Monk - Programming the Raspberry Pi

Dr. Simon Monk has a bachelors degree in cybernetics and computer science and a Ph.D. in software engineering. He is now a full-time writer and has authored numerous books, including Programming Arduino, 30 Arduino Projects for the Evil Genius, Hacking Electronics, and Fritzing for Inventors. Dr. Monk also runs the website MonkMakes.com, which features his own products. You can follow him on Twitter, where he is @simonmonk2.

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ISBN: 978-1-25-958741-2
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To my brothers, Andrew and Tim Monk, for their love and wisdom.

The Raspberry Pi is rapidly becoming a worldwide phenomenon. People are waking up to the possibility of a $35 (U.S.) computer that can be put to use in all sorts of settingsfrom a desktop workstation to a media center to a controller for a home automation system.

This book explains in simple terms, to both nonprogrammers and programmers new to the Raspberry Pi, how to start writing programs for the Pi in the popular Python programming language. It then goes on to give you the basics of creating graphical user interfaces and simple games using the pygame module.

The software in the book mostly uses Python 3, with the occasional use of Python 2 where necessary for module availability. The Raspbian Wheezy distribution recommended by the Raspberry Pi Foundation is used throughout the book.

The book starts with an introduction to the Raspberry Pi and covers the topics of buying the necessary accessories and setting everything up. You then get an introduction to programming while you gradually work your way through the next few chapters. Concepts are illustrated with sample applications that will get you started programming your Raspberry Pi.

Four chapters are devoted to programming and using the Raspberry Pis GPIO connector, which allows the device to be attached to external electronics. These chapters include three sample projectsa LED lighting controller, a LED clock, and a Raspberry Picontrolled robot, complete with ultrasonic rangefinder.

Here are the key topics covered in the book:

Python numbers, variables, and other basic concepts

Strings, lists, dictionaries, and other Python data structures

Modules and object orientation

Files and the Internet

Graphical user interfaces using Tkinter

Game programming using pygame

Interfacing with hardware via the GPIO connector

Sample hardware projects

All the code listings in the book are available for download from the books website at www.raspberrypibook.com, where you can also find other useful material relating to the book, including errata.