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Math

A Calculator's Most Important Button Has Been Removed (theatlantic.com) 77

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Apple's latest iOS update has removed the "C" button from its Calculator app, replacing it with a backspace function. The change, part of iOS 18, has sparked debate among users accustomed to the traditional clear function. The removal of the "C" button represents a significant departure from decades-old calculator design conventions, The Atlantic writes. From the story: The "C" button's function is vestigial. Back when calculators were commercialized, starting in the mid-1960s, their electronics were designed to operate as efficiently as possible. If you opened up a desktop calculator in 1967, you might have found a dozen individual circuit boards to run and display its four basic mathematical functions. Among these would have been an input buffer or temporary register that could store an input value for calculation and display. The "C" button, which was sometimes labeled "CE" (Clear Entry) or "CI" (Clear Input), provided a direct interface to zero out -- or "clear" -- such a register. A second button, "AC" (All Clear), did the same thing, but for other parts of the circuit, including previously stored operations and pending calculations. (A traditional calculator's memory buttons -- "M+," "M-," "MC" -- would perform simple operations on a register.)

By 1971, Mostech and Texas Instruments had developed a "calculator on a chip," which condensed all of that into a single integrated circuit. Those chips retained the functions of their predecessors, including the ones that were engaged by "C" and "AC" buttons. And this design continued on into the era of pocket calculators, financial calculators, and even scientific calculators such as the ones you may have used in school. Some of the latter were, in essence, programmable pocket computers themselves, and they could have been configured with a backspace key. They were not.

A Calculator's Most Important Button Has Been Removed More | Reply

A Calculator's Most Important Button Has Been Removed

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  • Not surprising (Score:3)

    by ZERO1ZERO ( 948669 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @03:29PM (#64882011)
    In my experience of a few decades, almost no-one knows the difference between C and AC. Even after itâ(TM)s explained when they ask if they do, why there 2 clear buttons.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by drnb ( 2434720 )

      In my experience of a few decades, almost no-one knows the difference between C and AC. Even after itâ(TM)s explained when they ask if they do, why there 2 clear buttons.

      That is largely due to inconsistency between calculators. For example "C" erasing an entire operand or a single digit. The latter case where "C" is just a backspace. Or where "C" is overloaded, a clear operand if pressed once and clear all if pressed twice in a row. The latter assuming a typo was in the last operand.

    • Who needs a calculator?

      A true geek uses a bash prompt to enter python3 -c "print(<mathematical expression>)"

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ls671 ( 1122017 )

      I just press both buttons thrice to make sure...

  • The most important button on a calculator (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rossdee ( 243626 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @03:36PM (#64882037)

    is the Enter key

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Z00L00K ( 682162 )

      Followed by the xy button.

    • Re:The most important button on a calculator (Score:4, Funny)

      by Waffle Iron ( 339739 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @03:50PM (#64882099)

      I mainly use a nice RPN calculator on my phone. It's vastly superior to regular infix calculators, especially when you know how to manipulate the stack and set it to show several values.

      I took a look because I never really thought about the fact that it lacks a normal clear button. It has a backspace, which clears the last typed character, or if the top-of-stack is a calculation result, sets the whole register to zero (never realized that feature). It also has a clear stack (similar to AC), and a "drop" to get rid of the top value.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by caseih ( 160668 )

        I ruined myself years ago with RPN. I cannot use simple calculators because I'm constantly losing numbers. Very annoying. I've tried a variety of RPN-style calculator apps. I always come back to Droid48, a HP 48 emulator.

        Very much off-topic now, but my real HP 48 is nearly 30 years old now, and is starting to have issues with foam deteriorating and not pressing hard enough on the keyboard ribbon connector. I ordered a non-working HP 48 on ebay to see if I can figure out how to open it up without destroyi

        • If you've not already seen it, hpmuseum.org has guides for disassembling the HP48, but all of them are destructive in some manner. Mine was starting to have trouble with the top row and I was about to bite the bullet and disassemble it (or replace with a Swiss Micros calculator), but for whatever reason started working correctly again a few weeks ago. I'll call myself lucky for the moment.

          I recently decided to go back to University and one of the classes I'm taking has a rule prohibiting graphing or pr

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by caseih ( 160668 )

            I press with my thumb above the B and C keys and that usually does the trick but it's annoying.

    • RPN ftw, and Apple's desktop (but not iOS, or at least I can't find it) calculator has it.

  • Can still clear everything ... (Score:5, Informative)

    by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @03:38PM (#64882049)

    From TFA:

    ... the iPhone’s “AC” button remains. When no value sits in the input buffer awaiting its desired mathematical operation, the [backspace] button changes to “AC.” The ability to destroy all local mathematics remains, at least for now.

  • I use Gforth as a calculator https://gforth.org/ [gforth.org] .

    When my computer boots up, I have it automatically pop up a terminal window running Gforth so it is always available for a quick calculation:

    ok 2.0e pi f* f. 6.2832

  • To run a server that does only one thing. Once we found that we didn't need a cloud service that cleared the input buffer, we just eliminated the skeuomorph. You'll still have the backspace ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H delete key.

  • Alternately press and hold delete (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Need "C" back? Press and hold delete for about a second FTW.
  • This is newsworthy?

  • And Apple's redesign is inferior (Score:5, Insightful)

    by drnb ( 2434720 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @03:46PM (#64882089)
    And Apple's redesign is inferior. All three buttons are useful.

