Python for microcontrollers

[Michael Torrie]

On 12/03/2013 07:18 AM, Colin J. Williams wrote:
> On 03/12/2013 7:58 AM, Mark Lawrence wrote:
>> I thought this might be of interest
>> Http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/214379695/micro-python-python-for-microcontrollers
>>
>>
> Is this intended to be better than the Raspberry PI?  RPi handles Python 
> 2 or 3.
> 
> How would it differ?

Raspberry Pi is not a microcontroller.  It's an embedded, but still full
blown computer and operating system.

Big difference.  At least at this stage of the game.  Maybe in the
future all our microwaves will run linux on every chip.  But for now,
microcontrollers are dominated by 8 and 16-bit microcontrollers that run
code with minimal abstraction.

Years ago there were chips that ran LISP byte codes, and later Java byte
codes.  And the stamp chips run BASIC byte codes.  And now maybe Python
byte codes!  At least a subset of python.

Right now for prototyping I can place a small program on an Atmel chip
(well most microcontrollers actually) that communicates via a well-known
protocol on serial, and then I can hack my algorithms together using
Python on a PC (or a RPi[1]) and give it a test.  Staying in Python
would rock.

[1] In fact RPi's electrical interface is harder to work with than say
an Arduino (3.3v, not quite as adept at interfacing with analog inputs,
etc).  So many people use them together by mating an Arduino add-on
board to the Pi and then communicating with it over serial port.  Makes
a powerful combination.  The RPi turns out to be a very powerful and
affordable ethernet shield for arduino!