{"id":17115,"date":"2017-07-24T11:43:02","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T10:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?page_id=17115"},"modified":"2017-07-24T14:13:08","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T13:13:08","slug":"getting-started-with-digital-making","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?page_id=17115","title":{"rendered":"Getting started with Digital Making on the Raspberry Pi"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Raspberry Pi is your gateway to digital making<\/strong>. There are other boards out there, such as Arduino<\/em>, ODROID, Wemos, micro:bit<\/em> and Orange Pi<\/em>, to name a few, but none have got the great combination of\u00a0power<\/strong> and\u00a0great community support<\/strong> that the Raspberry Pi offers.<\/p>\n

Digital Making<\/h2>\n

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Digital making is, essentially, making stuff with digital components. If you’ve got a Raspberry Pi, you’ve already got one of those components – the controller board<\/strong>. So, you’ve got it up-and-running… but what now?<\/p>\n

On this page, I want to introduce you to various aspects of digital making, including the basics of software<\/strong> and\u00a0hardware\u00a0<\/strong>and some of the essential skills that you will need to learn to get the most out of your device, and to enter the world of digital making.<\/p>\n

There are a few of things I want you to bear in mind.<\/p>\n

Firstly, you are limited only by three things<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

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  1. Your imagination.<\/li>\n
  2. Your budget.<\/li>\n
  3. The time you have available to spend on projects.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Secondly, Failure is Good<\/strong>. It is only by making mistakes that we learn from them – trial and error may take longer than getting it right first time, but I guarantee you: you will learn more from your mistakes than you will from being perfect<\/strong>. So! On to the skills.<\/p>\n

    Thirdly, you can do a lot with a little knowledge. By learning a bit about software, a bit about hardware and asking for help where necessary, you can build up your skills bit-by-bit.<\/p>\n

    “Master the bits to make the whole” – Albert Hickey<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Learn to use Google<\/h2>\n

    There’s no substitute for learning how to Google the answer to your problems. Often, you will find that someone has had the same problem as you, or at least has part of the answer. Learn how to phrase your Google search – be specific and add the term “raspberry pi” to the search. And yes, there are other search facilities available, but I suggest that you\u00a0use the best<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Learn How to Ask For Help<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Sites like StackExchange<\/a> provide a way of asking questions (although the more detail you give here the better) and the Raspberry Pi Forums<\/a> are another place to try. Bear in mind (and be prepared for the fact) that you may sometimes find people less than helpful. Try to ask your question intelligently<\/strong>, clearly<\/strong> and with plenty of detail<\/strong>. For more on the subject of ‘asking for help’, you would be wise to consult Alex Eames’ article on the subject<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Start with Software<\/h2>\n

    No matter what sort of project you do with the Raspberry Pi, you will eventually need to write some software. Here are a few of the main programming languages available to you. If you’d like a book to take you through these languages, I’d like to recommend Carrie Anne Philbin’s book Adventures in Raspberry Pi<\/a>. This book, which is now (July 2017) on its third edition, should be in every Pi beginner’s library.<\/p>\n

    “Programming is about a lot of little victories.” Alex Eames, RasPi.TV<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Scratch<\/h3>\n

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    Scratch, as you can see from the picture above, is a\u00a0visual programming environment<\/strong>. You program by clicking-and-dragging blocks from a side panel onto the main ‘stage’. By combining blocks, you build up your ‘code’. When you start to add hardware to your design, you can look into Scratch’s GPIO capabilities<\/a>\u00a0or even try ScratchGPIO<\/a>, which is an alternative version of Scratch and is, in many ways, more powerful, supporting more add-on boards and accessories.\u00a0There is some debate as to which version is better – try both and see which suits your purposes!<\/em><\/p>\n

    Python<\/h3>\n

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    Python is considered to be the ‘main’ programming language on the Raspberry Pi, although this is slightly silly as you can pretty much install\u00a0any<\/em> language onto the Pi should you so wish! It is a text-based programming language<\/strong> in which you make statements and conditions, in plain text, to achieve a desired result. The nice thing about Python is the amount of libraries (other people’s code) available that you can just bring in and use. There is also the added bonus that when you move into physical computing one of these libraries, GPIO Zero<\/a>, makes it incredibly easy to do an awful lot of things.<\/p>\n

