Espruino VS MicroPython

Espruino

The Bangle.js 2 is an excellent device. As a former Pebble user, this is the first device that I consider an adequate replacement for my Pebble (which by now has a diminished battery life and corroded charging contacts).

Here is my impression of the Bangle.js 2:

- Battery: Lasts about 3 weeks on a charge, constantly connected to my phone, when the watch is used to display notifications and alarms. This is a major advantage over Apple Watches and Android/Wear OS watches.

- Display and buttons: The 1.3" 8-color transflective display is comparable to the Pebble Time series' 64-color transflective display. The display is always on, and the backlight activation is highly configurable. The Bangle.js 2 has a touchscreen and 1 button, while Pebble watches have no touchscreen and 3 buttons.

- Software: Runs on the completely free and open source Espruino JavaScript interpreter,[1] which was my main motivation for purchasing this device. There are currently 336 apps in the web-based Bangle.js app loader (app store), including utilites and clocks (watch faces), all of which are FOSS. The bootloader and firmware can be updated directly from the app loader. On Android, there is a distribution of Gadgetbridge (built from the same code base as Gadgetbridge) with internet access enabled that integrates the Bangle.js app loader into Gadgetbridge, which makes it very easy to use the watch.[2]

- Build: Built on the same device body as the SMA Q3.[3] The casing is plastic, and the watch is compatible with standard 20 mm watch straps. The IP67 water/dust resistance makes the watch usable for sports.

Overall, I highly recommend the Pebble.js 2 watch, which is the best FOSS-focused watch I have found to date.

[1] Espruino JavaScript interpreter: https://github.com/espruino/Espruino

[2] Bangle.js Gadgetbridge (distribution): https://www.espruino.com/Gadgetbridge

[3] SMA Q3: https://www.smawatch.com/details?product_id=130

This is the firmware repo for the BangleJS : https://github.com/espruino/Espruino

This makes use of a JS interpreter made for embedded devices: Espruino

More details in the Espruino repo: https://github.com/espruino/Espruino

There are subsets of JS for embedded device e.g. Espruino https://github.com/espruino/Espruino for BangleJS https://shop.espruino.com/banglejs also with 4MB or JerryScript https://jerryscript.net

- Espruino (2.2k stars)

Just putting my hand up to say that MicroPython is awesome (and runs on the RP2040). https://micropython.org

Gah, I just ordered one on impulse [1]. I've wanted to build out a WiFi PDA for quite some time now and I like this hardware.

I'm quite liking the idea of running tulip MicroPython [2] on it, or going back to pure MicroPython [3] and writing some drivers. Apparently something like ampy can be used to upload/download Python files [4].

Threads could be quite exciting for running multiple programs at once [5], although I have no idea what it means for two programs to fight over GPIO! It does seem as though MicroPython can only utilise a single core [6].

[1] https://www.lilygo.cc/products/t-deck?variant=43087936487605

[2] https://github.com/bwhitman/tulipcc/tree/main/tulip/tdeck

[3] https://docs.micropython.org/en/latest/esp32/tutorial/intro....

[4] https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/maker/projects/micropython-basi...

[5] https://docs.micropython.org/en/latest/library/_thread.html

[6] https://github.com/micropython/micropython/issues/8197

If you really want to engage in the travesty that is shoehorning a high level scripting language into an environment that has 512 bytes of RAM and less clock cycles than an electric toothbrush, there is micropython.

There is some work to implement a common CAN interface in micropython but it's some way off yet: https://github.com/micropython/micropython/pull/13149

https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-sdk/ links to a PDF about connecting to the interwebs with a pi pico.

micropython/micropython//ports/rp2/boards/RPI_PICO_W: https://github.com/micropython/micropython/tree/master/ports...

raspberrypi/pico-sdk /lib: btstack, cyw43-driver, lwip, mbedtls, tinyusb https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-sdk/tree/master/lib

raspberrypi/pico-examples//pico_w/wifi/access_point/picow_access_point.c:

https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-examples/blob/master/pic...

There's an iperf opkg pkg, or is it just netperf (which works with fluent)?

raspberrypi/pico-examples//pico_w/wifi/iperf/picow_iperf.c:

Needed for hobby project, maintained by very small team. Haven't decided on specific microcontroller. Needed for general bit-banging, speed and code size are not priorities.

So far have considered MicroPython [0] [1] and Lua [2] [3], but open for suggestions for others.

What are experiences?

[0] https://micropython.org/

Python is also a general-purpose programming language. It's typically used on desktop / laptop computers. But Micropython is a variant that can be used to program embedded devices.