How to identify Calculator is Programmable or Non-Programmable Calculator ?

Some competitive examinations allow the candidates for the use of a calculator but may permit to use the only calculator of non-programmable type.

Calculators that are NOT programmable:

This is what a non-programmable calculator looks like.

List of non-programmable calculators of some famous brands like Casio, Sharp, Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard.

Calculators that are programmable:

Programmable calculators can automatically carry out a sequence of operations under control of a stored program, much like a computer.

Examples of programmable calculators are shown in the picture. This calculator runs on a Computer Algebra System (CAS). A CAS helps to make certain complicated algebraic functions automatic and less tedious. As you can see, these calculators also have graphing capabilities. A calculator with graphing capabilities is most likely to be programmable. The easy way to tell if the calculator has graphing capabilities is by looking at the larger screen than would be found on a scientific calculator.

Features of Programmable calculator:

1. These calculators are capable of storing text or alphanumeric data input by a user.
2. These calculators are capable of storing, manipulating or graphing functions entered in the symbolic form.
3. These programmable calculators are capable of performing operations such as differentiation, definite integration, algebraic expressions, binomial expansion, symbolic differentiation and the solution to a system of equations.
4. These calculators are also capable of external communication or Internet connectivity.