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timns
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« on: November 15, 2011, 01:34:00 PM » |
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| Application Name | Fentwiss | | Version | 0.8 | | Short Description | Simple keyboard-centric calculator and converter | | Supported OSes | Anything that runs Java | | Setup File | www.head-in-the-clouds.com/game/Fentwiss.jnlp | | Suggested Donation | 49 cents. Donations will be divided up in support of Donation Coder itself, and two of my favourite charities. | | System Requirements | Java runtime environment - which most of you will have already | | Author Info | timns | | Description | Two things drove this NANY submission:
1. Me not really finding a tiny converting calculator that suited my own needs. During my working day, I deal with quite a few measurements and volumes in varying units, as well as a number of currencies and of course timezones. I wanted a very light application that would let me do quick arithmetic and quick conversions with a minimum of clicking and selecting. I've tried quite a few, and they all suffer from bloat and too much mousing around. (The closest I can get is 'Frink' which I do really like, but it does have limitations from my point of view)
2. Me wanting another NANY mug.
So my criteria were:
- Easy conversion without using the mouse
- Ability to see and edit several calculations for comparison
- Accurate currency conversion
- Always available
- Keyboard-centric
| | Features | - Simple and natural syntax for fast calculation and conversion: e.g. "32 miles as km" or "4 1|2ft->cm"
- Tries to present the results in a human-friendly way (mixed units, fractions)
- Very accurate conversions
- Online currency look up for correct exchange rates
- Fractions
- Mixed conversions and calculations
- Available under a hotkey
| | Screenshots | 
| | Installation | Fentwiss will be provided as a Java Web Start link
You may see the following message - this is because I have signed the jar file using a self-generated key and certificate. Since this key, certificate and signature is not issued by any CA, webstart displays it as "Publisher: UNKNOWN"
If the "More Information" indicates the file is from DonationCoder and signed by the author, you may trust it and run:
| | Using the application | Fentwiss tries to be intuitive: it will attempt to recognise the calculation or conversion you are keying in, and will evaluate it on the fly. There is no "=" button to press.
In addition, you can tell Fentwiss your preferred units and formats to save extra typing. For example: if you tell it you like to think in metres, length conversions are automatically shown in metres unless you say otherwise:
Default: 15ft = 4.57
Override: 15ft->cm = 457.20
Examples of use
Simple arthimetic:
11+22*33-44/55 ( = 19 )
Fractions:
8 1|2 + 9 3|4 ( = 18.25 or 18 1|4)
Math functions:
sin(0.7)*cos(0.9) ( = 0.4 )
Hex / Bin / Programmer functions:
2^64 ( = 18,446,744,073,709,552,000.00 )
12245589->hex ( = BADA55 )
0b101010 ( = 42 decimal)
Conversion:
1271 cm -> ft ( = 41.70, or 41 128/183rds, or 41ft 8.39inches)
2400usd->gbp ( = 1516.08 at today's rate)
There is very little error checking. If you want to do something silly, no-one minds. For example, my height in Canadian dollars is $2.79. I will not be sharing my weight in British pounds 
| | Uninstalling | Delete any shortcuts you may have created
| | Known Issues | Oh well just start playing with it, no doubt there are some beauties in there.
What I do want to hear about:
- crashes,
- errors in results,
- errors in understanding your syntax
What I do not want to hear:
- missing units (yet - I am still adding them, and only have a small subset so far)
- any suggestions about using online resources for conversion
 - I do not live in a browser
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« Last Edit: January 11, 2012, 09:29:55 PM by timns »
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tomos
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« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2011, 04:03:57 PM » |
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oooh, this sounds nice.
