Usage

To get started let’s use the command line interface ipython. You will need to import and instantiate the ThunderBorg class. First we need to start ipython. You can exit ipython by pressing Ctl d then press the Enter key.

$ ipython
Python 3.5.2 (default, Sep 14 2017, 22:51:06)
Type 'copyright', 'credits' or 'license' for more information
IPython 6.4.0 -- An enhanced Interactive Python. Type '?' for help.

In [1]:

In [1]: from tborg import ThunderBorg

In [2]: tb = ThunderBorg()
ERROR:root:ThunderBorg not found on bus 1 at address 0x15
ERROR:root:ThunderBorg not found on bus 0 at address 0x15
ERROR:root:ThunderBorg could not be found; is it properly attached, the correct address used, and the I2C driver module loaded?

Opps, what happend? Well there are two issues here. The first one is easy to fix. Don’t run this on your computer or a Reaspberry Pi with no ThunderBorg board attached, duh. The second issue is a bit more subtle. Log messages are going to the screen. How do we get them in a file for later use.

We’ll do the import again, but this time with the ConfigLogger class, but first we need to create a directory to put the log files in then restart ipython.

$ mkdir logs
$ ipython
Python 3.5.2 (default, Sep 14 2017, 22:51:06)
Type 'copyright', 'credits' or 'license' for more information
IPython 6.4.0 -- An enhanced Interactive Python. Type '?' for help.

In [1]:

In [1]: import logging

In [2]: from tborg import ThunderBorg, ConfigLogger

In [3]: cl = ConfigLogger(log_path='logs')

In [4]: cl.config(logger_name='thunder-borg',
                  filename='thunderborg.log',
                  level=logging.DEBUG)

In [5]: tb = ThunderBorg(logger_name='thunder-borg',
                         log_level=logging.DEBUG)

Okay, so that seemed to work, let’s look at the log file. By-the-way the ConfigLogger sets up a logger for the API to use. It can set up multiple loggers. The only connection between the logger and the API is the logger_name. So the API needs to know which logger to use. That’s why you see it in both the ConfigLogger.config() and the ThunderBorg.__init__.

$ cat logs/thunderborg.log

2018-06-01 01:26:05,073 DEBUG thunder-borg _is_thunder_borg_board [line:220] Loading ThunderBorg on bus number 1, address 0x15
2018-06-01 01:26:05,076 INFO thunder-borg _check_board_chip [line:277] Found ThunderBorg on bus '1' at address 0x15.

That looks better.

Now lets get the motors turning. Start up ipython again then reenter the commands above, then add the command below and both motors should be running. When they run for as long as you would like execute the final command to halt the motors.

In [6]: tb.set_both_motors(0.5)

In [7]: tb.halt_motors()

And that’s it. Look through the API documentation for all the commands available.