TI-84 Plus CE Graphing Calculator For Dummies, 3rd Edition
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The Menu command on the TI-84 Plus calculator is a glorified Goto command. It enables the program user to select an item from a menu, and then have the program execute the commands that are specific to that item.

After executing the commands that are specific to the chosen item, the program can terminate, return to the menu so the user can make another selection, or continue by executing the commands in the program that appear after the commands that are specific to the chosen menu item.

The first screen illustrates the structure of a menu-driven program that terminates after executing the commands associated with the chosen menu item. If, for example, the user of this theoretical program selects ITEM A from the menu, Commands 1 are executed, and then the Stop command terminates the program. If the user selects QUIT from the menu, the program clears the Home screen and then terminates because it has no more commands to execute.

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It is OK to leave off the right parenthesis at the end of a command in a program, because the program will take up less RAM on the calculator.

The second screen illustrates the menu that the user of the program sees. The moving busy indicator in the upper-right corner is the calculator’s way of telling the user that it is waiting for a menu item to be selected.

When you create a menu-driven program, it’s a common courtesy to offer QUIT as a menu item. This enables the user to quickly exit the program if he or she inadvertently selects the wrong program to execute.

The first screen illustrates the structure of a menu-driven program that returns the user to the menu after he has selected and executed a menu item. If, for example, the user of this program selects THIS from the menu, the calculator executes the commands housed in the external program named THIS, and then returns the user to the menu to make another selection.

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The external program named THIS is pictured, in its entirety, in the second screen. If the user selects QUIT from the menu, the program clears the Home screen and terminates because there are no more commands in the program for it to execute.

When you create a menu-driven program that repeatedly returns the program user to the menu, it’s wise to supply the program with a means of terminating itself. Adding a QUIT option to the menu is an easy way to do so.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Jeff McCalla is a mathematics teacher at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis, TN. He cofounded the TI-Nspire SuperUser group, and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science & Mathematics Teaching.

C.C. Edwards is an educator who has presented numerous workshops on using TI calculators.

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