Raspberry Pi User Guide

by Eben Upton, Gareth Halfacree

Overview

The “unofficial official” guide to the Raspberry Pi, complete with creator insight

Raspberry Pi User Guide, 3^rdEdition contains everything you need to know to get up and running with Raspberry Pi. This book is the go-to guide for Noobs who want to dive right in. This updated third edition covers the model B+ Raspberry Pi and its software, additional USB ports, and changes to the GPIO, including new information on Arduino and Minecraft on the Pi. You’ll find clear, step-by-step instruction for everything from software installation and configuration to customizing your Raspberry Pi with capability-expanding add-ons. Learn the basic Linux SysAdmin and flexible programming languages that allow you to make your Pi into whatever you want it to be.

The Raspberry Pi was created by the UK Non-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation to help get kids interested in programming. Affordable, portable, and utterly adorable, the Pi exceeded all expectations, introducing millions of people to programming since its creation. The Raspberry Pi User Guide, 3^rd Edition helps you and your Pi get acquainted, with clear instruction in easy to understand language.

• Install software, configure, and connect your Raspberry Pi to other devices
• Master basic Linux System Admin to better understand nomenclature and conventions
• Write basic productivity and multimedia programs in Scratch and Python

• Extend capabilities with add-ons like Gertboard, Arduino, and more

The Raspberry Pi has become a full-fledged phenomenon, popular with tinkerers, hackers, experimenters, and inventors. If you want to get started but aren’t sure where to begin, Raspberry Pi User Guide, 3^rd Edition contains everything you need. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118921678
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	08/25/2014
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Eben Upton is a founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation and serves as the CEO of Raspberry Pi (Trading), its commercial arm. In an earlier life he founded two mobile games companies and was Director of Studies for Computer Science at St John’s College, Cambridge. He holds a BA, a PhD and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.

Gareth Halfacree is a freelance technology journalist and the co-author of the Raspberry Pi User Guide alongside project co-founder Eben Upton. Gareth can often be seen reviewing, documenting or even contributing to projects, including GNU/Linux, LibreOffice, Fritzing and Arduino.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I

