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A Glimpse through Time
Posted by Ryan on 7 June 2012, 01:15 GMT
My first exposure to programming was during my elementary school years, when
I discovered QBasic; as I
developed, I received exposure to other systems and languages. I began to know that, when I grew up, I
wanted to "be a programmer" so that I could create, solve problems, and have fun, all at the same
time. In young adulthood and beyond, I found that I had an interest in older hardware and,
consequently, the software designed to run on these systems. I can say in earnest that it was my
adoration for TI calculators that modeled this bridge for me.
Over the years, many expert and accomplished programmers have applied their skills to
programming calcs, for both work and amusement, creating the software that we have all come to
know and love. To this day, I still will not travel without a calc loaded with Phoenix for my pleasure.
Many of these programmers opened up to us with their own personal interests and knowledge, both
implicitly and explicitly. There is a lot of software that graces our archives here at ticalc.org
that gives a knowing nod to software that has served to, and still does, inspire. I remember when
I first encountered Vinegar, a CHIP-8/SCHIP interpreter that led my mind down avenues of learning that I otherwise would have not
encountered and, might I add, still impresses me to this day. I can express the sense of
contentment upon seeing that robotfindskitten had
found a home on the 83/84+ series. You can still talk to ELIZA, the TI-83 ASM
version being my first exposure to a realm of software that ultimately launched me on a path into
researching language analysis and theory. Any, hey, what's to stop you from rocking out with
nothing but a calc and some headphones?
If lacking in bleeding-edge graphics and state-of-the art hardware, our calculators have the
potential to connect us to the past in terms of culture, software, and historical curiousity, as
well as to the future. After all, there are some things that none
of us had ever dared to dream possible.
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The comments below are written by ticalc.org visitors. Their views are not necessarily those of ticalc.org, and ticalc.org takes no responsibility for their content.
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Re: A Glimpse through Time
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Ryan Boyd 
(Web Page)
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I would like to sincerely apologize to the ticalc.org users for the unfortunate extended break in the news over the past two months. Thanks for your patience!
Sincerely,
-Ryan
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7 June 2012, 01:19 GMT
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Re: A Glimpse through Time
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shmibs
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calculators do indeed help to introduce a younger generation to concepts they may never become acquainted with elsewhere by forcing them to "reinvent the wheel." without graphics libs, vast expanses of disposable RAM and disc space, and high-level data operations, they gain an appreciation for efficiency, elegance, and innovation that is seldom seen in today's world of java and objective-C.
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7 June 2012, 02:35 GMT
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Re: A Glimpse through Time
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Greg Miller
(Web Page)
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When I was growing up, my first computer was a performa Mac, followed by a windows 98 PC. However, I learned to program accidentally, by playing with an old Atari 800 XL (which was past my time). I fell in-love with BASIC. When I started High School freshman year, I learned that Graphing Calc's had BASIC on them. I BEGGED my parents for one. How cool would that be... a portable programming environment!
After playing with basic on my 83+, I moved to precalc and got a 89... which lead me to learn C with TIGCC. Oh man, THAT was fun! That really gave me a lesson in optimizing for limited hardware. It really strengthened my understanding of code and hardware. Programming TI's was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything - too bad the community doesn't seem as fertile as it used to be, with iPhones and Droids and such.
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8 June 2012, 11:26 GMT
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Re: A Glimpse through Time
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James Vernon
(Web Page)
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Cool article!
Like many others, TI calculators were my first venture into programming, in my case when I had to get a TI-83 in high school, and discovered the "PRGM" button.. That was the start of something that taught me a lot and kept me amused for many, many hours!
At first, I thought TI-BASIC was all that was possible. Then one of my mates somehow acquired Spaze Invaders, and I knew I had to learn how to manipulate the calculator in that kind of way.. So I came online, found ticalc.org and the Assembly-83 mailing list :)
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8 June 2012, 12:57 GMT
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Re: A Glimpse through Time
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Ronakbhai
(Web Page)
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Ah, I too have developed as a programmer similarly to many here. I started out with a Casio color graphing calculator myself, using it to "cheat" in math class by writing programs that basically did the work for me. The teacher would reset our calculators, and I'd spend about 15 minutes programming and testing the program. Then spend about 5 minutes actually taking the test, and end up leaving first every time. :)
Soon thereafter, I discovered the ASM programs for the TI-85 were very fast. I purchased a TI-86 then and continued with BASIC programming. When the TI-89 launched, I sold my TI-86 and bought the TI-89 and dived into asm68k programming, then onto TI-GCC. From there, I ended up learning C as well and developed a few programs for Windows.
In 11th grade, I finally got the opportunity to take programming in school, and spent 2 years learning C++ then.
It's been a long while since then, but most definitely the TI calculators have built the bridge that I used to become the programmer I am today. From simple "cheating" in math class is where it all began. :)
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11 June 2012, 05:24 GMT
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