Ion Frequently Asked Questions And Answers
See ion.txt for more information on Ion.

>I have more than eight programs, how do I access them?
This is, sadly, my most frequently asked question!
Press the right arrow key to view the next page of programs!

>Why won't Ion detect my Basic programs?
Ion does not support Basic programs. Press the [PRGM] button from the home screen to run those.

>Ion isn't working!
Make sure you send ion.83g (if you have a TI-83) or ion.8xg (if you have a TI-83 Plus). Then run prgmION to install Ion. Finally run prgmA to start Ion for the first time. If you do not have any Ion-compatable programs loaded, Ion will not start. Note: SOS and AShell programs will not run under Ion. Do not ungroup the Ion program files! See ion.txt for installation instructions.
If all else fails, try resetting the calculator and resending your files. Some programs, such as Diamonds, require external levels to be loaded to run. Make sure you have all the required files.

>Why do I need a shell to run programs on my TI-83 or TI-83 Plus?
On the TI-83, assembly language have to be approximately three times larger if they do not use a shell and on the TI-83 Plus programs have to be about two times larger. Also, a shell allows programs to take advantage of features not available in the TI-OS and it gives the user a friendly interface to his or her programs.

>What is the difference between Ion and SOS?
There are three major differences between Ion and SOS, which is a shell also by Joe Wingbermuehle for the TI-83. First of all, Ion uses a new and improved method of relocation, which allows assembly language programs to take complete advantage of all the system ROM calls. Secondly, Ion does not support external libraries. Ion has the most popular library routines built in. This saves space and elimates confusion caused by different library files. The routines not included in Ion were seldom used and therefore removed. Lastly, Ion loads itself in a different way, which allows it to run with under 40 bytes of free memory. Other features were added and removed, but these are the most significant.

>Why aren't SOS programs compatable with Ion?
SOS programs aren't compatible with Ion because they use a different library format and a slightly different header format. The Ion format improved on the SOS format to conserve memory.

>Why should I use Ion instead of SOS or AShell?
There are a number of benefits that come with using Ion. First of all, any Ion program can be assembled to run on both a TI-83 and a TI-83 Plus. Another reason is because it allows the user to load programs, external levels, and modules in any order. Also, Ion allows programmers to easily use all of the system ROM calls. Lastly, all things considered, Ion uses less memory than either shell.

>Is Ion an upgrade from SOS?
No, Ion is a completely different system. The code, except for some of the library functions, was completely rewritten.

>Is Ion a replacement for SOS?
Yes, I intend to completely replace SOS with Ion.

>Will more programs be made available for Ion?
Currently, work is in progress to port programs to the Ion standards. Most of my programs have already been ported and other programmers have begun work to port their programs as well. If you are making a game, I highly recommend using this shell since it will allow your game to be run on both the TI-83 and the TI-83 Plus.

>Will an Ion program run without Ion?
On the TI-83 Plus some programs will run directly from the TI-OS. However, only those programs that do not take advantange of certain Ion features will work. Because of the way the Ion header was designed, those programs that will not run from the TI-OS will simply return without an error. It can't hurt to try if you want to see if a program will run without Ion. To run an Ion program from the TI-OS enter "Asm(prgmPROGNAME". Ion programs will not run on the TI-83 without Ion.

>Why didn't you release the source to Ion?
The Ion source can only be described as wierd. It would not help anyone. For those who want to "improve" Ion (which, to be honest, I consider code theft), there are such strict rules concerning the size and operation of the Ion functions that it would probably become quite unstable unless you knew exactly what you were doing.

Joe Wingbermuehle
http://joewing.calc.org