CircuitPython

CircuitPython[5] is an open-source derivative of the MicroPython programming language targeted toward students and beginners. Development of CircuitPython is supported by Adafruit Industries. It is a software implementation of the Python 3 programming language, written in C.[3] It has been ported to run on several modern microcontrollers.

CircuitPython
Original author(s)Adafruit Industries
Initial releaseJuly 19, 2017 (2017-07-19)[1]
Stable release
8.2.6[2] Edit this on Wikidata / 12 September 2023 (12 September 2023)
Repositoryhttps://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython
Written inC[3]
Platformmicrocontroller and single-board computers using the Atmel SAMD21, Atmel SAMD51, Nordic nRF52840, STMicro STM32, and ESP32, ARMmicrocontrollers, from Adafruit, SparkFun, Arduino, Particle, Raspberry Pi and others
TypePython implementation
LicenseMIT license[4]
Websitecircuitpython.org

CircuitPython consists of a Python compiler to bytecode and a runtime interpreter of that bytecode that runs on the microcontroller hardware. The user is presented with an interactive prompt (the REPL) to execute supported commands immediately. Included are a selection of core Python libraries. CircuitPython includes modules which give the programmer access to the low-level hardware of supported products as well as higher-level libraries for beginners.[6]

CircuitPython is a fork of MicroPython, originally created by Damien George.[7] The MicroPython community continues to discuss[8] forks of MicroPython into variants such as CircuitPython.

CircuitPython is targeted to be compliant with CPython, the reference implementation of the Python programming language.[9] Programs written for CircuitPython-compatible boards may not run unmodified on other platforms such as the Raspberry Pi.[10]

Usage

CircuitPython is being used as an emerging alternative solution for microcontroller programming, which is usually done in C, C++, or assembly. The language has also seen uptake in making small, handheld video game devices.[11] Developer Chris Young has ported his infrared transmit-and-receive software to CircuitPython to provide interactivity and to aid those with accessibility issues.[12]

Community

The user community support includes a Discord chat room and product support forums.[13] A Twitter account dedicated to CircuitPython news was established in 2018.[14] A newsletter, Python on Hardware, is published weekly since 15 November, 2016 by Adafruit to provide news and information on CircuitPython, MicroPython, and Python on single board computers.[15] A Reddit subreddit, r/CircuitPython, provides news on CircuitPython and related news and projects and has about 3,000 members.[16]

Hardware support

The version 6.2.0 supports Atmel SAMD21 and SAMD51 microcontrollers from Microchip Technology,[17] nRF52833 and nRF52840 from Nordic Semiconductor, CXD5602 (Spresense) from Sony, and STM32 F4-series from STMicroelectronics.[18] Previous versions supported the ESP8266 microcontroller, but its support was dropped in version 4.[19] It also supports single-board computers like Raspberry Pi.

References
  1. Shawcroft, Scott (19 July 2017). "CircuitPython 1.0.0!". Adafruit Blog. Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. "Release 8.2.6". 12 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. "adafruit/circuitpython". GitHub. Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  4. George, Damien P. (4 May 2014). "circuitpython/LICENSE". GitHub. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  5. "CircuitPython is an education friendly open-source derivative of MicroPython". GitHub. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  6. "CircuitPython". Read the Docs. Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  7. George, Damien (20 May 2016). "Damien P. George". Damien P. George. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  8. "Adafruit CircuitPython". MicroPython Forum. MicroPython.org. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  9. Lewis, James (14 February 2018). "Circuit Python adds Python to Microcontrollers". The Bald Engineer. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  10. Ganne, Simon. "Can I use circuitPython code on my raspberry?". Element 14 Community. Element 14.
  11. Dopieralski, Radomir. "CircuitPython LAMEBOY". BitBucket. BitBucket. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  12. Young, Chris (6 June 2018). "Announcing IRLibCP — a Circuit Python Module for Infrared Transmitting and Receiving". CY's Tech Talk. Chris Young. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  13. "Adafruit CircuitPython and MicroPython". Adafruit Support Forums. Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  14. "CircuitPython". Twitter. Adfafruit Industries. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  15. "The Python on Hardware Newsletter". Adafruit Daily. Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  16. "r/CircuitPython". Reddit.com. Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  17. Kraft, Caleb (11 August 2017). "CircuitPython Snakes its Way onto Adafruit Hardware". Makezine. Maker Media, Inc. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  18. Halbert, Dan (5 April 2021). "CircuitPython 6.2.0 released!". Adafruit Blog. Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  19. "Why are we dropping support for ESP8266?". Adafruit.com. Adafruit Industries. Retrieved 15 April 2019.


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