Welcome to madison_wcb’s documentation!

Overview

madison_wcb is a Python library that allows users to directly control a WaterColorBot by writing Python code. Its source code is on GitHub.

If you’d just like to get started, check out the QuickStart guide.

The WaterColorBot is a really neat little robot that can be controlled in a number of ways. The standard way of using a WaterColorBot is to use a program like RoboPaint or Inkscape, draw a picture with your mouse/trackpad, and then basically hit a “print” button that sends the picture to the bot, which then automatically paints it on a piece of paper. For more information, see the bot’s official documentation.

madison_wcb is a little bit different: rather than having you draw a picture by hand using a mouse or trackpad, madison_wcb lets you control the bot directly by writing Python code. You write a line like brush_up() and the bot lifts the brush away from the page; you write get_color(3) and the bot dips the brush in whatever color of paint you’ve placed in the fourth slot of your watercolor palette; etc.

The library also makes use of the turtle module in order to allow users to visualize what their program will paint when it’s connected to the WaterColorBot. Hopefully this saves you some paint.

If your goal is to find the sanest, best way to paint pictures using a WaterColorBot, your best bet is to read through the bot’s official documentation and use one of the programs that it recommends. If you’d like to write Python code that directly drives the WaterColorBot, though — perhaps as a teaching aid, for a fun classroom project — madison_wcb is the library for you.

madison_wcb was written for use in an intermediate Python class in Madison High School in Portland, Oregon.