adafruit/circuitpython 8.0.0-beta.3

CircuitPython 8.0.0 Beta 3

on GitHub

This is CircuitPython 8.0.0-beta.3, a beta release for 8.0.0. It is relatively stable, but there will be further additions and fixes before final release.

NOTE: ESP32-C3 board builds are not functional since 8.0.0-beta.2. Use 8.0.0-beta.1.

WARNING: The flash partitioning for 2MB and 4MB flash ESP32 and ESP32-C3 boards has changed since 8.0.0-beta.2. When you load 8.0.0-beta.3 or later over beta.2 (or vice versa), on these boards, CIRCUITPY will be erased and reformatted.

WARNING: The flash partitioning for the Raspberry Pi Pico W has changed since 8.0.0-beta.1. When you load 8.0.0-beta.2 or later over beta.1 (or vice versa), on the Pico W, CIRCUITPY will be erased and reformatted.

Notable changes to 8.0.0 since 7.3.0

Functionality additions

• Added WiFi workflow with browser-based device discovery, filesystem browsing, upload, download, file editing, serial/REPL connection (available only on Espressif for now).
• Added a one-line status bar, which displays connection status, last exception, and version on a terminal window title or on the top line of an attached display. Support for status bar display is also being added to the Mu and Thonny editors.
• .env file in CIRCUITPY specifies WiFI connection parameters, BLE name, and other startup values.
• dotenv support: os.getenv() values are set by values in .env file. Values can be fetched from other dotenv-format files.
• WiFi functionality implemented on the Pi Pico W.
• Revised Espressif camera support, now available on ESP32, ESP32-S2, and ESP32-S3.
• Bulk analog input: analogbufio (available only on RP2040 for now).
• Pin state can be preserved during deep sleep (available only on Espressif for now).
• Allow setting USB VID, PID, manufacturer, and product ids at runtime.
• Enabled collections.deque on most builds.
• MP3Decoder and WaveFile can now take a filename instead of an open file.
• AnalogIn values are full range from 0 to 65535, instead of having zeros on low-order bits.
• In-place firmware update (dualbank) capability may be disabled in favor of a larger CIRCUITPY drive.
• Added TileGrid.contains().
• Added os.utime().
• Added coproc module, for running programs on an on-chip co-processor. Currently available for the RISC-V core on the ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3.

Compatibility changes

• PulseOut no longer accepts a PWMOut. Use a Pin instead.
• Auto-brightness support in displayio and framebufferio has been removed. It was never implemented completely.
• OneWire is only in onewireio, and is no longer in busio or bitbangio.
• gamepadshift has been removed: use keypad.ShiftRegisterKeys instead.
• Print out whole-number floats exactly and correctly.
• Restored rainbowio and onewireio to a number of boards. Some boards still have rainbowio turned off for space reasons.
• i2ctarget.I2CTarget is the new name for i2cperipheral.I2CPeripheral. Accept both for now. I2CPeripheral will be removed in 9.0.0.
• The property supervisor.runtime.ble_workflow replaces supervisor.disable_ble_workflow().
• The property supervisor.runtime.next_stack_limit replaces supervisor.set_next_stack_limit().
• The property supervisor.runtime.rgb_status_brightness replaces supervisor.set_rgb_status_brightness().

Download from circuitpython.org

Firmware downloads are available from the downloads page on circuitpython.org. The site makes it easy to select the correct file and language for your board.

Installation

To install follow the instructions in the 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).

Documentation

Documentation is available in readthedocs.io.

Port status

CircuitPython has a number of "ports" that are the core implementations for different microcontroller families. Stability varies on a per-port basis. As of this release, these ports are consider stable:

• atmel-samd: Microchip SAMD21, SAMx5x
• cxd56: Sony Spresense
• espressif: Espressif ESP32-S2
• nrf: Nordic nRF52840, nRF52833
• raspberrypi: Raspberry Pi RP2040
• stm: ST STM32F4 chip family

These ports are considered alpha and will have bugs and missing functionality:

• broadcom: Raspberry Pi boards such as RPi 4, RPi Zero 2W
• espressif: ESP32, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3
• litex: fomu
• mimxrt10xx: NXP i.MX RT10xxx
• stm: ST non-STM32F4 chip families

Changes since 8.0.0-beta.2

Fixes and enhancements

• Improve asyncio implementation and add automated tests. #7059. Thanks @jepler.
• Add coproc module, for running programs on an on-chip co-processor. Currently avaialable for the RISC-V core on the ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3. #6902. Thanks @MicroDev1.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

• Fix partioning on ESP32 and ESP32-C3 boards with 2MB and 4MB flash. #7073. Thanks @MicroDev1.
• Improve dualbank error messages. #7061. Thanks @MicroDev1.
• Fix ESP-IDF logging level. #7052. Thanks @MicroDev1.

i.MX

nRF

RP2040

SAMx

STM

Individual boards

• Cytron Maker Feather AIoT S3: add pin definitions. #7053. Thanks @CytronTechnologies.
• Raspberry Pi Pico W:
  • Fix pin counting issues affecting PulseIn and other functionality. #7089. Thanks @jepler.
  • Implement static IP configuration. #7088. Thanks @jepler.
  • Fix large send() requests. Add sendall(). Resolve .local names. Allow stopping radio. #7079. Thanks @jepler.
  • Connect to wifi asynchronously. #7076. Thanks @bill88t.
  • Fix check for wifi interface being up. #7075. Thanks @jepler.
  • Fix CYW43 pin initialization. #7064. Thanks @jepler.
  • Power down CYW43 wifi co-processor during deep sleep. #7050. Thanks @jepler.
  • Implement hashlib. #7051. Thanks @jepler.

Documentation changes

• Remove hashlib and zlib from MicroPython-specific modules. #7074. Thanks @jepler.

Build and infrastructure changes

• Use py/stream.h instead of py/ioctl.h. #7058. Thanks @jepler.
• Improve calculation of partial builds. #7057. Thanks @jepler.
• Save about 124 bytes, related to string0.c. #6397. Thanks @jepler.

Translation additions and improvements

Thanks for translations:

• @Atalanttore (German)
• @bergdahl (Swedish)
• @wtuemura (Portugese - Brazil)

New boards since 8.0.0-beta.2

Known issues

• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.0.0
  • 8.x.x
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.0.0-beta.2, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.