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A '''software calculator''' is a calculator that has been implemented as a software program, rather than as a physical hardware device.<ref name="FC">Formula Calculator Pty Ltd [Home page on the Internet]; 2010. Available from: http://www.FormulaCalculator.com</ref><ref>ESB Consultancy [Home page on the Internet]; 2010. Available from: http://www.esbconsult.com/esbcalc/index.htm</ref><ref name="CPP">Calculator++. Available at: http://www.iloc.com/products/calculator</ref><ref name="MN">MotionNET [Calculator page on the Internet]; 2006. Available from: http://www.motionnet.com/calculator</ref><ref name="MP">Mobile phone calculators. For example: http://www.panuworld.net/nuukiaworld/download/nokix/rpncalc.htm and http://www.pure-mac.com/iphone/calc.html</ref>
'''Calculator''' is a common name for the default [[calculator|calculation]] [[application software|program]] in some operating environments:
* [[Microsoft Calculator]] in [[Microsoft Windows]]
* [[Calculator (Mac OS X)]] by [[Apple Inc.]]
* [[Calculator++]] Free Java scientific and conversion calculator for all OSes.
The [[user interface]]s of calculator programs frequently reference the appearance of a pocket or desktop calculator.


They are among the simpler interactive software tools, and, as such, they:
{{disambiguation}}

• Provide operations for the user to select one at a time.

• Can be used to perform any process that consists of a sequence of steps each of which applies one of these operations.

• Have no purpose other than these processes, because the operations are the sole, or at least the primary, features of the calculator, rather than being secondary features that support other functionality that is not normally known simply as calculation.

As a calculator, rather than a computer, they usually:

• Have a small set of relatively simple operations.

• Perform short processes that are not compute intensive.

• Do not accept large amounts of input data or produce many results.
== Platforms ==
Software calculators are available for many different platforms, and they can be:

• A program loaded onto and run on a computer as a separate, self-contained package. These can be for single or multiple operating-systems.<ref name="FC"/><ref name="CPP"/>

• An on-line calculator, implemented on a web page, where it is run from a server computer and accessed through a web browser.<ref name="MN"/>

• A utility that is an independent part of a bigger package, such as an operating system, including the Windows calculator and the Mac os calculator.

• Embedded in a hand-held device such as a mobile phone or PDA.<ref name="MP"/>

• Embedded in a calculator watch.

Also:

• Search engines can be used as a calculator.<ref>Google calculator. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_search#Special_features</ref> For example, typing

(3.5^2 + 2.5^2 - 2*3.5*2.5*cos(1.25))^0.5

into Bing and Yahoo shows the value of the calculation, as well as search results, and typing it into Google shows the value and then gives the user the option of searching.

• Web browsers can be used as a calculator.<ref>Javascript calculator. For example, javascript:alert(1337*7331)</ref>

• Some programming languages can be used as a calculator.<ref>8. Python command-line calculator mode. Available at: http://www.python.org</ref>
== History ==
=== Early years ===
Computers as we know them today first emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. The software that they ran was naturally used to perform calculations, but it was specially designed for a substantial application that was not limited to simple calculations. For example, the LEO computer was designed to run business application software such as payroll.

Software specifically to perform calculations as its main purpose was first written in the 1960s, and the first microcomputer package for general calculations to obtain widespread use was released in 1978.<ref>Power, D. J., A Brief History of Spreadsheets, DSSResources.COM, World Wide Web, http://dssresources.com/history/sshistory.html, version 3.6, 08/30/2004. Photo added September 24, 2002.</ref> This was VisiCalc and it was called an interactive visible calculator, but it was actually a spreadsheet, and these are now not normally known simply as calculators.

The Unix version released in 1979, V7 Unix, contained a command-line accessible calculator.<ref>Unix 7 in the 1970s section of the Unix Wikipedia article. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix#1970s</ref>
=== Simulation of hardware calculators ===
Calculators have been used since ancient times,<ref>Formula Calculator Pty Ltd [History page on the Internet]; 2010. Available at: http://www.formulacalculator.com/history-of-calculator</ref> and until the advent of software calculators they were physical, hardware machines. The most recent hardware calculators are electronic hand-held devices with buttons for digits and operations, and a small window for inputs and results.

The first software calculators imitated these hardware calculators by implementing the same functionality with mouse-operated, rather than finger-operated, buttons. Such software calculators first emerged in the 1980s as part of the Windows operating system, Windows 1.0.

