The TI-84 Plus is a

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 calcu ...

made 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 globa ...

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 version of the TI-83 Plus. The key-by-key correspondence is relatively the same, but the TI-84 features improved hardware. The archive ( ROM) is about 3 times as large, and the

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...

is about 2.5 times as fast (over the TI-83 and TI-83 Plus). A USB port and built-in clock functionality were also added. The USB port on the TI-84 Plus series is

USB On-The-Go USB On-The-Go (USB OTG or just OTG) is a specification first used in late 2001 that allows USB devices, such as tablets or smartphones, to act as a host, allowing other USB devices, such as USB flash drives, digital cameras, mouse or keyboards ...

compliant, similar to the next generation

TI-Nspire The TI-Nspire is a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments, which was released in July 2007, notable for featuring a non-QWERTY keyboard and a different key-by-key layout than its predecessors. Development The original TI-Nspire ...

calculator, which supports connecting to USB based data collection devices and probes, and supports device to device transfers over USB rather than over the serial link port.

Versions

TI-84 Plus Silver Edition

The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition was released in 2004 as an upgrade to the TI-83 Plus. Like the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, it features a 15 MHz

Zilog Z80 The Z80 is an 8-bit computing, 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 wor ...

processor and 24 kB of user-available RAM. The chip has 128 kB, but

has not made an OS that uses all of it. Newer calculators have a RAM chip that has only 48 kB. All calculators with the letter H or later as the last letter in the serial code have fewer RAM pages, causing some programs to not run correctly. There is 1.5 MB of user-accessible Flash ROM. Like the standard TI-84 Plus, the Silver Edition includes a built-in USB port, a built-in clock, and assembly support. It uses 4 AAA batteries and a backup

button cell A button cell, watch battery, or coin battery is a small single-cell battery shaped as a squat cylinder typically in diameter and high — resembling a button. Stainless steel usually forms the bottom body and positive terminal of the cell; i ...

battery. The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition comes preloaded with a variety of applications. These programs are also available for the TI-84 Plus, but some must be downloaded separately from TI's website. It is manufactured by Kinpo Electronics. TI offers a special yellow version of the TI-84 Plus, inscribed with the words "School Property", for schools to loan out to students. This special design was produced in an effort to combat theft. Owners can buy other interchangeable colored face-plates and slide-cases online. A kickstand-style slide case and other accessories are also available. In 2011, TI launched the TI-84 Pocket.fr, a miniaturized version of the TI-84 Plus for the French market. In 2012, TI launched the TI-84 Plus Pocket SE, a miniaturized version of the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition for the Asian market. In 2015, Texas Instruments released the TI-84 Plus T in the Netherlands. This model is very similar to the original TI-84 Plus, but features an LED to indicate whether or not the calculator is in Exam Mode. The hardware of the TI-84 Plus T is similar to the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition, with ninety-six 16 kB pages of archive memory, for a total of 1540 kB. However, unlike the TI-84 Plus, the TI-84 Plus T does not allow users to execute assembly programs. The TI-84 Plus T has 2 different Exam Modes available with different levels of restrictiveness. The most restrictive level does not allow for any existing programs to be accessed, and does not allow any new programs to be created. This mode makes the LED blink green. The second, more moderate Exam Mode is the same, apart from three additional applications being allowed (PlySmlt2, Inequalz and Conics). This mode makes the LED blink orange.

TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition

The TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition was released in 2013 as the first Z80-based Texas Instruments graphing calculator with a color screen. It had a 320x240-pixel full-color screen, a modified version of the TI-84 Plus's 2.55MP operating system, a removable 1200 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and keystroke compatibility with existing math and programming tools. It had the standard 2.5 mm I/O (DBUS) port and a mini-USB port for connectivity and charging. The calculator was praised for its high-resolution (relative to contemporary graphing calculators) color screen, which allowed new pedagogical approaches such as graphing multiple functions together in different colors. It was widely criticized for its slow performance by educators and hobbyists/hackers alike; the performance was attributed to the calculator retaining its monochrome predecessors' CPU to drive a screen displaying 300 times as much image information. Nonetheless it demonstrated the value of a color-screen TI-84 Plus-family calculator and was superseded two years later by the TI-84 Plus CE which was embraced by the calculator hobbyist community. Notable third-party milestones included overclocking the device from 15 MHz to 22 MHz and the third-party Doors CS shell.

