Updates 2026

[rowleya]

Some updates to match some changes to SpiNNaker software (that was specifically referenced in the code) and other updates that make this easier to use in my opinion! This includes:

• Create separate example files for NEST and SpiNNaker by default. This gives two examples to go with.
• Move the sim_params to the example files since this is generally specific to the example.
• Add the ability to do setup in the sim_params, since the setup tends to be simulator-specific anyway.
• Pass in the sim to avoid the need to add this to sim params, and allow it to be imported in the example.
• Fix for recent numpy version
• Use the simulator RandomDistribution (since sPyNNaker has a version of its own for example).
• Add in the "pop_random" input, which better distributes the v0 at the start of simulation.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Updates the PyNN microcircuit examples and network setup flow to better support simulator-specific configuration (notably SpiNNaker) and improve initialization behavior.

Changes:

• Split the single example into dedicated NEST and SpiNNaker example scripts, moving sim params into those examples.
• Pass the simulator module into Network and allow simulator-specific setup via sim_dict['setup_func']().
• Add population-specific voltage initialization (pop_random) and switch to per-simulator RandomDistribution.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
PyNN/sim_params.py	Removes centralized sim params in favor of per-example configuration.
PyNN/network_params.py	Adds per-population V0 mean/SD arrays to support pop_random init.
PyNN/network.py	Refactors simulator handling, setup flow, directory handling, distributions, and v-init options.
PyNN/helpers.py	Updates NumPy-related construction to be compatible with newer NumPy behavior.
PyNN/example_spinnaker.py	Adds a dedicated SpiNNaker runnable example and simulator-specific setup function.
PyNN/example_nest.py	Adds a dedicated NEST runnable example and simulator-specific setup function.
PyNN/example.py	Removes the old single example entrypoint.

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