Some software calculators directly simulate one of the hardware calculators, by presenting an image that looks like the calculator, and by providing the same functionality.<ref>Emulator for the Casio fx-82AU. Available at: http://www.casio.edu.shriro.com.au/products/fx82ausplus/pdf/FX82AUPLUSEMU.pdf</ref><ref name="HP">HP 12C Financial Calculator simulator. Available at: www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators</ref>
=== Software calculators on the internet ===
There is now a very wide range of software calculators, and searching the internet produces very large numbers of programs that are called calculators.<ref>Bing search for software calculator: http://www.bing.com/search?q=software+calculator</ref><ref>Google search for software calculator: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=software+calculator</ref><ref>Yahoo search for software calculator: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=software+calculator</ref> Also, searching for specific types of software calculator produces many examples.

The results include numerical calculators that apply arithmetic operations or mathematical functions to numbers, and that produce numerical results or graphs of numerical functions, plus some non-numerical tools and games that are also called calculators.

Many of the results are calculators that don’t imitate or simulate hardware calculators, but that take advantage of the greater power of computer software to implement alternative types of calculator.
== Examples ==
=== Numerical calculators ===
Every type of hardware calculator has been implemented in software, including conversion, financial, graphing, programmable and scientific calculators.<ref>FC Conversion. Available at: http://www.fcalculator.com</ref><ref name="HP"/><ref>The GraphApplet 1.0. Available at: www.coolmath.com/graphit</ref><ref>Programmable calculators available at www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/calculators.shtml</ref><ref>Formula Calculator Pty Ltd. Buttons tab calculator on FC Scientific. Available at: http://www.FC-Scientific.com</ref>

Other numerical calculators that don’t imitate hardware calculators include:

• Formula calculators<ref name="FC"/>

• Windows-based calculators

• Specialised calculators.
=== Windows-based calculators ===
Windows-based calculators present a dialog box that allows users to enter data, rather than data and operations, and they have a built-in formula that is automatically applied to this data. There are many examples of such calculators in finance, mathematics, science and other disciplines.<ref>Mortgage calculators. For example: http://www.yourmortgage.com.au/calculators/affordability</ref><ref>Trigonometry calculators. For example: http://www.rkm.com.au/CALCULATORS/CALCULATOR-sine-cosine-tan.html</ref><ref>Ohm’s Law calculators. For example: http://www.the12volt.com/ohm/page2.asp and http://www.onlineconversion.com/ohms_law.htm</ref>
=== Specialised calculators ===
There are software calculators that contain operations relevant to a specific application area and profession, including automotive, construction and electrical engineering.<ref>Virtual Engine Calculator. Available at: http:/www.virtualengine2000.com</ref><ref>Building projects calculators. For example, available at: www.washingtonbrown.com.au/Calcs</ref><ref>Electrical Calculator. Available at: www.spectrum-research.com/V2/electrical-calculator.asp</ref>
Non-numerical tools
Non-numerical calculators include life-style and scientific calculators:

• Love Calculators: The input is two names, and there is a button to work out the compatibility, as a percentage, of two people with these names.<ref>Love Calculator. Available at: http://www.lovecalculator.com</ref>

• Formula Weight Calculator: The input is a chemical molecular formula, using the periodic-table symbols and notation, and there is a button to work out the percentages of its constituent elements.<ref>Formula Weight Calculator. Available at: http://www.sciencegateway.org/tools/fwcal.htm</ref>
=== Games ===
There are some software games that are called calculators, including:

• Sudoku Calculators: The input is a Sudoku puzzle, the operations support solving the puzzle, such as selecting a digit as the solution for a cell, and the result is a solution of the entire puzzle.<ref>Sudoku calculators: For example: http://misc.infosnel.nl/sudokucalc.html</ref>

• Poker Calculators: A common feature of these is to calculate the odds of winning with a given Poker hand.<ref>Poker calculators. For example: www.pokerlistings.com/poker-software-sites</ref>
== Related software packages ==
There are many interactive software packages that provide user-accessible calculation features, but that are not normally called calculators, because the calculation features play only a supporting role rather than being an end in themselves. These include:

• Spreadsheets, where user-supplied calculations can define a cell’s content.

• Computer algebra systems, which can manipulate mathematical expressions, including evaluating simple calculations.

• Databases, where user-supplied calculations can specify a field’s value.
=== Spreadsheets ===
Spreadsheets are not normally called calculators because their main purpose is to organise data in rows and columns, and to automatically update the values of possibly many dependent cells when the value in another cell changes. The calculation features are only used in a supporting role to specify the values in some cells.
=== Computer algebra systems ===
Computer algebra systems are not normally called calculators because their main purpose is to perform symbolic manipulation of mathematical expressions that can contain variables and complex operations, such as integration. However, the expressions can be basic calculations that don’t use variables, and that are simply evaluated, as with a calculator.
=== Databases ===
Databases are not normally called calculators because their main purpose is data entry and storage, plus reporting against this data. The calculation features are only used in a supporting role to specify the values in some fields.

