It's an exciting time to work with technologies such as MicroPython. They make tiny and inexpensive hardware devices more accessible, as you can use a high-level language such as Python to code on them. Tasks such as retrieving data from web services can easily be done in a few lines of code, compared to other microcontroller languages that would require many more steps, because they operate at such a low level compared to Python. This is very empowering, as you will get results faster and be able to iterate through different designs and prototypes in a shorter amount of time.
In this chapter, we will provide you with the essential skills to get started and be productive with the software and hardware needed to run MicroPython. You'll learn how to update the firmware and libraries on the device. Recipes to load your first program on the board and use advanced features, such as auto-reloading your code, will also be covered. Finally, a number of recipes will cover the usage of the REPL that is a powerful way to quickly interact and experiment with the available components on MicroPython devices.
In this chapter, we will be covering the following recipes:
- Flashing the microcontroller firmware
- Executing your first program
- Using screen to access the REPL
- Using Mu to access the REPL
- Executing commands in the REPL
- Using the auto-reload feature
- Updating the CircuitPython Library
