Major differences between 83 and 89 BASIC

Josh_W314 · Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 5

What are the major differences between 83(+) and 89 BASIC?
I think I'm pretty good at 83(+) BASIC, and i have a little experience programming in tigcc. I bought a TI89 HW2 for calculus and programming, and I don't have any desire to program anything complex in 89 BASIC, just some math functions, and pong if I'm feeling really ambitious. Thanks in advance for any help.

Liazon · Posted: 14 Dec 2005 06:07:45 pm Post subject:

Very well structured? Much better graphics commands and stuff. Much more powerful I guess overall

I have HW3: Ti-89Ti

DarkerLine · Posted: 14 Dec 2005 06:20:16 pm Post subject:

There's lots of differences between the 83(+) and 89; for a comprehensive knowledge of both, you have to relearn to program it almost from the start. Apart from the various syntax and command names, which you can always look up in the catalog, there's:

Long variable names. Variable names can be up to 8 characters, and almost any unreserved combination of letters and numbers. Case doesn't matter.

Programs vs. Functions, a distinction which doesn't exist on the 83+. Both programs and functions can accept arguments in a manner such as myprgm(1,2) or myfunc("hello"), or be run without arguments, like myprgm() or myfunc(). Only functions can return output, such as myfunc(x) -> y. The final difference is that functions can't modify (global) variables.

Optimizations. In general, if there's a way to optimize on the 83+, it doesn't work on the 89.

Lists and matrices can contain any mix of any type of variable.

New commands. Too many to describe, so I'll just point you to Try..EndTry, Local, string(), the math functions, and the TI-89 manual.

Liazon · Posted: 14 Dec 2005 06:23:10 pm Post subject:

DarkerLine · Posted: 14 Dec 2005 06:33:16 pm Post subject:

It's structure is the same overall, but there's so many little things... you have to read the whole manual over again, and the coding style is much closer to "normal" programming than on the TI-83+ (which doesn't even really support recursion).

Liazon · Posted: 14 Dec 2005 06:46:57 pm Post subject:

Josh_W314 · Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 5

bukwirm · Member Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 233

You should be fine for 89 programming if you read the programming section of the manual. You probably should also read the sections on strings, lists, and matrixes, as well as the section on pictures.

Edit: You should read the drawing section too.

IAmACalculator · Posted: 17 Dec 2005 07:13:16 am Post subject:

Yup. I had troubles when I programmed before I read the manual. I tried something like setfold(string1), when I should have done setfold(#string1)! Oopsie... Oh, just in case you don't know, '#' converts strings into expressions. Also, I kept using the "If condition Then dowhentrue Else dowhenfalse End" commands instead of "When(condition, returnwhentrue, returnwhenfalse, returnwhenundefined)". And I kept forgetting to close my parenthesis :confused: ! And, I didn't know the ultimate power of the "string(" command. Oh, here is the 89/92+ guide, and here is the 89Ti/V200 guide.

<offtopic>Gah! They changed the TI Site! I can't find my old calc stuff without modifying the URL!</offtopic>

Liazon · Posted: 17 Dec 2005 02:20:19 pm Post subject:

They closed the site during my direst hour (actually 5). I was trying to load an OS into my friends calc, but it failed and Ti-OS got messed up and the calculator became an empty shell. Then I realized the OS was actually older than his current one so I went to TI's site to find the newest one but they were closed. It turns out that there was one stored in the same folder as Ti-Connect, so I tried loading that OS (1.1 Cool

in. That's when I found out how badly damaged his link port was. The reason why it failed the first time was the linkport just moved a little and it disrupted data transfer. I had to hold his calc upside down and jam the cable into his I/O port and hold it for what seemed like 10 minutes to get the OS in. It took me aobut 30 tries in the course of 5 hours over night. I didn't get any sleep!

Ya, I should be reading the online version of the manual but I'm not. All this school work is killing me. Might as well continue learning C, though it really killed my brain more than z80 ASM the first time.

Josh_W314 · Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 5

So, I am assuming the manual IAmACalculator linked to is longer/better than the skinny one that came with my 89?

Liazon · Posted: 17 Dec 2005 06:49:49 pm Post subject:

Much MUCH better! I just wish I didn't have to stare at a computer screen to read it all the time. btw, I gave up trying to put ASMin28 on my calc. It was too big.

How much is an e-book reader anyways? I'd like ASMin28 on that if I could get one. And I don't want to pay for a print version of the thick 89Ti guide.

IAmACalculator · Posted: 19 Dec 2005 06:17:12 am Post subject:

Well, you could print it off... Yeah, right... I thought the 89's manual was about triple the size of the calc. Of course, the 89Ti's is pretty worthless. You could buy the full one from TI for $20, but I don't think most people would spend $20 on something they can download easily from the same site.

Liazon · Posted: 19 Dec 2005 04:59:53 pm Post subject:

But costs so much ink, toner, and printer paper to print it out yourself. Perhaps I'll order one in the future. For now, I'm okay... I think.

Who says a 89Ti is worthless? I like mine, but I don't know how HW3 will impact greyscale capabilities? What exactly does HW3 Patch do?

IAmACalculator · Posted: 19 Dec 2005 06:04:11 pm Post subject:

Liazon · Posted: 19 Dec 2005 06:51:41 pm Post subject:

I wish all guides could fit on calc.

So do I just have to load HW3 Patch onto my 89Ti? And is it safe, considering Ti didn't make it?

IAmACalculator · Posted: 19 Dec 2005 07:09:26 pm Post subject:

Yes. Just load it and run it. And as for its safety,

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