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Implicit Software Solutions Inc
iSS SciCalc
Improvements in version 1.5.0
New Features:
- Degrees to Decimal Conversion
- Decimal to Degrees Conversion
- 6 Additional Memory Locations
- Memory viewable from the Options Screen
- ClearType Support
- Fixed Notation Support
- Engineering Notation Support
- Number base conversions to and from Base 4
Improved Features:
- Appearance/Interface: is now brighter, clearer, and faster loading
- Base Conversions: almost all aspects of the numerical base conversions have been improved for accuracy and ease of use
- Trigonometric functions have been improved for answers close to zero
- New constants: added acceleration due to the earths gravity at the surface (g) and Astronomical Units (AU)
- Display may now justify equations and answers to the left or right sides of the screen
- The default notation for answers now will not switch to Scientific notation (exponents) until the answer is less than 0.001
- Alternate use of the "Exp" button so brackets are no longer required
- Alternate use of the "+/-" button to work as the "-" button
- The default behavior of the "+/-: button has been improved
- Lower Memory usage
- Requires less disk storage space
- Faster performance on all Pocket PCs with any CPU type
- Specific optimizations for the Intel X-Scale processors
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Functionality
Implicit Software Solutions Inc
Scientific Calculator is an expression calculator. This means full
equations are entered before they are evaluated. This type of
operation has many advantages, it makes entering complex equations much
easier as you can see what you are entering in its entirety before receiving
the answer. You can also recall previously entered equations using the up
and down buttons on your Windows Mobile Pocket PC (directional pad) to review previous equations. These may be edited using the back "<-"
button.
The calculator also does
its best to prevent incorrect input. It monitors every button press to
make sure your entry is valid. It will not allow, for example, the
entry of 2 operands in a row, (i.e. time (×) and divide (÷) ), or, it will not
allow closing brackets to be added without corresponding opening brackets.
The error prevention functionality has been to designed to make using the
calculator as user friendly as possible. This really helps to reduce
entering equations twice because of input errors.
Dynamic bracket handling:
ISS Scientific Calculator adds open brackets automatically when functions
are used, this saves time and reduces syntax errors. For example, when
pressing the Tan key, tan(
is added to the
equation, rather than just tan. Finally, it will also add closing
brackets automatically if there aren't enough to match the opening brackets
when equals is pressed. This helps in two ways, first off, it ensures
you won't receive an error from the calculator if you forgot a closing
bracket, and it allows simple equations to be entered with less screen taps (button
presses). For example, to find the Cosine of 45, the button input would
be "cos" "4" "5" "=". The calculator would add the closing bracket automatically making the expression
cos(45)
*note that both brackets are automatically
added for you.
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Calculator Layout
The ISS Scientific Calculator consists of 3 main sections: Starting from the bottom is the menu bar, this gives access to the Scientific Constants, the About Screen and the Options Screen. Second is the input area or "buttons". The Scientific Calculator has 44 buttons for numerical input and calculator functions. Finally, at the top is the Display which will show the current calculator modes, the user input and the calculator output or answer once the equals "=" button is pressed.
The 20 basic buttons are
blue and are located towards the bottom of the screen above the menu bar.
The advanced functions are located below the display and above the basic
buttons. Many of the advanced function buttons have multiple functions
which are labeled above the buttons. These functions can be accessed
in most cases by using the 2nd Function button located towards the top left
of the screen. These functions are labeled in yellow.
The display consists of 3
areas. The very top displays the calculator indicators. Starting
from the left, 2ndF will display if the 2nd function button is pressed, hyp
will light if the hyp button is pressed. More about these functions
below. The two arrows pointing up and down indicate if you can press
up or down on the directional pad. These indicate if there are
previously entered equations to scroll through. deg, rad, or grad will
display indicating which mode the calculator is operating in for trigonometric
functions. The M1 or M2 indicators will display if information is
stored in either Memory location 1 or 2.
Below the indicators is the
input line. By tapping the onscreen buttons with the stylus, the
corresponding input will appear here. If the entered equation is too
long to display on the screen, it will scroll to the left as new input is
entered. Equations up to 255 characters can be calculated.
The bottom of the display
area will show the answer. The answer will be calculated when the
equals "=" button is pressed. This will be calculated from the input
on the equation line.
Please read below to learn
more about the specific buttons and functions of the Scientific Calculator.
