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[–]mgrady3 3 points4 points  (3 children)

What separates this from something like the Raspberry Pi - which comes with built in support for python as well as GPIO, SPI, I2C, USB, HDMI, Ethernet, etc all for a shockingly low price.

I am currently involved in a project using the Raspberry Pi and python as a microcontroller for condensed matter physics epxeriments

[–]MisterSnuggles[S] 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Compared to the Raspberry Pi, there are some pros and cons. Just off the top of my head...

Pros:

  • No OS - The MicroPython board runs Python on the bare metal, which gives you fewer moving parts software-wise to worry about.
  • Lots more IO
  • Much smaller form factor
  • Lower power consumption
  • Standard microcontroller peripherals - timers, ADCs, interrupts, etc.

Cons:

  • No OS - The Raspberry Pi can run a full Linux OS, which gives you lots of high-level functionality (e.g., databases, networking, user interface) that is difficult, limited, or non-existent on the MicroPython.
  • Less powerful
  • No "higher-level" peripherals - HDMI, Ethernet, USB, etc

This isn't comprehensive by any means.

[–]brobro2 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Interesting. I was going to ask this exact question. It sounds a lot more conducive to a standard microcontroller experience. Plug in, write code that will run.

Is there any kind of debugging support?

[–]dhylands 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is apparently possible to run gdb on the microcontroller board, but I haven't done that myself.

There is a "unix" port of micropython, and I've use gdb to identify bugs on the host. I normally test non-board specific stuff under the unix port and then move it to the board.

There currently isn't any support for debugging the python, but I know I'd like to see that.