# Using Processing to control strips

**URL:** <https://discourse.processing.org/t/using-processing-to-control-strips/30710>\
**Category:** Processing\
**Created:** [June 14, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/using-processing-to-control-strips/30710 "2021-06-14T18:55:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dlewin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/dlewin/32/11691_2.png) [@dlewin](https://discourse.processing.org/u/dlewin)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/using-processing-to-control-strips/30710/1 "2021-06-14T18:55:26Z")

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Hi,

I have 12 Dotstar strips from Adafruit [https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dotstar-leds?view=all](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dotstar-leds?view=all) and I’d like to use them as a big matrix to display animated images or animations.

Therefore my question is : how to use processing to control the 12 strips from SPI ?  
instead of a standard display ?

PS: python would be the best way if possible

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**Author:** ![Chrisir](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/chrisir/32/45_2.png) [@Chrisir](https://discourse.processing.org/u/Chrisir)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/using-processing-to-control-strips/30710/2 "2021-06-14T19:37:54Z")

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As explained on the page ( [https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dotstar-leds?view=all](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dotstar-leds?view=all)), the Strip is connected to an Arduino (or Rasberry)

You program the Arduino to do its job.

You can’t do this via processing but the Arduino IDE is derived from the processing IDE

Check out [https://www.arduino.cc/en/software](https://www.arduino.cc/en/software)

Then on the initial page there is a lib you have to install etc., read the page

for py: see [Overview | Adafruit DotStar LEDs | Adafruit Learning System](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-dotstar-leds?view=all#python-circuitpython)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dlewin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/dlewin/32/11691_2.png) [@dlewin](https://discourse.processing.org/u/dlewin)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 8:00am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/using-processing-to-control-strips/30710/3 "2021-06-15T08:00:47Z")

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Thank you Chrisir for your answer.  
I actually prefer any Linux board (Raspberry, Beaglebone, oodo, wanderboard, etc) over Arduino to be able to code Python.  
However, I 've already wired 3 strips to my PI so this SPI part is working, the main thing for me is to be able to make Processing talk to the Strips .  
With these strips behaving independantly as slaves

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**Author:** ![glv](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/glv/32/18785_2.png) [@glv](https://discourse.processing.org/u/glv)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2021, 10:04am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/using-processing-to-control-strips/30710/4 "2021-06-15T10:04:06Z")

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@dlewin,

> Here is a sample sketch for using Adafruit DotStar LEDs with Processing for Pi on Raspberry Pi over hardware SPI

> **[GitHub - mbmosher/RPi-DotStar-SPI: Processing for Raspberry Pi code to...](https://github.com/mbmosher/RPi-DotStar-SPI)**
>
> Processing for Raspberry Pi code to control Dotstar LEDs over SPI - GitHub - mbmosher/RPi-DotStar-SPI: Processing for Raspberry Pi code to control Dotstar LEDs over SPI

`:)`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dlewin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/dlewin/32/11691_2.png) [@dlewin](https://discourse.processing.org/u/dlewin)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/using-processing-to-control-strips/30710/5 "2021-06-17T18:30:36Z")

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thanks @glv some days ago I’ve found this, which is the most promising I know. Even if, it needs to be adapted to use different SPI slaves.

I’ve did some searches here in the forum and I still wonder : although there is a processing.py port, why not using the Adafruit Dotstar lib in python in a server ?  
there is not possibility for Processing to send commands to a Python server ?