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Basic Entry Buttons
|
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0 |
Enters the
number on screen |
| . |
Enters a
decimal place. Scientific Calculator will only allow you to enter
one decimal place per number |
| +/- |
The default behavior will change the sign of the last number entered into the calculator. This may be changed in the options screen so it will function in the same manor as the minus "-" button.
example: 4+3
pressing "+/-" will give
4+-3
pressing "+/-" again will return it to its original state. This will also work if the last number entered is within brackets
|
| () |
Brackets to
allow groupings. Bracketed functions will be evaluated first when
= is pressed. If you do not enter the same amount of closing
brackets )
as opening brackets (
when you press equals, the Scientific Calculator will automatically add
the appropriate number of closing brackets. |
| x |
Multiplication
operand: Used to multiply one number by another |
| ÷ |
Division
operand: Used to divide one number by another |
| + |
Addition
operand: Used to add two numbers together |
| - |
Subtraction
operand: Used to subtract one number from another |
| Exp |
Will allow to
you to easily multiply numbers by a factor of 10. The following button presses are used in the example below:
"3" "Exp" "2" "="
example:
3E2
returns:
300
Alternatively, there is an option to use the Exp button as it was in previous versions of the Scientific Calculator. This will represent the the above key strokes as following:
example: 3x10^2
returns: 300 |
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Function Buttons
Most of the function buttons
operate by pressing the function button first, then entering the number.
The function buttons will automatically add an opening bracket. For
example, by pressing the sin key,
sin(
will be added to the screen. If you
press equals before adding enough closing brackets, the Scientific
Calculator will automatically add them for you. This helps to reduce
the number of button presses needed for quick calculations.
2ndF
|
When pressed, it will
allow the alternate functions of some buttons to be used. The
alternate functions are indicated above certain buttons in yellow text. The 2ndF indicator will light in the top left corner when the 2ndF function button is pressed. |
>DMS (>DEC)
|
Pressing this button will convert the onscreen answer from Degrees, Minutes, Seconds to Decimal format. Press the "2ndF" button first to convert from Decimal to Degrees, Minutes, Seconds.
When converting to and from DMS, the notation is as follows:
Any value to left of the decimal place are Degrees, the first 2 decimal places are minutes, and the remaining decimal places are seconds.
example: 36.5025
36 Degrees
50 Minutes
25 Seconds |
DRG> (DRG)
|
Changes trigonometric functions to work in degrees, radians, and gradians. The current mode is shown at the top of the display by the indicator. Either, deg, rad, and grad are shown respectively. By pressing this button, the last answer displayed will be converted as the modes change.
Press the "2ndF" button before pressing "DRG>" to change modes without converting the onscreen answer. |
<- Backspace
|
The backspace key deletes the last character entered into the equation line. |
OFF
|
Closes the Scientific Calculator. |
on/c
|
clears the display, press
twice to clear the previous equation buffer. |
hyp
|
allows the
trigonometric
buttons to be used as hyperbolic functions. Can also be used in
conjunction with 2ndF to use inverse hyperbolic functions. The hyp
indicator in the top left corner of the screen will be lit when this
button is pressed. |
sin (sin-1)
|
Sine function (mode can be
changed by the hyp & 2ndF buttons, output type can be changed by the DRG
& DRG> buttons)
|
Function |
Button presses |
Onscreen |
| Sine |
"sin" |
sin( |
| Inverse Sine |
"2ndf" "sin" |
asin( |
| Hyperbolic Sine |
"hyp" "sin" |
sinh( |
| Inverse Hyperbolic
Sine |
"2ndf" "hyp"
"sin" |
asnh( |
example:
sin(30)
returns:
1 |
cos (cos-1)
|
Cosine function (mode can
be changed by the hyp & 2ndF buttons, output type can be changed by the
DRG & DRG> buttons)
|
Function |
Button presses |
Onscreen |
| Cosine |
"cos" |
cos( |
| Inverse Cosine |
"2ndf" "cos" |
acos( |
| Hyperbolic Cosine |
"hyp" "cos" |
cosh( |
| Inverse Hyperbolic
Cosine |
"2ndf" "hyp" "cos" |
acsh( |
example:
acos(0.5)
returns:
60 |
tan (tan-1)
|
tangent function (mode can
be changed by the hyp & 2ndF buttons, output type can be changed by the
DRG & DRG> buttons when appropriate)
|
Function |
Button presses |
Onscreen |
| Tangent |
"tan" |
tan( |
| Inverse Tangent |
"2ndf" "tan" |
atan( |
| Hyperbolic Tangent |
"hyp" "tan" |
tanh( |
| Inverse Hyperbolic
Tangent |
"2ndf" "hyp" "tan" |
atnh( |
example:
tan(45)
returns:
1 |
! - Factorial
|
Factorials, ISS Scientific
Calculator can calculate factorials up to 170 or 7.25×10^304. The
factorial function will automatically convert given numbers to integers
as you cannot find the factorial of decimal numbers.