== See also ==

* [[Calculator]]
* [[Calculator input methods]]
* [[Formula calculator]]
* [[Programmable calculator]]
* [[Scientific calculator]]
* [[Windows calculator]]
* [[Mac os calculator]]
* [[Calculator watch]]

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Calculators]]
[[Category:Office equipment]]
[[Category:Mathematical notation]]

Revision as of 01:14, 11 June 2010

A software calculator is a calculator that has been implemented as a software program, rather than as a physical hardware device.[1][2][3][4][5]

They are among the simpler interactive software tools, and, as such, they:

• Provide operations for the user to select one at a time.

• Can be used to perform any process that consists of a sequence of steps each of which applies one of these operations.

• Have no purpose other than these processes, because the operations are the sole, or at least the primary, features of the calculator, rather than being secondary features that support other functionality that is not normally known simply as calculation.

As a calculator, rather than a computer, they usually:

• Have a small set of relatively simple operations.

• Perform short processes that are not compute intensive.

• Do not accept large amounts of input data or produce many results.

Platforms

Software calculators are available for many different platforms, and they can be:

• A program loaded onto and run on a computer as a separate, self-contained package. These can be for single or multiple operating-systems.[1][3]

• An on-line calculator, implemented on a web page, where it is run from a server computer and accessed through a web browser.[4]

• A utility that is an independent part of a bigger package, such as an operating system, including the Windows calculator and the Mac os calculator.

• Embedded in a hand-held device such as a mobile phone or PDA.[5]

• Embedded in a calculator watch.

Also:

• Search engines can be used as a calculator.[6] For example, typing

(3.5^2 + 2.5^2 - 2*3.5*2.5*cos(1.25))^0.5

into Bing and Yahoo shows the value of the calculation, as well as search results, and typing it into Google shows the value and then gives the user the option of searching.

• Web browsers can be used as a calculator.[7]

• Some programming languages can be used as a calculator.[8]

History

Early years

Computers as we know them today first emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. The software that they ran was naturally used to perform calculations, but it was specially designed for a substantial application that was not limited to simple calculations. For example, the LEO computer was designed to run business application software such as payroll.

Software specifically to perform calculations as its main purpose was first written in the 1960s, and the first microcomputer package for general calculations to obtain widespread use was released in 1978.[9] This was VisiCalc and it was called an interactive visible calculator, but it was actually a spreadsheet, and these are now not normally known simply as calculators.

The Unix version released in 1979, V7 Unix, contained a command-line accessible calculator.[10]

Simulation of hardware calculators

Calculators have been used since ancient times,[11] and until the advent of software calculators they were physical, hardware machines. The most recent hardware calculators are electronic hand-held devices with buttons for digits and operations, and a small window for inputs and results.

The first software calculators imitated these hardware calculators by implementing the same functionality with mouse-operated, rather than finger-operated, buttons. Such software calculators first emerged in the 1980s as part of the Windows operating system, Windows 1.0.

Some software calculators directly simulate one of the hardware calculators, by presenting an image that looks like the calculator, and by providing the same functionality.[12][13]

Software calculators on the internet

There is now a very wide range of software calculators, and searching the internet produces very large numbers of programs that are called calculators.[14][15][16] Also, searching for specific types of software calculator produces many examples.

The results include numerical calculators that apply arithmetic operations or mathematical functions to numbers, and that produce numerical results or graphs of numerical functions, plus some non-numerical tools and games that are also called calculators.

Many of the results are calculators that don’t imitate or simulate hardware calculators, but that take advantage of the greater power of computer software to implement alternative types of calculator.

Examples

Numerical calculators

Every type of hardware calculator has been implemented in software, including conversion, financial, graphing, programmable and scientific calculators.[17][13][18][19][20]

Other numerical calculators that don’t imitate hardware calculators include:

• Formula calculators[1]

• Windows-based calculators

• Specialised calculators.

Windows-based calculators

Windows-based calculators present a dialog box that allows users to enter data, rather than data and operations, and they have a built-in formula that is automatically applied to this data. There are many examples of such calculators in finance, mathematics, science and other disciplines.[21][22][23]

Specialised calculators

There are software calculators that contain operations relevant to a specific application area and profession, including automotive, construction and electrical engineering.[24][25][26] Non-numerical tools Non-numerical calculators include life-style and scientific calculators:

• Love Calculators: The input is two names, and there is a button to work out the compatibility, as a percentage, of two people with these names.[27]

• Formula Weight Calculator: The input is a chemical molecular formula, using the periodic-table symbols and notation, and there is a button to work out the percentages of its constituent elements.[28]

Games

There are some software games that are called calculators, including:

• Sudoku Calculators: The input is a Sudoku puzzle, the operations support solving the puzzle, such as selecting a digit as the solution for a cell, and the result is a solution of the entire puzzle.[29]

• Poker Calculators: A common feature of these is to calculate the odds of winning with a given Poker hand.[30]

There are many interactive software packages that provide user-accessible calculation features, but that are not normally called calculators, because the calculation features play only a supporting role rather than being an end in themselves. These include:

• Spreadsheets, where user-supplied calculations can define a cell’s content.

