So, am I right in assuming that ESP32, being simple and slow, isn't going to have cache lines or anything, and would just need 1-2 cycles to access its RAM? In which case a pointer-chasing dynamic language like python wouldn't have all of the typical performance penalties from constant cache misses?
EDIT: upon further research, I think the above assumptions are more or less all wrong, starting with the "simple" part. To start with, they're Harvard-architecture-ish with separate memory pathways - and caches - for data and instructions, so off the bat they have more heterogeneity than your modern general purpose CPUs. Also there seems to be a very wide variety of memory mappings, buses, and caching systems within ESP32 "family". [1]
Wow, these preassembled ESP32 plus touchscreen boards are extremely cheap, and there are tons of them in all kinds of different form factors on Amazon. I didn't realize this kind of thing was so plentiful, this seems like a great way to bootstrap many kinds of electronics/IoT projects
frogperson 8 hours ago [-]
Yeah ESP32 is an awesome rabbit hole. An esp32-c6, cheap yellow display, and a 3d printer and you can build some really interesting things.
brcmthrowaway 9 hours ago [-]
Any commercial products using ESP?
saidinesh5 9 hours ago [-]
Just look for ESP32 CYD - CYD stands for cheap yellow display. There are a lot of variants.
Here’s a list of just a few. They’re insanely popular not only because they’re just good to use, but also because they’re one of the cheaper FCC approved modules you can buy, which takes a lot of the pain out of bringing a product to market.
The last image on the page shows various chips in the switch, the top left is an ESP32.
iberator 8 hours ago [-]
Micro python is the last hope for Python.
Python simplicity got destroyed by a bunch of new wave of programmers who packed a lot of new useless features into it in the past 10 yrars. Now it's NOT easy and small language as it used to be...
Feature creep is an awful side effect.
I would love to have language having just few add-ons per decade so I can grasp it all
wewewedxfgdf 5 hours ago [-]
>> "the last hope for Python"
Python is in the top 3 programming languages in the world.
wiseowise 5 hours ago [-]
Being lingua franca of AI and scripting world isn't enough for GP.
VK-pro 5 hours ago [-]
This is kind of a strange take to me given that Python is quickly becoming the default for many projects that 1) are not indexing for speed/efficiency and 2) is not on the web (and sometimes this only applies for frontend). There are plenty of cases where that statement is incorrect but I think you get my point.
I think I read a title on HN that was literally titled “Why Python Won” in late 2025.
InitEnabler 7 hours ago [-]
Which useless features?
shakna 2 hours ago [-]
Walrus operator, match. They're just syntax sugar, but expand the vocabulary for little benefit.
nikitau 5 hours ago [-]
Amazing. We have actually gone full circle reactionary on the typing debate where duck typing is considered the "traditional" way by some.
iberator 6 hours ago [-]
All of them. Starting with syntax changes or type hints.... (Python should be always and only be duck typed forever as designed by God itself (it's creator).
wiseowise 5 hours ago [-]
> Python should be always and only be duck typed forever as designed by God itself (it's creator).
Isn't Guido the one who came up with type hints spec and made the reference implementation (Mypy)?
vpribish 5 hours ago [-]
async is the big one. it was half-baked
halfcat 17 minutes ago [-]
Yeah, async Python is one of the top 2 things that I just get pissed off when I think about it too much. Along with Lin-Manuel Miranda not being involved with Moana 2.
cbdevidal 13 hours ago [-]
Love me some MicroPython. Building a product line of small farm security devices that use uPy and MQTT.
pluralmonad 2 hours ago [-]
Would you mind elaborating on what you mean by small farm security device?
cbdevidal 48 minutes ago [-]
First product is called SecureCoop, that either opens the coop door or monitors another coop opener, then sends phone notifications if there are issues. Door didn't open on time, door is stuck, etc.
Next product will be battery security cameras trained on predator models (raccoon, fox, snake). Then the next one will be an electric fence monitor. All solar powered.
Basically going for back yard security for small hobby farms.
Biggest hurdle has been that I only knew 5% of what I needed to know to do this. Haha. Many mistakes. But now am close to visiting the FCC lab for SDoC verification, and then I can legally sell.
How do you like it? How easy is it to work withe the layout controls?
skeledrew 8 hours ago [-]
It's a mixed bag, as it's still not stable (esp as very recently declarative support was added in what was likely a mostly-rewrite). But when it works, it works great (I've only tried on Linux and Android).
Interesting. Would want to see this going on actual Android. Especially since I have a few Python GUI projects going which I intend to use on Android (but currently using flet).
It’s LVGL based, if the GUI and widgets are what you wanted you could use that on Android, although if you have access to native Android this actually doesn’t seem like the best approach to me.
skeledrew 1 hours ago [-]
The primary goal I've been seeking for a while now (and which so far only flet has reasonably fulfilled) is the ability to dynamically create GUIs. Like I created a REPL app which works similar to the regular Python REPL, but also if the code entered at the prompt returns a control/component, it shows that control with full functionality. No need to compile anything, esp on another device. And it's a standalone app, not a frontend to a server or even a web view.
