The TI-83 series is a series of

graphing calculator A graphing calculator (also graphics calculator or graphic display calculator) is a handheld computer that is capable of plotting graphs, solving simultaneous equations, and performing other tasks with variables. Most popular graphing calculat ...

s manufactured by

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...

. The original TI-83 is itself an upgraded version of the

TI-82 The TI-82 is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments. The TI-82 was designed in 1993 as a stripped down, more user friendly version of the TI-85, and as a replacement for the TI-81. It was the direct predecessor of the TI-83. It shares ...

. Released in 1996, it was one of the most popular graphing calculators for students. In addition to the functions present on normal

scientific calculator A scientific calculator is an electronic calculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform mathematical operations. They have completely replaced slide rules and are used in both educational and professional settings. In some areas ...

s, the TI-83 includes many features, including function graphing, polar/parametric/sequence graphing modes, statistics, trigonometric, and algebraic functions, along with many useful

applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

. Although it does not include as many calculus functions, applications and programs can be written on the calculator or loaded from external sources. The TI-83 was redesigned twice, first in 1999 and again in 2001. TI replaced the TI-83 with the ''TI-83 Plus'' in 1999. The 2001 redesign introduced a design very similar to the

TI-73 The TI 73 series is a series of graphing calculators made by Texas Instruments, all of which have identical hardware. The original TI-73 graphing calculator was originally designed in 1998 as a replacement for the TI-80 for use at a middle sch ...

and TI-83 Plus, eliminating the sloped screen that had been common on TI graphing calculators since the TI-81, and included

Flash memory Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both us ...

, enabling the device's operating system to be updated if needed, or for large new Flash Applications to be stored, accessible through a new Apps key. The Flash memory can also be used to store user programs and data. In 2001, the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition was released, which featured approximately nine times the available flash memory, and over twice the processing speed (15

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) of a standard TI-83 Plus, all in a translucent grey case inlaid with small "sparkles". The 2001 redesign (nicknamed the TI-83 "Parcus") introduced a slightly different shape to the calculator itself, eliminated the glossy grey screen border, and reduced cost by streamlining the printed circuit board to four units.

Additional models

TI-83 Plus

The ''TI-83 Plus'' was designed in 1999 as an upgrade to the TI-83. The TI-83 Plus is one of TI's most popular calculators. It uses a

Zilog Z80 The Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor introduced by Zilog as the startup company's first product. The Z80 was conceived by Federico Faggin in late 1974 and developed by him and his 11 employees starting in early 1975. The first working samples wer ...

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

running at 6

, a 96×64 monochrome LCD screen, and 4

AAA batteries The AAA battery (or triple-A battery) is a standard size of dry cell battery. One or more AAA batteries are commonly used in low-drain portable electronic devices. A zinc–carbon battery in this size is designated by IEC as R03, by ANSI C18. ...

as well as backup CR1616 or CR1620 battery. A link port is also built into the calculator in the form of a 2.5mm jack. The main improvement over the TI-83, however, is the addition of 512 KB of

Flash ROM Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both use ...

, which allows for operating system upgrades and applications to be installed. Most of the Flash memory is used by the operating system, with 160 KB available for user files and applications. Another development is the ability to install Flash Applications, which allows the user to add functionality to the calculator. Such applications have been made for math and science, text editing (both uppercase and lowercase letters), organizers and day planners, editing spread sheets, games, and many other uses. Designed for use by high school and college students, though now used by middle school students in some public school systems, it contains all the features of a scientific calculator as well as function, parametric, polar, and sequential graphing capabilities; an environment for financial calculations; matrix operations; on-calculator programming; and more. Symbolic manipulation (differentiation, algebra) is not built into the TI-83 Plus. It can be programmed using a language called

TI-BASIC TI-BASIC is the official name of a BASIC-like language built into Texas Instruments (TI)'s graphing calculators. TI-BASIC is a language family of three different and incompatible versions, released on different products: * TI-BASIC 83 (on Z80 ...

, which is similar to the BASIC computer language. Programming may also be done in TI Assembly, made up of Z80 assembly and a collection of TI provided system calls. Assembly programs run much faster, but are more difficult to write. Thus, the writing of Assembly programs is often done on a computer.

TI-83 Plus Silver Edition

upTI-83 Plus Silver Edition The ''TI-83 Plus Silver Edition'' was released in 2001. Its enhancements are 1.5 MB of

flash memory Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both us ...

