Day - Raspberry Pi: 40 Outstanding Raspberry Pi Tips and Tricks for Absolute Beginners

Raspberry Pi

40 Outstanding Raspberry Pi Tips and Tricks for Absolute Beginners

Table of Contents

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Copyright 2015 by Dylan Day - All rights reserved.

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Introduction

Embedded computing has existed for decades. But modern developments have made the process of deploying a system easier than ever before. Thanks to the wonder of Raspberry Pi and the simple and open sourced Linux platforms that will run on it, anyone can own and manage their own server to control or automate many different basic functions around the home or in the office.

Raspberry Pi is the clear leader in embedded computing platforms. With this small, easy to program computer, you can create countless projects. Our goal in this book is to introduce you to embedded computing, explain how to program and get you started.

But first a quick word about why people should know how to code. Software development has been the path to creative disruption for decades now. One of the skills necessary is fluency in simple object-oriented programming languages. These languages empower programmers to realize the vision of new technological advances. With costs of embedded computing platforms dropping, your projects can be easy to build, inexpensive to manufacture, and profitable to sell.

So let's get started with a quick history of embedded computing. We'll tour past incarnations of small programmable personal computers that fit inside and powered other devices. We'll discuss the necessary elements of building a system. Afterwards we will go through the basics of programming in Python, a simple to learn, yet remarkably powerful programming language. Many languages are either object oriented or command/function based. Python can be either. Besides, Python also has an extensive standard library of functions that you can draw on to create your application.

Finally, I will walk you through a few simple Python-Raspberry Pi projects to get you thinking. I want to inspire you to create applications that are interesting, functional and profitable. Developing a useful tool can be the basis of a fledgling business. Maybe you can get crowdfunded to bring a product to market. After that, you could score a big investment from a venture capitalist. That investor will help you scale the production of the device and get better distribution. Suddenly, you've got a business. Soon, your business is growing and appreciating in value. Before you know it, you've got offers for your business and they aren't tiny little offers. There's a lot of zeroes in the price some bigger company is willing to pay for your idea. That's disruptive change. So, let's get disrupting!

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Chapter 1 Beginners Guide to Embedded Computing

Embedded computing seems like a complicated topic, so let's simplify it some. An embedded computer lives inside a larger device. It has a specific, dedicated function within that device. Embedded computers are in effect the brains of many commonly used vehicles, appliances even our homes.

A typical embedded computer consumes very little power. They are small in size and inexpensive to make. They are just a component and their specialized function is all they do. Because they can be in a variety of environments, they tend to be more ruggedly designed.

In early iterations, embedded systems limited processing resources to keep costs low and improve reliability. That is all changing thanks to innovative embedded computers like Raspberry Pi. Instead of the older, difficult to program systems that were challenging to interface with, new systems are geared toward the do it yourself and amateur developer communities.

In other words, embedded systems are now for you and me. And with them we can build amazing things.

One aspect of embedded computing that hasn't changed, is that we can still interface multiple embedded computers to existing sensors. In doing so, we better manage our resources. This allows amateur developers to substantially increase the functionality of a device with embedded systems.

Embedded systems eschew the typical computer architecture of a main board with expansion slots. Instead they rely on either a single-board computer or an embedded system on a chip architecture. The various versions of Raspberry Pi for example are based on the Modern embedded systems are often based Broadcom's system on chip microcontrollers.

What makes embedded systems most interesting is their focus. Embedded computers do a specific task. Developers optimize the computer for that function. As a result, the units can be made smaller. Additionally, these embedded computers can be mass-produced. This in turn drives the cost down. Most critically, designers build them to be more reliable than a typical PC.

Consider, if your computer crashes while you are online it's an inconvenience. If the embedded system that controls the way your car's engine works fails, your car will fail. The consequence of that type of failure could be lethal.