What is a TI-83 Plus? If you don't know this, delete this help file immedeatly and pray for mercy... Just kidding:) A TI-83 Plus is a Graphing Calculator made by Texas Instruments. Take a look at the specs below:
| CPU (Central Processing Unit) | 8Mhz Z80 (Running at 6Mhz) |
| Available Flash ROM (Archive Mem) | 160K |
| Available RAM (User Memory) | 24K user RAM |
| Power | 4AAA batteries (Main) 1 CR 1616 (Back-UP) |
| Display (Lcd) | 64 x 96 Pixels |
| Built in Programming Languages | TI-Basic and Assembly |
| Mean Price | $95 |
The TI-83 Plus isn't that much different from the TI-83. Besides the added Flash ROM and different key pad setup, the TI-83 Plus is almost the exact same thing. After all, they are designed to work side by side with each other. A cool fact about the Z80 processor is that it is the same processor used in Nintendo's GameBoy!
For starters, you should read each tutorial and follow along with what each one says. This tutorial was not meant to replace ASMguru, well sort of, at least for purposes of getting the user aquainted with TI-83 Plus Asm. Skipping tutorials is not recommended because each one will likely build off the previous one. Can games be programmed in Asm?
There are two built-in langauges you can program in on the TI-83 Plus, z80 Assembly language and TI-Basic.
Have you ever heard of Visual Basic or QBasic? Both of them are powerful progamming languages. They are rather easy to learn and understand. TI-Basic, which can be programmed directly on the calculator, takes the most common commands from the latter and adds a few calculator commands. It can be programmed directly on the calculator, or written on the computer, and then sent to the calculator. TI-Basic should be mastered before attempting Assembly langauge. TI-Basic programs are generally slower than Asm programs due to the fact that the calculator reads each command line in the TI-Basic program one at a time.
Assembly Langauge, also called Asm or Assembler language, is the lowest level language you can program on a CPU. In other words, programs written in Asm are given access to restricted areas in the CPU's (calculator's) memory, therefore any bugs in the program could cause the calculator to crash and reset. Sometimes ALL the batteries in the calculator need to be removed to recover from a crash. Using a calculator emulator such as Virtual TI is the only safe way to test an Asm program. Asm programs run faster than their TI-Basic counterparts because Asm programs are compiled into the calculators native langauge.
The author of this great tutorial is Jeff Chai. I am (believe it or not) an eighth grader at Kingsview MS. I have a 4.0 GPA (pretty good...). Yes, I was really excited when I got my TI-83 Plus and TI-89 though I was dissapointed when no one knew how to program in Asm for the TI-83 Plus. I live in Gaithersburg, Md. I play the Piano and the Violin. I can program in Visual Basic (and QBasic), C, C++, TI-Basic and Z80 Assembly. My favorite computer game? That would have to be Command & Conquer. I learned Asm with the help of Robert Senser. He's a great guy, knows his stuff...
I'm currently making this tutorial as I learn TI-83 Plus Asm. If you need help, contact me at ecchai@netzero.net. Please report any false information in this tutorial to me immeadetly. You will recieve the proper acknowledgements, just don't scrutinize my work (That includes spelling errors). If I forget to give someone credit, don't kill me, I'm only human, let me know as soon as possible. If text or font compatibility problems arise, let me know and I will send you a version with corrected text formatting.
Tutorial 1 - What you need to Write Asm programs
Tutorial 2 - TI-83 vs. TI-83 Plus
Tutorial 3 - Program Format
Tutorial 4 - Clearing the Screen(Prgm)
Tutorial 5 - Assembling Asm Programs
Tutorial 6 - Moving the Cursor to the next line(Prgm)
Tutorial 7 - Displaying Text(Prgm)
Tutorial 8 - Using _Getkey(Prgm)
Tutorial 9 - Turning the calculator off!(Prgm)
Tutorial 10 - The Run Indicator(Prgm)
Tutorial 11 - Graphing a Verticle line(Prgm)
Tutorial 12 -Customizing ROM calls to fit your needs
Tutorial 13 - Using Virtual TI
Tutorial 14 - User Input via Key pad(Prgm)
Tutorial 15 - Tic Tac Toe(Prgm)
Tutorial 16 - Text Formatting 2(Prgm)
Tutorial 17 - Registers: What are they?
Tutorial 18 - Registers: Their uses
Tutorial 19 - Registers: Their uses (Part 2)
Tutorial 20 - The Include file
Beginner 83 Asm - Tutorial on Asm on the TI-83, also contains other useful information
List of common TASM errors - Useful for debugging Asm Programs
Comprehensive Glossary - A Glossary
Credentials - Thanks to all who helped make this help file possible
Disclaimer - Ahhhhh!
Objhex utility - C source