Siddacious’s take on #CircuitPython2019 #CircuitPython #Adafruit @Adafruit

siddacious has posted views on CircuitPython for 2019:

A bit more than a year ago I had been programming for most of my adult life but had never actively pursued or developed my skills in something that I have had an interest in since even before learning to program: electronics. I learned to solder well before I learned to code by building kits with my father, however for some combination of internal and external factors lead me away from hardware and towards software. In the last year and a half I’ve ordered 15 boards of my own design from OSH Park and have built and used them on projects that I never even conceived of before starting down the road of hardware and electronics. Additionally I’m now a active participant in and contributor to the Open Source community, something that I had previously largely been a passive consumer of.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Adafruit, CircuitPython and the broader Open Source Hardware community are responsible for this change. After a number of false starts in different contexts, I first came to Adafruit to learn how to use an Arduino board that I had been given, and while it certainly achieved that goal much more importantly I found myself welcomed into a community of like minded people of an absurdly large range of personal stories and life experiences. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the community that Adafruit has fostered may well be the largest collection of smart, creative, inquisitive and inspiring people from the widest range of backgrounds anywhere on the Internet or maybe, possibly in the world that are actively working together and supporting each other.

As an integral part of the larger Adafruit community, the CircuitPython community works together to help inspire and encourage people to learn to program and to use those skills to make a broad, diverse range of projects. Adafruit is very welcoming to people for a range of reasons, but I think it’s fair to say that CircuitPython is one of the key things that adafruit brings to the table that is hard to find elsewhere; an Open Source software community that is accepting and encouraging of people of any and all backgrounds. This group is an amazing example of what can be done when barriers to entry are lowered and a supportive community is fostered. More than anything else, my goal for #circuitpython2019 is to see to it that the community grows bigger and encourages its members to work together, learning from and developing strength from their differences.

Here are some specific personal goals:

• help port touchio/freetouch to SAMD51/M4 boards
• write more libraries where needed
• write more, substantial core C code
• brainstorm ideas for more automated testing
• help improve documentation with guides and API
• create hardware and software that lowers the barrier to building CP compatibility into custom hardware
• create more projects and share what I learn along the way so more people can follow my path

Broader aspirational goals for the community

• make CP even better at something it’s already very good at: helping people learn to program. Brainstorm projects and guides that encourage new CircuitPythonistas to learn more programming fundamentals and more advanced programming techniques
• encourage and develop CP as a community where people just starting their programming journey mix with those who have been around the block more than a few times. Both groups have things to teach each other. Mentorship should be actively supported and encouraged
• while not losing sight of CP’s core goal of helping people learn to program, encourage and enabled more seasoned programmers to use CP and help develop the platform and community. These are not two groups in opposition, they are one group (programmers, makers, creators) working from different perspectives on a common goal: turning ideas into reality.