
Frink - Tomte
https://futureboy.us/frinkdocs/
======
JMStewy
I enjoy reading the comments in Frink's units definition file, which I'm
pretty sure I discovered via an old link from HN.

[https://frinklang.org/frinkdata/units.txt](https://frinklang.org/frinkdata/units.txt)

I particularly recommend checking out hertz and candela.

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Noumenon72
The one thing I want to see in a programming language readme is a code sample.
What does it do? The author recognizes that:

> Perhaps you'll get the best idea of what Frink can do if you skip down to
> the Sample Calculations further on this document.

But I never saw that because it was a normal text link in the second
paragraph, and because the table of contents is so long I assumed it was the
entire document.

There should be at least one sample calculation higher up, with a link to the
others, under its own heading called "What you can use Frink for".

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dang
A thread from 2018:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17745726](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17745726)

2016:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12825366](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12825366)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10974948](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10974948)

2015:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8893319](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8893319)

2010:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1541452](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1541452)

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DonHopkins
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Frink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Frink)

>Frink also has a tendency to over-complicate simple matters and use or invent
scientific terminology while expressing various concepts, e.g. "Father and I
got along like positrons and antineutrinos!" or "microcalifragilistics".

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phiresky
I wrote a similar tool that uses the same unit database (from GNU units) but
is open source, has a somewhat better online interface [1] and a crappier app
[2]

[1]: [https://phiresky.github.io/qalc-react/](https://phiresky.github.io/qalc-
react/) [2]:
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.github.phir...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.github.phiresky.qalc_react)

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dTal
Frink is a mainstay on my phone, despite its not being open source - I make an
exception because it's so darn useful. I don't use its programming features,
though - it's kind of hard to be bothered with a weird language on a phone,
even if unit-awareness is a great feature.

On desktop, for calculation and unit-conversion, I've completely replaced it
with Qalculate, which doesn't have a programming language but does have a
symbolic solver built-in, which is surprisingly useful for general
calculations: you don't have to rearrange your calculation so the unknown is
by itself, you can just write the equation from your textbook and replace the
thing you want to know with 'x'.

Frink's "Sample Calculations" segment is an amusing read, in much the same
ticklish way as xkcd's "What-if" series.

~~~
kybernetikos
I use ncalc+ on my phone which is a pleasant to use simple opensource
calculator with symbolic capability when you need it.

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TehShrike
I wasn't able to find what the value proposition of Frink is compared to
Soulver, other than the more-difficult UI.

~~~
dflock
Soulver is MacOs/iOS only, and Frink works ~everywhere?

~~~
TehShrike
Is that the only value proposition? Given the apparent complexity of using
Frink, I figured there should be some other upsides

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amelius
Reminds me of Wolfram Alpha.

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rileytg
I would love this if it was open source

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hawkjo
What does this do that mathcad doesn’t?

~~~
eggy
I use both. Frink is on my phone. I have SMath Studio (or Smath)on my phone,
which is a MathCAD clone, and is now free even for commercial use [1].

I have a bunch of tools in my toolbelt from working in engineering for many
years. I always recommend Frink, SMath Studio, and the J programming language
among the many tools. I am a polyglot, and I find Frink's simplified Java easy
to use for even creating an input window for applications I find myself using
repetitively.

[1]
[https://en.smath.com/view/SMathStudio/summary](https://en.smath.com/view/SMathStudio/summary)

