Recently, I've been enjoying developing embedded projects on an RP2040 zero board using MicroPython. The RP2040s are fast and cheap and the zero board is much more compact than the Pi Pico but has more than enough I/O for my needs. (Actually, all the I/O is there if you need it).
MicroPython is a wonderful language and I like the fact that the source code is on the device so I can always find it again.
The normal way to develop MicroPython is Thonny. It's fine but the editor is rudimentary compared the modern code editors with completion and AI suggestions.
Recently I've discovered the MicroPico extension for VSCode and it is working pretty well.
The environment does all the things I need including showing the files on the board, letting me run the current file, stop it, and use the REPL console.
Most impressive is the AI code completion which often stuns me with its guesses about what I was about to type. (The suggestion is the italic stuff after time. below).
MicroPico doesn't do the firmware install but that's quite easy on the RP2040. I wish single step debugging was available for MicroPython but if I'm debugging pure python algorithmic code it can be debugged locally if needed.
There are other MicroPython extensions for VSCode but this one seems to work quite well for me.
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