Master the Raspberry Pi Pico in C: WiFi with lwIP & mbedtls

Computers & Technology

Fairhead, Harry

James, Mike

Networking & Cloud Computing

I/O Press

The BBC micro:bit is capable of taking on a variety of roles including that of a powerful IoT device. In order to gain full access to its features and to external devices, however, you need to use C which delivers the speed crucial to programs that communicate with the outside world. Written for the electronics enthusiast, micro:bit IoT In C starts with a first “Hello Blinky” C program with the mbed online compiler, we move to the desktop to using an offline approach using the yotta development environment plus NetBeans to make things even easier. Now we are ready to discover how to control the micro:bit’s I/O lines, exploring the basis of using the GPIO. For speed, however, we need to work directly with the raw hardware and also master memory mapping, pulse width modulation and other more sophisticated bus types. From here we can start connecting sensors using first the I2C bus, then by implementing a custom protocol for a one-wire bus, and eventually adding eight channels of 12-bit AtoD with the SPI bus, which involves overcoming some subtle difficulties. We then look at serial connections, one of the oldest ways of connecting devices but still very useful. The micro: bit lacks WiFi connectivity but using a low-cost device we enable a connection to the Internet via its serial port which allows it to become a server. To conclude we look at the micro:bit’s LED display. This may only be 5x5, but it is very versatile, especially when you use pulse width modulation to vary the brightness level, something we demonstrate in a classic game, written of course in C.

Micro:bit IoT In C

Hardware & DIY

The Raspberry Pi makes an ideal match for the Internet of Things. But to put it to good use in IoT you need two areas of expertise, electronics and programming and because of the way hardware and software engineering tend to occupy separate niches you may need help with combining the two. This book teaches you to think like an IoT programmer.In Raspberry Pi IoT in C you will find a practical approach to understanding electronic circuits and datasheets and translating this to code, specifically using the C programming language. The main reason for choosing C is speed, a crucial factor when you are writing programs to communicate with the outside world. If you are familiar with another programming language, C shouldn't be hard to pick up. Here it is used in conjunction with NetBeans and with the bcm2835 library.The main idea in this book is to not simply install a driver, but to work directly with the hardware. So rather than using Raspberry Pi HATs or other expansion boards we use the Pi's GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) and connect off-the-shelf sensors. If you want to know how to work with the GPIO lines directly, how to work with near realtime Linux and generally take control of the Pi this is the book you need. It explains how to use the standard bus types - SPI, I2C, PWM - and with custom protocols including an in-depth exposition of the 1-wire bus. You will also discover how to put the Internet into the IoT using sockets and the low cost ESP8266.After reading this book you will be in a better position to tackle interfacing anything-with-anything without the need for custom drivers and prebuilt hardware modules.Having written a Blinky program to check that everything we need is installed and working we move on to exploring the basics of using the GPIO and also master memory mapping, pulse width modulation and other more sophisticated bus types. From here we can start connecting sensors, which is a core requirement for IoT. First we’ll meet the ubiquitous I2C bus, next we’ll implement a custom protocol for a one-wire bus, and eventually we’ll add eight channels of 12-bit AtoD with the SPI bus, which involves overcoming some subtle difficulties. Next we look at the traditional serial interface how to use it to communicate with other devices. This paves the way for getting the Pi on the web – after all this is a book about the Internet of Things -using first a USB WiFi adapter and sockets and then the low cost ESP8266, which is particularly useful with the Pi Zero which has only one USB port. Having transformed the Pi into both a web client and a web server we can then use them to exchange information.

Raspberry Pi IoT In C

C is a good language to learn. It was designed to do a very different job from most modern languages and the key to understanding it is not to just understand the code, but how this relates to the hardware. Fundamental C takes an approach that is close to the hardware, introducing addresses, pointers, and how things are represented using binary. An important idea is that everything is a bit pattern and what it means can change. As a C developer you need to think about the way data is represented, and Harry Fairhead encourages this. He emphasizes the idea of modifying how a bit pattern is treated using type punning and unions. This power brings with it the scourge of the C world - undefined behavior - which is ignored in many books on C. Here, not only is it acknowledged, it is explained together with ways to avoid it. A particular feature of the book is the way C code is illustrated by the assembly language it generates. This helps you understand why C is the way it is. For beginners, the book covers installing an IDE and GCC before writing a Hello World program and then presents the fundamental building blocks of any program - variables, assignment and expressions, flow of control using conditionals and loops. Once the essentials are in place, data types are explored before looking at arithmetic and representation. Harry then goes deeper into evaluating expressions before looking at functions and their scope and lifetime. Arrays, strings, pointers and structs are covered in separate chapters, as is bit manipulation, a topic that is key to using C, and the idea of a file as the universal approach to I/O. Finally, he looks at the four stages of compilation of a C program, the use of static and dynamic libraries and make. This is C as it was always intended to be written - close to the metal. Harry Fairhead has a hardware background and, having worked with microprocessors and electronics in general, for many years, he is an enthusiastic proponent of the IoT. His recent titles include Raspberry Pi IoT in C and Micro: bit IoT in C. His next, Applying C For The IoT With Linux at intermediate/advanced level is intended as a companion to this book for those working in a Linux/POSIX environment, in particular the Raspberry Pi.

Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine

Programming

Applying C is the book you need if you are programming for Single Board Computers (SBCs) that run Linux, or if you do any coding in C that interacts with the hardware. As there isn’t a good name for this body of knowledge, it isn’t easy to find a single source for it. This book gathers together all of these low-level, hardware-oriented and often hardware-specific ideas. As such it is a moderately advanced book. This is not to say that it is difficult, but it does presuppose that you already know how to program in C and that you know the basic idioms of C.
Starting off from the very simple task of making a program run automatically, we look at how your program works with user-mode Linux. If you are working with hardware, arithmetic cannot be ignored and separate chapters are devoted to integer, fixed-point and floating-point arithmetic. Equally, to handle I/O you need to have a good grasp of files and the pseudo file system. The dev/mem file coupled with memory-mapped files makes it possible to work with raw memory without leaving user mode. Sockets are general-purpose way of communicating over networks and similar infrastructure and here the focus is on sending data over the internet and for this we build a web client and a server.
Next we consider graphics, which you might find unusual in a book on small systems, but today even small systems have GPUs and graphics comes as standard. It is common to think of adding low-cost output devices such as 7-segment displays to IoT devices, but with low cost HDMI/DVI displays available it becomes cost effective to simply use the built-in graphics hardware.
After this we turn to the idea of multi-tasking using Pthreads. As well as looking at threads, we consider locking, using mutex and condition variables, and scheduling. Although interrupts don't exist in user-mode Linux, we can get very close using poll and threading. Now that multiple cores are a feature of even low-cost SBC, in later chapters we cover managing cores, look at C11’s atomics and introduce its memory models and barriers. Finally we take a short look at how to mix assembler with C. 
Harry Fairhead has a hardware background and, having worked with microprocessors and electronics in general, for many years, he is an enthusiastic proponent of the IoT. He is the author of Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine and his other recent titles include Raspberry Pi IoT in C and Micro:bit IoT in C.

Applying C For The IoT With Linux

Operating Systems

The Raspberry Pi makes an ideal match for the Internet of Things. But to put it to good use in IoT you need two areas of expertise, electronics and programming and, because of the way hardware and software engineering tend to occupy separate niches, you may need help with combining the two. This book teaches you to think like an IoT programmer. In Raspberry Pi IoT in C you will find a practical approach to understanding electronic circuits and datasheets and translating this to code, specifically using the C programming language. The main reason for choosing C is speed, a crucial factor when you are writing programs to communicate with the outside world. If you are familiar with another programming language, C shouldn't be hard to pick up. This Second Edition has been brought up-to-date and focuses mainly on the Pi 4 and the Pi Zero. There is new material on the recently introduced GPIO character driver and using the Pi 4's additional ports and scheduling. Although NetBeans is used to develop programs, VS Code is now considered an alternative remote development environment and all the book's code, which is available for download, has been tested with VS Code. The main idea in this book is to not simply install a driver, but to work directly with the hardware using the Raspberry Pi's GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) to connect with off-the-shelf sensors. It explains how to use its standard output with custom protocols, including an in-depth exposition of the 1-wire bus. You will also discover how to put the Internet into the IoT using sockets. After reading this book you will be in a better position to tackle interfacing anything-with-anything without the need for custom drivers and prebuilt hardware modules. Harry Fairhead has worked with microprocessors and electronics in general for many years and is an enthusiastic proponent of the IoT. As well as being the Editor of IoT-Programmer.com, he is a regular contributor to I-Programmer.info, where he covers all aspects of hardware. His other recent books include Applying C For The IoT With Linux as well as Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine and Micro: bit IoT in C.