example:
!(4)
returns:
24
example:
!(4.5)
returns:
24 |
Square root
|
Square root function,
returns the square root of a number.
example:
sqrt(4)
returns:
2 |
Absolute Value
|
Gives the absolute value
of the answer. Pressing "2ndF" gives you access to the percentage function described below. |
Percentage
|
Percentage. If only
one number is is entered into the equation, it will return the
percentage equivalent, effectively dividing it by 100. If more
than one number is used in the equation, it will use the onscreen values
as a reference to calculate percentages.
example:
%(40)
returns:
0.4
example:
50-%(50)
returns:
25
The second example works as follows,
the value 50 will have %50 percent of its value subtracted. The
second example is equivalent to 50-25.
example:
10+10+%(25)
returns:
25
The percentage reference is based off
the rules of order of operations, the 3rd example will find 25% of
10+10, or %25 of 20 which is 5. |
log (10^x)
|
Log to the base 10.
Can be used with the 2ndF button to use the 10^x function
example:
log(100)
returns:
2
example:
10^3
returns:
1000 |
ln (e^x)
|
Natural log, or Log to the
base e. Can be used with the 2ndF button to use the e^x function
example:
ln(2)
returns:
0.693147.....
example:
exp(1)
returns:
2.7182818..... |
x^2 (x^-1)
|
Square of a number.
Can be used with the 2ndF to use the inverse function
example:
3^2
returns:
9
example:
4^(-1)
returns:
0.25 |
x^3
|
Cube of a number
example:
4^3
returns:
64 |
x^y
|
A number (x) to the power
of a second number (y)
example:
16^0.5
returns:
4 |
 - 
 - 
|
These 4 buttons are used to store and recall values into the 2 main memory locations (M1 and M2) as well as the 6 extra memory locations A - F. More about the memory locations and functions in the memory section below. |
pi
|
Gives pi to 16 significant
figures
example:
pi
returns:
3.1415926..... |
Last Answer
|
This button will insert the last calculated answer into the equation. This will be represented by the letters ANS. You may input the last answer into a new equation more than once.
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Memory Buttons
STO
|
Press this button, then M1+ or M2+ to store the onscreen answer to either memory location.
Store 0 or use a blank screen to clear the memory locations.
You may also use this button to store the onscreen answer to the 6 extra memory locations: A, B, C, D, E, & F. To store to these locations, press the store button "STO" then one of the six buttons in the image below.
|
RCL
|
Press this button, then M1+ or M2+ to recall the values stored in either memory location to the equation line.
You may also use this button to recall from memory locations A, B, C, D, E, & F. Press "RCL" and one of the corresponding memory buttons shown above. |
M1+ (M1-)
|
Adds the on screen answer
to memory location 1. By pressing 2ndF first, it will subtract the onscreen
answer from memory location 1. Note, you must have answer, a value
entered in the equation line (top) will not be entered to memory. |
M2+ (M2-)
|
Adds the on screen answer
to memory location 2. By pressing 2ndF first, it will subtract the onscreen
answer from memory location 2. Note, you must have answer, a value
entered in the equation line (top) will not be entered to memory. |
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Base Conversions
ISS Scientific Calculator
can convert numbers between Binary, Octal, Decimal and Hexadecimal bases. New to version 1.5.0 is the ability to also convert to and from base 4. If an number base other than decimal is used, an indicator appears to the side of the equation line in the display area indicating the number
base.
Only integer numbers can be
converted. The decimal button "." is disabled in any mode other than
decimal. If a non integer number is entered and converted, any
information to the right of the decimal is ignored.
Most other functions of the
calculator are disabled for base conversions. All of the basic
operators are available. If a division operation is used for a number base
other than decimal, the answer will always be rounded to the nearest whole
amount.
For hex numbers, the values
A, B, C, D, E, F are accessible from the second row of the advanced buttons as shown in the above image.
To change or convert number
bases, you can use either the buttons in the options screen or by pressing the 2nd
function button and one of the 4 buttons in the lower right area of the advanced
buttons. By selecting the decimal base, DEC, will return the
calculator to normal operation. Please note, Base 4 is only available from the options screen.
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Menu Bar
File Menu |
Copy Answer - copies the currently displayed answer to the
clipboard. This can be pasted into other Pocket PC applications
including Word and Excel.
