Synthetic programming (HP-41): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:03, 18 November 2015

Revision as of 20:12, 18 January 2016

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{{unreferenced|date=July 2015}}

'''Synthetic programming''' is an advanced techniquetechniq ue of [[Mathematical programming|programming]] the [[HP-41C]] range of [[Programmable calculator|calculators]], involving creating [[Instruction (computer science)|instructions]] (or combinations of instructions and operands) that cannot be obtained using the standard capabilities of the calculator.

Some HP-41C instructions are coded in memory using multiple [[byte]]s. Some of these sequence of bytes correspond to instructions the calculator is able to execute, but these cannot be entered in the program memory using conventional program entry methods (i.e. using the calculator as described in the user's manual.) Synthetic programming uses a [[Software bug|bug]] in the calculator firmware to enter those byte sequences as a sequence of other instructions, then partially skipping halfway through the first instruction, so that the calculator believes the end of the first instruction is actually the beginning of a new one.