Programming Languages

The Raspberry Pi makes an ideal match for the Internet of Things. To put it to good use in IoT you need two areas of expertise, electronics and programming and this presents a barrier to getting started. However, there is an overlooked route that can provide a shortcut. Pi OS, the Raspberry Pi’s operating system is Linux based and Linux drivers are available for many off-the-shelf IoT devices. These provide a very easy-to-use, high-level way of working. The problem that this book solves is that there is very little documentation to help you get started. In it Harry Fairhead explains the principles so that you can tackle new devices and he also guides you through of using external hardware via standard Linux drivers. Throughout this book you will find a practical approach to understanding electronic circuits and datasheets and translating this to code, specifically using the C programming language. The main reason for choosing C is speed, a crucial factor when you are writing programs to communicate with the outside world and if you are familiar with another programming language, C shouldn't be hard to pick up. 
After a quick tour of the Raspberry Pi ecosystem, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) and how it can be used to develop remotely, is introduced. The first IoT program anyone writes is “blinky” to flash an LED and this book is no exception, but it might not be quite what you expect. Instead of using a GPIO line it uses the Linux LED driver – no hardware and no fuss. The GPIO isn’t left out, however, as the next three chapters focus on its use via the new GPIO character driver, which replaces the old and very common sysfs GPIO driver. This is the way to do modern GPIO. A key component in any look at Linux and its relationship to hardware is the relatively new Device Tree. While most accounts of this resource are aimed at device driver writers, this one is aimed at device driver users and to this end we look at the DHT22 temperature and humidity driver. After a brief detour into some basic electronics, we look at Pulse Width Modulation supported via a driver rather than needing to be implemented using the GPIO. From here we tackle the two standard buses, I2C and SPI, first going through the basics and then looking at the two attempts to impose a higher organization, the hardware monitoring system, Hwmon, and Industrial I/O, IIO. The third standard bus, although generally not supported in hardware is the 1-Wire bus. This is covered in detail and even includes an introduction to using Netlink, which uses the sockets API to send messages to and from the kernel to access the driver. The final chapter takes things to the next level and considers creating your own custom overlays by writing fragments to the device tree. 
Harry Fairhead has worked with microprocessors, and electronics in general, for many years and is an enthusiastic proponent of the IoT. He is the author of Raspberry Pi IoT in C, which has recently been republished in its second edition, updated for Raspberry Pi 4 and co-author of Raspberry Pi IoT in Python Using GPIO Zero. His other recent books include Micro:bit IoT in C, Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine and Applying C For The IoT With Linux.

Raspberry Pi IoT In C Using Linux Drivers

The Raspberry Pi makes an ideal match for the Internet of Things. But to put it to good use in IoT you need two areas of expertise, electronics and programming and because of the way hardware and software engineering tend to occupy separate niches, you may need help with combining the two. Python is an excellent language with which to learn about the IoT or physical computing. It might not be as fast as C, but it is much easier to use for complex data processing. One reason for Python's popularity is its wealth of supporting libraries and there are several for interfacing hardware. The GPIO Zero library is the official way to use Python with the GPIO and other devices and this book looks at how to use it to interface to fundamental IoT devices - from LEDs and buzzers to servos and stepper motors and several off-the-shelf Raspberry Pi add-ons. Importantly, it explains how it works so that you can extend it to custom devices. Studying GPIO Zero is also a great way to improve your Python and this book teaches you to think like an IoT programmer. After reading it, you will be in a better position to tackle interfacing anything-with-anything without the need for custom drivers and prebuilt hardware modules. The emphasis in this book on understanding how things work and using this knowledge to create new devices and integrate them into GPIO Zero. You can use any Python development system that you know, but the programs in the book have been developed using Visual Studio Code and its remote development facilities. All the code is available on the book's web page along with everything you need to get started. Harry Fairhead has worked with microprocessors, and electronics in general, for many years and is an enthusiastic proponent of the IoT. He is the author of Raspberry Pi IoT in C, which has recently been republished in its second edition, updated for Raspberry Pi 4. His other recent books include Applying C For The IoT With Linux and Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine. Mike James is the author of Programmer's Python: Everything is an Object and other programming and computer science titles in the I Programmer Library. His programming career spans several generations of computer technology, but he keeps his skills completely up to date and has a PhD in Computer Science.

