Reverse Polish Notation is a method of notation of mathematical expressions that allows simple calculations to be performed without the need of using brackets – thanks to the use of a stack. This method has been popularized by Hewlett Packard, which has been successfully using it in its calculators for many years.
The Artinu application is a simple RPN calculator, written in JavaScript, available online.
Artinu was developed for educational purposes. RPN calculators available on the market, may overwhelm the novice user with an excess of buttons and available functions. Our calculator allows only basic actions to be performed, so that the user can easily grasp the idea of operations on the stack without having to worry about other issues. Detailed usage examples are contained in our documentation.
The use of RPN comes with great educational value – learning operations at the stake is a very good introduction to computer science and programming. An additional motivation for creating this application is the fact that currently in Poland, during the secondary school-leaving exam, young people can only use the simplest calculators. It seems that producing on its basis an inexpensive, physical device with similar properties for school purposes, should not pose any major difficulties.
Links:
Mikołaj Sitarz, 2020