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mouser
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« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2011, 07:52:14 PM » |
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The only thing i would suggest is have a look at something like Wolfram Alpha -- it sure seems like it is designed to do this kind of thing and more -- in fact it handles many of your example queries right out of the box. And there is already a good alias for it for FARR. |
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Stoic Joker
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« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2011, 08:39:56 PM » |
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I think that part was covered in the "I do not live is a browser" statement. |
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timns
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« Reply #4 on: November 15, 2011, 09:30:39 PM » |
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The only thing i would suggest is have a look at something like Wolfram Alpha -- it sure seems like it is designed to do this kind of thing and more -- in fact it handles many of your example queries right out of the box. And there is already a good alias for it for FARR. Story of my fracking life - never heard of Wolfram Alpha till now. That'll teach me to be away from DC for so long then come mincing back into a NANY without some up-front research. But having said that, Stoic Joker's keen eye is correct - I want something I can just pop-up almost inside whatever-it-is that I'm currently running. Which is why Fentwiss is toggled in and out by hotkey, and is tiny and doesn't *need* an internet connection (although it likes one) Update - I just tried 45cm->in in WA. It took almost 2 seconds and returned a page of crud  This is a classic example of the bloat I keep wibbling about - I honestly don't give a flying toss that 45cm is 6.3 times the width of an average credit card.  |
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mouser
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« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2011, 09:31:16 PM » |
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oops.. well never let it be said i only tell people what they want to hear  |
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timns
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« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2011, 09:33:28 PM » |
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oops.. well never let it be said i only tell people what they want to hear But I still get my mug, right |
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cranioscopical
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« Reply #7 on: November 16, 2011, 06:55:52 AM » |
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But I still get my mug, right
Passing over the matter of your ugly mug… are you aware of OpalCalc? It handles some of what you want. |
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Chris
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timns
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« Reply #8 on: November 16, 2011, 10:16:14 AM » |
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OpalCalc looks good - thanks for mentioning it.
Shame it's Windows-only. And it doesn't appear to do fractions, which is a bit of a surprise!
Soldiering on...
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mouser
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« Reply #9 on: November 16, 2011, 03:20:13 PM » |
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Soldiering on... Good for you -- even if an exact duplicate of your idea existed.. there is often value in starting a new project -- inevitably it will take on a character and feature set of it's own and diverge from the other programs. |
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timns
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« Reply #10 on: November 16, 2011, 05:25:25 PM » |
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Soldiering on... Good for you -- even if an exact duplicate of your idea existed.. there is often value in starting a new project -- inevitably it will take on a character and feature set of it's own and diverge from the other programs. Exactly. Otherwise we'd all be driving Fords instead of exotic sports cars  |
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cranioscopical
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« Reply #11 on: November 16, 2011, 08:39:57 PM » |
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Otherwise we'd all be driving Fords instead of exotic sports cars
Never forget, one can't cross a ford with a Lambo! |
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Chris
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kyrathaba
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« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2011, 06:28:14 AM » |
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Nice looking app, timns!  |
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Win 7 Home Premium 64bit-SP1 AMD Athlon II X2 220 Socket AM3 (938) @ 2.1GHz 6GB RAM Firefox 20.0 _________________________________________________________________________________________ I'm fighting against patent trolls. Join me and tell your representative to support the #SHIELDAct: https://eff.org/r.b6JJ /via @EFF http://kyrathaba.dcmembers.com/donate.htm |
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timns
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« Reply #13 on: November 18, 2011, 11:16:01 AM » |
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Thanks, all, for the comments. Alpha release coming up this weekend.
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timns
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« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2011, 05:01:42 PM » |
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Ok I just released an early alpha in case anyone would like to try 'er out. Please see the pledge message for your link. It should simply download and run after a couple of clicks.
Avoiding all the usual disasters, you should end up with a little window that you can type into.
Type into it.
Please note:
The Options are not really hooked up yet apart from the decimals and the layout.
The system tray menu doesn't do anything.
But the hotkey is working! Ctrl+KeyPadPlus will toggle the program in and out for you.
Some currencies, some units, some functions are implemented. Try a few things.
Examples:
125.99 gbp as eur
250eur->usd
28.9+15%
sin(0.65)+cos(0.545)
8yd+16cm->ft
1+2+3+4+5
1 1|2 + 2 3|4 - 7|8
2^17+1 -> hex
0xBAD + 0b101101
Particularly interested to hear if it works for Linux and Mac users as well as various Windowses.
