The Amp Hour

An Interview with Tony DiCola

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Welcome Tony DiCola of Adafruit!

  • Tony has been working on MicroPython tutorials since joining Adafruit
  • Python has been around for a long time, but most people are referring to Cpython. It has a large fan base and lots of library support like NumPy and SciPy.
  • Micropython was developed in 2013 by Damien George for memory constrained environments. It has roughly 90% compatibility with regular Python.
  • Python runs on other higher power platforms like the BeagleBone black and Raspberry Pi, which Adafruit also has lots of great tutorials about.
  • There are limited number of boards running MicroPython
    • PyBoard - STM32F4
    • ESP8266 - 84 MHz, 96k
    • BBC Micro:bit (Uses an NRF51 - 16K)
    • CC3100 WiPy
    • SAMD21 - CortexM0, 32K, 48 MHz
    • MicroPython shows a REPL when you connect via serial port. It looks very much like a command prompt.
    • You can mix C and MicroPython, which makes it an interesting candidate for low level hardware operations. You can also hook into assembly using a special decorator. Compilation happens in pre processor.
    • There is a default FAT file system in flash.
    • You can boot right into a script by having main.py in the file system. Other files can be used in the file system to represent libraries.
    • PIP is a default way to install libraries on desktop Python, this might get added to MicroPython.
    • The .mpy file format is a condensed versions of files, which prevents comments take up room in flash / ram.
    • ESA is considering using MicroPython on satellites because they are relatively easier to reconfigure.
    • Chris has been using the Huzzah Feather board and the associated LED Featherwing. Great for trying out the setup!
    • Follow Tony and the Adafruit feed on Twitter!
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      The Amp HourBy The Amp Hour (Chris Gammell and David L Jones)
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