Changelog#

1.5.0 (2026-05-02)#

Breaking changes

  • QScanPattern.__init__: polargraph is now a required keyword argument (no None default). Any code that constructs a scan pattern without supplying polargraph= will raise TypeError. QScanner.setupScanner and QScanPatternWidget have been updated accordingly; QScanPatternWidget no longer creates a default PolarScan() without hardware.

  • QScanner._SCAN_LOCKED: removed. Replaced by the instance method _lockedWidgets() -> list, which returns the widget objects directly. Subclasses that extended _SCAN_LOCKED must now override _lockedWidgets() instead (e.g. return super()._lockedWidgets() + [self.my_widget]).

Other changes

  • QScanPattern._moveTo: return type changed from str to the new private _MoveResult enum (COMPLETE, PAUSED, ABANDONED). All six comparison sites updated; bare string literals eliminated.

  • Polargraph.r2f, r2i: corrected return-type annotations from the runtime calls tuple(float, float) / tuple(int, int) to the correct subscript forms tuple[float, float] / tuple[int, int].

  • Polargraph.i2r: now accepts scalar or array inputs for m and n; the ysq < 0 guard uses np.any and np.maximum so the method works correctly for both cases. RasterScan.trajectory calls it directly with arrays and the duplicate i2r_vec helper is removed.

  • Motors.running: consolidated to delegate to bool(self.indexes[2]) (the P command), eliminating the separate R command.

  • Motors.process: added NumPy-style docstring documenting its role as a hook for unsolicited serial data and the subclass override contract.

  • FakeMotors.__init__: added inline comment explaining why _acceleration is reset to zero (fake hardware does not simulate trapezoidal ramp dynamics).

  • Tests: added coverage for _onMeasure subclass override, interruptAndClose / closeRequested (all three states), and _syncPatternThread (no-op for fake, retry when device on main thread, move when device on worker thread).

1.4.0 (2026-05-02)#

  • Polargraph.moveTo: replaced proportional-speed formula with an acceleration-aware calculation that ensures both motors arrive simultaneously despite AccelStepper’s trapezoidal ramp times. The faster motor runs at full speed; the slower motor’s speed is solved from the arrival-time equation, using the triangular profile t = 2√(n/a) for short moves that never reach speed, and the trapezoidal profile t = n/v + v/a otherwise. The correction eliminates the arc-shaped deviation that occurred during inter-arc transitions in PolarScan when one motor finished its ramp before the other. New module-level helpers _motor_time and _sync_speed implement the calculation.

  • Motors.__init__: initialise _acceleration to [1000., 1000.] to match the acam3 firmware default (stepper1/2.setAcceleration(1000.0) in setup()), so the timing correction activates automatically without the user having to call self.acceleration = [...]. FakeMotors resets acceleration to zero so fake hardware falls back to proportional speeds unchanged.

  • Polargraph: added r2f (continuous step-index conversion) and r2i (integer step-index conversion) as explicit methods, replacing the inline computation previously duplicated across moveTo and i2r.

  • QScanPattern: redesigned as a four-state machine (IDLE, MOVING, SCANNING, PAUSED). Replaced the moveFinished and scanFinished signals with a single stateChanged(ScanState) signal. Added pause(), resume(), abandon(), toggle(), and interruptAndClose() slots; added scanning(), moving(), and active() predicates. The _moveTo engine returns 'complete', 'paused', or 'abandoned' and handles the continuation-callable pattern so resume() re-enters the correct scan phase after a pause. Motors are not released on pause (hold position).

  • QScanner: updated for the new QScanPattern state machine. Button text and enabled state are driven entirely by stateChanged. Added _toggle and _interruptClose private signals for safe cross-thread dispatch to the scan pattern. Added _syncPatternThread to move the scan pattern to the polargraph device thread after QPolargraphWidget._firstShow has completed, eliminating QSocketNotifier cross-thread errors and serial corruption with real hardware. plotBelt caches the last emitted position so it never reads polargraph.position from the GUI thread.

