Raspberry Pi Cookbook

for Python Programmers

Over 50 easy-to-comprehend tailor-made recipes to get

the most out of the Raspberry Pi and unleash its huge
potential using Python

Tim Cox

BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI
Raspberry Pi Cookbook for
Python Programmers

Copyright © 2014 Packt Publishing

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First published: April 2014

Production Reference: 2230414

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place
35 Livery Street
Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-84969-662-3

Cover Image by Darren Brindley ([email protected])

 Credits

Author Project Coordinator

Tim Cox Wendell Palmer

Proofreaders
Reviewers
Simran Bhogal
Colin Deady
Kirsty Cox
Ian McAlpine
Maria Gould
Acquisition Editors Ameesha Green
Pramila Balan
Paul Hindle
Luke Presland
Rebecca Pedley Indexer
Tejal Soni
Content Development Editor
Arvind Koul Graphics
Ronak Dhruv
Technical Editors
Yuvraj Mannari
Shubhangi H. Dhamgaye
Abhinash Sahu
Novina Kewalramani
Rohit Kumar Singh Production Coordinator
Pratish Soman Aparna Bhagat

Cover Work
Copy Editors
Aparna Bhagat
Janbal Dharmaraj
Insiya Morbiwala
Aditya Nair
Karuna Narayanan
 About the Author

Tim Cox lives in England with his wife and two young daughters and works as a software
engineer. His passion for programming can be traced back to one Christmas in the mid 1980s
when he received a Sinclair Spectrum 48k+ home computer (a joint present with his two elder
brothers). By typing out and modifying BASIC programs, while dreaming about building robots,
an interest in computers and electronics was sparked, which has never faded. This interest
saw him through university, where he earned a BEng in Electronics and Electrical Engineering,
and into a career in developing embedded software for a wide range of applications, for
automotive, aerospace, and the oil industry, among others.

Keen to support the vision behind the Raspberry Pi, reignite engineering in schools, and
encourage a new generation of engineers, Tim co-founded the MagPi magazine. Thanks to the
dedication and time of the volunteers who contribute to it every month, it continues to have
monthly issues and attract an ever-increasing number of readers (and writers) worldwide.
Through his site PiHardware.com, Tim produces electronic kits and helps people learn
about the Raspberry Pi and hardware interfacing; each of them is supported with detailed
instructions and tutorials to help novices build the knowledge and skills for their projects.

This is Tim's Þrst ever book; it mirrors his own experience of discovering the Raspberry Pi and
showcasing its fantastic abilities.

Writing a book about the Raspberry Pi wouldn't have been possible without
the creation itself, so thanks to the Raspberry Pi foundation for their hard
work (and good humor) in making it a huge success. The Raspberry Pi
community consists of an excellent group of exceptionally helpful people
from all over the world, and it has been a pleasure to be involved with it
from the start. In particular, I would like to thank The MagPi team that has
supported me by reviewing the chapters and helping me achieve the best
possible standard. Also thanks to the Pi3D team who worked hard to get
their library running with Python 3 for the book.

Thanks to my family, particularly my wife Kirsty, who has supported me every

step of the way and daily suffered my obsession with the Raspberry Pi. The
excitement my daughters, Phoebe and Amelia, have as they discover new
things inspires me to share and teach as much as I can.
 About the Reviewers

Colin Deady started his career in IT in the late 1990s when he discovered software
testing. By now he had already fallen in love with computers, thanks to his parents buying
him and his brother ZX81 and ZX Spectrum+ home computers in the 1980s. He graduated
to the Amiga 1200 in the early 1990s and spent countless hours learning the insides of the
operating system. Now with 14 years' experience in testing, he works as a test manager with
an emphasis on test automation and extolls the virtues of Agile using Kanban and behavior-
driven development to great effect. (Test early, test often; Þx early, Þx often.)

In his spare time, Colin is part of the editorial team for The MagPi (www.themagpi.com), a
community-written magazine for the Raspberry Pi. With several published articles and having
reviewed and edited many more, he has built up extensive knowledge of this tiny platform. He
can also be found jointly running The MagPi stand at regular Bristol DigiMakers events in the
UK, demonstrating projects such as a remote control robot arm, a roverbot, and LED display
boards, all of which he has programmed in Python.

