Software / API Bindings / Python / API Reference and Examples / Bricklets (Discontinued) / RGB LED Matrix Bricklet

Python - RGB LED Matrix Bricklet¶

This is the description of the Python API bindings for the RGB LED Matrix Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the RGB LED Matrix Bricklet are summarized in its hardware description.

An installation guide for the Python API bindings is part of their general description.

API¶

Generally, every function of the Python bindings can throw an tinkerforge.ip_connection.Error exception that has a value and a description property. value can have different values:

Error.TIMEOUT = -1
Error.NOT_ADDED = -6 (unused since Python bindings version 2.0.0)
Error.ALREADY_CONNECTED = -7
Error.NOT_CONNECTED = -8
Error.INVALID_PARAMETER = -9
Error.NOT_SUPPORTED = -10
Error.UNKNOWN_ERROR_CODE = -11
Error.STREAM_OUT_OF_SYNC = -12
Error.INVALID_UID = -13
Error.NON_ASCII_CHAR_IN_SECRET = -14
Error.WRONG_DEVICE_TYPE = -15
Error.DEVICE_REPLACED = -16
Error.WRONG_RESPONSE_LENGTH = -17

All functions listed below are thread-safe.

Basic Functions¶

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix(uid, ipcon)¶

Parameters:	uid – Type: str ipcon – Type: IPConnection
Returns:	rgb_led_matrix – Type: BrickletRGBLEDMatrix

Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:

rgb_led_matrix = BrickletRGBLEDMatrix("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon)

This object can then be used after the IP Connection is connected.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_red(red)¶

Parameters:	red – Type: [int, ...], Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255]
Returns:	None

Sets the 64 red LED values of the matrix.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_red()¶

Returns:	red – Type: [int, ...], Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255], Default: [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]

Returns the red LED values as set by set_red().

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_green(green)¶

Parameters:	green – Type: [int, ...], Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255], Default: [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
Returns:	None

Sets the 64 green LED values of the matrix.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_green()¶

Returns:	green – Type: [int, ...], Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255], Default: [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]

Returns the green LED values as set by set_green().

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_blue(blue)¶

Parameters:	blue – Type: [int, ...], Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255], Default: [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
Returns:	None

Sets the 64 blue LED values of the matrix.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_blue()¶

Returns:	blue – Type: [int, ...], Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255], Default: [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]

Returns the blue LED values as set by set_blue().

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_frame_duration(frame_duration)¶

Parameters:	frame_duration – Type: int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0
Returns:	None

Sets the frame duration.

Example: If you want to achieve 20 frames per second, you should set the frame duration to 50ms (50ms * 20 = 1 second).

Set this value to 0 to turn the automatic frame write mechanism off.

Approach:

Call set_frame_duration() with value > 0.
Set LED values for first frame with set_red(), set_green(), set_blue().
Wait for CALLBACK_FRAME_STARTED callback.
Set LED values for second frame with set_red(), set_green(), set_blue().
Wait for CALLBACK_FRAME_STARTED callback.
and so on.

For frame duration of 0 see draw_frame().

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_frame_duration()¶

Returns:	frame_duration – Type: int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1], Default: 0

Returns the frame duration as set by set_frame_duration().

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.draw_frame()¶

Returns:	None

If you set the frame duration to 0 (see set_frame_duration()), you can use this function to transfer the frame to the matrix.

Approach:

Call set_frame_duration() with 0.
Set LED values for first frame with set_red(), set_green(), set_blue().
Call draw_frame().
Wait for CALLBACK_FRAME_STARTED callback.
Set LED values for second frame with set_red(), set_green(), set_blue().
Call draw_frame().
Wait for CALLBACK_FRAME_STARTED callback.
and so on.

Advanced Functions¶

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_supply_voltage()¶

Returns:	voltage – Type: int, Unit: 1 mV, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

Returns the current supply voltage of the Bricklet.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_spitfp_error_count()¶

Return Object:	error_count_ack_checksum – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] error_count_message_checksum – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] error_count_frame – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1] error_count_overflow – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Returns the error count for the communication between Brick and Bricklet.

The errors are divided into

ACK checksum errors,
message checksum errors,
framing errors and
overflow errors.

