HP Prime Programming Tutorial #1: LOCAL, RETURN

Over the next month, maybe month and a half, I plan to post programming tutorials for the HP
(Hewlett Packard) Prime.
If you have programmed with the HP 38G, 39g, or 39gii, this language will be similar to those.
The programming language for the Prime is named the HP Prime Programming Language
(HPPP).
Throughout this tutorial, I am going to use the latest version of the software.
How to start writing a program:
1. Press Shift + 1 (Program).
2. Press New. It is the second touch key.
3. Enter the name of the program. Pressing the ALPHA key twice will turn on UPPERCASE
LPHA-LOCK. Pressing ALPHA, Shift, ALPHA will turn on lowercase alpha-lock. To exit any
lock, press the ALPHA key one more time. When happy with the name, press Enter.

Rules for Program Names:

1. Letters, numbers, and the underscore character (_) only.
2. The program name must start with a letter.

Structure of a HP Prime Program

A HPPP program is encased of an EXPORT - BEGIN - END structure. The layout is generally
like this:
EXPORTprogram_name(arguments)
BEGIN
commandsandcommentsgohere
END;
Each line containing a command generally must end with a semicolon (;). A semicolon can by
type by pressing ALPHA then the Plus key ( + ).
Comments can be typed. The are designated by two forward slashes. The slashes are typed by
pressing the Divide key ( ). Anything in the line following the two slashes is ignored in running
the program.

SQIN
Our first program is SQIN, because "Hello World" programs are so 2000s. SQIN takes a
number, squares it, then calculates the reciprocal. In short we are defining a custom function:
SQIN(x) = 1/x^2
Commands:
RETURN: returns a result to the stack (home page). You can return numbers, lists, vectors,

matrices, strings, or a combination of these times.

Access: Tmplt, 1. Block, 2. RETURN
All the program code in this tutorial series will be shown in Courier font.
EXPORTSQIN(X)
BEGIN
RETURN1/X^2;
END;

Tip: You can check the syntax of the program just by pressing the Check soft key in the program
editor. HP Prime will inform you if there is a syntax error and attempt to point you to the error. If
there are no syntax errors, the Prime states "No errors in the program". I use the Check
command all the time.

How to run the programs:

Home Mode - Textbook Entry,
Home Mode - Algebraic Entry,
CAS Mode:
Type the program name. Follow the name with parenthesis and enclose the required
arguments.
Or use the Toolbox (top row of white keys, 2nd key from the left, it looks like a tool box), select
the User touch key, select the program, and input the required arguments.
Home Mode - RPN Entry:
Enter each argument, separate each entry by pressing the Enter key. Type the name, and in the
parenthesis state the number of arguments.
For example, if the program TEST has four arguments, the RPN stack would like this:
4: argument_1
3: argument_2
2: argument_3
1: argument_4
TEST(4) to run the program.

Examples to try with SQIN:

SQIN(5) returns .04
SQIN(36) returns .000771604938
The next program will demonstrate the concept of local variables.

MOPMT
LOCAL: Declares any variables to be local to the program. In other words, the variables are
created, used, possibly displayed during program execution, and deleted at program
termination.
Access: Tmplt, 4. Variable, 1. LOCAL

Tip: You can declare local variables and assign an initial value at the same time. For example:
LOCAL K:=1; stores 1 in K and makes K a local variable.

MOPMT calculates the monthly payment of a loan. The arguments are: the loan amount (L), the
interest rate (R), and the number of months (M).
EXPORTMOPMT(L,R,M)
BEGIN
LOCALK:=R/1200;
K:=L*K/(1(1+K)^M);
RETURN"Payment="+K;
END;

Tip: Use RETURN, TEXTOUT_P, and PRINT to return custom strings, which combine results,
messages, and calculations. Parts are connected with a plus sign.

