I'm currently working on a MicroPython catalog project to offer a better overview of the MicroPython world to unskilled users.
This is more like "MicroPython Advertising" material. Our community definitively need it... a recent event demonstrated it.. that killed me! (I'm a big fan of MicroPython in french's area since the early beginning).
Recently, one of my OSHW supplier ask me the difference between CircuitPython and MicroPython. He is preparing a new board.
The iMX MCU is supported in MicroPython (on GitHub repository) and CircuitPython. But he decided to go for CircuitPython because he can quickly find the firmware for it! That ruined my day!
=== Making a Board Catalog ====
The idea is to build a "MicroPython boards catalog" wich list the boards supporting MicroPython (static, nightly updated) and based on static data (like CircuitPython.org does but for MicroPython. I do like the markdown approach stored onto github they are using).
I'm currently working on this projet. I would came back to the team for more advanced discussion as soon as I have some valuable results.
I'm very well aware about the time needed to manage and maintain such data. So I will do (I'd like to organize data).
As a developper, I do know that the information is currently available in the /ports/ directory of GitHub but this information is aimed to skilled people.
On the other side, the MicroPython.org/download does only list a subset of boards.
Informations about supported board should be made more accessible and more completed... including firmware download.
As rule of thumb:
- I would be in favor of register boards that compiles MicroPython firmware (core) and supporting (or willing to support) the Machine API.
- I would detail the machine API supported (Pin, ADC, .... ). I did realised that's not so easy to do... I still not finished with Pin on SAMD21.
- I would really be in favor of linking toward Firmware to download.
- the Adafruit Feather ESP32 Huzzah! could be listed down because we can upload a MicroPython ESP32 firmware on it (I do it for one of my books).
- the MaiXDuino (Risc-V) could also be registered, They are proposing MaixPy MicroPython which offers support for the Machine API.
This raise another question, would it be possible to offers more MicroPython firmware to the mass.
Presently, MicroPython.org only listed a subset of its firmwares to download.
Could it be enlarged to ALL the supported MCU available on MicroPython.org (by offering a proper documentation about the supported machine APIs) ?
Could you share your remarks and comment?
Thnaks,
Dominique
Dominique