CircuitPython 5.0.0 Beta 5 release! @adafruit @circuitpython

This is a Beta Release

This is release 5.0.0 beta.5. Beta releases are largely feature-complete, but are meant for testing. Use the latest stable 4.x release when first starting with CircuitPython.

When you find a bug please check the current known issues and file an issue if something isn’t already known.

5.0.0

5.0.0 is the latest major revision of CircuitPython. It features many improvements and enhancements to displayio, including grayscale OLED and e-paper displays, extensive additions and improvements to BLE support, support for the STM32F4, iMX RT10xx and Sony Spresense microcontrollers, and PWM audio support.

Download from circuitpython.org

Downloads are available from circuitpython.org! The site makes it easy 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).

New Features, Updates, and Fixes since 5.0.0 Beta 4

  • Fix BLE reinitialization on soft reload, preventing some hangs and crashes. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Increase maximum number of BLE connection from 2 to 5. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Fixed _bleio.PacketBuffer.packet_size returning wrong value. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Most OSError exceptions that involve filenames will print the filenames, so you know which filename can’t be found, etc. (on vfat only). Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Fix use and exposure of internal buffers for PixelBuf. Thanks @tannewt.
  • displayio.Palette now takes tuples and lists as color values in addition to integers. Thanks @kattni for noticing the issue and @jepler and @dhalbert for the fix.
  • Improve DMA for stereo AudioOut. Thanks @jepler.
  • Increase stack size on Circuit Playground Express builds to accommodate updated CP library. Thanks @dmopalmer for noticing the issue, and @kattni and @dhalbert for the fix.
  • Turn off on-board user NeoPixels after soft reload on Circuit Playground Bluefruit, PyBadge, and PyGamer. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Update and improve CLUE board definition. Thanks @ladyada and @dhalbert.
  • Use hardware rotation to speed up CLUE display. Thanks @ladyada.
  • Allow specifying background color for stage library and _stage native module. Thanks @deshipu.
  • Add gamepad to CPX crickit and displayio builds; needed for updated CP library. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Update all frozen libraries. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Update handling of bad nRF fuse setting. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Fix on-board display initialization code pin handling. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Fix compilation of native micropython on OS X. Thanks @tsupplis.
  • Add automatic builds of mpy-cross to GitHub actions. Thanks @jepler.
  • Fix native module support matrix generation. Thanks @deshipu.
  • Improve README documentation of differences from MicroPython. Thanks @deshipu.

New Boards

Find downloads for all boards, including these, at https://circuitpython.org/downloads.

New since 5.0.0-beta.4

  • ndGarage Ndbit6. Thanks @ndGarage.
  • Feather Bluefruit Sense. Thanks @ladyada.
  • meowbit_v121. Thanks @hierophect.
  • teensy40. Thanks @tannewt.
  • imxrt1060_evk. Thanks @tannewt.
  • imxrt1020_evk. Thanks @tannewt.

Breaking Changes and Deprecations from 4.x

  • 5.0.0 improves our internal filesystem definitions and may overwrite your existing files so make sure to back them up before updating!
  • The bleio module has been renamed to _bleio to indicate that it is meant to be used only for writing BLE libraries, and that its API may change between CircuitPython minor versions. There are many incompatible changes in _bleio since 4.0.0. Please use the latest adafruit_ble library for end-user BLE programming.
  • The displayio refresh API has been revamped to be simpler. wait_for_frame and refresh_soon have been removed. In both 4.x and 5.x, auto refresh will automatically refresh the display so they can be removed. The new auto_refresh property and refresh() function can be used to control when the screen refreshes and at a specific rate.
  • Moved audioio.Mixer to audiomixer.Mixer, which is only available on M4s. Moved audioio.RawSample, and audioio.WaveFile to the new module audiocore. However, for backwards compatibility, they are still available in audioio. They will be removed from audioio in 6.0.0. Thanks @jepler.
  • Added I2C.writeto_then_readfrom(). Deprecate stop= arg which will be removed in 6.x. Use I2C.writeto_then_readfrom() instead.
  • Removed re from CircuitPlayground Express Display build.
  • Removed gamepad from CircuitPlayground Express Crickit build.

Known Issues

  • displayio operations that read from an SD card (e.g., OnDiskBitmap) will interfere with other SD card operations and can cause lockup. To work around this problem, do not read or write files on the SD while the display is updating, and vice versa.
  • See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues.

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, contributed, helped out, and participated on GitHub and/or Discord,including @tsupplis, @timvictor, @theacodes, @tannewt, @sommersoft, @Shane, @rhooper, @pdp7 (Drew Fustini), @ntoll, @ndGarage, @Mr. Certainly, @makermelissa, @maholli, @madbodger, @ladyada, @kevinjwalters, @kattni, @joey, @jerryneedell, @jepler, @jasonp, @hierophect, @geekguy, @Frank.H, @foamyguy, @Duewester, @dherrada, @dhalbert, @deshipu, @dcbricetti, @DavidGlaude, @dastels, @Dar-Scott, @CudaCoreRoo, @codeNsolder, @CGrover, @carternuson, @callmeraffiq, @brentru, @bitbank Mr. Optimization, @Becky-lou, @ATMakersBill, @arturo182, @ardnew, @anecdata, @Aine, 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 5.0.0-beta.4.

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 issues, then post to the Adafruit Support Forums and join Discord.

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Filed under: bluetooth, CircuitPython, displays —
Tags: — by Dan Halbert

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