MacOS firmware updater out of date?

[charliem]

WiPy 2.0. I've used pycom_firmware_update_1.1.2.b1.dmg, but I find that micropython boots up with version 1.8.6-849. Shouldn't it be v1.9.3?

I would like to have the most recent version of micropython.

Thanks,
Charlie

[jmarcelino]

The Pycom MicroPython fork doesn't follow the same release schedule as main MicroPython, it supports slightly different features and peripherals and for now 1.8.6-849 is the latest we're based on.

We'll of course keep it as much in parallel as possible and looking to integrate core changes from 1.9.3 soon.

For Pycom builds what you should look for is the release tag. Currently the latest is release='1.10.2.b1'

[charliem]

Where do I look for the release tag/build? If I select a firmware update from https://pycom.io/downloads, I just get 1.1.2.b1 (not 1.10.2.b1)

[jmarcelino]

@charliem
1.1.2 is the upgrade tool version. The tool always downloads the latest firmware version from the server - currently 1.10.2.b1. The tool will tell you which version it retrieved, but this will always be the latest.

If you want to downgrade or use any other version of the firmware that’s not the latest you can do it manually as explained here https://forum.pycom.io/topic/517/downgrading-firmware-advanced-users

[charliem]

@jmarcelino ok thanks. I'm actually interested in upgrading, not downgrading, to the current micropython. As you said, that isn't available, so I'll have to make do with the current release.

[robert-hh]

@charliem There a quite a few variants of Micropython out there, which develop differently, like the Micropython.org version, the pycom.io version, the adafruit version, the microbit version, the variant made by @loboris, and so on. They all have different core features and diverge more and more over time, even if for instance Damien and Daniel express their interest to get back to a common set. The longer that takes, the harder it's to do. The Pycom.io version has a strong impact on supporting wireless communication using various techniques, something you do not find in the Micropython.org version. The latter focuses more on the refinement of the language implementation.
So each of these variants has an own 'most recent version of MicroPython'. For pycom.io, this is the firmware 1.10.2.b1, which by chance tells it is MicroPython 1.8.6, but it still may have evolved from the initial Micropython.org version 1.8.6. So practically this number is .... just a number, unless you miss something specific.

[charliem]

@robert-hh this was not at all obvious to me; thanks a bunch for clearing that up. What this tells me is that if I run into an issue that seems to relate to micropython, I have to be sure to ask in the forum related to the particular fork.

How does this relate to libraries? I’m struggling right now with an exception from urequests.get(). I got the module from micropython-lib, but perhaps there is a Pycom specific source for these libraries, and what I’m using is incompatible?

[robert-hh]

@charliem As far as I can tell, the state of the libraries is a little bit unclear. They were and are maintained as part of the micropython.org version. But even there, you might run into incompatibilities over time due to changes in python, even if there not too many changes, that break old code.
Given you actual problem, you might have to look in both forums for a cure.