LCD 16x2 simulator #79
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thanks for your submission, @Jumitti . I think an emulator would be a great addition to this repository. however, I left a few comments here that need to be addressed before merging. the gist of my comments is that the implementation of the emulator needs to work as a standalone, meaning it should not interfere with the i2c device driver interface. any user who want to use the emulator will need to install an additional dependency and then import the package that contains its logic, instead of the package that contains the i2c driver.
on a side note, I think that calling it an emulator is better than simulator. the logic emulates the physical device. the gui it generates is an actual substitute for the physical display. its like this: https://github.com/astro-pi/python-sense-emu.
drivers/__init__.py
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this modification creates an additional dependency (namely, tkinter) for everyone trying to use the driver interface for the physical (i2c) device. this is not okay. the simulator is a good addition but its use should not interfere with the other use cases.
please undo any modifications made to this file.
drivers/simulator.py
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| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "11111"] | ||
| # Data for custom character #3. Code {0x02} | ||
| self.char_3_data = ["11111", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "11111"] | ||
| # Data for custom character #4. Code {0x03} | ||
| self.char_4_data = ["11111", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "11111"] | ||
| # Data for custom character #5. Code {0x04} | ||
| self.char_5_data = ["11111", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "11111"] | ||
| # Data for custom character #6. Code {0x05} | ||
| self.char_6_data = ["11111", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "11111"] | ||
| # Data for custom character #7. Code {0x06} | ||
| self.char_7_data = ["11111", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "11111"] | ||
| # Data for custom character #8. Code {0x07} | ||
| self.char_8_data = ["11111", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "10001", | ||
| "11111"] | ||
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| # load custom character data to CG RAM for later use in extended string. Data for | ||
| # characters is hold in file custom_characters.txt in the same folder as i2c_dev.py | ||
| # file. These custom characters can be used in printing of extended string with a | ||
| # placeholder with desired character codes: 1st - {0x00}, 2nd - {0x01}, 3rd - {0x02}, | ||
| # 4th - {0x03}, 5th - {0x04}, 6th - {0x05}, 7th - {0x06} and 8th - {0x07}. | ||
| def load_custom_characters_data(self): | ||
| char_data_list = [ | ||
| (f"{{0x00}}", self.char_1_data), | ||
| (f"{{0x01}}", self.char_2_data), | ||
| (f"{{0x02}}", self.char_3_data), | ||
| (f"{{0x03}}", self.char_4_data), | ||
| (f"{{0x04}}", self.char_5_data), | ||
| (f"{{0x05}}", self.char_6_data), | ||
| (f"{{0x06}}", self.char_7_data), | ||
| (f"{{0x07}}", self.char_8_data) | ||
| ] | ||
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| for char_name, bitmap in char_data_list: | ||
| if len(bitmap) != 8 or any(len(row) != 5 for row in bitmap): | ||
| continue | ||
| custom_chars[char_name] = bitmap | ||
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| def get_custom_char(self, char_name): | ||
| return custom_chars.get(char_name, ["00000"] * 8) | ||
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| # Draw CustomCharacters | ||
| def draw_custom_char(self, bitmap, x, y, color): | ||
| pixel_size = 15 | ||
| for row, line in enumerate(bitmap): | ||
| for col, bit in enumerate(line): | ||
| if bit == '1': | ||
| rect_id = self.lcd.canvas.create_rectangle( | ||
| x + (col * pixel_size), | ||
| y + (row * pixel_size), | ||
| x + ((col + 1) * pixel_size), | ||
| y + ((row + 1) * pixel_size), | ||
| fill=color, | ||
| outline=color | ||
| ) | ||
| self.lcd.rectangles.append(rect_id) |
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i couldn't help but notice that this implementation is re-using logic from the original CustomCharacters class. can't you inherit the original and override where necessary?
README.md
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| All you have to do is replace ``Lcd()`` and ``CustomCharacters()`` with ``LcdSimulator()`` and ``CustomCharactersSimulator()``. | ||
| The other functions are similar. | ||
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must doc any additional dependencies as well
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@Jumitti do you plan on addressing the points I mentioned in the review? |
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@cgomesu hello, yes, it's in my future projects, sorry for the wait, I've had other priorities these last few months and I completely forgot to look at your very good feedback, I'll do it as soon as possible, I haven't given up on the idea |
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I really like the idea of calling it rather emulator than simulator, if all the changes suit you, I rename it emulator and I add cosmetics. I think you can have a lot of fun with colors, fonts and so on. |
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Voila, I think we’re finished. We have a documentation provided, I changed the name Simulator into an emulator, we have a good personalization of the emulator, we can even add more or less line and columns. And there is also error management |
I often code away from home and I don't necessarily have an LCD screen with me... So I created a 16x2 LCD screen simulator using Tkinter, allowing for easy testing and visualization of LCD displays without physical hardware. This simulator helps in developing and debugging LCD-based projects directly from a computer.
Especially if you don't have your Raspberry and LCD with you.
All you have to do is replace
Lcd()andCustomCharacters()withLcdSimulator()andCustomCharactersSimulator(). I've recoded all the (hopefully) useful functions for simulation purposes and kept their names.I've modified
__init__.pyto also loaddrivers/simulator.pywhich contains everything needed for the emulator.Demo