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The new TI calculators are still Z80 based, so the Python interpreter runs on a separate ARM CPU that communicates with the Z80 over SPI. This creates such a la
by ndiddy 5y ago
The new TI calculators are still Z80 based, so the Python interpreter runs on a separate ARM CPU that communicates with the Z80 over SPI. This creates such a large bottleneck for performance that in most cases TI-BASIC is much faster than Python (and due to TI banning assembly programs, that means that kids wanting to get anything resembling decent performance still get to program in TI-BASIC just like you remember doing). As far as I can tell the Python support is a toy feature mainly included to meet curriculum requirements in certain European countries. Additionally it's a calculator so text entry is very cumbersome, personally I would much rather write code on a smartphone than one of these.
https://www.cemetech.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=285843#285843 https://www.cemetech.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=285843#285843 for more information on the Python performance
- isoprophlex 5y agoIt seems inexcusable that TI is still running their calculators on a Z80... what an absolutely glacial pace of innovation. Are they just lazy monopolists or am I missing something crucial?
- phinnaeus 5y agoDo they have any competition? Those chips are probably effectively free for them. R&D isn't.
- nl 5y agoCasio makes very popular and we'll supported graphics calculators.
- qq4 5y agoAgreed. Casio got me through my beginning of undergrad with a wonderful calculator. TI always seemed liked too little for the money.
- watersb 5y agoCasio made the first graphing calculator. I got one, so great. Statistical Student's T at the lab bench for advanced freshman chemistry. In 1987.
- TchoBeer 5y agoiirc Casio's offerings aren't any cheaper.
- mbirth 5y agoTechnically, yes, there's competition from Casio and HP. However, all US textbooks contain examples specifically for TI calculators, all teachers get TI calculators for free and thus they don't recommend getting anything else but a TI calc.
- luke2m 5y agoMy school requires the TI
- saagarjha 5y agoTI's newer calculators actually use the eZ80, which is pipelined and generally much faster than the similarly-clocked Z80 processors in the older devices.
- aqfamnzc 5y agoThey are absolutely lazy monopolists in my view. They are still selling the TI-83, a device released in 1996, for $112 at major retailers.
- don-code 5y agoI don't see the TI-series graphing calculators as a general purpose computing device. If I need more horsepower than an old Z80 for some specific use case, TI actually has me covered, in the 68k-powered TI-89 and the ARM-powered TI nSpire. What _is_ inexcusable to me is that the calculator still costs as much as it does. I'd bet the bill of materials for a TI-84 is cheaper than that of a Raspberry Pi at this point. A few years ago I had to take apart my -83 and discovered from references online that there were revisions A through at least K of the hardware, with many cost cutting measures made along the way. And while there's something to be said for the supply chain for a 20+ year old device probably having dried up several times over, none of those cost savings seem to have been passed onto the consumer.
- saagarjha 5y agoTI does not ban assembly programming on their calculators. In fact, the AsmPrgm directive lets you punch in machine code in hex right on the device itself. I actually used this as the basis for a CTF challenge once: https://github.com/saagarjha/ictf-carprey https://github.com/saagarjha/ictf-carprey
- TD-Linux 5y agoThey removed the ability on some of their newer calculators, after you made that repository. E.g. the TI-84 Plus CE: https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/27/21271625/texas-instruments-programming-support-assembly-ti-84-plus-ce-t-premium https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/27/21271625/texas-instrument...
- TchoBeer 5y ago>due to TI banning assembly programs they did _what?!_ I recall TI-Basic programs running at a snail's pace on my TI-8whatever, without assembly nothing of any scale can be done, even numerical analysis.