by Lime Red Tetrahedron

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: February 08, 2009

Beginner's Guide to Programming in TI-BASIC

The modern calculator is extremely complex, capable of more than even the most powerful supercomputers of the past. This marvel of modern hand-held technology is rapidly revolutionizing education. However, this amazing device's true capabilities lay shrouded in mystery. The TI-BASIC programming language attempts to address this, making this useful device more accessible to the general population.

Section 1.0 - Background

Before delving into TI-BASIC, the general paradigm of procedural programming must be understood. TI-BASIC is a procedural programming language. This means that TI-BASIC is a language (in this case, an abstraction of hardware) with which the calculator can be instructed. The word procedural in this case has the denotation of "procedure". The TI-BASIC language is a format through which a procedure can be communicated to the calculator. In the case studies of this article, the calculator is the Texas Instruments TI-83.

The hardware that the TI-BASIC abstracts, in the case of this study the Texas Instruments TI-83, is the Z-80 processor. Wikipedia describes the Z-80 processor as follows: "The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed and sold by Zilog from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes. The Z80 and its derivatives and clones make up one of the most commonly used CPU families of all time, and, along with the MOS Technology 6502 family, dominated the 8-bit microcomputer market from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Various scientific calculators use the Z80, including the TI-83 series graphing calculators."[1]

TI-BASIC, contrary to popular belief, does not execute directly on the Z-80. Instead, it is run by an interpreter: a program that dynamically translates programs written in the TI-BASIC language to machine-code, which is then executed by the Z-80. Of course, this extra overhead causes TI-BASIC programs to operate at a slower rate than their machine-code counterparts. Machine code is much harder to understand, as it must coordinate the separate parts of the calculator in order to achieve a tangible result. For example, individual registers must be manipulated in order to transfer data to memory, and mathematical operations must be derived from simpler ones. This is why interpreted languages such as TI-BASIC are so popular.

Section 2.0 - Beginning TI-BASIC Programming

Let's begin our journey into the code itself with

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>