Linux for Makers: Understanding the Operating System That Runs Raspberry Pi and Other Maker SBCs

Description

Linux is a powerful open-source operating system that has been around for many years and is widely used for running servers and websites. But most students and Makers encounter it for the first time when they are working on projects with their Raspberry Pi or similar single-board computers (SBCs) such as BeagleBone Black or Intel Galileo. Linux for Makers is the first book that explains the Linux operating system specifically for Makers, as opposed to programmers and administrators. By gaining a deeper understanding of Linux, Makers can add another useful tool to their kit that will help them build their projects more easily. Written with the Maker in mind, this book will focus mostly on Rasbian running on the Raspberry Pi as it is the most prolific in the ecosystem today. However most of the topics covered will apply broadly to other Linux distributions and will be called out when they may differ. Many times users cut and paste from a website tutorial into the Linux command line without understanding what they are actually doing only to be frustrated when they want to modify or tweak something to suit their needs. Also, many Makers shy away from using the Raspberry Pi or similar board because they feel Linux is too foreign and they think using a command line will be more difficult than using a GUI. This book aims to overcome those fears and provide a foundation for further learning and exploration. To that end, this book will focus on the basic principles that a Maker would need to know as opposed to other resources that go into detail that is not particularly relevant to building projects. Copyright......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 5 Preface......Page 11 Conventions Used in This Book......Page 12 O’Reilly Safari......Page 13 Acknowledgments......Page 14 Chapter 1. Getting Started......Page 17 Choosing and Downloading a Disk Image......Page 18 Windows......Page 19 MacOS......Page 20 Linux......Page 21 Windows......Page 23 MacOS......Page 24 Linux......Page 27 Booting the Raspberry Pi for the First Time......Page 29 Expanding the Filesystem......Page 30 Changing the Localization Options......Page 31 Changing the Default Password......Page 35 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 36 The Linux Desktop......Page 37 The Terminal or Console......Page 39 The Shell in a Nutshell......Page 41 Try It for Yourself......Page 42 Try It for Yourself......Page 44 Users and Groups......Page 47 Permissions and sudo......Page 49 Try It for Yourself......Page 51 Services......Page 52 Try It for Yourself......Page 53 Processes......Page 54 Try It for Yourself......Page 55 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 56 When to Use the Desktop?......Page 57 When Not to Use the Desktop?......Page 58 Understanding the Layout......Page 59 Connecting to the Network......Page 60 Changing the Background Image......Page 61 Changing the Shortcuts in the Application Launch Bar......Page 62 Creating a Desktop Shortcut......Page 63 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 65 Understanding the Prompt......Page 67 Try It for Yourself......Page 68 Where Am I?: pwd......Page 69 Changing the Working Directory: cd......Page 70 Printing Out the Contents of a Directory: ls......Page 72 Creating New Files and Directories: mkdir and touch......Page 74 Moving and Deleting Files: cp, mv, and rm......Page 75 Try It for Yourself......Page 76 Get Help with a Command: help, man, and info......Page 78 Eliminate Some Typing......Page 85 Auto-Complete a Command: Tab......Page 86 Search for a Previous Command: Up, Ctrl-R......Page 87 Try It for Yourself......Page 88 The Interfaces File......Page 89 Static IP Address......Page 91 More Secure WiFi with Multiple Networks......Page 92 Installing Software: apt......Page 95 Using apt-get update......Page 96 Using apt-get upgrade......Page 97 Using apt-cache......Page 101 Using apt-get install......Page 102 apt-get remove......Page 103 apt-get dist-upgrade......Page 104 Try It for Yourself......Page 105 Rebooting and Shutting Down......Page 106 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 107 Turning Off the Desktop......Page 109 Finding Your System on the Network......Page 111 Raspberry Pi......Page 112 Router......Page 113 Android/iPhone......Page 114 Command-Line Access: ssh......Page 115 Windows......Page 117 MacOS......Page 120 Android/iPhone......Page 122 Setting Up the Raspberry Pi......Page 124 Windows......Page 126 MacOS......Page 128 Linux......Page 130 Android/iPhone......Page 132 Transferring Files: scp, sftp......Page 133 Windows......Page 134 MacOS......Page 135 Linux......Page 138 From the Command Line: MacOS and Linux......Page 141 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 142 Changing Your Hostname......Page 143 Starting a Script on Bootup: rc.local......Page 147 Try It for Yourself......Page 148 Aliases......Page 149 Try It for Yourself......Page 151 Checking Disk and File Space Usage: df, du......Page 152 Performance Monitoring: top......Page 154 Killing a Process: Ctrl-C, ps, kill......Page 161 Stop, Background, and Foreground Jobs: Ctrl-Z, &, fg......Page 164 Try It for Yourself......Page 166 Finding USB Devices: lsusb......Page 167 Logging the Output of a Script: >, >>......Page 169 Searching the Output of a Command: grep......Page 171 Monitoring a Log File: tail......Page 173 Adding a User: adduser, addgroup......Page 174 Changing File Ownership and Permissions: chown, chmod......Page 175 Running More Than One Command at the Same Time: &&, ||......Page 178 Opening Another Console Session......Page 179 Dealing with Long Commands......Page 180 Scheduling Jobs: cron......Page 181 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 184 GPIO......Page 185 I²C and SPI......Page 193 Talking to Arduino......Page 199 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 203 Choosing HDMI or Analog......Page 205 Playing Audio and Video Files......Page 207 Controlling the Volume......Page 208 Playing Media from a Script......Page 209 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 210 Cloud Storage Services from the Command Line......Page 211 IFTTT......Page 215 Run a Dedicated Web Server......Page 224 Test It Out......Page 225 Nimbus......Page 227 Tonido......Page 229 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 232 Chapter 10. Virtual Raspberry Pi......Page 233 Installation......Page 234 Usage......Page 235 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 237 Brief History of the Original Maker Operating System......Page 239 Linus Torvalds......Page 243 The Linux Kernel......Page 245 Distributions......Page 246 How Open Source Software Works......Page 248 Single-Board Computers Versus Microcontrollers......Page 251 Why This Matters for Makers......Page 253 Index......Page 255 About the Author......Page 263