TI-84 Plus series

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TI-84 Plus Silver Edition

The TI-84 Plus is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments that came out spring 2004. There is no original TI-84, only the TI-84 Plus and TI-84 Plus Silver Edition models. It is an enhanced version of the TI-83 Plus. The key-by-key correspondence is the same, but has been improved hardware-wise. The memory is about 3 times as large, and CPU about 2.5 times faster (over the TI-83 and TI-83 Plus). A USB port and built-in clock functionality were also added. The clock can be used to tell the time since the RAM last cleared (if set correctly, it will tell the actual time). It is merely a slightly enhanced version of the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, as it retains many of the same system specs.

The fred was here came out in 2004 as an upgrade to the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition. Like the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, it features a 15 MHz Zilog Z80 processor, 24 kB user available RAM (the actual chip is 128 kB, but TI has yet to code support for the whole thing into an OS), and 1.5 MB Flash ROM. Like the standard TI-84 Plus, the Silver Edition includes a built-in USB port, a built-in clock, and assembly support. A kickstand-style slide case and interchangeable colored faceplates are also available.

There are three different types of programs which can be downloaded or programmed into it: TI-BASIC, Z80 assembly language, and Flash (applications). There are a wide range of applications that this produces, from science classes, to games, to calculus to notetaking (when put together with a separately sold keyboard). The TI-84 Plus Series is exactly like its predecessor in that it can be used on the SAT and ACT examinations as well as International Baccalaureate examinations. However in some cases those administering the exam may reset the calculator's memory before-hand to prevent cheating through the use of built in programs or other data.

In January of 2006, Texas Instruments released v 2.40 operating system for the TI-84 plus series. The most noticeable addition to the new OS was the teacher key, allowing the teacher to disable any programs installed on the calculator, so they are unable to be used on tests, etc. OS version 2.41 for the TI-84 plus series was released in May 2006.

[edit] Assembly Language

Z80 assembly language gives a programmer much more power over the calculator than the built-in language, TI-BASIC. On the downside, Z80 assembly is much more difficult to learn than TI-BASIC and very cumbersome for coding large programs. Z80 assembly language is programmed on the computer and sent to the calculator via a USB port, or written by hand directly into the program editor. Programs written in assembly are much faster than those using TI-BASIC, as it is the processor's native language, and Ti-BASIC must be interpretted. Most "fast" games, programs that give more power over the calculator, and Applications written for the TI-84 series are written in Z80 assembly. There are, however, few guides on the web for learning it. An example program that displays "Hello World" on the screen:

  ld a,0           ; loads 0 into register a
  ld (curRow),a    ; loads 0 in the Row (Top of screen)
  ld (curCol),a    ; loads 0 in the Column (Left of screen)
  ld hl,Hello      ; Loads the address that points to "Hello World" into register hl (16-bit)
  B_CALL PutS      ; Puts "Hello World" on the screen in the top left corner
  ret              ; pops off the last data pushed onto the stack, and loads it into PC(Program Counter). 
        ;In this case it is $0000, the start of the OS(operating system) on the 84
 Hello:            ; Label, that has an equate address in memory. The hex values of
        ;"Hello World" is stored at the start of label, Hello
  .db "Hello World!",0  ;defines a series of bytes in memory which start at the label Hello

compared to its equivalent TI-BASIC Program. However, despite TI-BASIC's lesser control over the calculator, its simplicity encourages simple math, science, and etc. programs to be coded in it.

  Output(1,1,"Hello World!"

[edit] See also

List of calculators

[edit] External links

	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: TI-84 Plus

TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Home Page
TI Education Portal
TICalc.org One of the largest TI calculator development databases in existence.
ti84.nl High tech. programs. Subjects: maths, electrical engin., control systems.
Features of the TI-84 Plus and the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition
WikiTI is a wiki documenting the hardware and operation system of the TI-83 Series and TI-84 Series of calculators.
A TI-8x series Robot