Examples:
MOPMT(4000, 9.5, 30) returns 150.317437565
MOPMT(370000, 3.5, 360) returns 1661.46534383
Try this and next time in the series I will highlight other things we can do with HPPP. Thanks!
Eddie
This blog is property of Edward Shore. 2013

HP Prime Programming Tutorial #2: MSGBOX, IF-THENELSE, PRINT, FOR

Welcome to another programming tutorial for the HP Prime. In this session, we will cover
MSGBOX, IF-THEN-ELSE, PRINT, and the FOR loop.
MSGBOX
MSGBOX: MSGOX takes a string a makes a pop-up message box. Program execution stops
until you press a key to acknowledge the message.
Access: Cmds, 6. I/O, 8. MSGBOX
The program COMLOCK: Imagine that you are in charge of setting the combinations for the
good, old-school combination locks. This program gives three digit combinations through the
use of MSGBOX.
EXPORTCOMLOCK()
BEGIN
LOCALL0;
L0:=RANDINT(3,0,39);**
MSGBOX("SECRET:"+L0(1)+","+L0(2)+","+L0(3));
END;
** Thanks to Thomas Lake for pointing out my typo. Apologies for any inconvenience - Eddie
(3/21/2014)
Other commands that are featured:
RANDINT(n, a, b) generates a list of n integers between a and b. You can leave n out if you
desire a single random integer. Picks may be repeated.
The HP Prime's default list variables are designated L0 through L9.

Here is a sample output for COMLOCK:

IF-THEN-ELSE
IF-THEN-ELSE: Program structure:
IFconditionTHEN
doiftheconditionistrue;
ELSE
doiftheconditionisfalse;
END;
Access: Tmplt, 2. Branch, 2. IF THEN ELSE
Tip: You can leave out the ELSE part if you only want to test to see if a condition is true. Access
the simple IF-THEN structure by pressing Tmplt, 2. Branch, 1. IF THEN.
Access <, , ==, etc. by pressing Shift, 6. Note that the double equals is needed to check
equality.

PRINT
PRINT: The PRINT command prints a sting, result, or a combination of both onto the Prime's
Terminal screen. If PRINT is used, the program will end on the terminal (text output) screen.
Press a button to exit.

You can access the terminal screen at any time by pressing the ON button, holding it, and then
pressing the Divide ( ) button.
Access: Cmds, 6. I/O, 9. PRINT
Tip: To clear the terminal screen, type PRINT(). This is a good way to clear the terminal screen
and I usually use this at the beginning of any program if PRINT is going to be used later on.

The program QROOTS (yet one more quadratic solver, sorry for not being original guys and
gals), demonstrates the use of IF-THEN-ELSE and PRINT.
Here I set the setting variable HComplex to 1, which allows for complex number results.
EXPORTQROOTS(A,B,C)
BEGIN
LOCALD;
PRINT();
HComplex:=1;
D:=B^24*A*C;
IFD?0THEN
PRINT("Rootsarereal.");
ELSE
PRINT("Rootsarecomplex.");
END;
PRINT((B+?D)/(2*A));
PRINT((B?D)/(2*A));
END;
Examples:
QROOTS(1,5,8) returns:
Roots are complex.
-2.5+1.32287565553*i
-2.5-1.32287565553*i
QROOTS(2,-4,-8) returns:
Roots are real.
3.2360679775
-1.2360679775

FOR
This section will explore the basic FOR structure:
FORvariableFROMstartTOendDO
commands;
END;
All the commands in the loop will be executed a set number of times. Each time a loop finishes,
the variable increases by one. The loop terminates when variable=end.
Access: Tmplt, 3. LOOP, 1. FOR

The program SUMDIV takes any integer and adds up the sum of its divisors. For example, the
divisors of 12 are 1, 12, 2, 3, 4, and 6. The sum is 28.

Featured Commands in SUMDIV:

idivis: idivis(integer) returns a sequence of all of the divisors if integer. Access: Toolbox, CAS,
5. Integer, 1. Divisors
Any CAS command used in programming will be preceded by "CAS." Not all CAS commands
can be used in HP Prime programming at this time.
DIM: returns the dimensions of a sequence, string, or matrix. DIM must be used instead of SIZE
to prevent a Bad Argument error.
For sequences or vectors, DIM returns the length in a list {length}.
For strings, DIM returns length as a number.
For matrices, DIM returns the list {number of rows, number of columns}.
Access: Cmds, 1. Strings, 9. DIM

The program:
EXPORTSUMDIV(N)
BEGIN
LOCALS:=0,K,mdiv,ldiv;
mdiv:=CAS.idivis(N);
ldiv:=DIM(mdiv);
FORKFROM1TOldiv(1)DO
S:=S+mdiv(K);
END;
RETURNS;
END;
** Thanks to Thomas Lake for pointing out that the variable "mat", which I had in this program
was unnecessary. - Eddie 3/21/2013
Examples:
SUMDIV(12) returns 28.
SUMDIV(24) returns 60.
SUMDIV(85) returns 108.

