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Then plot(sin(x),x=0..360) and yes, a nice plot is displayed to the right.

I tried this out yesterday but despite having read all the posts, I could make no sense of it. It was only when I read of the second delayed help that I could make any sense.

So even when you know what you are looking for, finding it is not that easy.


> On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 8:25 PM, Gary C Martin <gary at garycmartin.com> wrote:
> >
> > On 11 Dec 2008, at 00:24, Edward Cherlin wrote:
> >
> >> On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 2:51 PM, Reinier Heeres <reinier at heeres.eu> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Hi,
> >>>
> >>> I agree that the plotting functionality is not really well exposed,
> >>> although help(index) will show you it's available and help(plot) will
> >>> tell you how to use it. Try plot(sin(x),x=0..360) for example. I'll work
> >>> on the exposure of plotting in the next release; suggestions on how to
> >>> do this exactly would be welcome.
> >>
> >> Just exposing help would go a long way to solving the problem.
> >
> > Help is already exposed in the hover menu for each toolbar icon. Not
> > discoverable enough?
> 
> Absolutely not enough. I have to wait for the menu to expand _twice_.
> How was I supposed to discover that?
> 
> > Seems Reinier' s Calculate has much more effort/detail
> > put in than any other activity so far.
> 
> That doesn't mean that he got it right. I really, really hate delayed
> hover menus, and I hate doubly-delayed hover menus many times more.
> First, because they are inherently not discoverable, and secondly,
> because you are wasting my time, and every other user's time. I reject
> the argument that we are trying to teach children to click icons
> directly, and note that it doesn't even apply in the case of help.
> 
> My general principle of UI design is, never, ever try to be smarter
> than your user. Not even if you are. Now that I know that help is on
> the menus on double delay, I will almost never use it that way,
> because typing is faster, but I will resent it every time I have to
> type it, because the menu could be faster.
> 
> > --Gary
> >
> >>> The implementation is as basic as it can get: it evaluates an expression
> >>> at 100 points between the start and stop range. The internal parser is a
> >>> bit slow, but it's pure python and works reasonably well.
> >>>
> >>> With a bit of coding we could surely add some functionality to get data
> >>> from Measure in there too.
> >>>
> >>> I am not inclined to add RPN parsing myself, but patches will of course
> >>> be considered.
> >>
> >> Would you look at http://sourceforge.net/projects/calcrpnpy/ and tell
> >> me what you need done to it?
> >>
> >>> Regards,
> >>> Reinier
> >>>
> >>> Edward Cherlin wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 11:18 AM, Gary C Martin <gary at garycmartin.com>
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> On 10 Dec 2008, at 18:41, Walter Bender wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> I haven't looked at it in a while, but what plotting engine is built
> >>>>>> inside of the Calculator Activity?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> -walter
> >>>>>>
> >>>>> I think Reinier wrote his own little svg plot generator class called
> >>>>> plotlib.py.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> --Gary
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> I didn't know about the plotting capability, which will have endless
> >>>> uses. It is certainly not discoverable.
> >>>>
> >>>> Can we feed a segment of a data stream from Measure to Calculate as a
> >>>> named function?
> >>>>
> >>>> Why don't we put something like plot(f(x),x=min..max) on the toolbar?
> >>>> Can we provide hints about the functions and syntax anywhere in the
> >>>> UI? Is there a way to recall and edit an input line? Are there other
> >>>> functions not exposed in the UI?
> >>>>
> >>>> I have a fairly old book called Numerical Analysis on the Pocket
> >>>> Calculator, which explains how to do all sorts of things that you
> >>>> might not expect on even the simplest 4- and 5-function devices, and
> >>>> works on up through the sort of algebraic calculator we have here to
> >>>> the programmable calculator. Our users will need something like this,
> >>>> to take maximum advantage of the seemingly limited capabilities we are
> >>>> offering them.
> >>>>
> >>>> And can we have an RPN mode? I can't tell you how much most real
> >>>> engineers hate parentheses. We are not doing children any favors by
> >>>> hiding the more advanced tools.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> Reinier Heeres
> >>> Waalstraat 17
> >>> 2515 XK Den Haag
> >>> The Netherlands
> >>>
> >>> Tel: +31 6 10852639
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> >>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Silent Thunder (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) is my name
> >> And Children are my nation.
> >> The Cosmos is my dwelling place, The Truth my destination.
> >> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/User:Mokurai
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> >> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Silent Thunder (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) is my name
> And Children are my nation.
> The Cosmos is my dwelling place, The Truth my destination.
> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/User:Mokurai
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
> 
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