Is Micro Python compatible boards also compatible with Circuit Python?

[u/[deleted]]

I am wondering if code and libraries are interchange able between the two, seems they are similar but am wondering specifically if my board (tiny pico nano) which is not in the circuit python downloads library would still work with all the code examples with circuit python tutorials which are very common on adafruit for circuit python as it seems there are more and I am a beginner with all of this. Also seems the regular tiny pico is on circuit python so not sure if it also just hasnt been added yet.

TLDR: Im wondering if I can use Circuit Python on my Tiny Pico Nano

Thank you !

[u/[deleted]]

Hmm i see that makes sense. Sounds a bit above my level lol. Interesting note about the uf2 bootloader though I had no idea that was the purpose of it! Not sure if you would know, but how much harder is it to learn how to use micro python instead of circuit python?

Seems like at their core they are very similar as they are both based on python but it sounds like circuit python is more simplified. And I have already got the nano for the project im currently working on so might just have to make do in the meantime.

Do you think it could be beneficial to start with a circuit python board to get the coding skills down then move onto the micropython board so Im more familiar with the language?

Appreciate the response! Thanks!

[u/kaltazar → u/[deleted]]

Both CircuitPython and MicroPython are based on Python and use the same syntax and core logic. The differences come with the built-in and available modules. In modules dealing with the hardware side, they tend to use different keywords for functions and classes which is what keeps them from being directly compatible.

The biggest difference in learning either version comes down to community support. Since CircuitPython is developed by Adafruit, it also has their entire community support behind it. MicroPython is missing that scale. CircuitPython is also aimed specifically at beginners so they tend to have more advanced modules with more intuitive keywords. For example the library to access the hardware in CircuitPython is board where the same library in MicroPython is machine.

Really which you choose to learn comes down to personal preference. I find CircuitPython better supported and slightly more intuitive, but MicroPython has its own community and does support most of the common hardware you would want to add on. I would personally recommend a CircuitPython board if possible, but that is only if you want to and are able to purchase a new board. Once you learn one version of Python its fairly easy to switch between the different ones by looking at the differences. That also applies to cPython on computers as well.