Hi guys. Which of the currently available TI models is best for programming in assembly?

I don't really need another calculator for calculations but I am fascinated by the idea of writing assembly code on a calculator. I thought TI itself used to provide an SDK but somebody told me it hasn't been updated and is perhaps no longer even available. I was searching the net and I found this board and it looks awesome.

I have had several TIs including a TI-55 and a TI-Programmer and countless other random models. Haven't had a new one in decades. I would like to hear about the various languages and programming tools available for the recent TI models and also specifically which languages and tools don't require Windows since I don't have a Windows box anymore.

I hope to buy a new calculator for programming in a few months and wanted to ask people who know for suggestions.

Your comments will be appreciated! Thanks.

Well, the 83+/84+/84+CSE are great for Z80 assembly code, and the 68k series (89/92/voy200) are great for 68k assembly and c.

Ok, I figured somebody might say that. I have no particular preference since I am not familiar with either Z80 or M68K although I guess I would lean toward the M68K since I have other M68K devices and I'm sure the bigger word size would be an advantage. Plus I like big endian architectures. Not that endianness is an issue for 8-bitters!

I'm trying to figure out which of the various models is better supported by programming languages and tools. I'll look in your assembly resources link. Thanks.

z80 will likely be better supported both in tools and in the community. the 68k developer pool is... dwindling.

Thank you. This indicates the TI-83/84 are more popular with programmers than the 89 and follow-ons?

Indeed, the TI-68k community belittled a lot in 2006-2007 and never grew back up to previous levels of productivity.
The TI-Z80 series has always been far more popular than the TI-68k series, as the latter, due to its CAS, is forbidden in a number of brain-damaged exams (standardized testing) worldwide.

Thanks a lot guys! This is good info. And the TI-83/84 is a lot cheaper than an 89...

Which of the 83/84 models currently being sold is the best assembly programming target?

Edit: Lionel wow those are some awesome projects you are involved with! I really found a good forum here!

It's up to you to choose from the z80 line : the TI-84+CSE has a color screen, but the monochrome TI-83+/84+ supports Mimas, an on-calc ASM IDE and assembler. This is what I always use when it comes to z80 ASM.

Thanks, mimas looks amazing. Are there native onboard tools or languages on the 83/84 from TI?

Excepting the TI-Basic editor, nope. That's why Mimas was made actually. You can also program Axe, which is a language meant to be edited on-calc and compiled into z80 assembly.

On the other hand, if you are willing to program ASM on a computes, the community has created tons of tools you can use. I recommend the Doors CS SDK or the Doors CSE SDK. We have some great emulators to make debugging programs much easier, too.

First: http://www.ticalc.org/basics/calculators/
This will help you look at the different calculators there are. The calcs that are discontinued are generally like that for a reason (But why the 86?) and only the TI-86 would be worth it to buy.

Second: The TI-Nspire (CAS and CX also) are not worth the effort and price to program in assembly, the only way to do so is by using Ndless and TI is always blocking Ndless in new OS upgrades.

Third: The 68k series are actually very powerful calculators and have a larger resolution than the z80 series, especially the Voyage 200. The problem is, as Lionel said, that there is not as big of a community now that is based around those calculators.

As long as I don't need Windows I would be ok with an outboard development setup, especially since you said there are many choices. It would be nice to also have an onboard one if it doesn't conflict with the other stuff, for portable use. Thanks.



Ok, thanks. mimas sounds good then.



Thanks for the link and the other info. I guess the community aspect has two sides to it, right? On one hand you need people interested to write tools and keep them updated. On the other hand people are there to help. I'm more concerned with the availability of tools. Either way it's a shame the 68K stuff isn't more popular. I guess the best thing for me is to start with the 83/84 and then if I want more excitement to look into the 89. Thanks a lot guys!

Please don't double (and especially triple!) post. I see that you've edited posts before so I won't show you how. Please edit your posts if it's been less than 24 hours since your last post. I have edited your post for you this time.

I was answering each guy separately as I read his post. I have never heard that called double and triple posting! Nothing was duplicated.

Well you can edit your post as you read them them, too. No one is claiming you duplicated anything.

Yep, when we say double- or triple-posting, we mean replying to yourself within 24 hours. A multi-post with more than 24 hours between posts is called a bump, and is used to remind people that you have an unanswered question or issue; bumps are used with discretion. Our particular netiquette is somewhat unique, so you had no way to know that. Anyway, now you know, and let's carry on the productive discussion. Have you decided whether to get a TI-83+/84+, TI-84+CSE, or something else?

Personally i would recommend the non-color calcs, really anything from the 83 to the 84+SE. The LCD on the 83 series will probably be your largest bottleneck, the 86 would actually be a nice alternative as you have a memory-mapped LCD.

z80 assembly is also pretty easy to get into, though i can't say it's the most regular. M68000 is nice, too, there are more registers (8 data and 7 address, +1 register for the stack), multiplication and division instructions (!!), and of course the registers are 32-bits. On the 68k calcs you also have memory-mapped LCDs, so you can get some really pretty grayscale. GCC4TI is also an option if you'd prefer to work in C.

EDIT: I also wanted to welcome you to the world of assembly