  • FakePolargraph.position: fixed position tracking during stop() — _store['indexes'] is now updated at each consumed trajectory step so the stored position matches the actual simulated position after a mid-trajectory halt.

1.3.3 (2026-04-29)#

  • pyproject.toml: bumped QInstrument dependency floor to >=3.0. QInstrument 3.0 is a breaking release; QPolargraph is fully compatible as Motors only uses APIs on QSerialInstrument, which are unchanged.

1.3.2 (2026-04-20)#

  • QPolargraphWidget: when no acam3 device is found at startup, the widget now checks for any Arduino-like serial device and, if one is found, opens FlashDialog with an explanatory message. On successful flash the connection is retried after a 2-second boot delay so the Arduino has time to restart. If no Arduino is present, the user closes the dialog, or the flash fails, the widget falls back to FakePolargraph as before.

  • FlashDialog: added optional message parameter; explanatory text is shown above the form when the dialog is opened automatically. On a successful flash the dialog now calls accept() (closing itself) rather than showing a separate success QMessageBox; the output area already shows Firmware installed successfully.

  • FlashFirmware: fixed FIRMWARE_VERSION import — it is a class attribute of Motors, not a module-level name.

1.3.1 (2026-04-19)#

  • QScanPattern: removed QCoreApplication.processEvents() from the scan loop now that QSerialInterface.receive() no longer blocks the event loop (requires QInstrument>=2.4).

  • QScanner._startMove: removed outdated docstring note about processEvents().

  • pyproject.toml: bumped QInstrument dependency to >=2.4.

1.3.0 (2026-04-19)#

  • acam3 firmware 3.5.0: raised baud rate from 9600 to 115200; removed diagnostic I command; P query now always responds P:n1:n2:running (running state encoded as a third field rather than an ambiguous prefix); n1/n2 made local to the functions that use them.

  • Motors.comm: updated baud rate to Baud115200.

  • Motors.indexes: updated parser for the new P:n1:n2:running response format.

1.2.4 (2026-04-18)#

  • QScanner.plotData: fixed pg.hsvColor keyword argument from s= to sat= (correct pyqtgraph API).

1.2.3 (2026-04-18)#

  • QScanner.plotData: renamed value parameter to saturation and mapped it to HSV saturation (s=) instead of brightness. Loud/strong areas render as pure hue; quiet/weak areas appear white.

1.2.2 (2026-04-18)#

  • QScanner.plotData: added optional value parameter (HSV brightness, default 1.0) so subclasses can encode a second scalar quantity as point brightness without changing existing behavior.

1.2.1 (2026-04-18)#

  • QScanPattern.rect: converted from a plain method to a @property so that callers can write pattern.rect consistently with other geometric properties (width, height, step, etc.). Updated all internal callers in PolarScan, RasterScan, and TarzanScan.

1.2.0 (2026-04-18)#

  • QScanPattern: replaced _moving / _scanning bool flags with a ScanState enum (IDLE, MOVING, SCANNING). Added moving() predicate and updated scanning() to use the enum.

  • QScanPattern: added closeRequested signal, emitted (via _setIdle()) when the state returns to IDLE after interruptAndClose() was called.

  • QScanPattern.home / center: set state to MOVING before the move and call _setIdle() on completion.

  • QScanPattern.scan: full state-machine transitions IDLE→MOVING→SCANNING→MOVING→IDLE; skips home only on close-interrupt.

  • QScanner.closeEvent: use moving() (not scanning()) and interruptAndClose(); drop the 100 ms timer — closeRequested triggers close() via a QueuedConnection when motion stops.

  • QScanner.toggleScan: use moving() so Stop works during the initial positioning move, not only during active data collection.

1.1.7 (2026-04-18)#

  • QScanPattern: added interruptAndClose() method that sets a new _closing flag in addition to _interrupt. scan() now skips home() only when _closing is set (window-close path), preserving the original behavior of returning home after a normal Stop.

