adafruit/circuitpython 4.0.0

CircuitPython 4.0.0!

on GitHub

4.0.0 is the latest major revision of CircuitPython and a new stable release!

It features a port to the Nordic nRF52840 microcontroller, including support as a BLE beacon or peripheral (bleio), extensive new support for pixel-based displays (displayio) (guide here), which will show CircuitPython output on the display, USB MIDI support and messages translated into multiple languages. Current languages are Chinese (Pinyin), English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Spanish, and Tagalog (Filipino). Thank you to the many contributors who make CircuitPython excellent!

Many new boards are now supported by CircuitPython 4.0.0. Check out the new circuitpython.org/downloads page for full list of all available versions.

It's not too late to contribute to CircuitPython! Check out this guide for details. We're always looking to improve and expect many stable releases in the 4.x line to happen through the summer. Subscribe to the Python for Microcontrollers newsletter on adafruitdaily.com for the latest news for all things Python.

circuitpython.org

Downloads are now available from circuitpython.org! This site makes it much easier to select the correct file and language for your board. The downloads page is here.

Installation

To install follow the instructions in our new Welcome to CircuitPython! guide. To install the latest libraries, see this page in that guide.

Try the latest version of the Mu editor for creating and editing your CircuitPython programs and for easy access to the CircuitPython serial connection (the REPL).

Breaking Changes from 3.x!

• ESP8266 is no longer supported. With 4.x we've chosen to focus on microcontrollers with built-in USB to ensure a consistent CircuitPython experience across all boards we support.
• ure, ujson, and uerrno renamed to re, json, and errno to reflect that they are subsets of the CPython library modules. Thanks to @dhalbert.
• busio.UART breaking changes to match PySerial. Thanks to @dhalbert.
  • busio.UART constructor timeout parameter is now in seconds instead of milliseconds.
  • UART.readinto(buf) now does not allow an optional length parameter UART.readinto(buf, len).
  • UART.write(...) no longer allows strings to be written. The bytes written must be bytes or bytearray or an array.array.
• framebuf has been removed. displayio is its replacement, and will be enhanced after 4.0 to include framebuf's functionality. Thanks to @tannewt.
• Improve struct compatibility with CPython by enforcing stricter types. This may break your code! Thanks to @dhalbert.
• bytearray, array.array, and int.to_bytes() now check for values that are too large to fit. This matches CPython behavior. Thanks to @godlygeek.

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, contributed, helped out, and participated on GitHub and/or Discord:
@adafruit, @alwayslinux2, @anecdata, @arofarn, @arturo182, @ATMakersBill, @barbudor, @brennen, @brentru, @bwshockley, @C47D, @CarlFK, @carlosperate, @caternuson, @CedarGroveStudios, @chalei, @charlesbunaford, @cpforbes, @craigf, @dastels, @deshipu, @dhalbert, @dsiee, @dmazzella, @edspark, @eighthree, @emteeoh, @erikriver, @fezthedev, @furlaneto, @gcvasconcelos, @glennrub, @godlygeek, @gpshead, @gvcp, @hathach, @hexthat, @iraytrace, @ITACAInnovation, @Jahor, @jasonp, @jepler, @jay Doscher, @jerryneedell, @jimblom, @johnpark, @JoshuaLowe1002, @jreese, @Juanita, @KacperLA, @katlings, @kattni, @kdb424, @kevinjwalters, @klardotsh, @Klowner, @ladyada, @larsks, @madbodger, @maholli, @Makdaam, @MakerMelissa, @matt-land, @MattyT, @mchobby, @mchua, @mgithubreq, @microbuilder, @MikeBarela, @Mr. Certainly, @mrmcwethy, @nickzoic, @notro, @ntavish, @oldcrow, @osterwood, @penguindustin, @PhredFL, @platipo, @ptorrone, @rafa-gould, @Rathmore, @rdagger, @Retoc, @rhooper, @sabas1080, @sajattack, @sajattack, @saspa, @saxenanurag, @schmarty, @scottbelden, @Senuros, @ShawnHymel, @siddacious, @sommersoft, @SouthernDragon, @TangoJuliett, @tannewt, @Tasm-Devil, @terriko, @TG-Techie, @ThomasRKirkland, @uhrheber, @urish, @vgoodwinv, @xpecex, @yeyeto2788, @wallarug, @wawachief, and surely more we have missed. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

Documentation

Documentation is available in readthedocs.io.

Here are all the changes since 3.1.2.
Here are all the changes since 4.0.0-rc.3.

This release is based on MicroPython 1.9.4 @25ae98f. Support upstream MicroPython by purchasing a PyBoard (from Adafruit here).

Troubleshooting

Check out this guide for info on common problems with CircuitPython. If you are still having, then post to the Adafruit Support Forums and join Discord.