--- in_header: true layout: page title: About permalink: /about/ --- ## So... what IS Abacus? It's a calculator. Obviously. But what makes it better than what already exists? There's a few things. Abacus is: * Programmable, and not in TI Basic. * Precise. With the "precise" option, Abacus can keep up to 50 significant figures. * Capable. Ever wonder what 2700 is? How about 8!!? Abacus can tell you! * Offline. While Wolfram Alpha can do powerful math, it needs internet connection! * Built for the desktop. Why use buttons on the screen when there's buttons on the keyboard? * Open source. Don't like something? Help is always welcome! ## Why was Abacus made? The initial project was proposed for the [Northwest Advanced Programming Workshop](http://nwapw.org/about/). You can read the project proposal on the main GitHub page, although the idea has changed quite a bit, mostly in shifting from "fast" to "precise". ## What is Abacus made with? Java and Kotlin. Java provides a good layer of abstraction and a great standard library, while Kotlin allows for the reduction of boilerplate code and null safety. Using JVM-based languages also allows Abacus to expose its entire API to plugins, and load them at runtime.