, a dual-speed 6/15

processor, 96 KB of additional

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

(but TI has yet to code support for the entire RAM into an OS), an improved link transfer hardware, a

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions a ...

silver case, and more applications preinstalled. This substantial Flash memory increase is significant. Whereas the TI-83+ can only hold a maximum of 10 apps (or more often less, dependent on size), the Silver Edition can hold up to 94 apps. It also includes a

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

link cable in the box. It is almost completely compatible with the TI-83 Plus; the only problems that may arise are with programs (e.g. games) that may run too quickly on the Silver Edition or with some programs which have problems with the link hardware. The key layout is the same. A second version of the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition exists, the ViewScreen (VSC) version. It is virtually identical, but has an additional port at the screen end of the rear of the unit, enabling displays on overhead projectors via a cable and panel. It looks similar to the standard TI-83 Plus, but has a silver-colored frame, identical to the standard Silver Edition, around the screen. The TI-83 Plus Silver Edition is listed on the Texas Instruments website as "discontinued." In April 2004, the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition was replaced by the

TI-84 Plus Silver Edition The TI-84 Plus is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments which was released in early 2004. There is no original TI-84, only the TI-84 Plus, the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition models, and the TI-84 Plus CE. The TI-84 Plus is an enhanced ve ...

. They feature the same processor and the same amount of Flash memory, but the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition features a built-in

port, clock, and changeable faceplates.

Technical specifications

* CPU:

CPU, 6

(TI-83, 83+), or 15 MHz (Silver Edition), or Inventec 6S1837 (TI-83+ revision A) *

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

** 24 kB ROM (TI-83) **

: 512 KB with 163 KB available for user data and programs (83+) or 2 MB (Silver Edition) *

: 32 KB RAM with 24 KB available for user data and programs (128 KB on Silver Edition, however the extra 96 KB is ''not'' user accessible by default, this extra memory is used in some Applications such as Omnicalc for a RAM recovery feature and a ''virtual calc'') *

Display Display may refer to: Technology * Display device, output device for presenting information, including: ** Cathode ray tube, video display that provides a quality picture, but can be very heavy and deep ** Electronic visual display, output devi ...

** Text: 16×8 characters (normal font) ** Graphics: 96×64

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...

s, monochrome 3" LCD * I/O ** Link port, 9.6

kbit/s In telecommunications, data-transfer rate is the average number of bits (bitrate), characters or symbols (baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are multi ...

** 50 button built-in keypad *

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

: 4

plus 1 CR1616 or CR1620 for

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...

* Integrated

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

Assembly language In computer programming, assembly language (or assembler language, or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as Assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence be ...

and

machine code In computer programming, machine code is any low-level programming language, consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). Each instruction causes the CPU to perform a very ...

. C requires a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

with a Z80 cross-compiler or an on-calc assembler.

Programming

The TI-83 Plus series are very similar in the languages natively supported by the calculator. These include "TI-BASIC", an interpreted language used by all of TI's calculators, and "TI-ASM", an unofficial name for the native Z80 assembly language on which the calculator is based.

TI-BASIC

TI-BASIC is the built-in language for TI-83 series calculators, as well as many other TI graphing calculators. TI-BASIC is a

non-structured programming Non-structured programming is the historically earliest programming paradigm capable of creating Turing-complete algorithms. It is often contrasted with the structured programming paradigm, in particular with the use of unstructured control flow us ...

language, meaning it is arranged sequentially, without the use of methods or organized blocks of code. Due to its simplicity and the ubiquity of TI calculators in school curricula, for many students it is their first experience with programming. Below is an example of a

hello world program ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...

equivalent to the assembly language example. :ClrHome :Disp "Hello World!"

Assembly language

The TI-83 was the first calculator in the TI series to have built-in assembly language support. The

TI-92 The TI-92 series of graphing calculators are a line of calculators produced by Texas Instruments. They include: the TI-92 (1995), the TI-92 II (1996), the TI-92 Plus (1998, 1999) and the Voyage 200 (2002). The design of these relatively large ...

TI-85 The TI-85 is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments based on the Zilog Z80 microprocessor. Designed in 1992 as TI's second graphing calculator (the first was the TI-81), it was replaced by the TI-86, which has also been discontinued ...

