A calculator is a device that allows you to perform calculations.
Calculator is an adjective that, like calculator , refers to the one who calculates : that is, who performs calculations, accounts and calculations. That is the primary meaning that the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) mentions in its dictionary.
It is often said that a person is calculating when he acts in a specific way to obtain his own benefit or when he dedicates a lot of time and effort to consider a situation and thus make a premeditated decision. For example: “My neighbor is a calculating woman, she never does anything selflessly,” “In my professional career I am a calculator, I don't like to act on impulse or take big risks,” “I don't want to have ties with someone who is so calculating.”
This adjective can also have a clearly negative connotation, similar to the first example, in which we talk about a woman who never acts in a disinterested way: accusing someone of being calculating can hurt their feelings if with this word we mean that their way of treating us It is not sincere . That said, the meaning that each person gives to this term may be different, and that is why it is necessary to know the context to avoid a misunderstanding.
The calculator as a device
As a noun , a calculator is a device that allows the resolution of mathematical calculations . It can operate through an electronic or mechanical mechanism, and be a physical machine or a virtual tool.
There are multiple types of calculators according to the complexity of the operations they can solve. As a device, the calculator runs on a power source (such as a battery) and has a keyboard (for entering information), a screen (for displaying it), and electronic circuitry.
With a basic calculator it is possible to perform addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, among other simple operations . Scientific calculators , for their part, add trigonometric functions, can generate statistics and, in some cases, even display full-color animated graphs.
There are several types of calculators.
Virtual tool
Computers , on the other hand, often have virtual calculators . It is a software that fulfills the same functions as the devices already mentioned. The Windows operating system has such a calculator.
One of the advantages of virtual calculators over traditional ones is that they can perform all the operations of a scientific one, and they also offer the possibility of altering their appearance, both to simplify it and to make it more complex. In short, a virtual calculator can be adapted to the needs and knowledge of each user.
On the other hand, the calculator included in the Windows operating system, to name one of the most used, does not offer the option of viewing graphs, for example, and that makes it quite limited for many students.
Calculator on the phone
Although we can purchase mobile phone applications that allow us to perform all the calculations and represent all the functions of a traditional scientific calculator, the battery life can be a drawback for some people.
In addition to the short energy autonomy of mobile phones in contrast to that of traditional calculators, there is also the lack of physical buttons , something that many users consider a disadvantage since it affects the agility with which we can interact with the device (the screens touch screens do not respond infallibly).
Possibility of programming
Although it may seem difficult to believe, some scientific calculators allow the user to create small interactive programs, a feature that many software development enthusiasts have taken advantage of for decades to create small video games, or even to transfer them from the computer and run them portable.
One of the best-known brands of programmable graphing calculators is Texas Instruments , and its models include the language called TI-Basic , with which it is possible to make video games such as the legendary Pong , target shooting with darts, Hangman or even one in in which we must control a helicopter along a tunnel that moves horizontally.