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jfreak_
August 1st, 2011, 03:57 PM
I am a post grad student and recently my (physical)calculator went bust. I was hunting for a good calculator in the repos but couldn't find one (And I don't have the 20$ to buy a new one) . :(
The features that I need are (ALL of the below)
3rd degree equation solver (4th degree would be nice)
Matrix operations ( Determinant, inverse, multiplication, etc )
Capabilty to type in multi-variable equations and to put in several values of x,y,z... and hence get several results.
Integrator (with limits , of course)
Memory for variables
remembering previous calculations
scientific constants built in (pi, boltzman, c, etc)
And the usual
inverse trigonometric , natural log, factorial , permutation and combination etc etc


Is there such a calculator? Or will I need to write one on my own (Shouldn't take long, few months if my research doesn't keep me too busy :popcorn:)

ssam
August 1st, 2011, 04:08 PM
using python with numpy/scipy on the command line will give you some of those.

next step up is something like sage http://www.sagemath.org/doc/index.html

could also have a look through https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuMath

Bandit
August 1st, 2011, 05:58 PM
Casio fx-115ES http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/-Jtsvur8JA4iPjucMDAyPBK7_eEfe3y0iEGzOU7xf8xm29cu-g6PfClfkMgC4O9_keomGycwrQzvMoWB5-w_y-QAFMw0skmwtnjbExHRTWTaMmoMe0cX0NXfNJScFrqn-ugjN5-4rUsjxuxjiBeW5bfrpaAaZIir_-hiUmfy

The best $12 buck calc you can buy. Does fractions, sqr route, X^ powers, variables, quadratic equations and more. Plus has natural display.
Unless your getting a TI-84 this is the best calc you can buy and is approved for the national engineering test.

I have been looking in the repos without any real luck. I know you said you didnt have 20 bucks.. but this is 12 at walmart..

jfreak_
August 1st, 2011, 06:13 PM
@Bandit: Thats exactly the one that went bust

sanderd17
August 1st, 2011, 06:21 PM
Python is a great calculator, and octave (the FOSS concurrent of Matlab) is great for numerical calculations.

So for simple things, you can use both. But it seems you want the symbolic side of math, than Python will be the best.

Bandit
August 1st, 2011, 06:21 PM
@Bandit: Thats exactly the one that went bust

Ahh man.. that sucks.. those are good calcs :(

jerenept
August 1st, 2011, 07:41 PM
I am a post grad student and recently my (physical)calculator went bust. I was hunting for a good calculator in the repos but couldn't find one (And I don't have the 20$ to buy a new one) . :(
The features that I need are (ALL of the below)
3rd degree equation solver (4th degree would be nice)
Matrix operations ( Determinant, inverse, multiplication, etc )
Capabilty to type in multi-variable equations and to put in several values of x,y,z... and hence get several results.
Integrator (with limits , of course)
Memory for variables
remembering previous calculations
scientific constants built in (pi, boltzman, c, etc)
And the usual
inverse trigonometric , natural log, factorial , permutation and combination etc etc


Is there such a calculator? Or will I need to write one on my own (Shouldn't take long, few months if my research doesn't keep me too busy :popcorn:)

Qalculate!

Copper Bezel
August 1st, 2011, 08:05 PM
Yes, absolutely. Qalculate! is one of my must-have apps for a new install, because it's the only calculator app I know of that can do arbitrary roots. But it's a very smart little calculator with an absurdly well stocked set of functions combined with a neat auto-complete feature - a lot more than you'll get out of a $20 standalone device.