, and

were capable of running assembly language programs, but only after sending a specially constructed (hacked) memory backup. The support on the TI-83 could be accessed through a hidden feature of the calculator. Users would write their assembly (ASM) program on their computer, assemble it, and send it to their calculator as a program. The user would then execute the command "Send (9prgm''XXX''" (where ''XXX'' is the name of the program), and it would execute the program. Successors of the TI-83 replaced the Send() backdoor with a less-hidden Asm() command. Z80 assembly language gives a programmer much more power over the calculator than the built-in language, TI-BASIC. On the downside, Z80 assembly is more difficult to learn than TI-BASIC. Z80 assembly language can be programmed on the computer and sent to the calculator via USB port, written by hand directly into the program editor (using the hexadecimal equivalents to the op-codes) or compiled using third party compiler programs. Programs written in assembly are much faster and more efficient than those using TI-BASIC, as it is the processor's native language, and does not have to be interpreted. An example program that displays " Hello World!" on the screen is given. Note that b_call() is not an instruction, but a macro (

syntactic sugar In computer science, syntactic sugar is syntax within a programming language that is designed to make things easier to read or to express. It makes the language "sweeter" for human use: things can be expressed more clearly, more concisely, or in an ...

) for calling an OS routine. .nolist ; Standard header #include "ti83plus.inc" .list .org userMem-2 .db t2ByteTok,tAsmCmp Main: b_call(_ClrScrnFull) ; Clears the screen b_call(_HomeUp) ; Moves the cursor to the top-left corner of the screen ld hl,Hello ; Loads the address that points to "Hello World" into register hl (16-bit) b_call(_PutS) ; Displays "Hello World" on the screen ret ; Pops the last value pushed onto the stack into the program execution register ; May be used to end the program depending on what's on the stack Hello: ; Gives the label an equate address in memory .db "Hello World!",0 ; The hex values of "Hello World" are stored in program data .end ; Marks the end of a file .end ; Two .ends must be used because of a bug in the standard compiler

Firmware replacement

TI continued to rely on RSA cryptographic signing keys only 512 bits long for many years after it was known that longer keys were necessary for security. 512-bit keys had been publicly cracked in 1999 as part of the

RSA Factoring Challenge The RSA Factoring Challenge was a challenge put forward by RSA Laboratories on March 18, 1991 to encourage research into computational number theory and the practical difficulty of factoring large integers and cracking RSA keys used in cryptograp ...

. In 2009, a group of enthusiasts used brute force and distributed methods to find all of the cryptographic signing keys for the TI calculator firmware, allowing users to directly flash their own operating systems to the devices. The key for the TI-83+ calculator was first published by someone at the unitedti.org forum. They needed several months to crack it. The other keys were found after a few weeks by the unitedti.org community through a

distributed computing A distributed system is a system whose components are located on different computer network, networked computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions by message passing, passing messages to one another from any system. Distributed com ...

project. Texas Instruments then began sending out

DMCA The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or s ...

take-down requests to a variety of different websites mirroring the keys, including unitedTI and

reddit.com Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...

. They then became subject to the

Streisand effect Attempts to hide, remove, or censor information often have the unintended consequence of increasing awareness of that information via the Internet. This is called the Streisand effect. It is named after American singer and actress Barbra Streis ...

and were mirrored on a number of different sites, including

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...

Successor

The

TI-84 Plus series The TI-84 Plus is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments which was released in early 2004. There is no original TI-84, only the TI-84 Plus, the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition models, and the TI-84 Plus CE. The TI-84 Plus is an enhanced ve ...

was introduced in April 2004 as a further update to the TI-83 Plus line. Despite the new appearance, there are very few actual changes. The main improvements of the TI-84 Plus and TI-84 Plus Silver Edition are a modernized case design, changeable faceplates (Silver Edition only), a few new functions, more speed and memory, a clock, and

port connectivity. The TI-84 Plus also has a brighter screen with a clearer contrast, though this caused a bug with the LCD driver in some calculators sold. The TI-84 Plus has 3 times the memory of the TI-83 Plus, and the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition has 9 times the memory of the TI-83 Plus. They both have 2.5 times the speed of the TI-83 Plus. The

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

and math functionality remain essentially the same, as does the standard link port for connecting with the rest of the TI calculator series. While mobile devices and the internet have superseded any calculator's capabilities, standardized testing precludes the use of those devices. Furthermore, textbooks have been tailored for the TI-83 effectively giving the calculator a "monopoly in the field of high school mathematics."

References

External links

Features of the TI-83 Plus
an

Texas Instruments Product Info

Texas Instruments Product Documentation
How Texas Instruments Monopolized Math Class
How students are using DonorsChoose to raise money to buy TI graphing calculators {{Authority control Graphing calculators TI-83 Products introduced in 1996 Z80