SVGcalc

A scientific graphing calculator for web browsers

2009, by Chris Sabatke

Background

There are many scientific/graphing calculators available. Many offer more numerous and advanced features than this one. That having been said, the aim of SVGcalc is to provide the set of calculational and graphing tools commonly needed by high school math and science students in an elegant, browser-based, open-source fashion. This project attempts to capitalize on the cross-platform nature of web-based languages (HTML, JavaScript and SVG) to create a calculator that can be conveniently stored on a hard drive, accessed over a local or wide area network, or made available via an internet webpage. The intent is for any W3C-compliant web browser to run the program natively (without the use of third-party plug-ins). The specific functions chosen for the calculator, ranging from an expanded screen for long formulas, to least-squares regression of data sets, to function and inequality graphing, has been informed by my own 15 years of experience as a high school science/math/computer instructor. Finally, free distribution of the product is offered in the hope of serving other teachers who, like myself, have struggled to find simple, user-friendly, and yet comprehensive solutions to the computational and graphing needs of the high school science/math classroom.

Features

For a closer look at the features of SVGcalc, browse its user manual here.

Try out SVGcalc online here.

I welcome feedback, bug reports and/or requests for added features. Please email me. It is my intention to continue to develop SVGcalc, although my preference is to focus on doing the basics well rather than on indefinitely expanding the features of SVGcalc.

Download

Please download and use SVGcalc free of charge. Use it without restriction, including on multiple computers or a website. Feel free to redistribute the software as desired.

Download SVGcalc (.zip file 368KB)

After the download is complete, open the compressed (.zip) file. Move the folder called svgcalc to whatever location you'd like on your hard drive or website. Place a shortcut to the enclosed svgcalc.html file at any hard drive location from which you want to launch the program.

SVGcalc Version History

11/7/2009Version 1.1.3 -- improved data point plotting near graph window edge; added least-squares regression of standard form parabola to graph module
5/29/2009Version 1.1.2 -- improved differentiation algorithm; added Coulomb constant to constants menu; fixed calculation number bug in data opening; fixed variable menu bug related to variable deletion; improved labeling of function equations, inequalities and integration areas
4/4/2009Version 1.1.1 -- added Var+ button to advanced calculation module; disabled recalculation of all answers except on calculation edit or variable change; made last function color and style persistent from differentiation/integration module; enabled graph window change by click on graph axis; improved performance of calculator keys in W3C-compliant browsers; added label option to function and dataset menus; added background color to graph
1/30/2009Version 1.1 -- expanded graph features -- implemented contextual menus, added text labels, expanded element coloring, added function line style
12/19/2008Version 1.0 -- initial release
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