Calculators

Once again after a long time a new post.

This time about my experience with gadgets. When Google opened iGoogle, I added a couple of gadgets on my page, not many were available at that time but enough to fill out my page. I added a few news feeders and one small gadget that at that time I though I wouldn't use it but I though it might be useful, Google Calculator. And it was, from time to time I needed to quickly find the result of a small arithmetic expression or do a conversion, so I would go on my iGoogle webpage type the expression and voila the result. Since I have my browser open most of the time and a link to Google it was just a matter of one click.

But one day, Google Calculator gadget stopped working, I used Google query page for doing the job, but it felt slow and enough inconvenient to miss the old gadget. I looked for one to replace it, now after quite a while since Google opened up the gadgets to anyone, there must be a gadget that does what I want, right? Wrong, there were calculators up there in the directory but all with nice looking buttons like pocket calculators but none to allow you to write your expression hit enter and have the result instantly.

So I decided to write one. Here it is: Cezar's Calculator. It's meant to replace Google Calculator but it does things a little differently.

First, it uses the local browser to evaluate simple expressions, so now web requests over the wire and boom! instantly get the result. And secondly, for more complex expressions, it calls Google and returns you the result of Calculator web service from Google. The call to Google website is done via AJAX so you will not see any page refresh. Calculator web service from Google is pretty smart, it's a petty Goggle didn't dedicated a page just for this.

Add the gadget to your page: Cezar's Calculator or get involved with the project.
Give it a try, and let me know what do you think about it.