pimoroni / pimoroni/gpiodevice-python

gpiodevice: slow GPIO twiddling on Pi 400, Pi 5

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Dominant language
Python
Stars
3
Forks
3
Avg merge
8h 54m
Merged PRs (30d)
2

Description

Running Blinkt! via gpiodevice on a Pi 400 (running Ubuntu Mantic) or a Pi 5 works but GPIO twiddling is significantly slower than the ROCK 5B.

To show a frame of 30 pixels (I had to rig up a fake Blinkt!) they take:

  • Pi 400 - 215ms
  • Pi 5 - 129ms
  • ROCK 5B - 9ms

My Pi 400 setup:

lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 23.10
Release:	23.10
Codename:	mantic
Hardware	: BCM2835
Revision	: c03130
Model		: Raspberry Pi 400 Rev 1.0

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the reported show timing for 30 pixels on the Pi 400, Pi 5, and ROCK 5B, using the hardware and Ubuntu details provided. The issue names no files or tests, so first trace the gpiodevice path used by show and compare its behavior across those systems. Done means explaining and addressing the performance difference, with comparable timings confirming the result.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
linux, python
Domain
embedded-iot, performance
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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