How to set a GPIO pin to default HIGH before setting it to output?

Question

I have a raspberry pi connected to a Sainsmart 4-channel relay, where each relay is activated by a LOW signal.

When I set a GPIO pin to output, it defaults to LOW, which of course activates the relay for a split second before I can set it to HIGH. Is there any way to set the default output state before setting a pin to output mode?

Here is a very simplified version of my code:

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO

GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BOARD)

GPIO.setup(11, GPIO.OUT)

#pin is now outputting LOW by default

GPIO.output(11, GPIO.HIGH)

As you can see above, there is a split second between setting the pin to OUT and setting it to HIGH. During that time the pin is outputting LOW, which is the default state (If I try to set it HIGH before setting it to OUT, I get an error for trying to set the state of an input pin).

Having the pin output LOW even for a split second screws with what I'm trying to achieve. So basically all I want to do is have the pin default to HIGH when I set it to OUT.

Answer 1

As suggested by anonymoose's comment and RPi.GPIO's documentation RPi.GPIO module basics setting a pin to output allows to specify an initial value:

To set up a channel as an output:

GPIO.setup(channel, GPIO.OUT)

(where channel is the channel number based on the numbering system you have specified (BOARD or BCM)).

You can also specify an initial value for your output channel:

GPIO.setup(channel, GPIO.OUT, initial=GPIO.HIGH)