He currently runs a blog related to the Raspberry Pi at www.rasptut.co.uk.

Ian McAlpine was Þrst introduced to computers with his school's Research Machines
RML-380Z and his Physics teacher's Compukit UK101 microcomputer. This was followed
by a Sinclair ZX81 home computer and then a BBC Micro Model A microcomputer, which he
still has to this day. His interest in computers resulted in him acquiring an MEng in Electronic
Systems Engineering from Aston University and an MSc in Information Technology from the
University of Liverpool. Ian currently works as a senior product owner at SAP Canada.

Being introduced to the Raspberry Pi not only rekindled his desire to "tinker", but also
provided him with an opportunity to give back to the community. Consequently, Ian is a very
active member of the editorial team for The MagPi, a monthly magazine for the Raspberry Pi,
which you can read online or download for free from www.themagpi.com.

I would like to thank my darling wife, Louise, and my awesome kids, Emily
and Molly, for their patience and support.
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 Table of Contents
Preface 1
Chapter 1: Getting Started with a Raspberry Pi Computer 7
Introduction 7
Connecting the Raspberry Pi 10
Using NOOBS to set up your Raspberry Pi SD card 14
Networking and connecting your Raspberry Pi to the Internet via
the LAN connector 24
ConÞguring your network manually 26
Networking directly to a laptop or computer 28
Networking and connecting your Raspberry Pi to the Internet via
a USB Wi-Fi dongle 39
Connecting to the Internet through a proxy server 44
Connecting remotely to the Raspberry Pi over the network using VNC 47
Connecting remotely to the Raspberry Pi over the network using SSH
(and X11 Forwarding) 49
Sharing the home folder of the Raspberry Pi with SMB 53
Keeping the Raspberry Pi up to date 55
Chapter 2: Starting with Python Strings, Files, and Menus 57
Introduction 57
Working with text and strings 58
Using Þles and handling errors 67
Creating a boot-up menu 71
Creating a self-deÞning menu 74
Chapter 3: Using Python for Automation and Productivity 79
Introduction 79
Using Tkinter to create graphical user interfaces 80
Creating a graphical application Start menu 84
Table of Contents
Displaying photo information in an application 89
Organizing your photos automatically 98
Chapter 4: Creating Games and Graphics 103
Introduction 103
Using IDLE3 to debug your programs 104
Drawing lines using a mouse on Tkinter Canvas 107
Creating a bat and ball game 109
Creating an overhead scrolling game 116
Chapter 5: Creating 3D Graphics 125
Introduction 125
Starting with 3D coordinates and vertices 126
Creating and importing 3D models 134
Creating a 3D world to roam in 139
Building 3D maps and mazes 143
Chapter 6: Using Python to Drive Hardware 155
Introduction 155
Controlling an LED 158
Responding to a button 163
A controlled shutdown button 168
The GPIO keypad input 176
Multiplexed color LEDs 182
Chapter 7: Sense and Display Real-world Data 193
Introduction 193
Using devices with the I2C bus 194
Reading analog data using an analog-to-digital converter 201
Logging and plotting data 208
Extending the Raspberry Pi GPIO with an I/O expander 216
Sensing and sending data to online services 223
Chapter 8: Creating Projects with the Raspberry Pi Camera Module 229
Introduction 229
Getting started with the Raspberry Pi camera module 230
Using the camera with Python 233
Generating a time-lapse video 241
Creating a stop frame animation 250
Making a QR code reader 260

ii
 Table of Contents

Chapter 9: Building Robots 267

Introduction 267
Building a Rover-Pi robot with forward driving motors 268
Using advanced motor control 281
Building a six-legged Pi-Bug robot 287
Avoiding objects and obstacles 298
Getting a sense of direction 305
Chapter 10: Interfacing with Technology 317
Introduction 317
Automating your home with remote sockets 318
Using SPI to control an LED matrix 326
Communicating using a serial interface 339
Controlling the Raspberry Pi over Bluetooth 352
Controlling USB devices 357
Appendix: Hardware and Software List 369
Introduction 369
General component sources 370
Hardware list 371
Software list 375
Index 379

iii