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22 KiB
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# Ass-Backwards Calculator Help:
This document is split into the following sections:
* Installation
* UI Overview
* Shell UI
* A Bit About RPN
* Number Formats
* Operations
## Installation:
To install abCalc, drag the file abCalcNDA to the Desk.Accs folder in your System folder on your boot drive. After rebooting, you should find "abCalc" in the Apple menu in any GUI application on your Apple //GS.
Alternatively, if you have the IR Finder extra installed, you can just double click abCalcNDA from the Finder whenever you want to launch it. If you reboot, you will have to double click it again to add it because it won't be loaded automatically on boot up.
## UI Overview:
The abCalc UI is split into the following major components.
The list at the top is the "stack" where the numbers you are working with will be displayed. The stack always displays at least four items, even if there are not four things on the stack. Each item on the stack is prefixed with a number which is its depth on the stack where "1:" is the label for the item at the top of the stack and "2:" is the number just below the top of the stack, etc. The number at the top of the stack is displayed at the bottom of the list (did I mention that the NDA is called the "Ass-Backwards Calculator"). Any non-empty row on the stack can be selected and you can do a copy operation on the row. The number on that row will be copied to the clipboard.
On the left side, directly below the stack is the entry box. This is where you can type in new numbers which go on the stack. You can actually do everything with abCalc with the keyboard. You can type in numbers or operations which manipulate the numbers on your stack. If you are typing in operations, you can type them in upper-case, lower-case or any mixture. abCalc does a case insensitive match for the operation. You can select text in the entry box and do the usual cut, copy and paste operations your selection.
On the right side, directly below the stack is a long list of the operations available in abCalc. The operations are sorted into an order which groups them into the following types: arithmetic, stack, trigonomety, exponentials and logical. You can scroll through the operations but be careful. Just clicking on an operation in the list will result in that operation being executed. So, items in the list operate both as a cheat sheet of the operations available and as a way to execute those operations.
Below the entry box is a series of buttons which make abCalc look just a bit like a classic calculator. You can use these buttons by clicking on them using your mouse or you can just type into the entry box directly. Whichever way you want to work. Note that the "+", "-", "x", "/" and "^" buttons do the same thing as their counterparts listed in the operation list. So you can add numbers in three ways: you can click the "+" button, you can click the "+" item in the operation list or you can type + followed by enter on your keyboard. The numbers 1 to 9 and letters A to F are there to allow you to enter numbers in both decimal and hexidecimal (hex numbers consist of numbers 1-9 and letters A-F). When you click them, the number or letter is inserted into the entry box. Similarly the period and # buttons insert those characters into the entry box. See number formats for the meaning the the # character.
## Shell UI:
Included with abCalcNDA is a shell EXE called abCalc which you can use from GNO/ME if you have that installed on your Apple //GS. It has all the functionality of the NDA. When you launch the command from the shell, you will see the stack printed and a prompt where you can enter your numbers and operations. You enter numbers the same way you would using the NDA. All of the operations are supported from the shell version as are supported from the NDA. So, to calculate "`4 x 2`", you would type `4 <enter> 2 <enter> * <enter>`. When you are done and want to leave abCalc, just type Ctrl-D.
## A Bit About RPN:
Let's talk about some more backward-ness. RPN stands for "Rever
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