Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Getting started and documentation beyond dialtone.py ?

[Tom Rondeau]

On Fri, Nov 26, 2010 at 4:02 PM, madengr <address@hidden> wrote:
>
> I finally purchased a USRP2.  I have many years of RF/Microwave hardware
> experience but totally new to Python programming, not to mention C++.  I
> know some C for microcontrollers, a little Verilog on Xilinx hardware, and
> some DSP theory.  I have read Lyon's book and have taken his class, along
> with some classes in grad school.
>
> I have the gnuradio 'next' branch working with the USRP2 via the UHD.  I
> have a basic nbfm receiver working in GNU Radio Companion (GRC).

Hi. Great that you're already that far along.

> 1)  I'd like to get started with coding flow-graphs in Python.  Is there any
> documentation that describes the Python libraries, mainly arguments to the
> functions and the algorithm details?  I'm browsing through the doxygen
> documentation but it's kind of overwhelming since it's geared toward C++ and
> doesn't cover how it functions.


The Doxygen documentation actually does tell you how to use the blocks
in Python, but it takes a bit of an understanding to parse what it
says. When building a Python block, look at the Doxygen page for that
block and find the "gr_make_X" function down at the bottom. This is
the factory function and you translate it into Python as: gr.X(args).
The Doxygen will give you the arguments.

This, of course, only tells you about how to work with any given block
(detail and quality of the documentation will vary), not necessarily
how they all go together. There's no one good source of documentation
for that, yet.


> 2) What IDE is good for Python, specifically for use with gnuradio?  I have
> dabbled a few hours with Wing IDE and I like it so far.  I want something
> with a class browser and auto completion.  However, I figured it would help
> (e.g. auto-completion) with the arguments to the gnuradio functions, but it
> gives no hints.


Honestly, I just use Emacs and the console.


> 3) I saw there was an actual gnuradio book, but looks like it was never
> published.  I'd be willing to buy this in PDF or ebook format; is it
> avaiable?


If it's the book I'm thinking of, I've never even heard of the author
before and can't say anything about the quality of the book.


> Anyway, for now I'm looking at the *.py that GRC generates and learning from
> that.  Also looking at the examples in source tree.  I'm just wondering if
> there is more documentation.  Maybe it's just dive in and sink or swim; of
> course that's probably the best way to learn.  I figure modifying the
> example programs to work with the UHD will teach me allot.

Look at gnuradio-examples/python. There are dozens of example programs
in there to get you going.

Tom