I'd use it. I'd be curious to see how close to daily driving it is for stuff like calls, SMS, and email. Something not driven by a giant data mining company would be splendid.
ConanRus 5 hours ago [-]
[dead]
hulitu 2 days ago [-]
> Android-like user experience
so crap. No inovation those days.
rpdillon 6 hours ago [-]
I really wish people would stop trying to innovate with user interfaces. In a comment below you criticize this UI because it doesn't have delimited interface elements. I agree that non-delimited user interface is really bad, but I attribute that mostly to Microsoft's flat design innovation, which I didn't like at the time, and I still wish I hadn't had so much influence.
As for invisible scroll bars, again we agree. But I think that was Apple. I'm sure somebody will correct me if it wasn't.
nunobrito 6 hours ago [-]
That "Android-like" is based on LVGL which is a brilliant GUI framework for ESP32 (not invented for this project) when you consider the low capacities of the hardware and how efficiently it pulls the animations.
If Android had such GUI, it would be a heck lot faster and drink less energy.
b00ty4breakfast 8 hours ago [-]
MIT lisenced; feel free to fork it if your feeling especially filial
squarefoot 9 hours ago [-]
It's FOSS, so you can use it primarily for output with real switches and knobs for input. But then just using plain LVGL would probably be more practical.
functionmouse 13 hours ago [-]
What would you have wanted to see?
hulitu 9 hours ago [-]
At the first look: clear delimitation of UI elements, usable scrollbars.
Melonai 11 hours ago [-]
I mean I kind of get your frustration, but I don't think innovating the user interface is not really the goal of this project, the opposite actually, it's moreso trying to provide a well-known user interface to devices where that was previously hard, so the goal is to be similar.
I would like to see some fresh ideas in UI though, everything is the same nowadays... :(
Rendered at 03:22:11 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
https://micropythonos.com/
https://github.com/MicroPythonOS/MicroPythonOS
https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/9GGXNF-micropythonos-...
EDIT: upon further research, I think the above assumptions are more or less all wrong, starting with the "simple" part. To start with, they're Harvard-architecture-ish with separate memory pathways - and caches - for data and instructions, so off the bat they have more heterogeneity than your modern general purpose CPUs. Also there seems to be a very wide variety of memory mappings, buses, and caching systems within ESP32 "family". [1]
[1] https://developer.espressif.com/blog/2024/08/esp32-memory-ma...
https://github.com/witnessmenow/ESP32-Cheap-Yellow-Display?t... . I bought mine for about $12 and it's been quite fun tinkering with it.
Here’s a list of just a few. They’re insanely popular not only because they’re just good to use, but also because they’re one of the cheaper FCC approved modules you can buy, which takes a lot of the pain out of bringing a product to market.
The last image on the page shows various chips in the switch, the top left is an ESP32.
Feature creep is an awful side effect. I would love to have language having just few add-ons per decade so I can grasp it all
Python is in the top 3 programming languages in the world.
I think I read a title on HN that was literally titled “Why Python Won” in late 2025.
Isn't Guido the one who came up with type hints spec and made the reference implementation (Mypy)?
Next product will be battery security cameras trained on predator models (raccoon, fox, snake). Then the next one will be an electric fence monitor. All solar powered.
Basically going for back yard security for small hobby farms.
Biggest hurdle has been that I only knew 5% of what I needed to know to do this. Haha. Many mistakes. But now am close to visiting the FCC lab for SDoC verification, and then I can legally sell.
Thanks for asking!
https://flet.dev
How do you like it? How easy is it to work withe the layout controls?
https://flet.dev
Pip can work fine with MicroPython. LuaRocks can be a pain, even on desktop.
[0] "This variable stores the index of the first element in an array, and of the first character in a substring."
[1] With the caveat: 'As of Perl v5.30.0, or under "use v5.16", or "no feature "array_base"", $[ no longer has any effect"'
CircuitPython docs > Differences from MicroPython: https://docs.circuitpython.org/en/latest/README.html#differe...
Also, there's pipkin: https://github.com/aivarannamaa/pipkin#pipkin :
> Tool for managing distribution packages for MicroPython and CircuitPython on target devices or in a local directory.
> Supports mip- and upip-compatible packages, and regular pip-compatible packages
Hopefully - for 3 types of packages - pipkin supports GPG signatures, PyPI's TUF, and/or sigstore attestations like pip?
Just checked; pip doesn't support checking PEP740 attestations yet either?
pipkin: https://github.com/aivarannamaa/pipkin
trailofbits/pip-plugin-pep740: https://github.com/trailofbits/pip-plugin-pep740
so crap. No inovation those days.
As for invisible scroll bars, again we agree. But I think that was Apple. I'm sure somebody will correct me if it wasn't.
If Android had such GUI, it would be a heck lot faster and drink less energy.
I would like to see some fresh ideas in UI though, everything is the same nowadays... :(