Calculator input methods: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:05, 25 January 2025

Revision as of 10:25, 18 March 2025

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Thimbleby has identified the need for a calculator that is more automatic and therefore easier to use, and he states that such a calculator should be more [[declarative programming|declarative]]. This means that the user should be able to specify only ''what'' has to be done, not how, and in which order, it has to be done.

Formula calculators are more declarative becausesince the typed-ininput formula specifiesdefines what is to bethe doneoperation, andeliminating the userneed doesfor not haveusers to provide any details ofspecify the step-by-step order in which the calculation has to be performedprocess.

Declarative solutions are easier to understand than imperative solutions,<ref name="Furman_2006"/> and there has been a long-term trend from imperative to declarative methods.<ref name="Watt_1990"/><ref name="Matsushita_1998"/> Formula calculators are part of this trend.