powered by TinkerSpace.in
Join free
TinkerPy Tutorial 📘 Part 1 · Starter · Chapter 3 of 24

Names, Comments, import, setup and loop

Every TinkerPy program is built like a house: the toolboxes at the door (import), name tags on every pin, a start-up room that you pass through once (setup) and a room where the action never stops (loop). Learn the plan once and every program becomes easy to read!

📖Key words

import

Switches on a library — an extra toolbox of functions, like import buzzer or import servo. Import lines go at the very top.

Pin name

A friendly name for a pin: o1 = set_name("lamp"). After that you write lamp instead of o1 everywhere.

Comment

Text after a #. The board ignores it — it is a note for people. TinkerPy adds one for you when you press Enter.

setup:

The block that runs only once, when the board starts: pin settings and one-time jobs like a start-up beep.

loop:

The block that runs again and again, forever. When it reaches the end, it starts again from the top of loop.

Indentation

The 4 spaces at the start of a line. Indented lines belong to the block above them (setup:, loop:, if …).

🎬See it work

Once, then forever

Press Play. Watch setup run once (the start-up beep), then loop run again and again.

From o1 to lamp

Tap “Use names” and watch pin numbers turn into plain-English names.

🧠How it works

The five parts of every program

  • 1. Libraries: # Add the libraries you need and the import lines.
  • 2. Pin names: # Give your pins easy-to-remember names and the set_name lines.
  • 3. Title: # ===== Hello beep ===== — the name of your project.
  • 4. setup: runs once — first the lines Circuit Connections wrote, then your one-time lines. 5. loop: runs forever — your main code.
  • You don’t type parts 1–3: Circuit Connections writes them as you pick parts and names. Parts 4 and 5 are where you code.

Names and comments that write themselves

  • In Circuit Connections, tap a pin, pick the part and type a name. TinkerPy writes o1 = set_name("lamp") at the top and lamp = set_output(led) in setup.
  • Good names: small letters, _ instead of spaces, not starting with a number — lamp, bell_button, red_led. Type “Red LED” and Compile turns it into red_led.
  • Old code with o1 / i1? Tap the PIN button, then Use names everywhere — it swaps them for your names everywhere.
  • Type a line and press Enter: a comment appears — lamp = ON # turn lamp ON. Want your own words? Write them on a line of their own, starting with # — TinkerPy keeps those.
  • The # button: press to hide / show comments, hold until the ring fills to add a comment to every line that has none.

import: switching on toolboxes

  • Plain things — ON, OFF, wait(), if, loops, maths — need no import.
  • Extra parts need their library: buzzer, servo, ultrasonic, dht11, motor, bluetooth, oled_display…
  • Pick a buzzer or a servo in Circuit Connections and its import line appears by itself; remove the part and the line goes away.
  • A new project starts with import oled_display, oled_begin() and the o7 / o8 lines, because the OLED screen is switched on. Not using it? Switch the OLED off in Circuit Connections → Special components.

setup: and loop:

  • setup: = once. Like waking up in the morning. Put start-up beeps and starting values here.
  • loop: = forever. Like breathing all day. Put checking buttons, reading sensors and blinking here.
  • Both end with a colon (:), and the lines inside are indented by 4 spaces.
  • The board runs the lines from top to bottom, one at a time. At the end of loop it jumps back to the first line of loop — not to setup.
  • Wrong spaces? Compile says Inconsistent indentation — line up the lines and compile again.

💻Code

# Add the libraries you need
import oled_display

# ===== My TinkerPy Project =====

# This code block executes only once
setup:
    oled_begin()  # starts the OLED
    o7 = set_function(SDA)  # cannot be changed
    o8 = set_function(SCL)  # cannot be changed

# This code block executes forever
loop:

A brand-new project looks like this. The OLED screen is switched on, so its import line and its three setup lines are already there; setup: and loop: are waiting for your code. Circuit Connections pops up straight away so you can add your parts.

# Add the libraries you need
import buzzer

# Give your pins easy-to-remember names
o1 = set_name("light")
o2 = set_name("beeper")

# ===== Hello beep =====

# This code block executes only once
setup:
    light = set_output(led)
    beeper = set_output(buzzer)
    # beep once at start
    beeper = ON  # turn beeper ON
    wait(300)  # pause here for 300 milliseconds before continuing
    beeper = OFF  # turn beeper OFF

# This code block executes forever
loop:
    light = ON  # turn light ON

Start-up hello beep: the buzzer named beeper (o2) beeps once in setup, then loop keeps the LED named light (o1) on. Picking the buzzer added import buzzer at the top. The # beep once at start line is our own comment; the others appeared when we pressed Enter.

# Add the libraries you need
import buzzer

# Give your pins easy-to-remember names
o1 = set_name("beam")
o2 = set_name("horn")

# ===== Lighthouse =====

# This code block executes only once
setup:
    beam = set_output(led)
    horn = set_output(buzzer)
    # one long horn when the lighthouse wakes up
    horn = ON  # turn horn ON
    wait(1000)  # pause here for 1000 milliseconds before continuing
    horn = OFF  # turn horn OFF

# This code block executes forever
loop:
    # a short flash, then a long dark gap
    beam = ON  # flash!
    wait(200)  # pause here for 200 milliseconds before continuing
    beam = OFF  # turn beam OFF
    wait(1800)  # dark for almost 2 seconds

A fully labelled program with all five parts: import, pin names, title, setup and loop. The lines “# one long horn …” and “# a short flash …”, plus “flash!” and “dark for almost 2 seconds”, were written by hand. Tip: TinkerPy keeps comments on their own line; for your own words at the end of a line, change the automatic comment after you press Enter.

Open TinkerPy Code

🎉Fun examples

⏰Your day as code

setup: wake up, brush your teeth. loop: breathe, blink, listen… you never stop those!

🏷️Name tags help everyone

On the first day of school, name tags make it easy to call people. Pin names do the same for your code.

📖Code is read more than written

Programmers spend more time reading code than typing it — good names and comments save hours.

🌍Where it’s used

🛠️Project ideas

Start-up hello beep

Pick an LED on o1 (name it light) and a buzzer on o2 (name it beeper). In setup, make the buzzer beep once; in loop, keep the LED on. Run it in the Simulator, then move the beep into loop and see what changes.

🧰 You need: TinkerPy Code (Simulator)
Label every line of a program

Take the Lighthouse program and write your own comment on every line you typed, plus one section comment at the top of setup and loop. Ask a friend to read only the comments and guess what the gadget does.

🧰 You need: TinkerPy Code, a friend

⭐Points to remember

  1. Every program has: imports, pin names, a title, setup: and loop:.
  2. Circuit Connections writes the import, name and setup lines for you.
  3. import switches on a library (an extra toolbox).
  4. ON, OFF, wait(), if, loops and maths need no import.
  5. o1 = set_name("lamp") gives o1 the name lamp.
  6. Names use small letters and _ (no spaces, no number first).
  7. A # starts a comment; the board ignores it.
  8. Press Enter and TinkerPy writes a comment for you.
  9. Your own comments on a line of their own are kept.
  10. setup: runs once when the board starts.
  11. loop: runs again and again, forever.
  12. setup: and loop: end with a colon.
  13. Lines inside a block are indented by 4 spaces.
  14. Code runs from top to bottom; loop goes back to its own top.
🤯
Did you know?

When a loop has no wait(), the board can run it many thousands of times every second — far faster than you can blink!

❓Mini quiz

🔑
Log in to try the mini quiz

5 quick questions to check yourself — free with your TinkerPy account.

Log in
Chapter 2 All chapters Next chapter