Kalk is a simple RPN calculator, with a 20-level stack, that knows the four basic operations plus some trig and log functions.
Design Goals
There are lots of desktop calculators out there. Why one more? I made this one for my own personal use, because I wanted a RPN calculator, but not those huge monsters I’ve seen around, almost complete implementations of scientific HP machines. Those are great calculators, but they filled almost the whole screen with dozens of buttons and switches. At the end of one week I was usually back to the classic Apple calc, because it is small, fast, doesn’t create auxiliary files on the disk, and doesn’t have big manuals.
So, the first goal of Kalk design was to make its window the same size of Apple’s. Then remove all digit buttons from the panel, creating more area for information (six of the 20 levels of the stack are shown). The only buttons remaining are those used everytime and those that are hard to remember without a label. Digits are entered via the keyboard, and the special functions are grouped on the “Kalk” menu.
Using Kalk
Using Kalk is very like doing simple math on a 28- or 48-series HP calculator. As for the Apple calc, the numeric keypad of your keyboard (hope you have one) is the best choice. When you type digits, the Edit Line (E:) is turned on. You can use it like any Macintosh text field, using arrows, selecting, deleting, copying, cutting, pasting, etc. When you press Enter the Edit Line is turned off and its contents are pushed into the stack. As with HP calculators, you don’t need to press Enter everytime; if you use an operator in edit mode, Enter will be pressed automatically for you.
Operation (Keyboard Shortcuts and Hidden Features)
(these shortcuts are available online while using Kalk; look at the “?” Menu)
• +, -, /, *: the basic four operators are used directly from the keyboard
• Enter: you can press Return, or Enter on the keyboard
• Swap: you can use the = key
• Drop: you can use Option-= or Delete (Delete only works as Drop if the edit line is empty)
• CHS: you can use Option-<minus>
• Clear: you can use the Clear key, or Esc, or “Clear” on the “Edit” menu
• π: you can enter an approximation of π by pressing p, P, π , or ∏. This may be useful for trig calculations, since sin and cos on the Kalk menu are performed with degrees (not rads).
• The “E:” on the Edit Line changes to red on color monitors when there are less than five free levels on the stack.
• “Edit First Line” (Command-E) puts the first line of the stack into the edit line.
• If you press Enter with an empty edit line, the current first level is duplicated (Dup).
• Copy and Cut puts the contents of the first level only into the clipboard.
• Paste is quite different. It actually “plays” any text that’s in the clipboard through the same general input procedure, just as if it was being typed. You can copy a list of values (separated by “returns”) from a text editor or spreadsheet and paste into Kalk: the values will be entered into the edit line, and the “returns” will be interpreted as Enters, filling the stack automatically. Bad digits (not valid numbers) will be filtered out, the same way they are when you type. If there are Kalk special characters in clipboard text (+, -, /, *, π, ≠, =, option-<minus>) they will be interpreted also, making Kalk minimally “programmable” in RPN form.
• Kalk remembers the stack and window position after Quit, unless you lock the application file.
Kalk is free. Please drop a note to say something about it, including bugs and suggestions.
Kalk looks great under Greg’s Buttons!
Version History
1.0ß1 First public release
1.0 Not released
1.0.1 Included the ability to enter negative exponents. Two other small bugs on “Paste” were corrected. Please note that characters in text to be pasted are interpreted just like typed ones, so negative exponents must be written with option-minus. This is not a very elegant solution; I’m still working on a better one. Added a “Kalk Shortcuts” menu item and dialog, in the Help/Guide menu.
Furthermore, I make no warranty with respect to the quality of this software, nor do I warrant that its operation will be error-free. The software is provided “as is” and without warranty of any kind, express or implied. The author claims no liability for data loss or any other problems caused directly or indirectly by use of the “Kalk” application.
This software may be included in any disk or CD-ROM library of public domain and shareware software sold by a non-profit organization. This software may not be included in any commercial software collection sold for profit, nor may it be bundled with any commercial software, hardware, books, or other media without the prior written consent of the author.
