ex8 working, also added delays to match arduino library

I noticed that sometimes the entry mode was being unintentionally set  to "rightToLeft", so I added a call to "leftToRight" in the example 8 to make this more consistent.

Author: lewispg228

examples/ex7_qwiic_serlcd_scroll.py

@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ def runExample():
 	myLCD.setBacklight(255, 255, 255) # Set backlight to bright white
 	myLCD.setContrast(5) # set contrast. Lower to 0 for higher contrast.
 	myLCD.clearScreen()
-	myLCD.cursor() # Turn on the underline cursor
 
 	time.sleep(1) # give a sec for system messages to complete
 	myLCD.print("Hello World!")

examples/ex8_qwiic_serlcd_autoscroll_with_text.py

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# ex8_qwiic_serlcd_autoscroll_with_text.py
+#
+# Simple example demonstrating the autoscroll feature on the SerLCD (Qwiic).
+#
+# This example demonstrates the use of the autoscroll()
+# and noAutoscroll() functions to make new text scroll or not.
+#------------------------------------------------------------------------
+#
+# Written by SparkFun Electronics, August 2020
+#
+# Ported from Arduino Library code with many contributions from
+# Gaston Williams - August 29, 2018
+# 
+# This python library supports the SparkFun Electroncis qwiic 
+# qwiic sensor/board ecosystem on a Raspberry Pi (and compatable) single
+# board computers. 
+#
+# More information on qwiic is at https://www.sparkfun.com/qwiic
+#
+# Do you like this library? Help support SparkFun. Buy a board!
+#
+#==================================================================================
+# Copyright (c) 2020 SparkFun Electronics
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy 
+# of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal 
+# in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights 
+# to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell 
+# copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is 
+# furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all 
+# copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR 
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, 
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE 
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER 
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, 
+# OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE 
+# SOFTWARE.
+#==================================================================================
+# Example 8
+#
+
+from __future__ import print_function
+import qwiic_serlcd
+import time
+import sys
+
+def runExample():
+
+	print("\nSparkFun Qwiic SerLCD   Example 8\n")
+	myLCD = qwiic_serlcd.QwiicSerlcd()
+
+	if myLCD.connected == False:
+		print("The Qwiic SerLCD device isn't connected to the system. Please check your connection", \
+			file=sys.stderr)
+		return
+
+	myLCD.setBacklight(255, 255, 255) # Set backlight to bright white
+	myLCD.setContrast(5) # set contrast. Lower to 0 for higher contrast.
+	myLCD.begin() # call this for default settings (no
+	myLCD.leftToRight()
+	time.sleep(1) # give a sec for system messages to complete
+	
+	while True:
+		myLCD.setCursor(0, 0) # set the cursor to (0,0)
+
+		for thisChar in range(10): # print from 0 to 9
+			myLCD.print(str(thisChar))
+			time.sleep(0.5)
+
+		myLCD.autoscroll() # set the display to automatically scroll
+
+		for thisChar in range(0,10): # print from 0 to 9
+			myLCD.setCursor(10+thisChar,1)
+			myLCD.print(str(thisChar))
+			time.sleep(0.5)
+  
+		myLCD.noAutoscroll() # turn off automatic scrolling	
+		myLCD.clearScreen() # clear screen for the next loop
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+	try:
+		runExample()
+	except (KeyboardInterrupt, SystemExit) as exErr:
+		print("\nEnding Example 8")
+		sys.exit(0)
+
+

qwiic_serlcd.py

@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 from __future__ import print_function
 import struct
+import time
 
 import qwiic_i2c
 
@@ -201,6 +202,7 @@ def is_connected(self):
         return qwiic_i2c.isDeviceConnected(self.address)
 
     connected = property(is_connected)
+
     # ----------------------------------
     # begin()
     #
@@ -213,8 +215,15 @@ def begin(self):
             :rtype: bool
 
         """
-        # Basically return True if we are connected...
-        return self.is_connected()
+        # set default settings, as defined in constructor
+        result0 = self.specialCommand(LCD_DISPLAYCONTROL | self._displayControl)
+        time.sleep(1)
+        result1 = self.specialCommand(LCD_ENTRYMODESET | self._displayMode)
+        time.sleep(1)
+        result2 = self.clearScreen()
+        time.sleep(1)
+
+        return (bool(result0) & bool(result1) & bool(result2))
 
