TI-Basic - Comparison

I'm a big fan of Texas Instruments BASIC, which, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, is used primarily on the TI-89 Titanium, TI-89, TI-92 Plus, TI-92, TI-84 Plus, TI-84, TI-83 Plus Silver, TI-83 Plus, TI-83, TI-86, TI-82, and Voyage 200 graphing calculators. Most of the newer TI calculators provide manuals with instruction for this language. For those still in the dark and curious, visit TICalc.org for more information on these devices and programs. But, what I'm curious about, is if anyone can compare TI-BASIC and Visual Basic (.NET) for me. I'm wondering if my TI-BASIC skills will convert and transfer well to VB. What commands share roots and are similar? And, is there a site I can view to teach me about this? Thanks!

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The answer is, not much compares. The for and if statements still exist, but in a slightly differing format. Visual Basic is Object Oriented (sort of) and Ti-Basic isn't. Ti-Basic is more similar to QBasic than Visual Basic, but even there it's quite different. I would recommend doing a search for QBasic and trying to learn that, then learn Visula Basic.

If you know Ti-Basic, then you know how to program QBasic, you just need to learn the commands. Once you know the QBasic commands, learning Visual Basic becomes a lot easier. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

~Viz

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Thanks. I found a site using the query "QBasic". It's too bad they are so dissimilar. I enjoy using TI-BASIC to make games in Calculus. Is there a converter that you know of?

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I'm sorry to say, there is not a whole lot in common between the two. You see, TI-BASIC is designed to create simple, efficient programs useful in performing routine and mundane tasks. VB, however, is used to generate applications, which are essentially a conglomerate of smaller subprograms. The reason for this is that there VB is geared to be interactive and, well, visual. This means stuff like buttons and unique text imputs, for starters. For each one of these, there must be a small sub program written for it. The syntax is fairly straight forward, though. While the general idea for both is similar, VB requires quite a bit more time and time and effort. However, VB can be used to make things ranging from simple calculators and games to advanced professional applications such as text editors and web browsers. The capabilities are endless, but like I said, it can get pretty messy.

For more info, I'd suggest Codepedia (www.codepedia.com)

 

 

 

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While the code itself isn't similar at all, the concepts that you learned will help you out. I did the same thing my junior year in highschool when I took Pre-calculus, programming games and other amusing but pointless programs on my TI-83 plus. I would have continued last year but I got screwed out of my Calculus class. I don't really know how well it applies to other programming languages, but the TI-basic will be a better foundation than no background in programming at all.

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