Srivus™ Scientifica

Download

The free Basic Edition

This is a complete calculator, and it is yours to keep. It does not expire, it never asks you to sign in, and once it is on your machine it never needs the internet again. Installing it takes the four steps below.

If you would rather print these steps, or keep them beside you while you work, the same guide is available as a PDF. It covers the Advanced Edition too, so a few of the file names in it have no -Basic- in them.

Installation guide (PDF)

  1. Check you have Java 23 or newer

    Open PowerShell and type the command below. If it prints 23 or higher, you are ready. If it says "not recognized", or prints 17 or 21, go to step 2.

    java -version

  2. Install Java if you need it

    Get a free build from Adoptium. Choose Java 25 (LTS), which is the easiest choice and is supported for years. Java 17 and 21 are very common downloads, but they will not run this app.

    adoptium.net

  3. Download the app

    It is one file. Save it somewhere you can find again, e.g., your Desktop.

    Download for Windows

    ScientificCalculator-Basic-win-linux-intelmac.jar

  4. Run it from PowerShell (double-clicking does not work)

    Double-clicking a .jar on Windows opens it in an archive tool instead of running it. Open PowerShell, go to the folder, and start it with this command. Leave the PowerShell window open while you use the app.

    cd $HOME\Desktop java -XX:MaxRAMPercentage=50 -jar ScientificCalculator-Basic-win-linux-intelmac.jar

Advanced Edition

For STEM students, and up to college

This edition has everything the Basic Edition has, and it adds nine dedicated tabs: Notes, 2D Plots, 3D Plots, Matrices, Stats, Distributions, WMW Test (the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test), Images and Chem.

It is $39, paid once, with a perpetual license, so you buy it once and it stays yours. There is no subscription and nothing to renew. It is sent to you by email within 24 hours, by me personally, and you install it in the same way as the free edition, with one extra step for the license file that comes with it: see Installing the Advanced Edition below.

For a school there are site licenses priced by enrollment, and they cover your students and staff at home as well as on school machines. The prices are on the home page.

Buy the Advanced Edition Compare the editions

Advanced Edition

Installing the Advanced Edition

The Advanced Edition comes by email as one ZIP file. It installs like the free edition, with one extra step: installing your license file with the calculator's own button.

  1. Unzip the ZIP from my email

    Unzip it into one folder, e.g., on your Desktop. It holds the two Advanced Edition jars, your license file srivus.license, the installation guide INSTALL.pdf, the license agreement, and a short READ ME FIRST.txt.

  2. Check you have Java 23 or newer

    This is the same as steps 1 and 2 in your computer's tab above. Java 17 and 21 will not run the app.

  3. Run the jar that matches your computer

    Open PowerShell (on a Mac or Linux, Terminal), go to the folder you unzipped into, and start the calculator with one of these commands. Double-clicking does not work, just as with the free edition.

    Windows, Linux, and Intel Macs:

    java -XX:MaxRAMPercentage=50 -jar ScientificCalculator-win-linux-intelmac.jar

    Apple Silicon Macs (any Mac from 2020 onward):

    java -XX:MaxRAMPercentage=50 -jar ScientificCalculator-mac-aarch64.jar

  4. Install your license file

    The first time, the nine Advanced tabs open as a page saying License needed. Press Install license file... on that page (the About tab has the same button) and choose srivus.license from the folder you unzipped into, or drag the file onto the calculator's window. The calculator checks that the file belongs to your copy and puts it in the folder Documents\Srivus Scientifica itself (on a Mac or Linux, Documents/Srivus Scientifica in your home folder), so there is no folder to create. Close the calculator and start it again: the About tab then shows "Licensed to" with your name, and the nine Advanced tabs open. Please do not open the license file in a text editor: any change to it makes it invalid.

The full guide, INSTALL.pdf, is in the ZIP as well.

If something goes wrong

These are the things that usually go wrong.

It says UnsupportedClassVersionError
Your Java is too old. This is by far the most common problem, because Java 17 and 21 are still the default download in many places. Install Java 23 or newer (Java 25 is the easiest choice) and try again.
Double-clicking the file did nothing, or opened an archive
That is expected. On Windows a .jar opens in an archive tool, on macOS Gatekeeper blocks it, and on Linux nothing happens. Start it from a terminal with the command in step 4 instead.
java: command not found, or not recognized
Java is not installed, or the installer did not add it to your PATH. Install it from adoptium.net, then close and reopen your terminal so it picks up the change.
An error about a library that will not load, on a Mac
You have the wrong Mac build. Apple silicon needs the mac-aarch64 file and Intel Macs need the win-linux-intelmac one. Download the other one.
The Advanced tabs show a page saying License needed
The calculator has not found your license file yet. Press Install license file... on that page, choose srivus.license, and start the calculator again once it says the file was installed. If it says the file was not installed, the message gives the reason. If the file was opened and saved in an editor, it will no longer work; write to me for a fresh copy.
How do I know it got enough memory?
Look at the Memory figure in the status bar. If it is roughly half your machine's RAM, the -XX:MaxRAMPercentage=50 setting took effect. If it is roughly a quarter, the setting was left off the command. If you prefer to set one exact figure on every machine, you can type -Xmx4g instead.
Something is wrong with an answer, or a page is unclear
Please write me a note. A worked example that gives the wrong answer, a message that does not explain itself, or a topic you needed and could not find are all important for me to know about, and suggestions are as welcome as bug reports. Please include what you typed and what came back, along with the details under "What you're running" at the bottom of the About page. Click that block once and it will be on your clipboard, ready to paste. info at srivus dot com