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Many Adafruit boards come with micropython which could also be seen as a waste of resources. Yet for low volume semi pro applications, the ease of development w
by speed_spread 1y ago
Many Adafruit boards come with micropython which could also be seen as a waste of resources. Yet for low volume semi pro applications, the ease of development warrants the overhead. Linux has solid network, WiFi, Bluetooth stacks and a rich box of tools that might be very nice to tap into without requiring something as big as an RPi.
- duskwuff 1y ago> Many Adafruit boards come with micropython which could also be seen as a waste of resources. Yet for low volume semi pro applications, the ease of development warrants the overhead. As a reality check: MicroPython can run in 16 KB of RAM; a typical development board has 192 KB. µCLinux requires at least 4 - 8 MB of RAM just to boot up, and recommends 32 MB for a "serious product" [1]. > Linux has solid network, WiFi, Bluetooth stacks and a rich box of tools that might be very nice to tap into without requiring something as big as an RPi. I would absolutely not count on any of those tools being available and functional in a µCLinux environment. [1]: https://www.emcraft.com/imxrt1050-evk-board/what-is-minimal-footprint https://www.emcraft.com/imxrt1050-evk-board/what-is-minimal-...
- actionfromafar 1y agoI used Ethernet, USB and some serial thingy (I2C? can't remember) without issue.
- speed_spread 1y ago> µCLinux [...] recommends 32 MB for a "serious product" My point exactly. There's currently a hole between ten-cent MCUs requiring RTOS and 5$+ RPi that can run Linux. Taking out nommu from the kernel would make any 64MB "super-MCU" a non-starter.
- duskwuff 1y agoYou might be surprised how inexpensive a small Linux-capable MPU is. The Rockchip RV1103 (1x Cortex-A7 @ 1.2 GHz, 64 MB integrated DRAM) is under $3 in quantity. High-end microcontrollers are actually more expensive than low-end MPUs, e.g. STM32N6 is $15-20.