Raspberry Pi: The Ultimate Guide to Raspberry Pi, Including Projects, Programming Tips & Tricks, and Much More!

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing this book.

You have no doubt heard about the Raspberry Pi, a palm-sized, cheap and cutting-edge microcomputer that is threatening to make your old bulky PC obsolete. Hackers, hardware geeks and hobbyists cannot stop gushing about the possibilities presented by the Raspberry Pi. But what exactly is it? What can you do with it?

In this book, you are going to learn everything you need to know about the Raspberry Pi and why it is becoming so popular. Some of the topics covered in the book include an introduction to the Raspberry Pi, an overview of the different models of the Raspberry Pi and some of the exciting uses of this amazing device.

You will also learn how to set it up, how to download and install the Raspbian operating system, and how to write your first program for the Raspberry Pi using Python.

What are you waiting for? Let’s dive in!

Chapter 1: What Is The Raspberry Pi?

In this chapter, you are going to learn what the Raspberry Pi is and why it was developed.

Computers have come a long way. At the very beginning, they were huge, with a single computer taking up an entire room. As computer technology advanced, smaller microprocessors became available, leading to the manufacture of home PC’s like the Commodore 64, the Apple II, and the Tandy TRS-80. Today, computer technology has advanced so much and microprocessors have become smaller and smaller, which has enabled the creation of tiny and powerful computers, such as the Raspberry Pi. If you are a huge fan of computers and tech related stuff, you must have come across the term Raspberry Pi.

What Is The Raspberry Pi?

The Raspberry Pi is a very small and cheap computer. It is as small as a credit card, and you can get one for as low as $5. The most expensive version of the Raspberry Pi costs about $35. However, the Raspberry Pi is not a typical computer like the one you have on your desk. It is simply an electronic circuit board, similar to the one you might find inside your laptop computer. However, it is a lot smaller, measuring about 3x5 inches.

As you can expect from its size and price, the performance of the Raspberry Pi is not comparable to that of your laptop or desktop PC. It is a lot slower and does not come with all the features of a full-sized computer. However, it can still perform most of the functions of a normal computer, and it does this with very low levels of power consumption. What the Raspberry Pi lacks in terms of high-end performance, it more than makes up for with its high level of tinker-ability. With the right skills, you can use the Raspberry Pi to build all kinds of electronics and computing projects.

Essentially, the Raspberry Pi provides you with the raw basics of a computer. These include some RAM, a graphics chip, a processor, USB ports for connecting peripheral devices, an HDMI port for connecting it to a monitor and an Ethernet port for internet connectivity. The latest version of the Raspberry