Aliases and defaults

All this can amount to a lot of typing, so BiblioPixel gives you some shortcuts.

Typename expansion.

If you are only specifying a typename for a component, then you don't have to specify the entire dictionary, just the name of the class.

This means that a project

{"driver": {"typename": "bibliopixel.drivers.API.LPD8806.LPD8806"}}

is identical to the easier-to-read

{"driver": "bibliopixel.drivers.API.LPD8806.LPD8806"}

Aliases.

Aliases are just shorthand for some common classes. It lets you write the project

{"driver": "bibliopixel.drivers.API.LPD8806.LPD8806"}

as

{"driver": "LPD8806"}

You can find a current list list of the aliases in this file.

Aliases are case insensitive.

Command-line flags.

There are three command line flags that are used to fill in missing components in your project file - --driver, --layout, and --animation.

You can either pass in an alias, or for more control, a JSON dictionary, which you will have to quote for your shell:

bibliopixel --animation=matrix_test
bibliopixel --layout='{"typename": "matrix", "width": 12, "height": 12}'

The --ledtype command line flag.

The SPI and Serial drivers require an "ledtype" field to identify the hardware type of the LED - see LED Types. You can use the --ledtype flag to enter this value from the command line as either a string or an integer.