Microcontrollers are wonderfully useful things, but programming them can be a little daunting if you’re used to the simplicity of compiling for regular PCs. Over time though, this has become easier. Communities have strayed away from assembly code and created higher-level languages such as Micropython, to allow these devices to be programmed in a more accessible manner. Unfortunately, Micropython has historically lacked a decent high-level GUI library. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, with [amirgon] porting LittlevGL to the platform.
Putting a GUI into a project with a screen seems simple, until one actually gets down to brass tacks. A simple button can consist of a background color, text, and a symbol – and that’s not even considering the use of shading or other visual effects. Having a library to handle the grunt work can massively cut down development time.
[...] There are other approaches to this problem, too – with MyOpenLab being a particularly versatile example.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Monday March 04 2019, @06:21PM (3 children)
I use a small microcontroller board that is provided by Pycom (Lopy4 [pycom.io]). Read the specification [pycom.io]. I can program it in MicroPython, Lua or other languages. The cost is €34.00. Please tell me of the SBC that can match that specification for the same price or less.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @07:51PM (2 children)
Raspberry Pi 3 A+ [ebay.com]
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Monday March 04 2019, @08:07PM (1 child)
The Raspberry Pi does NOT have LoRa nor SigFox built in, nor does it have most of the specification that I linked to. The WiFi and BLE are significantly less capable. It doesn't have a sleep mode which requires only 25 microamperes but is still capable of responding to interrupts from the GPIO pins. It is possible to run the LoPy4 on lithium batteries for weeks or months without needing recharging. You have read the spec, haven't you? The Raspberry Pi, of which I have 11 at present, is nothing like the same device.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 04 2019, @11:03PM
Never heard of SigFox and I never claimed anything about power consumption which doesn't seem as relevant if you're scripting a UI with python as it would for a datalogger.
Do that on an Arduino nano if you bypass the voltage regulator and you can pick them up for $2 each. Depends on your use case.
Not in depth just skimmed over stuff like Wi-fi and bluetooth. I typically have little use for these on microcontrollers but if I did want something more advanced than a little OLED, I'd employ networking to run the GUI on a phone, tablet or SBC.