This concludes this part of the HP Prime Programming Tutorial.

HP Prime Programming Tutorial #3: WHILE, INPUT, KILL,

REPEAT, GETKEY
This tutorial is going to cover a lot, each with some new programming commands in this series. I
hope you are ready for the intensity. :)

WHILE, INPUT, KILL

HP Prime Program: TARGET. TARGET is a game where you provide a guess to get a desired
number. If you miss, the calculator will tell you if number is higher and lower. At the end of the
game, the calculator gives you how may picks you needed to get the target number.
WHILE: Repeat a number of commands while a specific condition is test.
WHILEconditionistrueDO
commands
END;
Access: Tmplt, 3. Loop, 5. WHILE
Caution: Watch your ENDs! Make sure an END is with each loop and the program itself. Press
the soft key Check to check your work.
INPUT: Creates an input screen for variables. On the HP Prime, the input can asked for more
than one input. TARGET demonstrates INPUT with one prompt.
One Variable:
INPUT(variable,"title","label","helptext")
Multi-Variable:
INPUT(listofvariables,"title",listof"labels",listof"help
text")
Note: Pressing Cancel will store a 0 in variable. You may include code of what to do if the user
presses Cancel, but it is not required.
Access: Cmds, 6. I/O, 5. INPUT
KILL: Terminates program execution. Nothing dies, I promise.
Access: Tmplt. 1. Block, 3. KILL

Program:
EXPORTTARGET()
BEGIN
LOCALC:=0,N:=RANDINT(1,20),G:=1;
WHILEG?NDO
C:=C+1;
INPUT(G,"Guess?","GUESS:","120");
IFG==0THEN

KILL;
END;
IFG<NTHEN
MSGBOX("Higher");
END;
IFG>NTHEN
MSGBOX("Lower");
END;
END;
MSGBOX("Correct!Score:"+C);
END;
Try it and of course, you can adjust the higher limit. Here is some thing for you to try with
TARGET:
1. Add a limited amount of guesses.
2. Can you display the list of guesses?
REPEAT
ULAM Algorithm: take an integer n. If n is even, divide it by 2. If n is odd, multiply it by 3 and add
1. ULAM counts how many steps it takes to get n to 1.
REPEAT:
Access: Tmplt, 3. Loop, 6. REPEAT
Featured:
CONCAT(list1, list2): Melds list1 and list2 into one.
Access: Toolbox, Math, 6. List, 4. Concatenate

EXPORTULAM(N)
BEGIN
LOCALC:=1,L0:={N};
REPEAT
IFFP(N/2)==0THEN
N:=N/2;
ELSE
N:=3*N+1;
END;
C:=C+1;
L0:=CONCAT(L0,{N});
UNTILN==1;
MSGBOX("NO.OFSTEPS="+C);
RETURNL0;
END;

Examples:
ULAM(5) returns:
Message Box: "NO. OF STEPS=6"
List: {5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1}
ULAM(22) returns:
Message Box: "NO. OF STEPS=16"
List: {22, 11, 34, 17, 52, 26, 13, 40, 20, 10, 5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1}

GETKEY
The next section will introduce a super-important command, GETKEY. We will be working with
GETKEY over the entire series.
The Program KEYNO: The person presses key presses. Which each key press, the code
returns to the terminal screen. The program terminates when the Enter key is pressed.
GETKEY: Returns the key code of last key pressed. The Prime's key map is below. (Picture is
from the HP Prime User's Guide)
Access: Cmds, 6. I/O, 4. GETKEY

EXPORTKEYNO()
BEGIN
LOCALK;
PRINT();
PRINT("Pressanykeytogetitscode.");
PRINT("PressEntertoexit.");
REPEAT
K:=GETKEY;
IFK?0THEN
PRINT(K);
END;

UNTILK==30;
END;

Example Key Codes:

33: 8 key
2: up
7: left
8: right
12: down
50: plus
45: minus

This concludes Part 3. Again, it can't be said enough, thanks for all the comments and
compliments. And until next time,

HP Prime Programming Tutorial #4: CHOOSE and CASE,

Tip about INPUT
Welcome to Part 4 of our programming series for the Prime. Today's session will cover
CHOOSE and CASE.