• Computer algebra systems, which can manipulate mathematical expressions, including evaluating simple calculations.

• Databases, where user-supplied calculations can specify a field’s value.

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are not normally called calculators because their main purpose is to organise data in rows and columns, and to automatically update the values of possibly many dependent cells when the value in another cell changes. The calculation features are only used in a supporting role to specify the values in some cells.

Computer algebra systems

Computer algebra systems are not normally called calculators because their main purpose is to perform symbolic manipulation of mathematical expressions that can contain variables and complex operations, such as integration. However, the expressions can be basic calculations that don’t use variables, and that are simply evaluated, as with a calculator.

Databases

Databases are not normally called calculators because their main purpose is data entry and storage, plus reporting against this data. The calculation features are only used in a supporting role to specify the values in some fields.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Formula Calculator Pty Ltd [Home page on the Internet]; 2010. Available from: http://www.FormulaCalculator.com
  2. ^ ESB Consultancy [Home page on the Internet]; 2010. Available from: http://www.esbconsult.com/esbcalc/index.htm
  3. ^ a b Calculator++. Available at: http://www.iloc.com/products/calculator
  4. ^ a b MotionNET [Calculator page on the Internet]; 2006. Available from: http://www.motionnet.com/calculator
  5. ^ a b Mobile phone calculators. For example: http://www.panuworld.net/nuukiaworld/download/nokix/rpncalc.htm and http://www.pure-mac.com/iphone/calc.html
  6. ^ Google calculator. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_search#Special_features
  7. ^ Javascript calculator. For example, javascript:alert(1337*7331)
  8. ^ 8. Python command-line calculator mode. Available at: http://www.python.org
  9. ^ Power, D. J., A Brief History of Spreadsheets, DSSResources.COM, World Wide Web, http://dssresources.com/history/sshistory.html, version 3.6, 08/30/2004. Photo added September 24, 2002.
  10. ^ Unix 7 in the 1970s section of the Unix Wikipedia article. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix#1970s
  11. ^ Formula Calculator Pty Ltd [History page on the Internet]; 2010. Available at: http://www.formulacalculator.com/history-of-calculator
  12. ^ Emulator for the Casio fx-82AU. Available at: http://www.casio.edu.shriro.com.au/products/fx82ausplus/pdf/FX82AUPLUSEMU.pdf
  13. ^ a b HP 12C Financial Calculator simulator. Available at: www.hpcalc.org/hp48/pc/emulators
  14. ^ Bing search for software calculator: http://www.bing.com/search?q=software+calculator
  15. ^ Google search for software calculator: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=software+calculator
  16. ^ Yahoo search for software calculator: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=software+calculator
  17. ^ FC Conversion. Available at: http://www.fcalculator.com
  18. ^ The GraphApplet 1.0. Available at: www.coolmath.com/graphit
  19. ^ Programmable calculators available at www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/calculators.shtml
  20. ^ Formula Calculator Pty Ltd. Buttons tab calculator on FC Scientific. Available at: http://www.FC-Scientific.com
  21. ^ Mortgage calculators. For example: http://www.yourmortgage.com.au/calculators/affordability
  22. ^ Trigonometry calculators. For example: http://www.rkm.com.au/CALCULATORS/CALCULATOR-sine-cosine-tan.html
  23. ^ Ohm’s Law calculators. For example: http://www.the12volt.com/ohm/page2.asp and http://www.onlineconversion.com/ohms_law.htm
  24. ^ Virtual Engine Calculator. Available at: http:/www.virtualengine2000.com
  25. ^ Building projects calculators. For example, available at: www.washingtonbrown.com.au/Calcs
  26. ^ Electrical Calculator. Available at: www.spectrum-research.com/V2/electrical-calculator.asp
  27. ^ Love Calculator. Available at: http://www.lovecalculator.com
  28. ^ Formula Weight Calculator. Available at: http://www.sciencegateway.org/tools/fwcal.htm
  29. ^ Sudoku calculators: For example: http://misc.infosnel.nl/sudokucalc.html
  30. ^ Poker calculators. For example: www.pokerlistings.com/poker-software-sites
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