Korben_Dallas

@arox Thank you for following up, I've gotten Python (2) up and running and I'm working on getting .py files into the right places which is proving to be confusing. I am wondering if I should switch to Python 3 so it doesn't bite me in the future. Is the only syntax difference the parenthesis needed with strings, or is is recommended to use the most recent version to avoid any unlearning? I'm sure Python 2 is still widely used, just curious. So far this is the most fun I've had on a computer in ages, the level of control is exiting but also scary. Per @sgjava's recommendation I've been looking into java and installed it, I'm starting the codecademy Java course as I've just finished Python 2 (free). I am not sure how to get things from github onto my SBC yet, should I use the get function with a download link? I could use my flashdrive and move the file to sys I think, I'm not fully confident I can do that though. I have yet to grasp the file system controls and what constitutes the Linux version of a ".dll". Also, thank you for putting that code out there for us, once I manage to get it onto my SBC I'm going to try using this as a solution, along with a similar python script so I can learn both methods. I suppose I could use a simple 555 timer and set the rate and duty cycle with the circuit plugged into a gpio input, which I have the resources to do (but not the coding knowledge), but my main goal here is to learn as much as I can about Linux, Python, Java and other languages that I can use to interface with physical systems later on. So far I have also set up the ufw firewall thing, connected to my laptop and phone via SSH (wow it is much nicer controlling things from a laptop) and set up a large flash-drive as memory for libraries and other files (I only have a 4 Gb sd card and I don't know the full restrictions of using this type of memory). Overall I am slowly moving forward. All of your input has helped considerably, as support for this corner of programming seems to be sparse. Muchas Gracias, Danke Schon and Merci Beaucoup for your time everybody, I have a lot of work to do today and hopefully I will return with a success story. - Korben

@lanefu and @arox, thank you so much! I appreciate the fast replies and apologize for any clutter. These are exactly the answers I was looking for and what I spent the most time trying to understand. I will look at those libraries and get a better grasp of what Linux really is. I am almost done with the Codecademy course (the free one) on Python 2 and so far it is wonderful and easy to use, i would love to run my python scripts in Linux if I can get them in there. I don't want to break any rules here and I will move this discussion to development, but I had a few more questions: Will ALL code types work within Linux Armbian Buster (for example, python, C++, Ruby) with the right libraries? I was mistaken that Linux was a language/IDE rather than a full blown OS (the bare-bones UX of Armbian Buster is new to me). So from what I've gathered my next step is learning the basic Linux commands, seeing what I can accomplish with shell (bash) and learning how to implement programs written in Python or another language. Is this a fair assessment or am I still misunderstanding the use of Linux? From the bottom of my heart thank you for your time and thought, I really tried to find info but my global misunderstanding of Linux caused me to use the wrong terminology. I can kill the thread or move it once I know where to place it, I know how messy things can get. - Korben

Hello all! First of all, apologies for being such a noob but I am very eager to get started and there may be some ambiguous language here as a result. I am getting started in Armbian Linux Buster on the Pine A64+ and for my first project I'd like to program a 7 segment display (four digits) to display descending numbers from 1000. As you may know, 7-segment displays with more than one digit require the display to operate at a certain frequency in order to display multiple digits as a result of the common anode/cathode configuration. I have already played around with a simple LED and have gotten it to light up in armbian linux buster on the A64 (by defining the pin as output etc. etc.) but that's all I've accomplished so far. I have looked everywhere for the answer but this OS has much less information available than the pi or arduino (I have done several projects with arduino on an ESP8266). How do I tell a command to repeat in any sort of time domain? Are there any simple classes for learning how to code in armbian linux? I would love to be pointed towards some resources but I have had a hard time really understanding ARM and how it differs/relates to languages like Python and C++. I have learned some C++ and have a grasp on arduino code (same thing i guess.) Is it possible to run an arduino script through linux and out of my A64? ANY advice would be greatly appreciated and especially so with example code. I wrote a basic list of steps for what I want the code to do below, but I don't know how to correctly do this. define the four anode pins as inputs and label them D1,D2,D3,D4 define the seven cathodes and label as A through G define the numbers (0-9) as they pertain to A-G so they can be called on rather than rewriting the pins needed every time for example, the number 1 oon any digit (D1-D4) will be B and C pulled low and the required digit, say D4, pulled high. This I am confident I can do but now theres the part I don't understand for the number 1000, D1 will be a one and D2. D3 ,D4 will be zeroes in order to do this I need to momentarily flash the one on D1, then the zero on D2, then the next zero on D3 and then the next zero on D4 at a continuous rate (faster than 24 Hz) so the flickering isn't noticeable to the human eye, and THIS is my question; how do I set this rate/frequency/period at which to loop the command and also how do I instruct the program to go from 1000 down to 1 at one second per full four digit number. (counting down at 1 Hz, but each individual digit is flickering at, say, 100 Hz) HOW TO DEFINE A FREQUENCY FOR INSTRUCTIONS EXITING THE GPIO PINS IS MY MAIN QUESTION. Thank you to those who made it this far, sorry about my grammar. I hope you are all staying positive and testing negative! - Korben.