Omnimaga
Calculator Community => TI Calculators => General Calculator Help => Topic started by: MasterYster on April 04, 2011, 11:20:21 pm
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Hey guys I am just getting into programming for the Ti-84 and would like some advice on how to get started with ASM programming. I have learned Ti-Basic but I find it restraining and I would really like to move on to the next level. Leave tips below
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:P So do you want to program in assembly directly on the calc? If so, I suggest Mimas :D
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If you'd like something easier (not to mention safer) than Assembly, may I recommend Axe? It's almost as fast as Assembly and almost as easy as TI-BASIC.
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Both options would work well. ;) And Axe would be quicker to learn, and teaches many Asm concepts, but hey, nothing wrong with jumping in head-first!
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Yeah Axe is another alternative if you want a similar syntax. BASIC can be good to make some decent games, but you need to know most tricks and master the rest of the language. Otherwise, there's ASM of course. People will be happy to help you since there are a lot of Axe and ASM coders here.
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Hmm.... so what exactly is axe lol?
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Axe is a programming language that uses the same program editor as BASIC, but the tokens are changed a little. Since the code is compiled to assembly, you get really fast programs and graphics that could never be achieved in BASIC :)
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Axe is a programming language that uses the same program editor as BASIC, but the tokens are changed a little. Since the code is compiled to assembly, you get really fast programs and graphics that could never be achieved in BASIC :)
Lol so I should definitely be using this! I just want to be able program emulators and games
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Emulators in Axe? Well good luck :P
And yeah, Axe is pretty awesome, I strongly recommand it :D
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Also, Axe teaches about pointers, free ram areas, and other ASM-type stuff. To me, Axe provided a great stepping stone from BASIC to ASM. :)
but hey, nothing wrong with jumping in head-first!
EDIT: Emulators might be a little easier in low level ASM, imho.
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I would avoid an emulator as first project, even in ASM. Try to start smaller, also an emu would require ASM most likely.
Axe is mostly game-oriented. Also when coding in Axe, make sure to backup frequently, in case you get a RAM clear, because Axe compiles to ASM code, and ASM has full control of your calculator, which means if an error occurs your calculator RAM can be cleared.
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Also, Axe teaches about pointers, free ram areas, and other ASM-type stuff. To me, Axe provided a great stepping stone from BASIC to ASM. :)
but hey, nothing wrong with jumping in head-first!
EDIT: Emulators might be a little easier in low level ASM, imho.
Alright sounds good, but how can I learn AXE? TI-BASIC was very easy to find info on but I've just heard of AXE now....
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Well Omnimaga got three boards dedicated solely to Axe Parser and its language. Including in the downloads there I am sure you'll find plenty of infos: http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?board=71.0
If you can't find what you need there feel free to ask in that section.
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axe.omnimaga.org (http://axe.omnimaga.org)
There are many great Axe programmers that can help you here. You can't find any where else with a larger Axe community. :D
If you want a faster interpreted language, you can try Batlib + Basic Recode. (Why did Zeda not advertise this)
EDIT: Also, Ninja'd (again)
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It comes with documentation that helps you get on your feet, and there's also the boards DJ mentioned.
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You came to the right site for Axe :P
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axe.omnimaga.org (http://axe.omnimaga.org)
There are many great Axe programmers that can help you here. You can't find any where else with a larger Axe community. :D
If you want a faster interpreted language, you can try Batlib + Basic Recode. (Why did Zeda not advertise this)
EDIT: Also, Ninja'd (again)
Meh, I don't like to advertise too much ♥ It was made clear to me long ago not to compete with the big guns :D But yeah, BatLib has 92 functions plus another really fast interpreted programming language called ReCode. THe advantage to using ReCode is that:
1) It is a lot faster than BASIC
2) It is typically a lot smaller than assembly/axe
3) It has graphics stuff !
4) It can run inside BASIC programs
5) It can run assembly code
The disadvantages are:
1) I haven't added much in the past few weeks
2) Math is kind of lacking
3) There is almost no error handling, so you have to be sure not to make mistakes
So here is a link http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?board=151.0
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If you're interested in learning Axe, you should probably start off by downloading the latest version: http://ourl.ca/40600 (http://ourl.ca/40600).
As of today, you want version 0.5.1
After you download the .zip file and put the app into your calculator, I recommend that you read the documentation and the list of commands.
One of the things you'll learn is that Axe, in exchange for it's huge increase in speed and power over TI-Basic, comes with a few limitations and dangers. One of the more dangerous things is that an incorrectly written Axe program will often cause a RAM clear. It's fairly common to have to pull the batteries on your calc while debugging your program.
For that reason, keep your programs in archive, and turn backup mode on in Axe. Currently, I have Doors CS 7 on my calculator, because it lets me run my programs even when they're archived, which is very useful. (Located here: http://www.cemetech.net/projects/item.php?id=32 (http://www.cemetech.net/projects/item.php?id=32))
The other limitation that Axe has is that it cannot do decimals, but that isn't going to be a problem. Games don't really need them, anyways, and there are workarounds available.
If you have questions, check this subforum: http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?board=162.0 (http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?board=162.0).
Stickied at the top of the page, you can find a list of tutorials, and if you have a question that isn't answered there, or you need more information, feel free to start a thread.
After you think you have a pretty neat game, share it in this subforum: http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?board=5.0 (http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?board=5.0). Even if it's just a demo, feel free to post it as long as it doesn't crash your calc and is reasonably interesting. You can often get constructive feedback on your program this way.
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It can do decimals through Float, but don't use it unless you have to, it slows things down.
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Right, I always forget about the existence of float
x.X
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On a side note I just realized this was in the wrong forum section, so I moved it.