[Ctrl]+[Enter] creates unexpected extra lines in CAS

Alexander Perl shared this problem 4 years ago
New

I recently discovered GeoGebra CAS' functionality of numerically evaluating an expression not only by clicking the Numeric tool or entering "Numeric(<expression>)", but by hitting [Ctrl]+[Enter] after typing it. Great!


However, this feature creates unexpected results, if a previously evaluated cell is re-evaluated with this shortcut.


Steps to reproduce in GeoGebra Classic 5 (CAS view):

  • Type "1/3" in cell 1 and hit [Enter] --> this gives 1/3 as an exact output in cell 1
  • Click the input line of cell 1 again and hit [Ctrl]+[Enter] --> this gives 0.33 as a numeric output in cell 1, but also creates a new cell 2 with input "$1" and output (not kidding!) "3333333333333/10000000000000"

That is bad enough and certainly not what anybody would want as a result to the calculation "1/3". But even worse, then it behaves like this even in new, unmodified cells!

  • Type "2/3" in cell 3 and hit [Ctrl]+[Enter] --> this gives 0.67 as a numeric output in cell 3, but also creates a cell 4 with content "$3" and output "6666666666667/10000000000000".


Again, "6666666666667/10000000000000" is not what any reasonable human being would expect as a result to the question "What is 2/3?"

I would really prefer having an alternative to clicking the toolbar or typing "Numeric(...)" for a numeric result, and [Ctrl]+[Enter] seemed just like what I wanted, but not if it behaves like this.

Please fix it!

Best Answer
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No, I have not and I certainly will not. As with every software, GeoGebra 5 is far from perfect, but great in many ways and I really hope that it will also keep getting developed in the future. For example, by fixing little but annoying bugs like this one or others that are posted on this forum every day.


Its successor GeoGeobra 6, on the other hand, is the single most unusable und awful piece of software I have ever encountered. It's as if you asked "What do people like about GeoGebra 5?", then took all that away and replaced it with the worst alternative that crossed your mind. At this point, the best you can do with it is to completely stop its development, put it in the trash, forget that it ever existed and then focus all resources and get back to working on GeoGebra 5 (or a future version 7, for that matter).


Sorry for my honesty and bluntness, but yes, it really sucks this much. If you don't believe it, ask anyone who not only works on the development of the software, but who actually tries to productively use it in everyday school situations (upper secondary education) on normal Windows desktop PCs for a bit more complex and advanced situations. It's a pure disaster.

Comments (4)

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1

Actually, I narrowed the problem down a bit further: If any CAS cell in the current GeoGebra session was evaluated "normally" with [Enter], then any subsequent numeric evaluation with [Ctrl]+[Enter] produces the unwanted behaviour, even after deleting all cells.

If you save the .ggb-File, close it and then reopen it, the problem again only occurs after the first "normal" evaluation.

Again: Please fix it!

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1

Have you tried GeoGebra Classic 6?

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1

No, I have not and I certainly will not. As with every software, GeoGebra 5 is far from perfect, but great in many ways and I really hope that it will also keep getting developed in the future. For example, by fixing little but annoying bugs like this one or others that are posted on this forum every day.


Its successor GeoGeobra 6, on the other hand, is the single most unusable und awful piece of software I have ever encountered. It's as if you asked "What do people like about GeoGebra 5?", then took all that away and replaced it with the worst alternative that crossed your mind. At this point, the best you can do with it is to completely stop its development, put it in the trash, forget that it ever existed and then focus all resources and get back to working on GeoGebra 5 (or a future version 7, for that matter).


Sorry for my honesty and bluntness, but yes, it really sucks this much. If you don't believe it, ask anyone who not only works on the development of the software, but who actually tries to productively use it in everyday school situations (upper secondary education) on normal Windows desktop PCs for a bit more complex and advanced situations. It's a pure disaster.

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1

Sorry, if you want new features and fixes for quite minor problems then you need to update to GeoGebra 6

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