CHAPTER 1 Meet the Raspberry Pi 13

A Trip Around the Board 13

Model A 15

Model B 16

Model B+ 16

A History of Model B PCB Revisions 18

Revision 1 18

Revision 2 18

Model B+ 18

A Bit of Background 19

ARM versus x86 19

Windows versus Linux 20

CHAPTER 2 Getting Started with the Raspberry Pi 23

Connecting a Display 24

Composite Video 24

HDMI Video 25

DSI Video 26

Connecting Audio 26

Connecting a Keyboard and Mouse 27

Installing NOOBS on an SD Card 29

Connecting External Storage 30

Connecting the Network 31

Wired Networking 32

Wireless Networking 33

Connecting Power 35

Installing the Operating System 36

Installing Using NOOBS 36

Installing Manually 38

Flashing from Linux 39

Flashing from OS X 40

Flashing from Windows 40

CHAPTER 3 Linux System Administration 43

Linux: An Overview 43

Linux Basics 45

Introducing Raspbian 46

About Raspbian’s Parent, Debian 51

Alternatives to Raspbian. 51

Using External Storage Devices 52

Creating a New User Account 54

File System Layout 55

Logical Layout 55

Physical Layout 57

Installing and Uninstalling Software 57

Obtaining Software from the Pi Store 57

Obtaining Software from Elsewhere 59

Finding the Software You Want 61

Installing Software 62

Uninstalling Software 63

Upgrading Software 63

Shutting the Pi Down Safely 64

CHAPTER 4 Troubleshooting 65

Keyboard and Mouse Diagnostics 65

Power Diagnostics 66

Display Diagnostics 68

Boot Diagnostics 68

Network Diagnostics 69

The Emergency Kernel 72

CHAPTER 5 Network Configuration 75

Wired Networking 75

Wireless Networking 78

Installing Firmware 79

Connecting to a Wireless Network via wpa_gui 82

Connecting to a Wireless Network via the Terminal 85

No Encryption 90

WEP Encryption 90

WPA/WPA2 Encryption 90

Connecting to the Wireless Network 91

CHAPTER 6 The Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool 93

Running the Tool 94

The Setup Options Screen 94

1 Expand Filesystem 95

2 Change User Password. 95

3 Enable Boot to Desktop/Scratch 96

4 Internationalisation Options 96

I1 Change Locale. 97

I2 Change Timezone 97

I3 Change Keyboard Layout 98

5 Enable Camera 98

6 Add to Rastrack 98

7 Overclock 99

8 Advanced Options .100

A1 Overscan .101

A2 Hostname .101

A3 Memory Split .102

A4 SSH .103

A5 SPI .103

A6 Audio .103

A7 Update .103

9 About raspi-config .104

CHAPTER 7 Advanced Raspberry Pi Configuration 105

Editing Configuration Files via NOOBS .105

Hardware Settings—config.txt .107

Modifying the Display .108

Boot Options .111

Overclocking the Raspberry Pi .112

Overclocking Settings .113

Overvoltage Settings .114

Disabling L2 Cache .115

Enabling Test Mode .116

Memory Partitioning .117

Software Settings—cmdline.txt .117

Part II

CHAPTER 8 The Pi as a Home Theatre PC 123

Playing Music at the Console .123

Dedicated HTPC with Raspbmc .126

Streaming Internet Media .127

Streaming Local Network Media .129

Configuring Raspbmc .131

CHAPTER 9 The Pi as a Productivity Machine 133

Using Cloud-Based Apps .134

Using LibreOffice .136

Image Editing with the Gimp .138

CHAPTER 10 The Pi as a Web Server 141

Installing a LAMP Stack .142

Installing WordPress .145

Part III

CHAPTER 11 An Introduction to Scratch 153

Introducing Scratch .153

Example 1: Hello World .154

Example 2: Animation and Sound .158

Example 3: A Simple Game .161

Robotics and Sensors .167

Sensing with the PicoBoard .167

Robotics with LEGO .167

Further Reading .168

CHAPTER 12 An Introduction to Python 169

Introducing Python .169

Example 1: Hello World .170

Example 2: Comments, Inputs, Variables and Loops .175

Example 3: Gaming with pygame .179

Example 4: Python and Networking .188

Further Reading .194

CHAPTER 13 Minecraft Pi Edition 195

Introducing Minecraft Pi Edition .195

Installing Minecraft .196

Running Minecraft .197

Exploration .199

Hacking Minecraft .200

Part IV

CHAPTER 14 Learning to Hack Hardware 207

Electronic Equipment .208

Reading Resistor Colour Codes .210

Sourcing Components .210

Online Sources .211

Offline Sources .212

Hobby Specialists .213

Moving Up from the Breadboard .214

A Brief Guide to Soldering .217

CHAPTER 15 The GPIO Port 223

Identifying Your Board Revision .223

GPIO Pinout Diagrams .224

GPIO Features .226

UART Serial Bus .227

I²C Bus .227

SPI Bus .228

Using the GPIO Port in Python .228

GPIO Output: Flashing an LED .228

GPIO Input: Reading a Button .233

CHAPTER 16 The Raspberry Pi Camera Module 237

Why Use the Camera Module? .238

Installing the Camera Module .239

Enabling Camera Mode .242

Capturing Stills .244

Recording Video .246

Command-Line Time-Lapse Photography .247

CHAPTER 17 Add-On Boards 255

Ciseco Slice of Pi .255

Adafruit Prototyping Pi Plate .259

Fen Logic Gertboard .262

Part V

APPENDIX A

Python Recipes 269

Raspberry Snake (Chapter 12, Example 3) .269

IRC User List (Chapter 12, Example 4) .272

GPIO Input and Output (Chapter 15) .273

APPENDIX B

Raspberry Pi Camera Module Quick Reference 275

Shared Options .275

Raspistill Options .278

Raspivid Options .279

Raspiyuv Options .280

APPENDIX C

HDMI Display Modes 281

Index. 287