Raspberry Pi IoT In Python Using GPIO Zero

The Raspberry Pi Pico is a remarkable microcontroller. It has a power and sophistication that would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. For the sort of jobs it is ideal for, it has plenty of processing power and enough memory to make tasks that would have once required careful planning, relatively easy. Instead of struggling with the machine, you can now focus on getting a good implementation of your algorithms. To enjoy all of its power and sophistication there is no better language than C. It wastes none of the power and it gives you what you need to get at the new features. However, getting started with the Pico with C is no easy feat, which is what motivated this book about creating programs so that testing and debugging is easy. Programming the Raspberry Pi Pico in C uses the highly popular VS Code as its development environment and shows how to use a Raspberry Pi or a desktop PC running Windows as your development machine. The purpose of the book is to reveal what you can do with the Pico's GPIO lines together with widely used sensors, servos and motors and ADCs. After covering the GPIO, outputs and inputs, events and interrupts, it gives you hands-on experience of PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), the SPI bus, the I2C bus and the 1-Wire bus. One of the key advantages of the Pico is its PIO (Programmable I/O) and while this is an advanced feature it is included in this book. After finding out how the PIO works, we apply it to writing a PIO program for the DHT22 and the 1-Wire bus. One current drawback of the Pico it is that it doesn't have a network connection. To solve this problem there is a chapter on using the low-cost ESP8266 as a WiFi client and web server. The two devices together make the Pico a true IoT device. Harry Fairhead has a hardware background and, having worked with microprocessors and electronics in general, for many years, he is an enthusiastic proponent of the IoT and embedded computing. He is the author of two books intended for C programmers, Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine and Applying C For the IoT With Linux and four books on the using the Raspberry Pi in an IoT context, two using C and two using Python. He is now working on a Python version of this book for the Pico.

Programming The Raspberry Pi Pico In C

There is a new edition of this book: Programming The Raspberry Pi Pico/W In MicroPython, Second Edition\nThe Raspberry Pi Pico is a remarkable microcontroller. It has a power and sophistication that would have been unthinkable just a short time ago. For the sort of jobs it is ideal for, it has plenty of processing power and enough memory to make tasks that would have once required careful planning, relatively easy. Instead of struggling with the machine, you can now focus on getting a good implementation of your algorithms. 
MicroPython is a good choice of language to program the Pico. It isn’t the fastest way, but in most cases it is fast enough to interface with the Pico’s hardware and its big advantage is that it is easy to use. As a high-level language, MicroPython is based on Python 3, and is fully object-oriented. This means that you can create classes to encapsulate hardware and make it easier to use and understand. 
The purpose of Programming the Raspberry Pi Pico in MicroPython is to reveal what you can do with the Pico's GPIO lines together with widely used sensors, servos and motors and ADCs. After covering the GPIO, outputs and inputs, events and interrupts, it gives you hands-on experience of PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), the SPI bus, the I2C bus and the 1-Wire bus. 
One of the key advantages of the Pico is its PIO (Programmable I/O) and while this is an advanced feature it is included in this book. After finding out how the PIO works, we apply it to writing a PIO program for the DHT22 and the 1-Wire bus. One current drawback of the Pico it is that it doesn’t have a network connection. To solve this problem there is a chapter on using the low-cost ESP8266 as a WiFi client and web server. The two devices together make the Pico a true IoT device. 
Jointly authored byHarry Fairhead and Mike James, this book is along the same lines as Programming the Raspberry Pi Pico in C. As with their previous collaboration Raspberry Pi IoT In Python Using Linux Drivers Harry brings his expertise in electronics and the IoT while Mike contributes the Python code. 
Harry Fairhead is also the author of Raspberry Pi IoT In C Using Linux Drivers, Raspberry Pi IoT in C, Second Edition Micro:bit IoT in C, Second Edition Applying C For The IoT With Linux and Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine. 
Mike James is the author of Programmer's Python: Everything is an Object and other programming and computer science titles in the I Programmer Library.

Programming the Raspberry Pi Pico in MicroPython

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Books by Fairhead, Harry

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fairhead, Harry. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Master the Raspberry Pi Pico in C: WiFi with lwIP & mbedtls

Micro:bit IoT In C

Raspberry Pi IoT In C

Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine

Applying C For The IoT With Linux

Raspberry Pi IoT In C

Raspberry Pi IoT In C Using Linux Drivers

Raspberry Pi IoT In Python Using GPIO Zero

Programming The Raspberry Pi Pico In C

Programming the Raspberry Pi Pico in MicroPython