six-nibble-name

A minimal, light-weight (Micro)Python module for converting six nibbles (three bytes) into a four character name. Example: 0x123456 into Mori.

How To

The sixnibblename module contains a single function: get(). This takes either zero or one arguments, depending on your use case.

• If you just want to convert six nibbles into a name on Python (micro or regular), pass in the number (ideally a 6 nibble integer) as an argument to the get() function and it will be converted to a 4 byte name
  • If the integer being converted has more than 6 nibbles, only the lowest 6 will be used
• On Micropython, simply call the get() function argumentless to get the name of the device based on the unique id of the device

Here is a full example, showing outputs of pre-set integers being converted:

>>> import sixnibblename
>>> sixnibblename.get(0x123456)
'Mori'
>>> sixnibblename.get(0x32123456)
'Mori'
>>> sixnibblename.get()
'Dura'
>>> name = sixnibblename.get()
>>> print('Hello, my name is %s' % name)
Hello, my name is Dura

But...why?

The idea behind the design of this module is to convert somewhat unique, ugly names (such as those retrieved through the ESP8266 Micropython unique_id() call) into something not only readable, but memorable.

I appreciate that in the process of making something readable, I have also made the identifier even less unique than it was originally, however the use case for this sort of naming system is small, local networks (think less than 10 devices), in which case the odds of one device having the same name as another is less than 0.2%. If you think this is possibly going to be an issue for you, please do not use this module!

I also recognise that the values are slightly weighted towards some values than others (more substantial on the vowels than consonants). If someone wants to help improve the algorithm for a more even distribution, please throw me PR!

Closing Statements

If you really wish your devices had a bit more of a personality, and aren't overly concerned about the uniqueness or clashes, this may be the perfect module for you.

Credits

• Social preview image copyright Chris Eason (CC BY 2.0), https://www.flickr.com/photos/45189308@N00/2362237368. Image was cropped to fit required dimensions.