Instacalc is my vision of what a calculator should be. Key features:

• Fast. Instant answers, no waiting. Try typing "1 + 1".
• Simple. Use names, not numbers. Write formulas like "profit = revenue - expense" not "E2 = C3 - B2". Cell numbers are for computers and criminals.
• Linkable. Every calculation can be stored as a link and then shared. Send math to your friends - homework, budgeting, finance, your Tetris high score! Everyone loves that -- really, they do.
• Clean. Out of your face, no registration required, and usable on your first visit.
• Powerful. Set variables, access math and programming functions, roll dice or even print numbers in binary if you want. See the reference for more details.

No, it's not perfect and won't solve world hunger. No, it's not meant to replace Excel, any more than a skateboard is meant to replace a car. Use software that suits you, whatever's more fun.

Enjoy.

Instructions Step 1: Type 1 + 1 Step 2: Be happy. You didn't have to do anything else. Step 3 (optional): If you messed up step 1, the status area will tell you the equation is incomplete. Check out the examples or reference section for more ideas. What can you do? Budgeting, homework, formulas, estimates, conversions, programming... the world is your oyster. How much did Bill Gates make every day since Microsoft was created? You can share links with friends (or enemies) and even embed a mini-calculator on your webpage. Experiment and have a little fun.

InstaCalc has many commands available - click the link to see them in action.

Basic Math

+ - * /	add, subtract, multiply or divide
POW(a,b)	a to the power b; POW(5,2) = 25
SQRT(a)	square root of a; SQRT(100) = 10
ABS(a)	absolute value of a; ABS(-3) = 3
ROUND(a)	round to nearest whole number. ROUND(2.49) = 2. ROUND(2.51) = 3
ROUNDUP(a)	round up to nearest whole number; ROUNDUP(2.1) = 3
ROUNDDOWN(a)	round down to nearest whole number; ROUNDDOWN(2.9) = 2
MAX(a,b,c,d...)	return largest value in series; MAX(3,4,7,2) = 7
MIN(a,b,c,d,...)	return smallest value in series; MIN(3,1,2,8) = 1
RANDOM	return random number between 0 and 1; RANDOM * 10 returns random number between 0 and 10; ROUNDUP(RANDOM*10) returns random whole number between 1 and 10.
// text to ignore	Lines starting with "//" are ignored, and appear in green. This is useful for titles or explanations.

Advanced Math

SIN(a), COS(a), TAN(a)	sine, cosine, tan of a (in radians)
ASIN(a), ACOS(a), ATAN(a), ATAN2(a,b)	inverse sine, inverse cosine, inverse tan of a (in radians); atan2 uses sign of both values
EXP(a)	e (the natural base) raised to the power a; EXP(1) ~ 2.718...
LOG(a)	natural log of a; LOG(2) ~ 0.693...
FIB(n)	return the nth Fibonacci number; FIB(1) = 1, FIB(2) = 1, FIB(3) = 2
FAC(n)	return n factorial (n!); FAC(3) = 3 * 2 * 1 = 6
NCHOOSEK(n,k)	return number of ways to pick k items from n; same as nCr on a calculator
a % b	Modulo - return remainder of a/b; 4 % 3 = 1.

Programming Commands

0x1234	input number as hexadecimal (base 16); 0x1234 = 4660
0123	input number as octal (base 8); 0123 = 83
FROMBIN(1001)	input number as binary (base 2); 1001 = 9
BIN(a)	output number as binary
OCT(a)	output number as octal
HEX(a)	output number as hex
if (true) {"true"} else {"false"}	if-then statement; can assign variables or return string
a = [5,6,7,8]	create array; a[0] = 5, a[3] = 8
^ | &	bitwise XOR, OR, AND
~a	bitwise NOT
CHARCODE("C")	return ASCII code for "C"; CHARCODE("C") = 67
FROMCHARCODE(a)	return ASCII character; FROMCHARCODE(68) = D

InstaCalc - Comments and Feedback

Have any feedback, questions or comments? Find the site helpful? InstaCalc is still under development, and I'd love to hear any thoughts you have. So far, it's been extremely useful for me, but there's always room to improve. Shoot me comments at instacalc@gmail.com.

About Kalid Azad (Programmer and Designer)

Kalid grew up near Boston and earned a degree in computer science from Princeton University with a minor in finance. During this time he completed several projects in robotics, indoor positioning, website design, and wrote chapters and supplementary material for several programming textbooks. After graduation, he began work as a program manager at Microsoft. Despite being the youngest team member, he researched and initiated Microsoft's anti-spyware strategy and created the classification system used to analyze spyware along technical, legal and business lines. This process was later adopted by the Anti-Spyware Coalition, and recognized company-wide.

After nearly 3 years at Microsoft, Kalid ventured into the world of entrepreneurship, starting with InstaCalc. He wants to make your life easier, one project at a time, by providing information in a clear, simple and interesting manner.

Kalid currently lives in Kirkland, WA and enjoys the entrepreneur community in the greater Seattle area. To contact him, send email to instacalc@gmail.com.