(2025-12-22) When a REPL is more than enough
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What would you do when you find a more than decent piece of hardware but
can't find an equally decent piece of software for this hardware? Write your 
own, of course.

So, my T-Decks (LilyGo T-Deck Plus handhelds, to be exact) have finally
arrived and I tried out a lot of firmware options available for them. What I 
settled upon was a CircuitPython distribution with a custom tdeck_repl 
package for the built-in keyboard to work correctly there. My goal, however, 
is to get this setup fully autonomous. So, I have started a project to 
create all necessary components for comfortable T-Deck usage experience 
directly from the CircuitPython REPL. And I have named this project 
T-DeckARD ([1]), which stands for "T-Deck Augmented Runtime Distribution" 
and, of course, is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Blade Runner cyberpunk 
vibes.

Why "augmented runtime distribution"? Because that's what it actually is.
It's not an OS because CircuitPython already runs on top of a RTOS. It's not 
a shell because we still use the original REPL to do things. It is, however, 
a set of component and applet modules which allow you to build, among other 
things, a custom shell (or any chat-like UI) tailored to your particular 
needs. This set augments the existing Python runtime to make it much easier, 
hence the name.

A large portion of T-DeckARD doesn't even require CircuitPython to run. You
can use some modules in MicroPython or even in the "desktop" CPython 
distribution. This allows for easier applet prototyping without having to 
transfer code to the device every single time. One of my goals, however, is 
to make T-DeckARD reach the levels of not having to ever use a host PC for 
development at all. For instance, it already has a simple text editor 
(supporting a subset of POSIX ed commands) and a paged text viewer with 
optional line numbering. So, in theory, I can already write 
T-DeckARD-compatible Python code on a T-Deck itself. Without a PC, I can't 
upload it anywhere though yet. Well, that's one of my next targets to reach.

Overall, having a REPL as your primary shell activates a creative portion of
your mind and motivates you to make everything easier to interact with. 
That's the part of the process I was talking about earlier. DIY or die.

--- Luxferre ---

[1]: https://codeberg.org/luxferre/t-deckard