The errors counts are for errors that occur on the Bricklet side. All Bricks have a similar function that returns the errors on the Brick side.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_status_led_config(config)¶

Parameters:	config – Type: int, Range: See constants, Default: 3
Returns:	None

Sets the status LED configuration. By default the LED shows communication traffic between Brick and Bricklet, it flickers once for every 10 received data packets.

You can also turn the LED permanently on/off or show a heartbeat.

If the Bricklet is in bootloader mode, the LED is will show heartbeat by default.

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_status_led_config()¶

Returns:	config – Type: int, Range: See constants, Default: 3

Returns the configuration as set by set_status_led_config()

The following constants are available for this function:

For config:

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_OFF = 0
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_ON = 1
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_HEARTBEAT = 2
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.STATUS_LED_CONFIG_SHOW_STATUS = 3

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_chip_temperature()¶

Returns:	temperature – Type: int, Unit: 1 °C, Range: [-2¹⁵ to 2¹⁵ - 1]

Returns the temperature as measured inside the microcontroller. The value returned is not the ambient temperature!

The temperature is only proportional to the real temperature and it has bad accuracy. Practically it is only useful as an indicator for temperature changes.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.reset()¶

Returns:	None

Calling this function will reset the Bricklet. All configurations will be lost.

After a reset you have to create new device objects, calling functions on the existing ones will result in undefined behavior!

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_identity()¶

Return Object:

Return Object:	uid – Type: str, Length: up to 8 connected_uid – Type: str, Length: up to 8 position – Type: chr, Range: ["a" to "h", "z"] hardware_version – Type: [int, ...], Length: 3 0: major – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255] firmware_version – Type: [int, ...], Length: 3 0: major – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255] device_identifier – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

uid – Type: str, Length: up to 8
connected_uid – Type: str, Length: up to 8
position – Type: chr, Range: ["a" to "h", "z"]
hardware_version – Type: [int, ...], Length: 3

0: major – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
1: minor – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
2: revision – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]

firmware_version – Type: [int, ...], Length: 3

0: major – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
1: minor – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]
2: revision – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]

device_identifier – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2¹⁶ - 1]

Returns the UID, the UID where the Bricklet is connected to, the position, the hardware and firmware version as well as the device identifier.

The position can be 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g' or 'h' (Bricklet Port). A Bricklet connected to an Isolator Bricklet is always at position 'z'.

The device identifier numbers can be found here. There is also a constant for the device identifier of this Bricklet.

Callback Configuration Functions¶

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.register_callback(callback_id, function)¶

Parameters:	callback_id – Type: int function – Type: callable
Returns:	None

Registers the given function with the given callback_id.

The available callback IDs with corresponding function signatures are listed below.

Callbacks¶

Callbacks can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done with the register_callback() function of the device object. The first parameter is the callback ID and the second parameter the callback function:

def my_callback(param):
    print(param)

rgb_led_matrix.register_callback(BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.CALLBACK_EXAMPLE, my_callback)

The available constants with inherent number and type of parameters are described below.

Note

Using callbacks for recurring events is always preferred compared to using getters. It will use less USB bandwidth and the latency will be a lot better, since there is no round trip time.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.CALLBACK_FRAME_STARTED¶

Callback Parameters:	frame_number – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

This callback is triggered as soon as a new frame write is started. The LED values are double buffered, so you can send the LED values for the next frame directly after this callback is triggered.

Virtual Functions¶

Virtual functions don't communicate with the device itself, but operate only on the API bindings device object. They can be called without the corresponding IP Connection object being connected.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_api_version()¶

Return Object:	api_version – Type: [int, ...], Length: 3 0: major – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255] 1: minor – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255] 2: revision – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]

Returns the version of the API definition implemented by this API bindings. This is neither the release version of this API bindings nor does it tell you anything about the represented Brick or Bricklet.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_response_expected(function_id)¶

Parameters:	function_id – Type: int, Range: See constants
Returns:	response_expected – Type: bool

Returns the response expected flag for the function specified by the function ID parameter. It is true if the function is expected to send a response, false otherwise.

