Getting Started With Raspberry Pi

by Matt Richardson, Shawn Wallace

What can you do with the Raspberry Pi, a $35 computer the size of a credit card? All sorts of things! If you’re learning how to program, or looking to build new electronic projects, this hands-on guide will show you just how valuable this flexible little platform can be. This book takes you step-by-step through many fun and educational possibilities. Take advantage of several preloaded programming languages. Use the Raspberry Pi with Arduino. Create Internet-connected projects. Play with multimedia. With Raspberry Pi, you can do all of this and more.

Genres: Reference, Technology, Programming, Nonfiction, Engineering, Computers, Technical

161 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2012

Reviews

[Matt Heavner · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I reflect, this was a surprisingly good "getting started" book -- a good mix of depth and breadth. Actually a great python and Linux intro as well as hardware, installation, options, etc.! Not the final word at all, but just right for a "getting started."

[Eric Mesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really GREAT book that, more than some of the other books with the same title, is about Getting Started with electronics; the Raspberry Pi, in this case. The author does a REALLY GOOD job explaining the basics of getting started with the Pi, the basics of Linux, and a bunch of ways to use the electronics part of a Raspberry Pi with some fun real world examples. (Controlling a lamp over the net or making a Photobooth that can automatically add mustaches, hats, etc) If I'd had this book back when I bought my Raspberry Pi B (back when that was new), I would have done lots of projects with it by now. Instead, it's been sitting in my basement. (Now, the new RaspPi 4 is great enough to easily play 1080p vids over the net and I'm loving running Librelec on it)

If I had to give one negative nitpick for the book it's that this space changes so much. I think the one I read was the 2nd or 3rd revision and there's already the RaspPi 4 which has so much more capability. This is where sometimes technology sites make more sense than books. But, that said, MOST of what's in this book remains valid.

[Foad Ansari · Rating 5 out of 5]

بهترین کتاب برای شروع کار با رسپبری پای

[Jeanne Boyarsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

O'Reilly's “Getting Started with Raspberry Pi” is a really great book. I don't know where to start so here's a list of things I liked.

From Make:Projects which is very practical
Starts out strong – each part of the Pi and what you need to use it
Good tips – how to connect via wifi and without internet
Nice troubleshooting section
Practical examples from a “hello world with leds” program to building a web-lamp
A whole chapter on webcams. [This is the project we wanted it for]
Coverage of basic Linux, Python, breadboards and more. And for making it easily skim'able so you didn't gloss over important parts hidden in things you already know.
Less than half of the price of the Pi itself ($15 for hard copy and less than $10 for e-book)

I used the book and Pi to help out with Raspberry Pi on a local FIRST robotics team's robot for camera vision. The book was really helpful and the robot will most likely be demo'd at the NYC 2013 MakerFaire. So special thanks to O'Reilly for the book. You'll be seeing the benefits in practice in the fall! And good luck to the team in competition. I hope the Pi brings you great luck.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing a review.

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short but pretty decent introduction to the Raspberry Pi. The book is best suited for complete beginners, but there are still some helpful tips for those with plenty of software experience. I got a free Raspberry Pi at both PyCon and the Erlang Factory.

I also attended a great workshop run by Omer Kilic of Embedded Erlang that included a free expansion board with LEDs, buttons, switches, and a temperature sensor. They are about to release an Erlang-based embedded development environment.

[Alistair Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer/starter guide, mostly aimed at beginners but useful for those with experience, too, in exposing those specific areas worth digging into.

[Cloay · Rating 3 out of 5]

- available in SG NLB 004.165 (Sengkang)

[Robert J Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not the target audience (EE w/ 15 years software dev experience), but it's a good introduction, and I got a good idea or two from it.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good warmup, but really need a more complete primer on Python to get started with Raspberry Pi.

[Alexis Bauer Kolak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I just need to take the actual device out of the box....

Seems like a straightforward primer, but a chapter or two at the front with more of the basic syntax would have been great.

[Muhammad Dzakiy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good enough for getting started in Raspberry Pi. It covers the basics of physical computing & electronics and the basics of Debian and phyton.

[Joseph II · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to Raspberry Pi. A little bit cheaper than the "Rasp Pi" magazines you can get at the bookstore, but just as informative.

The Make: series is very good about telling you what you need to do to "get started." There's not a lot of fluff, or distractions for novices.

Only con for this book: since Rasp Pi has changed in the last few years, I believe it has gone through two or three editions quickly. Unknown if the information on edition 1 has gone irrelevant, or if its just minor tweaks to the text.

Bottom Line: You own a Pi? Get this book.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, easy to follow instructions on the most useful tasks of setting up and using a Raspberry Pi. I deducted one star because of the frequent editorial slip ups- it would have been good if those had been combed out before the publication of the book, especially since there are large examples of code to be copied, and typos in code are hard to detect. O'reilly has a confirm errata page here: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/errata...

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good basic primer to get you acquainted with RPi. A fair amount of the book is setting up and getting started, which is good. There is considerable space dedicated to acquainting you with Linux if you have never used it.

All in all, a great primer, but if you really want to get a project done, you will need additional resources. If you know a lot about linux, networking etc, you will be able to skim the book for the good bits.

[Gabe Poon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful book describing the setup process and basic applications for the Raspberry Pi. It also includes basic programming, such as Python, and even has a list of recommended reading for going further. It teaches you which peripherals to use for the Pi and how to attach them. If I had one complaint, it would be that unless you have those very specific peripherals, you will have to skip some projects. That aside, it is a great beginner's book.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all the "Make" books I've read, they are best used with the actual hardware. I read this book as an intro to the raspberry pi - before acquiring any hardware. It was useful, though I skimmed the code examples since I had nothing to try them on. I'm looking forward to going through it again with hardware.

[Slackorama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small book that packs a good deal of information.

It's aimed at the total beginner and covers Raspberry Pi, Linux, Python, C and some GPIO. None of the chapters are too in depth so if you are familiar with the topic, there's not anything new there for you.

[Kyle]

A good introduction to some cool projects for the Pi. Well written, engaging and easy examples. Also a good introduction to the maker culture in general.

[Richard]

This book can safely be called "concise", but it's a good intro to the Pi and contains a decent amount of information for its size.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction. My only "downside" is that unless the reader has some very specific hardware, they have to skip chapters.

Still a great intro.

[Dan Deng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, concise introduction to the basic features of the RPi. Recommended first read about the platform.

[Mills College Library]

004.1 R5242 2013

[Skyler Spaeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book, and had a lot of cool projects. My favorite was the weblamp, which allows me to control a lamp from my local network.

[Arvid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick introduction to the Pi. If you can code you can skip explanations of single code lines but if not you aren't lost.

[Kevin Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good starter book. You will want something more in depth to get into the really cool stuff. But a very good start in this book!

[Delhi Irc]

Location: GG7 IRC
Accession no: DL026857

[Yogesh Pandey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a good overview of the different things you can do with the Pi. Most importantly very inexpensive book.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction. Answers from beginner questions. Assumes you want to do things one way and then tells you how to do it. Last half of book less useful than first half.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear explanations of the basics.