Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
THIS APPENDIX IS a beginner's guide to your first steps with the Raspberry Pi. It goes from
getting it out of the box to getting something on the screen. Even if you already have your
Raspberry Pi up and running, it's worth a quick skim as you'll discover how a 21-year-old
student changed the world and a bit about how the operating system for your Raspberry Pi
works.
The Operating System
The Raspberry Pi uses Linux for its operating system (OS) rather than Microsoft Windows or
OS X (for Apple). An operating system is a program that makes it easier for the end user to use
the underlying hardware. For example, although the processor (the chip at the centre of the
Raspberry Pi that does the work) can do only one thing at a time, the operating system gives
the impression the computer is doing lots of things by rapidly switching between different
tasks. Furthermore, the operating system controls the hardware and hides the complexity
that allows the Raspberry Pi to talk to networks or SD cards.
The most popular operating system for the Raspberry Pi is Linux. The widescale use of Linux
(just think how many Raspberry Pis there are, not to mention Android phones, web servers,
and so on) shows how much an idea can grow. After you start tinkering with the Raspberry
Pi, one of your ideas might grow to be as big (or bigger) than Torvalds's or those of the found-
ers of the Raspberry Pi, and you too will make a real impact on the world. So let's get started!
Linux
Part of the success of the Raspberry Pi is thanks to the enthusiastic community that is
behind it. Linux is a testament to what can be achieved with the support of volunteers
around the world. In 1991, Linus Torvalds began work on an operating system as a hobby
while he was a 21-year-old student at the University of Helsinki. A year later, his hobby
operating system for desktop PCs (80386) was available online under the name Linux.
Crucially, the code for the operating system was available as well. This allowed volunteers
around the world to contribute; to check and correct bugs; to submit additional features;
and to adapt and reuse other's work for their own projects. If you master the projects in this
topic and learn more about computing, then who knows - one of your hobby projects could
be as successful as Linus Torvalds's is.
The popularity of Linux grew, and in addition to its use as a desktop operating system, it is
now used for the majority of web servers, in Android devices and in the majority of the
world's supercomputers. Most importantly for us, it is used on the Raspberry Pi.
 
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