In 2010, Axe Parser revolutionarized TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus programming by bridging the gap between TI-BASIC and Z80 assembly, by providing an alternative to those two languages that allowed advanced graphics with the speed of assembly, but almost as easy to learn as TI-BASIC for people well versed into hi-level programming languages.
Then color-screen TI-Z80 calculators came out. However, there was no sign of life from anyone regarding a future port of Axe Parser for those calculators. On the TI-83 Premium CE and TI-84 Plus CE, we thankfully had C as a third alternative. However, while some prominent TI coders insisted that Axe should not be released on the CE due to C allegedly serving the same purpose, many people found C too difficult to learn and found that it did not bridge the gap between TI-BASIC and assembly as much as Axe did, as the graphical output syntax was way too different from pure and hybrid TI-BASIC.
Eventually,
@PT_ stepped up and decided that a similar language would see the light of the day on CE calculators. While the initial reception was not very positive, the cross-posting of the project on all major TI forums led to its growth and while the syntax is different from Axe Parser (it looks a bit like a mix of xLIB and TI-BASIC), the idea is similar: Open TI-84 Plus CE dev to people who prefers TI-BASIC syntax, but wants speed that somewhat rivals ASM and C. And since last week, ICE Compiler lets you make full games featuring sprites and all!
![](http://i.imgur.com/9hTXQem.gif)
Because the syntax of the rudimentary commands such as For loops look so close to actual TI-BASIC, my personal learning experience was pretty similar to learning how to use xLIB and xLIBC libraries a few years ago, but with the det() command instead of real(). As a result, if you are good at TI-BASIC, then you should not have too much difficulty picking up this language. In addition to that, ICE is open-source, meaning that anyone can contribute to its development (*cough*such as adding pointers, a copy-anywhere command and external variables*cough*), although in its current state it is functional to the point it can already be used for most arcade game development, just like when Axe Parser first made
ticalc.org headlines.
Keep in mind, however, that like Axe, ASM and C programs, if you do a mistake, then the program will most likely clear your calculator RAM. As a result, you must backup your files and source before testing any program. SourceCoder, TokenIDE and TI-Connect CE editors can be used to program this language, just like TI-BASIC and Axe, although some commands will show differently. Full documentation about the commands, as well as program examples, are available with ICE Compiler.
Download link:
https://tiplanet.org/forum/archives_voir.php?id=587211Source:
https://github.com/PeterTillema/ICECW discussion topic:
https://codewalr.us/1234