handcalcs — The Complete Guide: Readable Hand-Calc Style Sheets From Python and Jupyter
handcalcs is an open-source Python library (Apache-2.0 licence) that shows calculations in Jupyter the way an engineer writes them by hand: first the symbolic formula, then the substituted values and finally the result — all typeset in LaTeX.
handcalcs
Connor Ferster
Turns Python calculations in Jupyter into hand-calc style sheets — formula, substituted values and result, in LaTeX.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Formula, substitution and result — the three steps of a hand calculation.
- LaTeX typesetting — equations that look like a textbook.
- Code that is also a document — the same cell calculates and presents.
- Easy to check — the checker sees every step without reading code.
- Works in Jupyter — fits into existing notebooks.
What to know
handcalcs handles simple calculation lines. Loops, functions and lists are not rendered this way, so it is worth separating the logic from the part shown on the calc sheet. The developers stress that checking results in an official document is the user’s responsibility. Work is done in JupyterLab.
Related tools
For an engineering calc sheet in the browser without writing code — EngineeringPaper. For an engineering calculator with units — SMath Studio. For properties of any cross-section — sectionproperties.
JupyterLab
Project Jupyter
Interactive computing notebooks — code, results, plots and explanations in one shareable document.
Get it from the vendor
EngineeringPaper.xyz
Engineering Paper LLC
An engineering calculation sheet in the browser with automatic unit checking and conversion, equation solving and plots.
Get it from the vendor
SMath Studio
SMath LLC
A Mathcad-style maths worksheet with full support for units of measurement — free for personal, non-commercial use.
Get it from the vendor
sectionproperties
Robbie van Leeuwen
Section properties of any shape by finite elements — inertia, torsion, warping, shear centre and stresses in the section.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
handcalcs solves a real problem: a calculation in code that nobody can check. It turns it into a readable calc sheet, and suits engineers who already work in Python.