Development Update Blog! Get ready for some equations!

Release 4.2 was out yesterday, and it took me all night long just throwing exceptions all over the place and trying to get Firefox to work on Windows XP, but I just managed to. Anyways, the new version will include a log file. Every time you finish your session, a read-only log.txt file will be generated in the same folder as the STEMCalcIV.exe so you can view all of your calculations in a previous session instead of having to memorize it or write it down somewhere. Keep in mind that this log will be replaced when you run another session because as soon as you run STEMCalc, the program will start writing over the previous log file, and you can't view the logs again. Temporary solution is if you want to keep a log file, simply rename it or move it to another location. Permanent solution? Well, that's what I'm going to talk about in this blog. The logging system is currently based on one log file, and since tinkering with files are extremely troublesome, especially with the filename, it is kept simple and only generates one log.txt file to write onto over time. Sure I can have the program write the next log in the line beneath it instead of starting over, but why would I? I will find a way to extend this logging system to have numbered log files for you to easily keep track of your calculations. In the future, it might include date and time in the filename, but for now let's just try to give every session it's own log file, ok? Now to functions and features. Though it does have many useful functions that I feel like it's sufficient for most people, we're talking about Swiss knife level of useful here, and we're nowhere close to your scientific calculator. That's why I've decided to dig deep into a probably highly requested feature: equation solving. I've found a way to do that, mathematically, but haven't implemented it to the program yet. Every thing is still on the drawing board, and I guess you'll have to wait until the next release to see how it worked out. I'm very excited and determined to get equation solving into STEMCalc, but it won't be easy and will take time, so for now I'll work on the logging system first, then onto more new features for you all to enjoy.

All the best,

STEMCalc IV Head Developer
Matrixians 14