Make a guess. Then make a change.

Let's put these ideas to work! Blinka will walk through two small examples: where compilation happens, and how a big image can pass through a small working buffer. These are teaching animations. Their motion does not represent measured execution time.

Before trying the timing playground, make a prediction: a program spends 50 ms computing and 50 ms waiting for hardware. If the computation becomes 20 times faster, how much faster is the whole program? Keep your guess, then try it.

Compile first, then run

Follow the highlighted path. Your computer builds the selected function; the compatible board runs the installed native code. The ordinary Python path uses the interpreter on that same board. Rebuilding is needed when you change the accelerated source.

Blinka is showing the route, not racing a stopwatch.

View the still diagram

Keep the buffer. Change the contents.

Watch the source image and the little row buffer. A piece is read, decoded, and used; the next piece reuses that working space. The picture progresses while the row buffer stays the same size.

Before replaying, point to what changes and what stays put. The decoder and display still need their own working memory. These colored blocks explain the arrangement; their dimensions are not measurements of the real image demo.

View the still diagram

Try the timing playground

Download the companion below and unzip it. Open index.html to try the timing and fixed-point activities. Everything needed for those activities is in the file.

Start with your prediction, then change how much time the loop takes. Try a project that mostly waits and one that mostly computes. The timing model keeps the other work unchanged and adds no copying or call overhead. The recorded Metro RP2040 results have their own labeled table.

In the fixed-point activity, compare 1.25 with 0.1. Which value fits the 4096-step scale exactly? Try a negative value too.

Bring a board when you are ready

The optional serial viewer receives text from the port you choose. First run a program on your intended board that prints a result, such as the example on Try Turbo. Close other serial monitors before connecting. Opening a port can reset some devices.

For Web Serial, follow the included README to serve the companion on localhost, then open it in a supported desktop browser such as Chrome. Choose serial viewer, then connect & choose port. The viewer displays incoming text; it has no command box or firmware installer. Use disconnect when finished.

The browser activities and serial code paths were checked without hardware. An actual board connection has not been tested for this companion.

After changing a function, compare its output first, then its time. Blinka can point to the fast path; your measurements tell you whether it helped.

An optional board for the next step

The timing and fixed-point activities run in your browser without hardware. If you want to try the recorded benchmark afterward, the Metro RP2040 is the board used by the Try Turbo page. The serial panel only displays output from a board you choose; it does not install the example for you.