14 DAY TRIAL // When it comes to words and images, there is a veritable plethora of programs out there, but if you need to work with numbers, you are going to be using a calculator and Microsoft's Excel, in all probability. Excel is a monolithic program that goes beyond being well established and widely adopted, so I won't even go near it, but when it comes to calculators, things are quite different. Enter Longhand.
A different paradigm For years on end, the developers of the computer equivalent of the pocket calculator have been making the same mistake over and over. The pocket calculator is in many ways obsolete and while its design and functionality might have been good twenty years ago, today things are very different. Computer calculators keep blindly imitating their real life counterparts, putting forth a program that is usually severely limited and hard to use.
Longhand breaks free of all that and approaches calculation with one mantra: flexibility. Unlike other similar programs, Longhand has no buttons and virtually no user interface. Instead, it makes use of the text field approach, letting you enter complex calculations and calculating everything as you go. You can edit any part of the calculation at any time, and the results are always updated. Furthermore, it works with arithmetic functions as well as trigonometry ones, handles multiple bases, matrices and even complex numbers.
If this looks like overkill to you, then you are probably right and it is, you can go on using the calculator program that came with your operating system. However, if you are one of those people which need a powerful tool for dealing with calculations, read on because this little gem has it all.
Many levels of depth Calculations are not all about working directly with numbers. More often than not, you are going to be working with variables if you are doing any sort of serious math. Longhand can accommodate you perfectly by letting you define your own variables. You can even name your variable whatever you want so you can use significant tags to make your work easier.
This functionality ties in with the ability of the program to let you work with more than just one single equation at a time. With Longhand, you can work with many different equations at the same time, each with variables and each equation affecting the others in real time. Complex equation systems become a snap with a tool like this.
But it doesn't stop here. The program also lets you define your own functions, which can be as complex as you can imagine. Functions can have an unlimited number of variables and can use any of the standard operators.
One thing you need to remember though is that any variable and functions that you define will only be remembered until the end of the longhand session. This isn't a hard limitation however, and you can make variables and functions 'persistent,' by defining them as constants. It even has support for an external 'Auxiliary Definition File' simple text file that can accommodate bulk editing of the constants as well as portability across different machines.
All your base are belong to us Longhand can work with a variety of bases, and can easily switch from one to another. It has support for decimal (base 10), binary (base 2), octal (base 8), and hexadecimal (base 16), and can work with any combination of the above. Furthermore, what you work with and what you display can be two different things. The output base can be changed any time in the preferences to any of the supported bases, while in your calculations you can work with numbers of any base, combined in any way you can imagine.
The output bases contain some options that are display orientated such as integer, scientific, fraction and floating point. Also a very nice touch is that you can specify a custom number of decimals to be displayed, instead of being limited to some arbitrary value.
Anything else? One of the other things Longhand supports is Matrices, arrays, vectors and whatever else you want to call them. You can define matrices of any size, modify them, and work with them, extract values, apply a number of predefined functions that are matrix related or even define your own.
Then there is also a huge number of built in functions that cover everything from random number generation to logical functions, far too many to go into beyond listing and that would still be a list many pages long. However, they are all explained from within the program so you can quickly find out what something does.
Last but by no means least, the program has AppleScript support making easy to feed it equations and get the results automatically to be used elsewhere.
The Good Very complex and powerful while still easy to use. Facilitates working with advanced mathematical functions and equations steering clear of the calculator syndrome.
The Bad Nothing inherently bad about it, it is not very well suited for simple things, but then again it is meant for the complicated stuff.
The Truth A great program for those who need it, but a bit too complex for those who don't. Can be used by anyone really but only shines in the hands of someone who can harness its power.
Here are some screenshots, click to enlarge:
