I keep coming back to circuitpython thinking some feature or convenience will be an improvement over micropython, and finding while some particular thing is easier something else gets harder or I hit a wall doing something I can already do in micropython. The web workflow tools in circuitpython are functional, but the serial console (the local version, not their hosted web tools) sucks. Its a text box and a printout from the console, so you can issue a command but it gets janky fast. Whereas in the micropython webrepl, you are provided with a functional console.
My read on circuitpython so far is that a lot of the benefit is around helper functions for Adafruit hardware and integration with GUI tools, neither of which are generally helpful to me. That said, Adafruit probably has a board that’s pin-compatible with the pi pico, and that might be a better experience for working with circuitpython.
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 Scott Shawcroft for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
"""
`bagaloozy_ili9488`
====================================================
Display driver for ILI9488
* Author(s): Mark Winney
Implementation Notes
--------------------
**Hardware:**
* Buy Display LCD 3.5" 320x480 TFT Display Module,OPTL Touch Screen w/Breakout Board
<https://www.buydisplay.com/lcd-3-5-inch-320x480-tft-display-module-optl-touch-screen-w-breakout-board>
**Software and Dependencies:**
* Adafruit CircuitPython firmware for the supported boards:
https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/releases
"""
try:
# used for typing only
from typing import Any
except ImportError:
pass
#import displayio
import busdisplay
__version__ = "0.0.0-auto.0"
__repo__ = "https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_CircuitPython_ILI9488.git"
_INIT_SEQUENCE = (
b"\xE0\x0F\x00\x03\x09\x08\x16\x0A\x3F\x78\x4C\x09\x0A\x08\x16\x1A\x0F"
b"\xE1\x0F\x00\x16\x19\x03\x0F\x05\x32\x45\x46\x04\x0E\x0D\x35\x37\x0F"
b"\xC0\x02\x17\x15" # Power Control 1 Vreg1out Verg2out
b"\xC1\x01\x41" # Power Control 2 VGH,VGL
b"\xC5\x03\x00\x12\x80" # Power Control 3 Vcom
b"\x36\x01\x48" # Memory Access
b"\x3A\x01\x55" # Interface Pixel Format 16 bit
b"\xB0\x01\x00" # Interface Mode Control
b"\xB1\x01\xA0" # Frame rate 60Hz
b"\xB4\x01\x02" # Display Inversion Control 2-dot
b"\xB6\x00" # Display Function Control RGB/MCU Interface Control
b"\x02\x01\x02" # MCU Source,Gate scan direction
b"\xE9\x01\x00" # Set Image Function Disable 24 bit data
b"\xF7\x04\xA9\x51\x2C\x82" # Adjust Control D7 stream, loose
b"\x11\x80\x78" # Sleep out delay 120ms
b"\x29\x00" # Power on display
b"\x21" # Set display colour to inverted
)
# pylint: disable=too-few-public-methods
class ILI9488(busdisplay.BusDisplay):
"""
ILI9488 display driver
:param fourwire.FourWire bus: bus that the display is connected to
"""
def __init__(self, bus: fourwire.FourWire, **kwargs: Any):
super().__init__(bus, _INIT_SEQUENCE, **kwargs)
That is the modified ILI9488 driver. This is my code.py:
import board
import busio
import displayio
import terminalio
from fourwire import FourWire
from bagaloozy_ili9488 import ILI9488
# Release any resources currently in use for the displays
displayio.release_displays()
WIDTH = 320
HEIGHT = 320
tft_cs = board.GP13
tft_dc = board.GP14
tft_reset = board.GP15
spi_mosi = board.GP11
spi_clk = board.GP10
spi = busio.SPI(spi_clk, spi_mosi)
display_bus = FourWire(spi, command=tft_dc, chip_select=tft_cs, reset=tft_reset, baudrate=25000000)
display = ILI9488(
display_bus,
rotation=720,
width=WIDTH,
height=HEIGHT,
)
repl = displayio.CIRCUITPYTHON_TERMINAL
display.root_group = repl
palette = displayio.Palette(2)
palette[0] = 0x000000 # black background
palette[1] = 0x00ff00 # green text
repl[0].pixel_shader = palette
repl[2].pixel_shader = palette
The repl object here has 3 indices, I forget now but I think 0 was the TileGrid containing the repl and 2 was the top bar (ip, version, etc.). Might have those switched, but index 1 is a circuitpython logo sprite in the top left corner.