    [BS], backspace, operates on individual digits and operators
    [C] clear, operates on operands (collections of digits) and operators
    [CA] clear all, operates on the entire pending expression (all operands and operators)

    You might want to do any of the following depending on the nature of a typo, consider "12 + 34"

    [BS]: "12 + 3"
    [BS][BS]: "12 +"
    [BS][BS][BS]: "12"
    [BS][BS][BS][BS]: "1"
    [BS][BS][BS][BS][BS]:""

    [C]: "12 +"
    [C][C]: "12"
    [C][C][C]: ""

    [CA]: ""

  • That's kind of an weird and inconsistent change, considering that Apple's computer keypads have a Clear key. That convention goes as far back as the Apple Lisa in 1983, if not further.

    On USB keyboards it is the same key as Num Lock on PC but interpreted differently. Microsoft in its Apple-envy even added a separate Clear key to some of its own keyboards even though that one isn't normally supported by MS-Windows and requires a driver.

  • 80085 (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    80085

  • The Atlantic got it wrong (and the Slashdot editor just went with it) but "C" is not the most important button. I don't know which button is, but the "1" button is more important that "C". A power cycle will substitute for a "C" button but you won't get far with a missing "1". "2". "3", "4", etc. are more important that "C" too.

  • Samsung's calculator app on Android has only backspace.

  • But, progress, maaan *inhales* (Score:3)

    by TigerPlish ( 174064 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @04:17PM (#64882195)

    But, progress, maan. *inhales and keeps it in*

    What, you gonna do what those pale stale males did 60 years ago? Get wiiith it maaan.. *inhales*

    Yeaaah. All that progress for progress' sake, never stopping to think that sometimes holding on to what was is better than being a bleeding-edge radical.

    I thought change and progress was this group's bag, no? Is this suddenly too much?

    Make up your minds. Keep it as it was, or move fast and break everything.

  • As I am prone to âoefat-fingeringâ a digit or 2, this seems more intuitive to me than a âoeCâ button

    • As I am prone to âoefat-fingeringâ a digit or 2, this seems more intuitive to me than a âoeCâ button

      You definitely need to work on that problem... or use a device with a bigger keyboard, maybe?

  • You insenstive clod! (Score:3)

    by PPH ( 736903 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @04:35PM (#64882255)

    All I have is this stinkin' slide rule.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fjo3 ( 1399739 )
      A slide rule!? You must be wealthy - I am stuck using an abacus

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Dusanyu ( 675778 )
        you must be middle class I am stuck using my phalanges and for advanced calculations I have to take off my shoes.

  • I bought HiperCalc Pro and it keeps getting significant new features. My kids use it too for their advanced math classes and prefer it to a TI.

    A good blend of traditional calculator and phone capabilities.

    cz.hipercalc.pro on Android - maybe iPhone people can get it too.

    It's just nice to see small developers still making great software.

  • Or innovation by imbeciles
  • I've been an HP calc user for half a century, love using RPN instead of Algebraic input method. I looked at my HP-11C and confirm that it uses a left arrow key for CLEAR or DEL function.
    • Ugh, should have kept editing... Anyway, I was going to continue by saying I installed an app called RealCalc from Google Play store that implements RPN logic, and it too employs a left arrow key (large red key with white arrow) to properly simulate the HP experience.

  • Some of the latter were, in essence, programmable pocket computers themselves, and they could have been configured with a backspace key. They were not.

    I have a 1990s HP48G somewhere. It has both a backspace and a delete key. If you want clear you have to hit shift. I also have a Casio CFX-9800. It's got a backspace and an AC button but no C.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      Yea but it also uses the much superior RPN. This article is about peasant calculators. It's also wrong. They changed the calculator from dumb old basic calc (so 34, hit +, line clears and you enter 43 then =) to algebraic input (so 34+43 on one line), so backspace makes more sense. You can also long-press the backspace and it will clear the entire line like AC.

      Colossal tempest in a teapot clickbait as usual.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      Also your HP48G does have a C button. It's between the B and D buttons on the top row where it belongs :)
  • I still use my TI-89s (yes, plural), and take one with me on trips. Never use the âoeCâ functionality. Backspace FTW.
  • Change for change sake. And it's not even something done for marketing. So...?

  • As I first started reading, I was confused: doesn't the C clear everything? so replacing it with backspace makes no sense. Then I continued to read, and they described C and CE as functionally equivalent, as though this is universal. It's not: Many TI calculators use(d) C as their 'all clear' button, and CE as their 'clear entry' button.

  • Clickbait bullshit (Score:3)

    by EvilSS ( 557649 ) on Monday October 21, 2024 @06:26PM (#64882651)
    They changed it because it makes more sense with the new algebraic input mode which keeps the calculations on one line until you hit equals. The old C would clear just the current term. Now it would clear the entire equation which would be annoying as hell and way less useful than backspace. Yes you could swipe to backspace previously but that wasn't well known and, again, it makes more sense to make the button's primary function to be backspace.

    Primary function you say? Oh, yea, one small detail: C isn't not gone. Long press backspace and poof! The entire line is gone.

  • Many scientific calculators did have a backspace, the newer WYSIWYG calculators even have cursor keys.

    I have an exact copy of my HP calculator (from HP) on my tablet, why would I care about Apple's little calculator? Who really uses the original calculator supplied with their device?

  • It's supposed to be idiot proof. They failed, but if you hold the backspace button for a second it will clear. Backspace might be more useful since this calculator is more powerful.

  • Math teacher here.

    I didn't notice this change when I updated until I saw it here, but I feel like this change is less useful.

    Before, one was able to press = repeatedly to repeat the previous operation, for example, powers of 2.

    You press 2 then x then = and it would give you 2^2
    Then you press = again and it gives you 2^3
    and so on. Helpful for a demonstration of recursion in sequences and series. Worked with +, / and - too.

    Now this is impossible. And I'm not sure what this change adds to the functionality?

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