TI-84 Plus CE and TI-84 Plus CE-T

The TI-84 Plus CE was publicly previewed by TI Education in January 2015 and released in 2015. The calculator retains the 320x240-pixel color screen, rechargeable battery, and key layout of the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition, while removing the 2.5mm I/O ("DBUS") linkport and moving the USB port and charging LED to the right side of the handheld. The calculator's OS 5.x is incompatible with the TI-84 Plus C Silver Edition's hardware. In addition, the RSA signing key length has been increased to 2048 bits, making infeasible previous efforts to unlock the calculator to unrestricted third-party software development. The calculator has 154KB of user-accessible RAM and 3.0MB of Archive memory. It uses the eZ80 processor from Zilog, making all Z80 assembly programs from the previous TI-84 Plus series calculators incompatible. The CE was introduced in multiple colors (Classic (black), Silver Linings, Radical Red, True Blue, Denim (navy blue), Lightning (light blue), Plum Pi (purple); Positively Pink (as of March 2015), Golden Ratio, and Bright White (as of June 2016) were added later), and further colors have since been released. Like the rest of the TI-84 Plus series, certain countries permit its use in examinations. The calculator comes programmed with seven different languages ( English,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Dutch, Portuguese,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

, and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

). In 2016, the TI-84 Plus CE-T was released for the European educational market. The only significant difference from the CE model is the addition of an LED that blinks while the calculator is in Press-to-Test mode. CE calculators revision M and later (manufactured on and after April 2019) contain an improved architecture, with caching with a more recent flash chip (Winbond 25Q32JVSIQ) than on previous revisions, which contained a Winbond W29GL032C. Due to this change, more recent revisions have seen a significant improvement in overall speed. In 2020, TI Education announced its decision to remove support for assembly and C programming on these calculators in response to a video posted on YouTube detailing how to bypass the test mode on OS version 5.2.2. TI's response was widely considered unnecessary, and led to anger from users. The changes are reflected in OS version 5.5.1 for the European models and OS version 5.6 for the US models. Currently, an exploit called ArTIfiCE has been released that allows for native code execution through a bug in the CabriJR app.

TI-84 Plus CE-T Python Edition and TI-84 Plus CE Python

The TI-84 Plus CE-T Python Edition was released in 2021 and provides OS version 5.6 and above with the ability to program the calculator in Python and includes a preloaded bundle of applications. In the North American market, the TI-84 Plus CE Python replaced the existing TI-84 Plus CE in 2021.

Software

There are three different types of programs which can be downloaded or programmed into the calculators:

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 ...

, Z80 assembly language, and Flash applications (also written in Z80 assembly). The TI-84 Plus CE is different in that programs are written in

, eZ80 assembly language, or in the

C programming language ''The C Programming Language'' (sometimes termed ''K&R'', after its authors' initials) is a computer programming book written by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie, the latter of whom originally designed and implemented the language, as well as ...

. In addition, there are programs available that are able to compile or interpret other programming languages. The TI-84 Plus CE-T Python Edition supports the Python programming language. Also, there are several languages developed by community members for the calculators, notably ICE, which is for the TI-84 Plus CE, and Axe, which is for the TI-84 Plus and TI-84 Plus SE. There are a wide range of applications that this produces, including science classes, games,

calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizati ...

, and note taking (when put together with a separately sold keyboard). The TI-84 Plus series is exactly like its predecessor in that it can be used on the SAT and ACT examinations as well as

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB ...

examinations. However, in some cases those administering the exam may reset the calculator's memory beforehand to prevent cheating through the use of built-in programs or other data. When OS 2.30 was initially released, users noticed the speed of graphing was greatly reduced. The explanation was that the update added

asymptote In analytic geometry, an asymptote () of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero as one or both of the ''x'' or ''y'' coordinates tends to infinity. In projective geometry and related contexts, ...

