I didn’t write a #CircuitPython2022 post, partly because a number of my #CircuitPython2021 wishes were still unfulfilled. But I think we are closer to some of those goals for 2023. I’ll revisit some and add some new ones.
Make use of asyncio: We have basic asyncio support, but now need to take advantage of it. I especially want to see async network access, because network latencies can be so long. I would also like bulk I/O to be able run in the background, and have easy signalling when it is done.
Audio: We now have bulk analog input for one port, which is good for analog audio, and could use that across more ports. We could also use audiobusio.I2SIn. Audio output has issues with clicks and other artifacts. What do we need to do to make audio output higher quality?
Another aspect of audio is that we now have boards with a lot more RAM than in the past. It’s more practical to deal with significant chunks of audio.
Refactor DMA? Related to the audio goals, can we refactor aspects of bulk DMA so that there’s a port-independent internal API that’s usable across multiple devices? I don’t know, but it would make it easier to add support for peripherals that support DMA.
Robustness and technical debt: We need to figure out the causes of various mysterious intermittent problems, and have a robust stable version that people can rely on. We also need to review the “Long Term” bugs, and not let them accumulate.
Hardware regression testing: Automated testing on actual hardware is a perennial goal, but hasn’t been worked on in earnest for several years. Good regression testing would help us catch robustness problems earlier.
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