TI-84 Plus series

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TI-84 Plus

TI-84 Plus Silver Edition

The TI-84 Plus is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments which was released in early 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 relatively the same, but the 84 features some improved hardware. The memory is about 3 times as large, and CPU about 2.5 times as fast (over the TI-83 and TI-83 Plus). A USB port and built-in clock functionality were also added. (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 USB port on the TI-84 Plus series is USB On-The-Go compliant, similar to the next generation TI-Nspire calculator, which supports connecting to USB based data collection devices and probes, and supports device to device transfers over USB rather than the via Link port.^[1] Although graphing calculators have been called inexpensive in education reform research^[2], the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition was $129.99 in 2008 on the TI online store.

The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition was released 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 entire RAM 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. It uses 4 AAA batteries and a backup button cell battery. If you take out the batteries while the TI-84 is running, it clears the RAM. TI offers yellow versions of this calculator to schools. Owners can buy other interchangeable colored face-plates and slide-cases online. A kickstand-style slide case and other accessories are also available. The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition comes preloaded with a variety of programs, including App4Math, an interface upgrade that allows students to input math problems exactly as they appear in the textbook.

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 note taking (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 beforehand to prevent cheating through the use of built in programs or other data.

When OS 2.30 was initially released, users noticed the speed of graphing was greatly reduced. The explanation was that the update added asymptote checking in graphing.

In January 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 cannot be used on tests, etc. OS version 2.41 for the TI-84 plus series was released in May 2006. The current OS version is 2.43 which was released in December 2007.

[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 can be programmed on the computer and sent to the calculator via a USB port, written by hand directly into the program editor (using the hexadecimal equivalents to the opcodes) or compiled using third party compiler programs. Programs written in assembly are much faster and more efficient than those using TI-BASIC, as it is the processor's native language, and does not have to be interpreted like TI-BASIC. An example program that displays "Hello World" on the screen:

  B_CALL ClrLCD         ; Clears the screen
  B_CALL HomeUp         ; Moves the cursor to the top-left corner of the screen
  ld hl,Hello           ; Loads the address that points to "Hello World" into register hl (16-bit)
  B_CALL PutS           ; Displays "Hello World" on the screen in the top left corner
  ret                   ; pops off the last data pushed onto the stack. 
                        ; May be used to end the program depending on what's
                        ; on the stack
  Hello:                ; Label, that has an equate address in memory. The hex values of
                        ;"Hello World" are stored at the start of label, Hello
  .db "Hello World!",0  ;defines a series of bytes in memory which start at the label Hello

[edit] TI-BASIC

TI-BASIC is the built in language for TI-84 Plus series calculators, as well as many other TI graphing calculators. TI-BASIC is an unstructured programming language, meaning it is arranged sequentially, without the use of methods or organized blocks of code. Because it is so simple and easy to use many programmers start their careers with this. Below is an example of a Hello World program equivalent to the assembly language example.

ClrHome             ; Clears the screen and moves the cursor to the top left corner
Disp "Hello World"  ; Displays "Hello World" on the screen in the top left corner

[edit] Technical specifications

CPU

Zilog Z80 15 MHz, with 6 MHz compatibility mode.

Flash ROM

Plus Edition: 480 KB user accessible of 1 MB

Silver Edition: 1.5 MB user accessible of 2 MB

RAM

24 KB RAM user accessible of 128KB

Third-party software permits usage of USB drives

Display

Text: 16×8 characters (normal font)

Graphics: 96×64 pixels, monochrome

I/O

Link port, 9.6 kbit/s

50 button built-in keypad

USB

Power

4 AAA batteries plus 1 SR44SW or 303 silver oxide battery for backup

Integrated programming languages

TI-BASIC and machine code. Assembly and C require a computer with a Z80 cross-compiler or an on-calc assembler.

[edit] See also

• Texas Instruments
• Comparison of Texas Instruments Graphing Calculators
• App4Math, a software package that allows the user to input problems as they appear in the textbook.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: TI-84 Plus

• ticalc.org Programs, games, archives
• Zoom Math Download math programs through Algebra 1 for TI-84 Plus family
• CalcG.org Tutorials, Games, FAQ, Help Forum
• TI-Basic Developer Programming information for the TI-84 Plus
• TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Home Page
• TI Education Portal
• Features of the TI-84 Plus and the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition
• TI-84 Plus family Operating System v 2.43 Download TI-84 Plus family OS v 2.43
• A TI-8x series Robot
• WikiTI is a wiki documenting the hardware and operation system of the TI-83 Series and TI-84 Series of calculators.