checking in graphing. In January 2006, Texas Instruments released v2.40 of the operating system for the TI-84 Plus series. The most noticeable addition to the new OS was the "Press-To-Test" feature that allowed a teacher to disable any programs installed on the calculator, so they cannot be used on tests, etc. As of OS version 2.53MP which was released in February 2010, support was added for

prettyprint Pretty-printing (or prettyprinting) is the application of any of various stylistic formatting conventions to text files, such as source code, markup, and similar kinds of content. These formatting conventions may entail adhering to an indentatio ...

ed expressions. However, some programs stopped working correctly in this OS version, or were running slower. The current OS version is 2.55MP, which was released in January 2011. In July 2009, a

community-made patch An unofficial patch is a patch for a piece of software, created by a third party such as a user community without the involvement of the original developer. Similar to an ordinary patch, it alleviates bugs or shortcomings. Unofficial patches do no ...

was released which allowed user-made operating systems to be easily uploaded onto the TI-84 Plus series. Shortly after the patch was developed, the RSA keys for the calculator's operating system were factored via the General number field sieve (GNFS) algorithm, making a software patch unnecessary. In response to this, Texas Instruments released a newer hardware revision which only accepts other, stronger RSA keys, making it harder to load user-made operating systems or older TI operating systems (2.53MP and earlier). The community has found a way around the newest limitation by discovering a way to revert to older versions of the boot code. The TI-84 Plus CE-T Python Edition supports using CircuitPython, a Python 3 variant, developed by Adafruit. Only the math and random modules are initially supported, but it is possible that wider support will become available either from TI or from the community. Critics point out that the basic design of the TI-84 has not changed since it was released in 2004, contrary to the trend of rapid design change occurring in other areas of electronics manufacturing.

Technical specifications

15 MHz, with a 6 MHz compatibility mode. * Flash ROM: **Plus Edition: 480 KB user-accessible out of 1 MB total **Silver Edition: 1.5 MB user-accessible out of 2 MB total **Third-party software permits usage of

FAT16 File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers. Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks, it was adapted for use on hard disks and other devices. It is often supported for compatibility reasons by c ...

-formatted USB drives * RAM: 24 KB user-accessible out of 128 KB total (48 KB on newer models) *

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 dev ...

: **Text: -16-×, 8, characters (normal font) **Graphics: ***Plus Edition: 96 (0-95) × 64 (0-63)

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 s ...

s, monochrome (software grayscale can be used)

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...

***Plus C/CE: 320 × 240-pixel screen, 140 DPI, 16-bit color. Drawing pixel range: 0-164 x 0-264. * 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 mul ...

**50-button built-in keypad * USB * Power: **Silver Edition: 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 C1 ...

plus 1 SR44SW or 303

silver oxide battery A silver-oxide battery (IEC code: S) is a primary cell using silver oxide as the cathode material and zinc for the anode. These cells maintain a nearly constant nominal voltage during discharge until fully depleted. They are available in small ...

for backup **C Silver Edition and CE: Rechargeable

lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also s ...

*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 l ...

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 ver ...

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

requires a computer with a Z80 assembler or an on-calc assembler.

Programming

The TI-84 Plus is based heavily on its predecessor, the TI-83 Plus. As with all other calculators in the series, the TI-84 Plus supports native Z80 assembly as well as TI's interpreted,

BASIC BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

-like language for calculators, dubbed

. Programming for the TI-84 Plus is nearly identical to programming for the TI-83 Plus, with a few new functions in both TI-BASIC and the calculator's assembly support that do not exist on earlier models and OS versions. Several attempts have been made at creating a C to Zilog Z80 assembly assembler, such as SDCC. The TI-84 Plus CE series can be programmed in

, eZ80 assembly, or with the C programming language. The TI-84 Plus series calculators' dialect of TI-BASIC is the same as that of the TI-83 Plus series, but with a few more commands including ones for date and time. Texas Instruments removed support for Assembly and C in Firmware 5.5. Almost immediately, however, a "

jailbreak A prison escape (referred as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, or prison break) is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture the ...

" called artifiCE was written that restored compatibility.

References

External links

TI Education Portalticalc.org
The flagship hobbyist program- and game-hosting archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Ti-84 Plus Series Graphing calculators

TI-84 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 ...

Products introduced in 2004 Z80