    EduBlocks – bridging the gap<\/h3>\n

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    If you enjoy using Scratch, and the visual environment it presents to you, but you want to move onto Python, I heartily recommend EduBlocks. It allows you to program in Python but does so with a similar visual interface to Scratch. Take a look at my full briefing on EduBlocks here<\/a>\u00a0or head over to the EduBlocks website to find out how to use it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Sonic Pi<\/h3>\n

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    Sonic Pi<\/a> is another text-based language, based on another language called Ruby, that is designed to help you to ‘code music’. Developed by Sam Aaron<\/a>, Sonic Pi is useful for introducing basic concepts such as loops, but does get quite complicated very quickly. However, if you’re into using music and tech together, it provides a ‘way in’.<\/p>\n

    Take a Step into Physical Computing<\/h2>\n

    Physical computing is all about bringing what is on the screen out into the physical world. A simple example of this is creating an ‘indicator light’ or an ‘alert buzzer’. In other words, you “make digital physical<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n

    GPIO<\/h3>\n

    Let me introduce you to the GPIO pins<\/strong> – a whole host of physical computing experiments and projects are now at your disposal. GPIO stands for General Purpose Input Output<\/strong> and, as the name suggests, you can receive inputs and generate outputs via these pins. Here is a diagram of the 40-pin Raspberry Pi:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>

    Raspberry Pi GPIO layout from Raspberry Pi Spy<\/p><\/div>\n

    There are power pins, there are ground pins and there are input\/output pins. Connecting up to these pins using things called jumper wires is an\u00a0essential skill.<\/p>\n

    Hello World<\/h3>\n

    In programming (of which, more later), the first thing you should do is to simply light up an LED. You will need some basic components: an LED, some jumper wires and a resistor. Probably the easiest way of getting hold of these, and other “beginners” components is to get the CamJam EduKit from The Pi Hut<\/a>. (Declaring an interest: I helped to develop the kits, but don’t get any money from it. It’s just a nice way of getting the equipment you need!)<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    It costs \u00a35 and you get LEDs, a button and a buzzer, along with all the bits-and-pieces to make it work, which is more than enough to get you started. Once you’ve got the kit, work through the worksheets on the CamJam website<\/a>. These will show you how to: light LEDs (output), detect a button press (input) and sound a buzzer (output). You end up by programming a traffic lights sequence. I recommend the GPIO Zero<\/strong>\u00a0versions of the worksheets to begin with if you have little-to-no programming experience.<\/p>\n

    Sensors<\/h3>\n

    There are so many sensors available that the Raspberry Pi can used, it can be a little daunting. There are sensors for light, gas, movement, attitude, temperature and humidity, to name but a few.<\/p>\n

    Start simple<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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    I’d like to recommend that you start with CamJam EduKit 2<\/a>. This has 3 sensors for you to use: light, movement and temperature. By writing the appropriate software, you can make your Pi\u00a0aware<\/em> of the environment surrounding it. You can then use the skills you’ve learned to make more complicated projects.<\/p>\n

    More sensors<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    As I’ve said before, the range of sensors available can be baffling, but don’t panic: there is plenty of help out there. To learn more about these other sensors, take a look at this page where I explain how to use I2C and SPI to expand your skills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Learn How to Solder<\/h2>\n

    By now, you’ve probably realised that not everything in the Raspberry Pi world comes pre-assembled. The minute you purchase a Raspberry Pi Zero, for example, you open yourself up to the wonderful world of soldering because the GPIO pins do not come with the board. You’ll need a 40-pin header<\/strong> which is a piece of plastic with pins attached, a soldering iron, some solder, a solder-sucker, a wet sponge (or wire sponge), some dexterity and some patience.<\/p>\n

    Laura Sach from the Raspberry Pi Foundation has done a good guide to soldering<\/a>. You can see her video here or read a transcript<\/a>.<\/p>\n