Can the chip in a calculator be reprogramed so it performs a different function?

Question

Please serious answers only! Any programers out there?

Answer 1

Agreed that you need to be more specific. I wouldn't use the term "reprogrammed," I'd use the term "repurposed."

The processor in the calculator that does the actual math is preprogrammed and cannot be "reprogrammed." The memory cells, of course, will hold whatever binary data their buffers can handle.

You could use the math processor in a calculator for conducting math operations in a different machine, or use a calculator's memory to hold information from another source; you could rewire or reroute the calculator to accept an alternative input / output source or the like, as well, provided it was in specification for the calculator's other parts.

Answer 2

This is actually a hardware question.
Some microcontrollers in calculators have EPROMs and even EEPROMs which can be reprogramed. A lot only have PROMs and ROMs. (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory)
It would be a lot of work to set up from scratch, and even if you had the proper programmer and software to do it, you still would have to learn the machine code or assembler language of the chip. (There are families of chips though and some may be amenable to commoner languages.)

Answer 3

You'll have to be more specific about 'different functions'. The integrated circuit has been wired with a fixed set of 'rules', so to speak, such that the only thing you can do is to add on to it. But you can't modify the logic of the IC without damaging it.