First a tip from Han of the MoHPC Forum, which is found at http://www.hpmuseum.org/cgisys/cgiwrap/hpmuseum/forum.cgi#255084. Thank you Han for allowing me to share this.
Use the IF THEN ELSE structure with INPUT to execute a set of default instructions if the user
presses cancel. INPUT returns a value of 0 if ESC or cancel is pressed, and 1 if a value is
entered.
IFINPUT(...)THEN
commandsifvaluesareentered
ELSE
commandsifCancelispressed
END;
Default values can be assigned to values as an optional fifth argument for INPUT.
INPUT(var,"Title","Prompt","Help",defaultvalue)
The type of variable maybe set to other than real numbers. Just remember to store such type
before the INPUT command. For example, if you want var to be a string, store an empty string:
var:="";
Again, major thanks to Han.
CHOOSE and CASE
CHOOSE: Creates a pop up choose box, similar to what you see when you click on a soft
menu. There are two syntaxes for CHOOSE:
Simple Syntax (up to 14 options):
CHOOSE(var, "title string", "item 1", "item 2", ... , "item n");
List syntax (infinite amount of items):
CHOOSE(var, "title string", {"item 1", "item 2"});
Choosing item 1 assigns the value of 1 to var, choosing item 2 assigns the value of 2 to var.
Access: Cmds, 6. I/O, 1. CHOOSE

CASE: Allows for different test cases for one variable. Also includes a default scenario
(optional).
CASE
IFtest1THENdoiftrueEND;

IFtest2THENdoiftrueEND;
...
DEFAULTcommandsEND;
Access: Cmds, 2. Branch, 3. CASE
Let's look at two programs to demonstrate both CHOOSE and CASE.
TERMVEL - Terminal Velocity of an Object
EXPORTTERMVEL()
BEGIN
LOCALL0:={9.80665,32.174},
L1:={1.225,.0765},
L2:={.47,1.05,1.15,.04},C,K,M,A,T;
CHOOSE(C,"Units","SI","English");
CHOOSE(K,"TypeofObject","Sphere","Cube",
"Cylinder","TearShaped");
INPUT({M,A},"Object",
{"M=","A="},{"Mass","SurfaceArea"});
T:=?((2*M*L0(C))/(L1(C)*A*L2(K)));
MSGBOX("TerminalVelocity="+T);
RETURNT;
END;
Examples:
Sphere, SI Units, M = .05 kg, A = .0028 m^2
Terminal Velocity: T = 24.6640475387 m/s
Cube, US Units, M = 1.2 lb, A = .3403 ft^2
Terminal Velocity: T = 53.149821209 ft/s

AREAC - Area of Circles, Rings, and Sectors

EXPORTAREAC()
BEGIN
LOCALC,R,S,,A;
CHOOSE(C,"Areas","1.Circle","2.Ring","3.Sector");
INPUT(R,"InputRadius","R=");
CASE
IFC==1THENA:=?*R^2;END;
IFC==2THEN
INPUT(S,"SmallRadius","r=");
A:=?*(R^2S^2);
END;
IFC==3

INPUT(,"Angle","=");
\\Assumeyouareinthecorrectanglemode
IFHAngle==1THEN
\\TestAngleMode
:=*?/180;
END;
A:=*R^2/2;
END;
END;
MSGBOX("Areais"+A);
RETURNA;
END;
Examples
R = 2.5, r = 1.5, = /4 radians or 45
Circle: 19.6349540849
Ring: 12.5663706144
Sector: 2.45436926062

That is how, in general CHOOSE and CASE work. I thank you as always. It is so good to finally
be rid of a cold and firing on all cylinders again.