MicroPython Forum (Archive)

I know i am not supposed to just post links on the forum. However Andreas Spiess is a legend in the Maker world. His latest video, despite being a bit frustrating for Micropython users, is still excellent publicity.
I hope this video brings more people into the community.

This guy has funny way of pronouncing "Python" . For non-native English speakers, the name from horse's mouse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdH8fI1aNZA

I just noticed the video and noticed the comments were breaking 1000!

While I tend to not take too much value from YouTube commentators, I did find some glimmer of hope in those looking for a simpler solution than Arduino.

Anyway, are there any other Arduino users that can share what advantages they find in the MicropPython approach?

I should mention that Andreas reached out after seeing some of my comments - turns out he wants to do a follow-up video to address some of the concerns raised in the comments.

His proposal is for us to help come up with some MicroPython examples - or at least information - that explores topics such as performance, power consumption, quantity/quality of libraries, GC effects etc. I've roped Damien in to help out. We believe it's worthwhile as the video has clearly struck a chord with over 130K views (!) in about a week.

Once we've figured out a few more details we may reach out and ask for some help from you folks!

mattyt wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 26, 2018 6:32 am

Once we've figured out a few more details we may reach out and ask for some help from you folks!

That's great!

What I think would be insightful, would be to take one or two of his previous Arduino-based project videos and re-implement them in MicroPython. Then we could compare and contrast the code complexity, performance, ease of development, etc... It would also demonstrate the depth, breadth and power of MicroPython as a real option for MCU development.

It's a good idea. I've seen a couple of Andreas' (really quite well done) videos but did you have something in particular in mind?

He did specifically want to tackle some of the common threads of concern that were raised but I think there is some leeway to tackle more - it may even require a couple of videos...

Matt,
I think a key area that could do with some focus is use of the Micropython REPL.
In Andreas' inital video he skips over this, but I think this is the the massive initial advantage for those arriving to Micropython from Arduino. The ability to directly interface with the bare metal and through the communications bus to externals in real time is revolutionary.

As for libraries, I think we all know that this is an area Micropython could improve. They tend to be scattered across github and the best option to find what you need is usually to search, then if needed post, in this forum!
Perhaps this interest is a trigger to pull together the libraries in a single place.
Phil

philwilkinson40 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:16 pm

I think a key area that could do with some focus is use of the Micropython REPL.

Yes, I do want to emphasize the benefits of live coding on the device. For establishing communications to peripherals it's especially beneficial.

philwilkinson40 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:16 pm

As for libraries, I think we all know that this is an area Micropython could improve. They tend to be scattered across github and the best option to find what you need is usually to search, then if needed post, in this forum!
Perhaps this interest is a trigger to pull together the libraries in a single place.

One of the 'deliverables' I want to provide Andreas is a list of links to libraries. Or perhaps an(other?) awesome-like list in github. Lists (like pfalcon's recent addition and, of course, micropython-lib) exist but there are many other libraries floating about. Need to collate them somehow...

An area we could use help with is MicroPython ESP32 documentation; if you have experience in this area please take a look at this forum post:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5609

Thanks!

philwilkinson40 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:16 pm

...
As for libraries, I think we all know that this is an area Micropython could improve. They tend to be scattered across github and the best option to find what you need is usually to search, then if needed post, in this forum!
Perhaps this interest is a trigger to pull together the libraries in a single place.
Phil

There is a distinction between official libraries and user-contributed ones. Official libraries are in one GitHub repo and bug reports can be raised there for attention by the MicroPython maintainers.

Obviously they can't be responsible for user contributed libraries which are indeed scattered around GitHub. Issues inevitably need to be raised there for attention by the author.

It's a few years since I used Arduino but my recollection is that the problem is largely fixed by the Wiki. That had pointers to user contributed libraries and was a great resource. I found it worked fine.

For some reason the MicroPython wiki is rather little-used. Some time ago I offered to remove the outdated content but Damien wasn't keen on the idea. It would be good if more library authors used it to promote their work.