Welcome to TI-Basic Developer
Page Contents
Welcome to TI-Basic Developer, the premier source for TI-83/+/SE TI-Basic information! The site covers how to make TI-Basic programs using the many different TI-Basic commands, while discussing proper programming design and showing several examples that can be incorporated in programs. After going through all of the information on this site, the reader should be a competent TI-Basic programmer.
For navigating around the site, use the links above; each link leads to a different section of the site. The home link is accessible on the other pages by clicking the title, as well as my email contact by clicking my name at the bottom of each page. Please feel free to come back often to see what changes or additions have been made. And above all else, enjoy your stay!
Site Goals
The main goal of this site is to teach TI-Basic programming. This site is targeted primarily at the beginner programmer (those with little or no programming experience). I believe that if you can teach a beginner programmer good programming habits and skills, they will incorporate those habits and skills into the programs they create. The result will be higher quality TI-Basic programs.
Related to the first goal, the second goal of this site is to present TI-Basic in a more connected and beginner-friendly format. The TI-Basic information is spread out through the entire manual, and this problem is made even worse because of how cumbersome and confusing the information is presented. For a beginner TI-Basic programmer, it is especially hard to read through and follow. The result is a challenging barrier for learning TI-Basic.
The last goal of this site is to create more TI-Basic programming documentation. The one major underdeveloped area in the TI community is quality documentation. I believe this is caused because writing tutorials is not really a fun activity, and it doesn't receive the same recognition as creating a program or game. Nonetheless, documentation is essential to the success of the TI community.
Site Content
I've tried to create a broad base of TI-Basic information. This ensures that most readers (hopefully) will be able to learn something from this site. Experimentation is encouraged to fully digest all of the information. The site content can be broken up into three general, interdependent parts:
- Reference — The reference gives thorough information about the different commands, including their description and syntax. It also groups the commands together based on their function and purpose.
- Theory — The theory teaches how to succeed at programming, including improving program design and optimizing using the different commands. It will help the reader become a more complete programmer.
- Examples — The examples are a collection of short routines, broken down and dissected to help the reader understand the underlying logic. They are not designed to be comprehensive, but rather a foundation which the reader can build upon.
Each reader can read the information in whatever order they desire. For the average reader, though, the suggested approach is to just start from the beginning and read until the end. The information is presented in a sequential order, with the concepts and code getting increasingly more complex as you get further into it.
Reader Feedback
Even though creating this site and content has taken a considerable amount of time, that doesn't mean it's perfect. I am only human, so I am prone to making mistakes and forgetting to include something. If you find errors, or you have suggestions for things you would like to see added, or you just have general comments about the site, you can contact me through email.
I welcome any feedback, and I will try to respond in a timely manner. When reporting errors, please remember to be very specific because it is hard to pinpoint the errors otherwise. I want to make this a quality site, and user response is vital to achieving that. Thanks for your help.
Acknowledgements
Many resources were used during the making of this site. The greatest resource was TI and their manual, which was the starting point for much of the site content. I also used several of the TI-Basic tutorials and guides that people have written (especially Basic Guru by Ben Ilegbodu and Basic Tutor by Kerm Martian), to provide additional TI-Basic information and other relevant ideas.
I would also like to mention United-TI (UTI). I have been visiting the UTI forums for some time now, and I personally think they are one of the best forums in the TI community. Not only is the TI-Basic subforum filled with a vast array of useful information, but the many contributing members make for a very welcome and enjoyable environment. In fact, I contacted some of these members to get their input on this site. Specifically, I want to thank Weregoose (a.k.a. Kenny Hammond) for all his help.