So why is this better? Let's look at two examples below where we want to print a set of strings three times. Both of the following examples have the exact same outcome (try them yourself) however the code using functions is shorter.

For those who want to get technical - the Pico's ADC pins are 12-bit, however MicroPython scales this to a 16-bit range which is 0-65535). Today we’ll be programming the buttons in your box as inputs for our code. Whilst we can easily use code to trigger our program to 'do things' (such as counting), components like buttons and switches allow us to physically interact with our project. MicroPython is an smaller, more efficient version of the Python 3 programming language, designed to be used with microcontroller boards such as the Raspberry Pi Pico. If you've programmed with Python previously, MicroPython will feel very familiar - but don't worry - we're going to guide you every step of the way over the next 12 days. For example, one of the LED if statements looks like this: if scorecounter < (targetscore / 100 * 33): We'll be using the potentiometer from yesterday's box to control our buzzer in a few moments, so leave your circuit in place as it is. We just need to add our buzzer and we're good to go.Let's say we wanted to print " Not another function!" twenty times. Well, we could add twenty lines of print, or even run a counter adding +1 each time, but another ( nicer/shorter) way to do it is using range- and this is how it would look: for i in range(20): Both calendars include a Raspberry Pi® Pico H and assume no prior knowledge of coding or electronics - so they're great for This twelve-day advent calendar will teach you how to code with MicroPython using a Raspberry Pi Pico, using software along with a selection of fun, popular components along the way. We’re going to use code to make hardware interact with the real world!

Welcome to day five of your 12 Projects of Codemas Advent Calendar. Today we’ll be making sounds with our code using the custom buzzer you've just discovered in your box! To make our if statement look for a value ' between' two numbers, we use a slightly less-obvious combination of two < operators, like this: if 20000 < reading < 40000 The break beam sensor in your box comes with two parts - the emitter (2 wires) and the receiver (3 wires). The emitter sends an infra-red light out which is detected by the receiver, which keeps the white signal pin HIGH. If something breaks this beam ( gets in the way) the receiver does not detect a signal and then sends the pin LOW.

Easy to follow along

Most buttons are very simple, just connecting a circuit together which then sends a signal to our Raspberry Pi Pico via our chosen GPIO pin. You could do the same by simply touching two wires together, but of course buttons make this far more convenient and user friendly. In programming, a variable can be a whole number (an ' integer '), a number with a decimal place (a ' floating-point value ' or ' float ') or a word/text (a ' string '). Indentation You’ll receive a different project component every day including any required wires/resistors/accessories We’re going to install software called Thonny, which will allow us to program the Pico with MicroPython.