What is the difference between MicroPython's utime library and Pythons time library?

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 The utime and time libraries in MicroPython serve similar purposes but have some differences in their implementation and functionality. 

Here's an overview of each:

utime Library:

Purpose: The utime module is specifically designed for MicroPython. It provides functions for working with time-related tasks, such as sleeping, getting the current time, and measuring time intervals.

Functions:

  • utime.sleep(seconds): Suspends execution for the given number of seconds.
  • utime.sleep_ms(milliseconds): Suspends execution for the given number of milliseconds.
  • utime.sleep_us(microseconds): Suspends execution for the given number of microseconds.
  • utime.time(): Returns the current time in seconds since the epoch.
  • utime.ticks_ms(): Returns the number of milliseconds since the board was powered on.
  • utime.ticks_us(): Returns the number of microseconds since the board was powered on.
  • utime.localtime([secs]): Converts a time expressed in seconds since the epoch to a tuple representing local time.


time Library:

Purpose: The time module is a standard Python library for handling time-related tasks. While it is not always fully implemented in MicroPython, some functions may still be available depending on the specific MicroPython port.

Functions (standard Python):

  • time.sleep(seconds): Suspends execution for the given number of seconds.
  • time.time(): Returns the current time in seconds since the epoch.
  • time.localtime([secs]): Converts a time expressed in seconds since the epoch to a struct_time representing local time.
  • time.strftime(format[, t]): Formats a struct_time or tuple representing local time to a string according to the specified format.

Key Differences

MicroPython-Specific: utime is specifically tailored for MicroPython and includes functions that take into account the limited resources of microcontroller environments.

Precision: utime provides more precise time functions (e.g., sleep in milliseconds and microseconds) suitable for microcontroller applications.

Availability: The standard time module may not be fully available in all MicroPython ports, whereas utime is more consistently supported.

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