  • QScanner.closeEvent: call interruptAndClose() instead of interrupt() so Stop still goes home but window-close does not hang.

1.1.6 (2026-04-18)#

  • QScanPattern.scan: set _scanning = True before the initial move to the start position so that closeEvent interrupts rather than accepts a close request during early scan setup, preventing a hang in time.sleep.

1.1.5 (2026-04-18)#

  • QScanPattern.scan: skip home() when the scan was interrupted, preventing a hang when the application is closed during an active scan.

1.1.4 (2026-04-18)#

  • FakePolargraph.moveTo: number of trajectory waypoints is now proportional to arc length (dist_mm / speed / step_delay), matching the real hardware which records data at equal time intervals. Longer arcs produce more data points than shorter ones. Falls back to one-step-per-motor-step when step_delay=0 (automated tests).

1.1.3 (2026-04-18)#

  • FakePolargraph.moveTo: interpolates in motor step-index space rather than Cartesian space, then converts via i2r. The simulated trajectory now follows arcs matching the real belt-drive geometry instead of straight lines.

1.1.2 (2026-04-18)#

  • Fixed __init__.py lazy __getattr__: resolved value is now cached into globals() so that Python’s submodule binding side effect cannot shadow the class with the module object on subsequent accesses.

1.1.1 (2026-04-17)#

  • Refactored FlashFirmware: imports FIRMWARE_VERSION from Motors instead of duplicating _firmware_version().

  • Fixed PolarScan.trajectory(): now returns np.ndarray with shape (2, n) consistent with all other scan patterns.

  • Refactored QScanPatternWidget: extracted _FIELDS class constant; added type hints.

  • Refactored QScanPattern: polargraph parameter now annotated Polargraph | None via TYPE_CHECKING guard.

1.1.0 (2026-04-17)#

  • Added TarzanScan: geometry-native scan pattern where each move engages exactly one motor; the payload swings on a circular arc along the natural coordinate lines of the polargraph.

  • Added TarzanScan.tarzan_B, is_degenerate, and fixed_point properties that characterise the periodicity of the scan map.

  • Added -r / --raster, -p / --polar, and -t / --tarzan command-line flags to qpolargraph for selecting the scan pattern at launch (default: polar).

  • Redesigned PolargraphWidget: removed nested Configuration and Belt Drive group boxes; all controls now in a compact flat grid with right-aligned labels beside spinboxes.

  • Redesigned RasterScanWidget: replaced label-above-spinbox layout with the same label-beside-spinbox grid used by PolargraphWidget.

  • Improved startup layout: plot panel maximised by default; scan setup panel takes all spare vertical space in the controls column.

1.0.2 (2026-04-17)#

  • Fixed QScanner: serial I/O stays on the main thread; processEvents() in the scan loop keeps the UI responsive without crossing thread boundaries.

  • Added Motors.scan_i2c() diagnostic to report I2C devices found on the Arduino’s bus — useful for diagnosing motor shield detection failures.

  • Added Motors.scan_i2c() error hints when motor shield is not detected.

  • Firmware 3.3.2: explicit Wire.begin(); retry AFMS.begin() up to 5 times on startup; I command scans and reports I2C bus addresses.

1.0.1 (2026-04-17)#

  • Fixed FlashFirmware: use systemLocation() instead of portName() so avrdude receives the full device path (e.g. /dev/tty.usbmodem2101).

  • Fixed FlashFirmware: use arduino-cli lib upgrade to update already-installed Arduino libraries before flashing.

1.0.0 (2026-04-15)#

  • Initial release as a polished, cross-platform package.

  • Migrated from PyQt5 to qtpy for Qt-binding independence.

  • Replaced MIT license with GPL v3 for consistency with QInstrument.

  • Added pyproject.toml, GitHub Actions CI/CD, and git hooks.

  • Added __main__.py entry point and qpolargraph GUI script.