EXE;10             63  27-MAY-1989 22:58:14.82  (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)
XCALC.OBJ;8              58   6-APR-1989 11:01:28.00  (RWED,RWED,RE,RE)

Total of 4 files, 142 blocks.

        I don't have the source.
        
        Dan

Or you can try:

gvriel::dua1:[schoeller.c.xcalc]*.*
eng.les.ecad.sim.gvriel_user [schoeller.c.xcalc]*.*

I don't have the sources either.

Dick
look around [schoeller.c...] for all kinds of stuff.

Thanks much!

    There's also a calculator in:
    
       DEMON::DEMON5:[BURLEIGH.CALC]
    
    complete with source code. It has a few scientific functions, and is
    very easy to add function to. Supports a scrolling "paper tape" which
    it will log to a file.
    
    Dave