In 2012, Manning Publications and I published a book entitled Programming the TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus. It was the first (and only) book published that approached TI-BASIC programming as a useful skill as well as a way to learn programming techniques applicable to any language. I've since gotten much-appreciated positive feedback from readers about the material covered in the book, the many programs and games that it uses as liberal examples throughout, and how it teaches you to "think like a programmer". Although I hardly need to explain to the users of Cemetech how valuable knowing how to program can be, it's a great way to improve logic and reasoning skills in a fun, useful way, and provide a way to enrich other areas of STEM education. Unfortunately, a few months after Programming the TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus was published, TI Education announced the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition, and two years later, we have the new TI-84 Plus CE, two calculators not originally covered in the book.

To address this omission, last summer I wrote a new appendix for Programming the TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus teaching TI-BASIC programming for the color TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition. At last, it is available as a free download from Manning Publication's website, and covers both the TI-84 Plus CE and TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition. In this appendix, entitled Programming the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition and TI-84 Plus CE, you learn about programming for the new, larger homescreen, drawing in color on the graphscreen, and new commands available on the color-screen calculators. You'll explore a Snake game, a colorful hybrid TI-BASIC RPG game, and other examples as you learn to apply your TI-BASIC expertise to the color calculators. Please explore this free PDF, and I encourage you to buy the TI-BASIC programming book (available from Amazon and Manning) that it accompanies.

Downloads and More Information
Programming the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition and TI-84 Plus CE (free appendix, PDF)
Programming the TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus (full book for purchase)

Impressive work! I find it rather hard to write everything down in an educational way. One question: Will the paper version on amazon be updated aswell? How does the printing work? And what do you do with the "old" versioned books? Razz Just curious...
NanoWar wrote:
Impressive work! I find it rather hard to write everything down in an educational way. One question: Will the paper version on amazon be updated aswell? How does the printing work? And what do you do with the "old" versioned books? Razz Just curious...
Excellent questions. Because it's pretty expensive to start printing new versions, they're likely to continue just distributing this as a PDF along with the book. They talked about including it in future printings of the book, but it's not clear at this point if they're going to do that in the near future, because I think they have a ways to go before they use up the books from the current printing.
Great! Its a PDF, so I can use it on my kindle! Awesome Kerm!
Unicorn wrote:
Great! Its a PDF, so I can use it on my kindle! Awesome Kerm!
Great! If you bought the book itself, you'll see that the eBook comes with a Kindle edition as well, so "Programming the TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus" can also live on your Kindle.
WHAT! Its an ebook? Is it on amazon? I didn't see the ebook option when I looked at it for good tutorials!
Unicorn wrote:
WHAT! Its an ebook? Is it on amazon? I didn't see the ebook option when I looked at it for good tutorials!
It is on Amazon and on Manning. I know the eBook is available from Manning; it may also be available from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1617290777/
http://manning.com/mitchell/
Awe, kindle is not available from amazon Sad
Unicorn wrote:
Awe, kindle is not available from amazon Sad
No, but the Manning eBook "(includes PDF, ePub, and Kindle)", and if you buy the print book, you also get the eBook versions for free. Smile

Edit: That is, even if you buy the print book on Amazon, the book comes with a code inside to download the eBook.
Oh, I get it now, will it ever be available as just an ebook?
Unicorn wrote:
Oh, I get it now, will it ever be available as just an ebook?
Have you clicked on the Manning link yet? It is available there to buy as just an eBook: http://manning.com/mitchell/
I like this addition. I still need to get a CE, though. Does the book/Will the book have a hybrid basic and/or Axe section? I think that would round out the book nicely!
pimathbrainiac wrote:
I like this addition. I still need to get a CE, though. Does the book/Will the book have a hybrid basic and/or Axe section? I think that would round out the book nicely!
There is a chapter on hybrid (monochrome) TI-BASIC, and the appendix briefly mentions hybrid (color) TI-BASIC. It's unlikely that it will ever have extensive assembly and Axe information, since the audience is so tiny.
Is it possible to publish updated physical versions of your book with the TI-84 Plus CSE/CE appendix included and an edited cover with a notice explaining that the book also covers the color models? Or is it too late once the first version came out? Since the average school calculator user is not very tech-savy, maybe he will also think that the monochrome calculators are not compatible with the color ones and not buy the book.
DJ_O wrote:
Is it possible to publish updated physical versions of your book with the TI-84 Plus CSE/CE appendix included and an edited cover with a notice explaining that the book also covers the color models? Or is it too late once the first version came out?
The last I heard from my publisher, we would try to tack on the extra appendix to the print version when the current print run sold out; I'm not sure when that will be. Hopefully any success of Using the TI-84 Plus will help motivate them to spend a few dollars spiffing up "Programming".
Quote:
Since the average school calculator user is not very tech-savy, maybe he will also think that the monochrome calculators are not compatible with the color ones and not buy the book.
That could indeed be a problem, I agree.
Thanks for this addition to your book, i have not yet fully made up my mind on getting ti84pce but once i do I think i will buy your book too.
Having read your addendum i just wanted to double check if assembly programming on colour screens gives access to entire lcd 320 by 240 pixels if i remember correctly as i became a bit confused about image and picture sizes and frame and background image etc - i only want to be sure an image viewer can be developed preferably in c utilising the entire screen resolution please. Sorry for typos etc typing this from my mobile. Thanks again
Quite easily, yes. Somewhere around here I made an image converter for all bpp modes, and you are able to utilize the entire memory-mapped display. However, TI supported images will only fit within the graph screen, which has a reduced resolution. Most screen functions I hope to write as assembly modules for faster speed of course, but C development at least for me won't start to pick up until the beginning of September. Hope this helps! Smile
This is cool I guess.
Ehrm, is it me, or is the appendix gone?
Stavorius wrote:
Ehrm, is it me, or is the appendix gone?
It's not just you. I'll complain to Manning, for all the good that that will do.

Edit: Done. If you'd like this appendix in the meantime, please email me, and I'll send it along.
  
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