Raspberry Pi Projects For Dummies. Evans Jonathan

life with the Raspberry Pi easier or help you do something faster – we mark it with the Tip icon.

       You don’t need to commit this book to memory – it’s a resource for you to turn to whenever you need it. But every once in a while, we tell you something so important that you’ll want to remember it. When we do, we mark it with the Remember icon.

       What can we say? We’re geeks. And as such, we sometimes get a little technical, telling you more than you really need to know to get the job done. When we veer into the technical, we mark that text with the Technical Stuff icon. If you’re short on time, you can skip anything marked with this icon without missing anything critical to the task at hand.

       You’re bound to come across some pitfalls on your journey with the Raspberry Pi. We’ve walked this road before, so think of the Warning icon as orange cones in the road, helping you steer clear of those tire-destroying potholes or open manhole covers.

      Beyond the Book

      In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/raspberrypiprojects for information on connecting the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi, GPIO pin alternate functions, and powering other devices from the Raspberry Pi.

      Also, at www.dummies.com/extras/raspberrypiprojects, you can find free bonus articles on topics like contact bounce and facial recognition.

      Finally, throughout the book, we mention files that you can download from the book’s companion website, www.dummies.com/go/raspberrypiprojects.

      Where to Go from Here

      If you’re a beginner, you can’t do better than starting at Chapter 1 and making sure you have your Raspberry Pi and your workspace set up. Even if you’re experienced, it’s worth reading the early chapters to pick up hints we’ve gathered from our extensive experience. If you’re champing at the bit to start playing with your Pi, feel free to dive into the parts of the book that interest you most!

      Part I

      Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Projects

       For Dummies can help you get started with lots of subjects. Visit www.dummies.com to learn more and do more with For Dummies.

In this part …

      ✔ Learn about your Raspberry Pi.

      ✔ Set up the hardware and operating system and your project-building workspace.

      ✔ Learn construction techniques.

      ✔ Understand the basics of programming.

      ✔ Install language extensions.

      ✔ Discover the Raspberry Pi family of computers.

Chapter 1

      Getting to Know the Raspberry Pi

       In This Chapter

      ▶ Getting a Raspberry Pi

      ▶ Finding out what’s possible with your Raspberry Pi

      ▶ Connecting your Raspberry Pi

      ▶ Setting up your operating system

      ▶ Troubleshooting any problems

      You probably wouldn’t have picked up this book if you hadn’t already heard about the amazing, low-cost computer for everyone, the Raspberry Pi. Besides being inexpensive, what’s made the Raspberry Pi so appealing is that it’s pretty easy to use. You can even change it to do things its designers never dreamed of. Unlike most consumer electronics, tablets, and desktop computers, the Raspberry Pi is designed to let you investigate how it works and change how it operates by writing your own software programs.

      This is all possible because the Raspberry Pi uses an inexpensive but powerful processor and a free operating system, which is based upon the popular Linux platform. In this chapter, we take a look at what you need to get going and show you how to set it up.

      We also tell you where to get a Raspberry Pi and the accessories you need to run it. We explain how to set up the operating system, how to connect the hardware, and what to do if you run into any problems along the way. Before long, you’ll be able to make your Raspberry Pi say, “Hello, world!”

      Getting a Raspberry Pi

      If you’re interested in building projects with a Raspberry Pi, you probably already have one. But if you don’t yet have your own Raspberry Pi, this is the section for you! You’ll be glad to know that there are a few places you can pick one up quickly and cheaply.

The Raspberry Pi comes in several versions: Model A is shown in Figure 1-1, and Model B is shown in Figure 1-2. There are other versions of the Raspberry Pi, though – Chapter 4 has a full rundown. The Model A and Model B use the same kind of processor, but the Model A is cheaper and uses less power; it has a single USB port and connections for your screen and audio. Model B has everything Model A has, plus an additional USB port and an Ethernet port for connecting to a network, so it costs a little more. For the projects in this book, you’ll want to get a Model B.

      Photograph courtesy of the Raspberry Pi Foundation

       Figure 1-1: Raspberry Pi Model A.

      Photograph courtesy of the Raspberry Pi Foundation

       Figure 1-2: Raspberry Pi Model B.

       The newest model as of this writing is the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, which replaced the Model B+, but we’ve kept all the projects in this book compatible with Model B and later.

      The Raspberry Pi Foundation (which is technically a UK charity, not a business) created the Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi Foundation licenses the manufacture of the Raspberry Pi to the biggest names in electronics in the UK, RS Components (www.rs-components.com) and Farnell, which supports Raspberry Pi under the brand name element14 (www.element14.com/community/community/raspberry-pi). If you’re buying a Raspberry Pi for personal or home use, Farnell’s outlet is CPC (order from http://cpc.farnell.com). In the United States, you can also buy from Newark (www.newark.com), which is a part of Farnell, and Adafruit (www.adafruit.com). These suppliers can provide you with everything you need to get your Raspberry Pi up and going, but you can only buy from them online.

      If you simply can’t wait to get your hands on a Raspberry Pi, and you live in the UK, you can also walk in to any Maplin electronics shop, where they’re usually kept in stock. You’ll pay a bit more for the convenience of shopping in a store, but you can get personal advice from the salespeople,