vscode-hello-python

Hello World for ev3dev + Visual Studio Code + Python

Overview

This is a git repository to help you get started programming a robot using ev3dev in Visual Studio Code using the Python programming language.

Prerequisites

• LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, Dexter Industries Brick Pi, Mindsensors PiStorms, or FatcatLab EVB with ev3dev installed. Does not work with ev3dev-jessie! Be sure to grab a snapshot image of ev3dev-stretch.
• A computer (Windows, macOS, or Linux) with Visual Studio Code installed.

Step-by-Step

1. Download the vscode-hello-python project from GitHub and unzip it.

2. Open the vscode-hello-python-master folder in Visual Studio Code.

   

   

3. Click Show Recommendations when asked.

   

4. Install the ev3dev-browser extension. If you have Python installed on your computer, you can install that extension too. (Don't install it if you don't have Python already installed.)

   

5. After installation completes, click Reload and Reload Window.

   

   

6. Open the Explorer activity pane.

   

7. Click the arrow next to EV3DEV DEVICE BROWSER to open it.

   

   

8. Ensure that your ev3dev device is turned on and has a network connection to the host computer. USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or wired will work.

9. Click the text where it says "Click here to connect to a device". A box will pop up that lists discovered devices. Select one.

   

10. Once the device has connected, you will see a green dot and the /home/robot folder.

    

11. Press F5 to download the program and run it.

12. The Output pane will automatically open and show the status of the program and any error/debug messages.

    

13. Open the source code file, hello.py, to learn more.

Code Completion

To get code completion working and fix errors like "Unable to import 'ev3dev2.motor'" you will need to install Python and the python-ev3dev package on your computer.

1. If you don't already have Python installed, get it from https://python.org or your favorite package manager (Chocolaty, Homebrew, Apt, etc.).

2. Then set up a virtual environment. You can type these commands on the built-in terminal in VS Code.

   On Windows (make sure you are using CMD, not PowerShell):

   py -3 -m venv .venv
   .venv\Scripts\activate
   python -m pip install --upgrade pip
   pip install python-ev3dev2
   

   Or non-Windows:

   python3 -m venv .venv
   . .venv/bin/activate
   pip install --upgrade pip
   pip install python-ev3dev2
   

3. In the VS Code command pallete, run the Python: Select Interpreter command to select the .venv folder that you just created.