Armstrong Subero - Programming Microcontrollers with Python Experience the Power of Embedded Python

Armstrong Subero

Programming Microcontrollers with Python

Experience the Power of Embedded Python

1st ed.

Logo of the publisher

To all those who tinker to keep the world running

You have decided to learn about microcontrollers using Python. While it would be nice to jump straight into developing cool stuff, there are a few steps you must take to get ready first. If you have experience with software development, you may be accustomed to just opening an editor and typing code right away. However, microcontroller development is a little more involved than that. After all, you will be writing programs for a separate computer, so there is a lot more to set up. A microcontroller development environment consists of not only software but an entire hardware ecosystem that must be understood to unlock all the magic these devices have to offer.

In this chapter, we will look at setting up an environment for development. By the end of the chapter, you will be ready to select a microcontroller board, and youll have the software tools and hardware devices needed to begin your development with CircuitPython. Lets get started!

In our modern world, computers are ubiquitous. They have become smaller, easier to use, and more integrated into our daily lives. A few years ago, to connect to the Internet and check your email, you would have had to sit down at a large desktop device. Today, you can do the same thing with a computer that fits in the palm of your hand and places all the information in the world at your fingertips.

The advancements in technology that brought us smartphones and tablets have given billions of people access to computers. However, these handheld devices arent the only computers that exist. What if I told you that the billions of smartphones in use pale when compared to another kind of computing device that silently surrounds us? In fact, there are probably a half dozen or more of these devices in the room with you right now. These miniature computers are called microcontrollers, or MCUs, and they can be found all around us.

Microcontrollers are small, intelligent, programmable computers that we use to perform tasks that are repetitive or that require some level of intelligent control without the need for human interaction. Microcontroller devices have a fraction of the computing power of a device like your smartphone or tablet, but they have many, many uses. Any device around you that reacts to a button press, displays information, or makes sounds when something is wrong is most likely controlled by a microcontroller. From calculators to TVs to microwaves and dishwashers, almost every household device you can think of contains a microcontroller.

If you are familiar with computers, you are sure to have heard of a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor: the brain behind your computer. A microprocessor lets a computer perform many functions. One day you might use your computer to type a document, the next to stream your favorite movie, and so on. The microprocessor has a lot of supporting circuitry, including memory and input and output chips, that allows it to carry out all these tasks. These are usually part of the motherboard that houses the microprocessor.