Copy Equation - copies the currently displayed equation to
the clipboard. This can be pasted into other Pocket PC
applications including Word and Excel.
Quit - Closes the Scientific Calculator. Information
stored in Memory 1 & 2 will be saved automatically. |
Constants |
Click on the constants menu to enter any of the 15
scientific constants into your equation. New to version 1.5.0, the units for the constants are now displayed in the menu. The constants that do not have units labeled are dimensionless.
|
C |
Speed
of light (m/s) |
| G |
Gravitational constant (m³ kg -¹ s -²) |
| e |
charge of an electron (coulombs)
|
| Me |
mass
of an electron (kg) |
| Mp |
mass
of a proton (kg) |
| Mn |
mass
of a neutron (kg) |
| Mu |
mass
of a muon (kg) |
| h |
Planks constant in J/s |
| R |
Gas constant in J/(K*mole) |
| k |
Boltzman's constant in J/K |
| Na |
Avogadro's number |
| u° |
Magnetic Constant |
| F |
Faraday's Constant |
| g |
Acceleration due due gravity at the earths surface (m/s²) |
| AU |
Astronomical unit (m) |
The constant Pi is
accessible from the main screen
|
Advanced Options |
Pressing on options opens the Advanced Options Screen.
Base
The first set of options are the Base Conversions. All the base conversions can be completed from the main screen except for conversions to Base 4. You can convert FROM base 4 without going to the options screen. If no answer is on screen, the operating base of the calculator will be changed when a new base is selected. If there is an answer on screen, it will be converted to the new base.
Last Answer Display
After completing a calculation, you may carry on from the last answer by entering an operator (+ - ÷ x and ^) immediately after entering after pressing equals "=". The calculator will automatically enter a representation of the last answer onscreen depending on Last Answer Display selection. "Number" will enter the last answer before the operator into the equation line, "ANS" will represent the last answer with the letters ANS, and "Equation" will enter the last equation calculated.
If any other type of input is entered, the last answer will not be added on screen but can be entered manually using the "ANS" key.
Notation
These selections allow you to choose how the ISS Scientific Calculator will format the calculated answer. Please note, this will only affect calculations done in Base 10 or Decimal.
Standard - is the default, this will use exponents if the calculated answer is smaller that 0.0001 or 1e-4. It will also use exponents if the calculated answer is 100000000000000 ( 1.0e15) or larger. This number is chosen to use at 15 signifigant figures of the Scientific Calculators calculating ability.
Scientific - will select Scientific notation. Exponents will always be used for numbers less than 1 or equal to 10 or greater. Numbers between 1 and 10 will not display the exponent portion as the exponent will be equal to zero.
Fixed - will select fixed notation. Fixed notation will not display answers using exponents until the answer exceeds the calculators display accuracy of 15 significant figures. It will use exponents for numbers less than 0.0000000001 (1.0e-10). Like Standard, it will use exponents for numbers equal to and greater than 100000000000000 ( 1.0e15).
Engineering - will select Engineering notation. It operates much like Scientific notation except that exponents will always be represented in powers of 3. For example. Scientific Notation will represent 10000 as 1e4, Engineering Notation will represent it as 10e3. For numbers greater than 1 and less than 1000, no exponent will be shown as the exponent value will be zero.
Old Style - For users of previous versions of the Scientific Calculator. It operates similar to Standard except it will use exponents for numbers less than 0.1.
*Please note, the above mentioned tolerances refer to the absolute value of an answer and not just the positive representation. For example, Standard, Fixed, and Old Style will use exponents for numbers larger than 1.0e15 or less than -1.0e15.
Enable Clear Type
This will enable Clear Type on the display for the Scientific Calculator. This should work on all Pocket PCs including those running Pocket PC 2000, 2002, 2003 and other supported Windows Mobile operating systems. In most cases this should improve the readability of the numbers displayed but we have experienced image quality problems on some devices which is why this is not selected by default.
Align Left
By default, both entered equations and displayed answers will be aligned to the right. Previous versions of the calculator aligned to the left. You may set the display to operate like previous versions by checking this option.
+/- button as Minus
When checked, the plus minus button will provide the same functionality as the minus "-" button.
Alternate Exp
The Exp button is used to raise numbers to powers of 10. By default, this is represented by a capital E. The E can be directly substituted with the partial expression *10^. Selecting this option will use the alternate "*10^" expression.
*Please note, it is easier to manipulate "Exp" functions with this unselected.
View Memory
The View Memory button will open a window displaying the stored values of all 8 memory locations (M1, M2, A, B, C, D, E, & F). |
| About |
Opens the about screen. |
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