Ultimate Guide to Raspberry Pi - Tips, Tricks, and Hacks

Ultimate Guide to Raspberry Pi - Tips, Tricks, and Hacks

by Lee Assam
Released January 2019
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781838559540

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Video description

This step-by-step course on Raspberry Pi will help you dive into what Raspberry Pi is and learn the components you need in order to set everything up. You will also understand the configuration tips for the Raspberry Pi Operating System.

This course takes you through how to easily flash an SD card with any OS for the Pi and multiple methods of connecting remotely to your Raspberry Pi will be covered to show how you can run it in “headless mode” without a monitor. Furthermore, you will dive into the terminal and Linux commands to show how you can navigate your system, work with files, and perform network and system commands and keyboard shortcuts. You will also work with GPIO pins and show how you can control LEDs, determine if a button is pressed, work with a PIR sensor, and how to make a PIR sensor alarm circuit.

You will learn to work with cameras and images and how to set up a USB webcam and install software to create a live streaming camera feed. Learn to use the Raspberry Pi Camera module and how to interact with it programmatically to take photos and videos and create special effects.

By the end of the course, you will create a working Amazon Echo Clone with the Alexa Voice Service.

What You Will Learn

  • Understand what the Raspberry Pi is and how to set it up
  • Understand the process of installing any OS for the Raspberry Pi
  • Learn how to set up a web server
  • Learn how to work with USB cameras
  • Learn the ins and outs of working with the Terminal and Linux commands
  • Learn how to make an Amazon Echo Clone

Audience

Anyone who wants to master Raspberry and learn tips, tricks, and hacks to make you more productive. No previous programming or electronics knowledge required. Just a passion for mastering the Raspberry Pi.

About The Author

Lee Assam: Lee Assam holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering and a master's degree in computer science. He has taught at universities on topics ranging from software development to electrical engineering and prototyping. He likes coming up with new ideas and prototyping them using the Arduino and Raspberry Pi platforms. His passion for innovation has resulted in several wins in Hack Day competitions. He is a US patent holder and has numerous US patent applications currently being reviewed.

Lee tries to understand how the latest technology can be used to solve business problems and challenges in creative ways. His hobby is Arduino and the Internet of Things. He has been playing around with the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi platforms since their inception, and he uses his electrical engineering background coupled with software development skills to create and develop exciting projects. He prefers a hands-on, project-based learning approach and uses his teaching background to make concepts fun and entertaining while being educational and informative at the same time.

Publisher resources

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Table of contents

  1. Chapter 1 : Introduction
    1. What Is a Raspberry Pi?
    2. Overview of the Raspberry Pi 4
  2. Chapter 2 : Setting Up the Hardware for Your Raspberry Pi
    1. Hardware Components That You Will Need
    2. Let's Connect Everything Together
  3. Chapter 3 : All about SD Cards
    1. Understanding Some Basics about SD Cards
    2. Accessing SD Cards
    3. Downloading and Installing Etcher for Flashing Your SD Card
    4. Download and Install the Raspberry Pi Imager for Flashing Your SD Card
    5. Introducing the Raspberry Pi OS (Formerly Raspbian)
    6. Installing the Raspbian Operating System by Flashing Our SD Card
    7. Using the Raspberry Pi Imager to Install Raspberry Pi OS
    8. Resource for Checking the Validity of Your SD Card
    9. Tips for Preventing SD Card Corruption Issues
  4. Chapter 4 : Configuring Your Raspbian OS Installation
    1. Standard Configuration Settings and Best Practices
  5. Chapter 5 : Configuring Your Raspbian OS Installation
    1. Overview of the Setup Process in Headless Mode
    2. Flashing Your SD Card with the Latest Version of Raspbian
    3. Set Up SSH and wpa_supplicant.conf
    4. Getting the IP Address of Your Raspberry Pi
    5. Connecting Through SSH to Change raspi-config Settings
    6. Using VNC Viewer to Connect to Your Pi from Your Computer
  6. Chapter 6 : Connecting Remotely to Your Raspberry Pi
    1. SSH (Secure Shell)
    2. VNC (Virtual Network Computing)
    3. SFTP (Secure (SSH) File Transfer Protocol)
    4. SCP (Secure Copy)
    5. RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol connection - Windows)
  7. Chapter 7 : Working with the Terminal
    1. Introduction to the Terminal
    2. Understanding User Modes in Linux
    3. Useful General Terminal Commands for the Raspberry Pi
    4. File and Directory Commands
    5. Networking Commands
    6. System Commands
    7. Keyboard Shortcuts
  8. Chapter 8 : Installing Software on Your Raspberry Pi
    1. Understanding the APT Ecosystem
    2. Installing Software Using APT
  9. Chapter 9 : Installing a Web Server
    1. Creating a One-Line Web Server with SimpleHTTPServer
    2. Installing the Apache Web Server
    3. Installing the PHP Application Server
  10. Chapter 10 : Working with GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) Pins
    1. Introduction to GPIO Pins
    2. Standard Components Needed
    3. Downloading Code and Resources for the Course from GitHub
  11. Chapter 11 : Using the Power Pins on the Raspberry Pi
    1. Powering an LED
  12. Chapter 12 : Blinking an LED
    1. Wiring Change to Blink an LED
    2. Demo the Circuit
    3. Code Review
  13. Chapter 13 : Detecting a Button Press
    1. Introduction and Components That Are Needed
    2. Wiring Up the Circuit
    3. Demo the Circuit
    4. Code Review
  14. Chapter 14 : Using a Push Button Switch to Control an LED
    1. Introduction and Components That Are Needed
    2. Wiring Up the Circuit
    3. Demo the Circuit
    4. Code Review
  15. Chapter 15 : Using a PIR (Passive Infrared) Sensor
    1. Introduction to PIR Sensors
    2. Components That Are Needed
    3. Wiring Up the Circuit
    4. Demo the Circuit
    5. Code Review
  16. Chapter 16 : Building a Simple Alarm with a PIR Sensor
    1. Introduction and Components That Are Needed
    2. Wiring Up the Circuit
    3. Demo the Circuit
    4. Code Review
  17. Chapter 17 : Working with Cameras and Images
    1. Introduction
  18. Chapter 18 : Working with USB Webcams
    1. Connecting Your USB Webcam
    2. Installing and Configuring Motion to Set Up a Webcam Server
    3. Demo of the Motion Webcam Server
    4. Preparing Your System and Installing fswebcam
    5. Using fswebcam
    6. Using a Script to Take Images with fswebcam
    7. fswebcam Script Code Review
  19. Chapter 19 : Working with the Raspberry Pi Camera Module
    1. Introduction to the Pi Camera Module and How to Connect It to the Raspberry Pi
    2. Getting a Preview Using the Pi Camera
    3. Capturing a Still Picture of Image with the Pi Camera
    4. Capturing a Series of Photos with the Pi Camera
    5. Recording Video with the Raspberry Pi Camera Module
    6. Using Special Effects with the Pi Camera Module
  20. Chapter 20 : Let's Make an Amazon Echo Clone
    1. Why Build an Amazon Echo Clone?
    2. Components That Are Needed
    3. Setting Up Your Amazon Developer Account and Registering Your Amazon Echo Clone
    4. Installing Git and the Alexa Pi Software
    5. Demo of the Amazon Echo Clone

Product information

  • Title: Ultimate Guide to Raspberry Pi - Tips, Tricks, and Hacks
  • Author(s): Lee Assam
  • Release date: January 2019
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781838559540