For getter functions this is enabled by default and cannot be disabled, because those functions will always send a response. For callback configuration functions it is enabled by default too, but can be disabled by set_response_expected(). For setter functions it is disabled by default and can be enabled.

Enabling the response expected flag for a setter function allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of this setter as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this flag is disabled for a setter function then no response is sent and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

The following constants are available for this function:

For function_id:

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_RED = 1
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_GREEN = 3
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_BLUE = 5
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_FRAME_DURATION = 7
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_DRAW_FRAME = 9
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_response_expected(function_id, response_expected)¶

Parameters:	function_id – Type: int, Range: See constants response_expected – Type: bool
Returns:	None

Changes the response expected flag of the function specified by the function ID parameter. This flag can only be changed for setter (default value: false) and callback configuration functions (default value: true). For getter functions it is always enabled.

The following constants are available for this function:

For function_id:

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_RED = 1
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_GREEN = 3
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_BLUE = 5
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_FRAME_DURATION = 7
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_DRAW_FRAME = 9
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_WRITE_FIRMWARE_POINTER = 237
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_SET_STATUS_LED_CONFIG = 239
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_RESET = 243
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.FUNCTION_WRITE_UID = 248

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_response_expected_all(response_expected)¶

Parameters:	response_expected – Type: bool
Returns:	None

Changes the response expected flag for all setter and callback configuration functions of this device at once.

Internal Functions¶

Internal functions are used for maintenance tasks such as flashing a new firmware of changing the UID of a Bricklet. These task should be performed using Brick Viewer instead of using the internal functions directly.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_bootloader_mode(mode)¶

Parameters:	mode – Type: int, Range: See constants
Returns:	status – Type: int, Range: See constants

Sets the bootloader mode and returns the status after the requested mode change was instigated.

You can change from bootloader mode to firmware mode and vice versa. A change from bootloader mode to firmware mode will only take place if the entry function, device identifier and CRC are present and correct.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

The following constants are available for this function:

For mode:

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4

For status:

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_OK = 0
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_INVALID_MODE = 1
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_NO_CHANGE = 2
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_ENTRY_FUNCTION_NOT_PRESENT = 3
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_DEVICE_IDENTIFIER_INCORRECT = 4
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_STATUS_CRC_MISMATCH = 5

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.get_bootloader_mode()¶

Returns:	mode – Type: int, Range: See constants

Returns the current bootloader mode, see set_bootloader_mode().

The following constants are available for this function:

For mode:

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER = 0
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE = 1
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_BOOTLOADER_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 2
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_REBOOT = 3
BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.BOOTLOADER_MODE_FIRMWARE_WAIT_FOR_ERASE_AND_REBOOT = 4

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.set_write_firmware_pointer(pointer)¶

Parameters:	pointer – Type: int, Unit: 1 B, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]
Returns:	None

Sets the firmware pointer for write_firmware(). The pointer has to be increased by chunks of size 64. The data is written to flash every 4 chunks (which equals to one page of size 256).

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.write_firmware(data)¶

Parameters:	data – Type: [int, ...], Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255]
Returns:	status – Type: int, Range: [0 to 255]

Writes 64 Bytes of firmware at the position as written by set_write_firmware_pointer() before. The firmware is written to flash every 4 chunks.

You can only write firmware in bootloader mode.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.write_uid(uid)¶

Parameters:	uid – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]
Returns:	None

Writes a new UID into flash. If you want to set a new UID you have to decode the Base58 encoded UID string into an integer first.

We recommend that you use Brick Viewer to change the UID.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.read_uid()¶

Returns:	uid – Type: int, Range: [0 to 2³² - 1]

Returns the current UID as an integer. Encode as Base58 to get the usual string version.

Constants¶

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.DEVICE_IDENTIFIER¶

This constant is used to identify a RGB LED Matrix Bricklet.

The get_identity() function and the IPConnection.CALLBACK_ENUMERATE callback of the IP Connection have a device_identifier parameter to specify the Brick's or Bricklet's type.

BrickletRGBLEDMatrix.DEVICE_DISPLAY_NAME¶: This constant represents the human readable name of a RGB LED Matrix Bricklet.