akaTB wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:25 am
ijabbott wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 7:28 am
keithdalby wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:04 am
I can't think of a situation where that would be useful.
It makes entering numbers on the stack behave more like RPL calculators (apart from the limited stack size).
I miss the subtle usefulness of this...
Actually… I find this very useful !
TL;DR: "Exit" allow you to "validate/terminate" a number without knowing if the next step is entering a new number or applying an operator.
I often find myself typing numbers at the same time that I'm thinking of a problem. For instance I open a file and I find a number, lets say 2538, so I type it in the calculator, pressing "enter" because it's the first one. I then open another file and find another number, 43, and I type it. Now I want to "validate" it because I am sure there isn't any other digit in this number. But at the same time I'm not sure if it is the number that I should divide 2538 by directly, or if I need to make a ratio first by dividing it by another third number.
So there are two options, and they both have a drawback:
1. I
press "enter" after 43 -> After some thinking I decide that I should only divide 2538 by 43. Having pressed "enter" had lifted the stack, so I can not press "divide" directly because both X and Y contains 43, I have first to think about rolling down the stack, or worse if I already pressed "divide" I have to reconstruct the stack by using LastX.
2. I
do not press enter after 43 -> After some thinking I decide that I should divide 43 by 7 first, before dividing 2538 by this result. I take back my calculator in hand and press 7, which now reads 437 on the X stack because the input of 43 has not been terminated. I have to clear one digit to restore 43, press "enter", and the continue by reentering 7. Also, worse, if I pressed "divide" before noticing the mistake I again have to reconstruct the stack by using LastX.
So when you are thinking about a problem on the same time than typing its calculation, your flow of thought is interrupted by "should I press «enter» or not?" after each number, what is quite annoying. By using "exit", you can "validate" each number
without having to know (or think about) if the next step is a number or an operator:
- 2538 "exit"
- 43 "exit"
- Thinking about the problem, then:
1. Division is wanted: just press "divide"
2. Another number is needed, just type it: 7 "exit"
Maybe I'm doing something wrong and I'm the only one to have this problem with "enter", but for this use at least "exit" is changing my life right know
