Another Python Keyboard

Based on Makerdiary M60 keyboard. This is a firmware written (mostly) in python.

Document WIP

Introduction

This project is refactored from Makerdiary's python-keyboard with following advantages:

• easier to port
• easier to extend
• core code and hardware dependent code decoupled
• NKRO implemented
• can easily switch to different keymaps with macros

and with following limitations:

• no pair key support
• no persistent settings(memory), but should be easy to implement
  • keyboard will not connect to the last connected device after power on
  • the heatmap is reseted on each boot
• no auto profile(auto switch keymaps when using a specific BT ID)

Since this is mostly a rewrite of python-keyboard, I repurposed lots of code to support the hardware or simplify the development.

Differences

Actually there's no much difference that end users can aware.

The keymaps are compatible(the code processing the keymaps are the same).

Missing features:

• pair keys
• persistent status(BT ID, heatmap are reseted on each boot)

Changed features:

• macro handlers are coroutines now, you can update yours just to add async before def

Improved:

• backlight update

How to install

If you are a M60 keyboard user, I'd suggest to:

• install customized firmware in circuitpython-firmware-for-m60-keyboard
• tweak the keyboard configurations in keyboard_config.py(or do it later)
• copy file/folder listed below to the FAT drive
  • boot.py
  • code.py
  • keyboard_config.py
  • nkro_utils.py
  • keyboard
  • keymaps
  • m60_matrix2
• copy the lib folder to the drive, or install the following libraries
  • adafruit_logging (unless you manually remove every logging line)
  • adafruit_ble
  • adafruit_ticks
  • asyncio
• restart/reset the hardware
  • run microcontroller.reset()

How to port to a different device

For the moment, read design.md and the comments in the source files.

Hardware Interface

For each board you want to support, you only need to implement a KeyboardHardware class with a set of methods, read design.md for more details.

3 reference implementations given:

• pure python(m60_py)
• using keypad module(m60_keypad)
  • because keypad provides only a blocking method, the backlight is not fully implemented
• using custom matrix2 module(support a special suspend mode)(m60_matrix2)
  • need to use the customized firmware