[Microbit-Python] MicroPython micro:bit metronome hardware / IO testing

[Nicholas H.Tollervey]

Morning!

It's funny that you pick up on the "live coding" aspect of this (rather
than the IO hack that I was trying to demo). :-)

Totally get the problems with making mistakes and typing in the REPL.
Damien, auto-indenting (4 spaces please!) would be very handy. I also
agree that splitting things into functions would be the way to go - but
I was in a rush.

I also think it a "feature" that if you've flashed a script onto the
device and you drop into the REPL you'll see all your code is in scope
(e.g. dir() will return all the expected things). I believe this is a
HUGE win for the purposes of testing and playtime.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it. More stuff coming soon.

N.

On 06/09/15 21:47, Damien George wrote:
> Very cool Nicholas!
> 
> I agree with David that it's very fragile if you type something wrong
> in the script (you did very well Nicholas to get it correct first time
> on camera!).
> 
> I guess the first thing you'd do would be break the code into simple
> functions, ones you can test individually.  Then it's easy to modify
> on the fly.
> 
> BTW, I can add auto-indenting if you think that would be helpful (I
> think it is).
> 
> Cheers,
> Damien.
> 
> 
> On Sun, Sep 6, 2015 at 9:43 PM, David Whale <david at thinkingbinaries.com> wrote:
>> Love it!
>>
>> All we need now is a resident editor, and we have a BBC Micro just like the
>> 1980's.
>>
>> No, seriously, I mean this as a good thing - typing interactively is magic,
>> but if you make a typing error, you have to type the whole lot in again
>> (just like with the python shell). A simple resident editor, and you don't
>> need *anything* else to use your microbit!
>>
>> I've always loved the live coding feel of interactive python, interactive
>> lua, interactive ruby, that's why I like those languages so much. (live
>> coding with Python and Minecraft is huge fun by the way) It is so easy to
>> "run a little live experiment" to see how something works, then switch back
>> to your bigger program you are editing and knit it all together into a
>> bigger application.
>>
>> D
>>
>>
>> ___________________________________________________________
>> David Whale, B.Sc (Hons), MIET
>> Software Engineer and IET Schools Liaison Officer, Essex
>>
>> email:  dwhale at theiet.org
>> twitter: @whaleygeek
>> blog:  blog.whaleygeek.co.uk
>>
>> Co-author of the new book "Adventures in Minecraft" - lets get kids coding!
>>
>>
>> On 6 September 2015 at 19:53, Nicholas H.Tollervey <ntoll at ntoll.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Folks,
>>>
>>> Watch this video (Howard, yes, it's private):
>>>
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghdt0WMIe3c
>>>
>>> Basically, Damien has connected up the IO API in the DAL and I spent
>>> half an hour this evening testing it with a numpty hardware project (the
>>> metronome). As you can see I'm having quite a lot of fun.
>>>
>>> I've not forgotten about the API work... but I started a new contract
>>> last week and that has been taking up a lot of my time. Expect
>>> documentation and other things from me over this coming week. Both
>>> Damien and I have been making progress in terms of enhancing the
>>> capabilities of MicroPython on the micro:bit (e.g. from my perspective,
>>> output from help() is meaningful to 11yo kids and there's even an
>>> "import this" with appropriate micro-poem, for fun).
>>>
>>> Finally, both Damien and I will be at PyCon UK and sprinting on the
>>> MicroPython / micro:bit work on the Monday. Come join us, you may get a
>>> special "gift" to take home with you and/or a chance for some Pythonic
>>> posterity. ;-)
>>>
>>> As always, comments, constructive critique and ideas most welcome!
>>>
>>> Best wishes,
>>>
>>> Nicholas.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Microbit mailing list
>>> Microbit at python.org
>>> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/microbit
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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> 


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