The 16C can display integers in
hexadecimal, decimal,
octal and
binary, and convert numbers from one
number base to another. It also deals with floating-point decimal numbers. To accommodate long integers, the display can be 'windowed' by shifting it left and right. For consistency with the computer the programmer is working with, the
word size can be set to different values from 1 to 64 bits. Binary-arithmetic operations can be performed as
unsigned,
ones' complement, or
two's complement operations. This allows the calculator to emulate the programmer's computer. A number of specialized functions are provided to assist the programmer, including left- and right-
shifting, left- and right-
rotating,
masking, and
bitwise logical operations. Apart from programmer functions, the calculator's abilities are limited to basic arithmetic (and
reciprocal and
square root), which meant that typical users would also make use of a general
scientific calculator.
Floating-point numbers are only supported for base 10. However, it is still far more powerful (though also much more expensive) than contemporary competitors such as the non-programmable computer math calculator
Casio CM-100 or the
TI ,
LCD Programmer or
Programmer II. The back of the 16C features a printed reference chart for many of its functions. The calculator uses the proprietary
HP Nut processor produced in a
bulk CMOS process and featured
continuous memory, whereby the contents of memory are preserved while the calculator is turned off. Though commonplace now, this was still notable in the early 1980s, and is the origin of the "C" in the model name. ==Programming==