     # ----------------------------------
     # print()
@@ -247,7 +256,9 @@ def clearScreen(self):
             :rtype: bool
 
         """
-        return self.command(CLEAR_COMMAND)
+        result = self.command(CLEAR_COMMAND)
+        time.sleep(0.01)
+        return result
 
     # ----------------------------------
     # setCursor()
@@ -303,7 +314,9 @@ def setContrast(self, contrast):
         block = [CONTRAST_COMMAND, contrast] 
 
         # send the complete bytes (address, settings command , contrast command, contrast value)
-        return self._i2c.writeBlock(self.address, SETTING_COMMAND, block)
+        result = self._i2c.writeBlock(self.address, SETTING_COMMAND, block)
+        time.sleep(0.01)
+        return result
 
     # ----------------------------------
     # setBacklight()
@@ -352,7 +365,9 @@ def setBacklight(self, r, g, b):
         block[9] = (LCD_DISPLAYCONTROL | self._displayControl)
 
         # send the complete bytes (address, settings command , contrast command, contrast value)
-        return self._i2c.writeBlock(self.address, SETTING_COMMAND, block)        
+        result = self._i2c.writeBlock(self.address, SETTING_COMMAND, block)
+        time.sleep(0.05)
+        return result
 
     # ----------------------------------
     # specialCommand()
@@ -373,7 +388,9 @@ def specialCommand(self, command, count = 1):
         """
         for i in range(0, count):
             # send the complete bytes (special command + command)
-            return self._i2c.writeByte(self.address, SPECIAL_COMMAND, command)
+            result = self._i2c.writeByte(self.address, SPECIAL_COMMAND, command)
+        time.sleep(0.05)
+        return result
 
     # ----------------------------------
     # command()
@@ -391,7 +408,9 @@ def command(self, command):
             :rtype: bool
 
         """
-        return self._i2c.writeByte(self.address, SETTING_COMMAND, command)
+        result = self._i2c.writeByte(self.address, SETTING_COMMAND, command)
+        time.sleep(0.01)
+        return result
 
     # ----------------------------------
     # moveCursorLeft()
@@ -515,4 +534,65 @@ def scrollDisplayRight(self, count = 1):
             :rtype: bool
 
         """
-        return self.specialCommand(LCD_CURSORSHIFT | LCD_DISPLAYMOVE | LCD_MOVERIGHT, count)
+        return self.specialCommand(LCD_CURSORSHIFT | LCD_DISPLAYMOVE | LCD_MOVERIGHT, count)
+
+    # ----------------------------------
+    # autoscroll()
+    #
+    # Turn autoscrolling on. This will right-justify text from the cursor.
+    def autoscroll(self):
+        """
+            Turn autoscrolling on. This will right-justify text from the cursor.
+
+            :return: Returns true if the I2C write was successful, otherwise False.
+            :rtype: bool
+
+        """
+        self._displayControl |= LCD_ENTRYSHIFTINCREMENT
+        return self.specialCommand(LCD_ENTRYMODESET | self._displayControl)
+
+    # ----------------------------------
+    # noAutoscroll()
+    #
+    # Turn autoscrolling off.
+    def noAutoscroll(self):
+        """
+            Turn autoscrolling off.
+
+            :return: Returns true if the I2C write was successful, otherwise False.
+            :rtype: bool
+
+        """
+        self._displayControl &= ~LCD_ENTRYSHIFTINCREMENT
+        return self.specialCommand(LCD_ENTRYMODESET | self._displayControl)
+
+    # ----------------------------------
+    # leftToRight()
+    #
+    # Set the text to flow from left to right.  This is the direction
+    # that is common to most Western languages.
+    def leftToRight(self):
+        """
+            Set the text to flow from left to right.
+
+            :return: Returns true if the I2C write was successful, otherwise False.
+            :rtype: bool
+
+        """
+        self._displayControl |= LCD_ENTRYLEFT
+        return self.specialCommand(LCD_ENTRYMODESET | self._displayControl)
+
+    # ----------------------------------
+    # rightToLeft()
+    #
+    # Set the text to flow from right to left.
+    def rightToLeft(self):
+        """
+            Set the text to flow from right to left
+
+            :return: Returns true if the I2C write was successful, otherwise False.
+            :rtype: bool
+
+        """
+        self._displayControl &= ~LCD_ENTRYLEFT
+        return self.specialCommand(LCD_ENTRYMODESET | self._displayControl)