For those not following #m68kMicroPython development, a lot has been happening rather quickly in the last couple of weeks!

There's enough support for the Toolbox now that I've been able to re-create the #Macstodon splash/loading screen with it - see below.

Big thanks to @stylus for all his hard work developing the port and making this possible!

#RetroComputing #RetroProgramming #VintageMac #Apple #Mac #MacOS #ClassicMac #68k #Python #MicroPython https://oldbytes.space/@smallsco/114889267494614758

I made a new release of m68k-micropython: https://github.com/m68k-micropython/micropython/releases/tag/20250720

This adds the following groups of mac APIs (which I didn't actually test):

• deskmgr
• dialogmgr
• fontmgr
• menumgr
• textedit

#m68kMicroPython happenings: The "struct-types" branch is coming along. There are now autogenerated bindings for the following parts of the API: modmactypes.c
modqd.c
modtoolboxevent.c
modtoolboxutil.c
modwindowmgr.c

there's probably broken stuff but for instance you can now splat directly onto the screen

>>> scrn = qd.qdGlobals().screenBits
>>> n = scrn.bounds.bottom * scrn.rowBytes
>>> for i in range(n): scrn.baseAddr[i] = i

and types are checked:

>>> qd.FillRect(7, "blue")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: Expected int, got Rect

um well except the error message is backwards

and in upstream #micropython land my exploration found that there were problems with the uctypes module and "REPR_B", so I'm working on fixing that and ensuring it stays fixed via the CI system: https://github.com/micropython/micropython/pull/17688

right at the moment, the micropython PR is failing for some reason that will probably be more obvious to me once I've had another night to recover from jet lag.

Why Lua Beats MicroPython for Serious Embedded Devs

｢ Lua isn’t just compatible with embedded systems; the Lua ANSI C library was designed for them. Its architecture is clean, compact, and deterministic.

MicroPython, on the other hand, is a reimplementation of Python 3. It works well for many embedded use cases, but it inherits assumptions from a desktop-oriented language ｣

https://www.embedded.com/why-lua-beats-micropython-for-serious-embedded-devs

Here we go! An ESP32-S3 running MicroPython using each of the Monstera leafs as a capacitive touch pad.

Each pad works individually and multitouch works across all four too!

I am a sucker for opto-electronics, so got this discarded kit (ex CNN's London studio?)

Each button has a 36x24 LCD display and red+green LEDS.

Well-designed hardware: ColdFire (=68k) CPU, plenty of RAM, plenty of FLASH, serial port, ethernet etc.

Firmware ? Not so impressive, but very easy to get rid of:

Anybody can flash new firmware from ethernet: No userid, no password, all you need to know is the IP# and how they botched their CRC-16 implementation.

Now it runs #MicroPython :-)

My latest blog post: Metronalmost

https://mikecoats.com/metronalmost/

This metronome, by design, will never, ever, tick exactly once per second. This infuriating object is designed to thwart the goals of @hackaday's One Hertz Challenge contest.

how it started: "let's try to get started on a set for my #RFFF25 gig"

how it's going: "attempting (and so far failing) to completely rewrite some 2-year-old #MicroPython code on my DIY MIDI to CV interface"

Is there anyone in the room with knowledge about #ESP32 microcontrollers?

I am playing with a #Waveshare development board that has an #AMOLED and a touchscreen, and it says it has built-in #SH8601 display driver and #FT3168 capacitive touch chip, using #QSPI and #I2C communication respectively.

https://www.waveshare.com/product/arduino/boards-kits/esp32-s3-touch-amoled-1.8.htm

It directly works in #Arduino with #C, but I am trying to make it work with #MicroPython.

Before I spend effort trying to compile it with #LVGL, I want to know if I could print a "Hello World" to the screen as is, and while my mind tells me that I need a driver, the sentence "built-in display driver using QSPI" makes me think that I could eventually use the display without code drivers, but I don't know how.

I'd love to see an example, if it's possible, or to be pointed to any resources that I can read in this regard. I am complete newbie.

Re-posts are appreciated.

Thank in advance

Let's-a-go!

yay, successfully wrote & read back file contents with micropython on macos 6. #micropython #retrocomputing #retro68 #macintosh #m68k