morse=github:grandpabond/pxt-meter
#meter - Adding values to your project!
Many microbit projects are about taking measurements. The datalogger extension lets you make a historical record of your measurements, but your project can be brought to life by adding a real-time visual indicator.
The extension provides a selection of different visual indicators to let you monitor a changing value.
meter.digital()The default ||meter:meter|| display is a meter showing a direct 2-digit readout of a value,
which should lie in the range [0...99]. For many purposes 2 digits provide adequate accuracy,
and the digital display is especially useful in representing percentages.
NOTE: Since each digit must be represented in only 10 pixels, they are inevitably somewhat stylized,
and take a bit of practice to read accurately, especially zeroes and eights!
meter.show(value, ms)The function ||meter:show()|| adjusts the meter to show a new reading.
||meter:value||- is the new value to be indicated.
||meter:ms|| - is optionally used to control the speed of an animated adjustment to the new value.
It shows intermediate values leading to the new ||meter:value|| after ms millisecs.
(This background animation only occurs if ||meter:ms|| exceeds 50ms).
Any attempt to show a value that lies outside the [||meter:start||...||meter:limit||] range will be constrained
to the nearest bound, but will flash to indicate the out-of-range error.
meter.use(style, start, limit)Often the exact numeric value is less important than providing a rapid visual indication of a measurement.
The function ||meter:use()|| selects one of a number of possible analoge visual indicators
||meter:style|| - chooses the indicator type (see below)
||meter:start|| - is the value that maps to the bottom reading
||meter:limit|| - is the value that maps to the top reading
The operating range for analogue displays is completely flexible: it is quite permissible for ||meter:start||
to exceed ||meter:limit||, or for either (or both) to be negative. They need not be whole numbers either:
fractional values are quite OK.
||meter:BAR||:
This meter style is similar to the built-in bar-graph function, filling up each row in turn from the bottom,
with 1, 3, or 5 centred pixels, giving a total of 15 distinct displays.
||meter:DIAL||
This meter style shows a short 3-pixel pointer rotating from the 12 o'clock position through 24 different angles.
||meter:NEEDLE||:
This meter style swings a needle centred on the top left corner from horizontal clockwise to vertical in 17 steps.
||meter:TIDAL||:
This meter style fills the display progressively from the bottom left to the top right in 25 steps.
||meter:BLOB||:
This meter style is a simple centred disc that grows from a single pixel to fill the screen in 7 steps.
||meter:SPIRAL||:
This meter style is similar to the BLOB but winds round clockwise in a spiral to fill the screen in 25 steps.
meter.reset()This function clears any out-of-range flashing and resets the meter.
meter.wait()This function suspends your code until any background animated adjustment has reached the new value. (Returns immediately if there is no animation going on.)
meter.stop()This function stops any background animated adjustment immediately, wherever it has got to. (So it may not yet have reached the new value.)
Open this page at https://grandpabond.github.io/trymeter/
This repository can be added as an extension in MakeCode.
- open https://makecode.microbit.org/
- click on New Project
- click on Extensions under the gearwheel menu
- search for https://github.com/grandpabond/trymeter and import
To edit this repository in MakeCode.
- open https://makecode.microbit.org/
- click on Import then click on Import URL
- paste https://github.com/grandpabond/trymeter and click import
- for PXT/microbit