I2C Host driver compatibility

Platform compatibility:

The standard I2C API for this framework has basic I2C Master and I2C Slave functionality. However not every platform has I2C peripherals or supports both I2C Master and I2C Slave functionality.

Platform	I2C Master support	HW peripheral/Bitbanged
Atmel SAMD	✔	HW peripheral
RPI RP2040	Not yet implemented	HW peripheral

How does the I2C bus work?

The Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) protocol is a popular communication protocol that microcontrollers and microprocessors use to communicate with various external devices, like sensors, memory devices, and other microcontrollers. It’s a simple, two-wire serial interface that’s ideal for interconnecting low-speed peripherals to a motherboard, embedded system, or cellphone.

Basic Concepts

1. Master and Slave Devices:

2. Master Device: Initiates and controls the data transfer.

3. Slave Device: Responds to the master device.

4. Two-Wire Communication:

5. SDA (Serial Data Line): Carries data.

6. SCL (Serial Clock Line): Synchronizes data transfer.

Working Principle

1. The master device initiates communication.

2. The master device sends the address of the specific slave device it wants to communicate with, and whether it wants to write or read data from the slave device.

3. The master sends or requests data to/from the slave.

4. The slave sends an acknowledgment bit for each byte received.

5. The master ends the communication.