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jgpaiva
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« Reply #15 on: November 21, 2011, 12:37:00 PM » |
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It works great in MacOSX! Just something I miss: could you include a way to use the last result in the current calculation? I usually use the command-line bc (which is very similar to your program but with fewer functionalities), and when I use ".", it is replaced by the last value it output. In case I'm not explaining myself decently, here's an example: Formatted for Generic Code with the GeSHI Syntax Highlighter [ copy or print] 2*6 12 .*10 120 ./6 20
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mouser
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« Reply #16 on: November 21, 2011, 12:39:19 PM » |
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Hey could we have a commandline invokable mode, where we can pass it a commandline and have it send it's output to stdout or save it to a file? If so we could make a FARR alias for it..
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nogojoe
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« Reply #17 on: November 21, 2011, 04:26:05 PM » |
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But I still get my mug, right
are you aware of OpalCalc? It handles some of what you want. Thanks for the tip on opalcalc just what i have been needing for a while |
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Often the most convincing people are those who have lost the plot so much they don't recognize the difference between fact and fantasy
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timns
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« Reply #18 on: November 21, 2011, 05:21:58 PM » |
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It works great in MacOSX! Just something I miss: could you include a way to use the last result in the current calculation? I usually use the command-line bc (which is very similar to your program but with fewer functionalities), and when I use ".", it is replaced by the last value it output. In case I'm not explaining myself decently, here's an example: Formatted for Generic Code with the GeSHI Syntax Highlighter [ copy or print] 2*6 12 .*10 120 ./6 20
Good one - I'll see if I can do something as handy. @mouser - that should be feasible @nogojoe - |
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cranioscopical
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« Reply #19 on: November 21, 2011, 06:35:47 PM » |
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That's nice, as usual timns I like the lazy man's result for fractions as both decimals and fractions together +1 for carrying a total down to the following line If I enter the same currency convertion on consecutive lines this seems to slow things down (might be just my crummy internet sevice) Super-lazy request, any chance of using >> instead of -> (a split second faster) |
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Chris
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timns
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« Reply #20 on: November 21, 2011, 09:39:34 PM » |
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That's nice, as usual timns I like the lazy man's result for fractions as both decimals and fractions together +1 for carrying a total down to the following line If I enter the same currency convertion on consecutive lines this seems to slow things down (might be just my crummy internet sevice) Super-lazy request, any chance of using >> instead of -> (a split second faster) All good suggestions, thank you. The 'carry to next line' is in place, using '=' (and it can be embedded anywhere in the line) The currency lookup happens too often. I'll fix that and you hopefully won't get that pause. The >> is a great idea. 0.4 coming up shortly. |
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timns
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« Reply #21 on: November 22, 2011, 06:12:44 PM » |
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0.4 uploaded.
To use a previous result, simply type the "=" character. It can be used anywhere in your next calculation, so it's pretty handy.
For example:
1/7 0.14
=*54 7.56
75-= 67.44
sqrt(=) 8.21
Also added Cranio's fine suggestion of using >> for conversions:
2ft+6in>>cm 76.20 (76 1/5)
You can also use " as " and " to " but you do need the spaces around 'em:
10m as ft 32.81 (32 38/47) (32' 9.7")
10mi to ft 52,800.00 (52,800' 0")
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jgpaiva
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« Reply #22 on: November 22, 2011, 06:25:01 PM » |
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That looks great, timns! Good solution with the "=" |
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timns
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« Reply #23 on: November 22, 2011, 06:54:12 PM » |
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Fanks! It's nice to know there are other folks out there who find it useful |
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kyrathaba
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« Reply #24 on: November 22, 2011, 09:41:01 PM » |
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Sweet little app, timns!  |
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Win 7 Home Premium 64bit-SP1 AMD Athlon II X2 220 Socket AM3 (938) @ 2.1GHz 6GB RAM Firefox 20.0 _________________________________________________________________________________________ I'm fighting against patent trolls. Join me and tell your representative to support the #SHIELDAct: https://eff.org/r.b6JJ /via @EFF http://kyrathaba.dcmembers.com/donate.htm |
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