Operation Manual

What next?
169
Notes:
169
If you have worked through this manual you will have a good understanding of the
basics of computer science and you will be able to write a computer program to
solve simple problems. This bears repeating: you can write a set of instructions to
make a computer do something. This simple statement embraces a set of powerful
thinking skills that include logical reasoning, problem solving, algorithm design
and much more. As of now, you are no longer just a consumer of digital products
– you are a creator! This is something of which to be proud.
We hope that this brief introduction has shown you how useful, exciting and fun
computing is as a hobby or career. If, at any time while following this guide, you
grinned to yourself or you shouted downstairs, “Come and see what I’ve made!”
then we have done our job – this is, after all, why the Raspberry Pi was made.
If you don’t go any further with your Raspberry Pi journey then you at least know
what all the fuss is about and that it’s not as hard as people think. It is quite
probable, however, that you have caught the computing bug and would like to
learn more.
So - what now? There really is no right or wrong way to continue your exploration
of the Raspberry Pi. It all depends what interests you. It could be as simple as
getting better at your chosen programming language, or improving your Linux
command line skills. Small projects, such as setting up a home media server or
writing a simple game, are also a good way to start. At some point, most people
will want to have a go at interfacing the Raspberry Pi with the outside world (this
is one of its strong points) using a breakout board such as the Gertboard, or by
making their own interface. Again, a simple project such as monitoring
temperatures or controlling a cheap robot is the place to start.
As your understanding of the Raspberry Pi grows and your programming skills
improve, you will find that your projects get more and more complex, and that the
Raspberry Pi becomes a serious tool for experimentation and creativity. Keep
practising – one of the beautiful things about programming is that you can take a
blank text file and create something that previously only existed in your head.
What you make is limited only by your imagination.
Where can I get help, ideas and inspiration?
The best resource to help you continue your computing journey is the web.
It’s vast, full of people with large brains, chock full of diverse and arcane
knowledge, and unlike this manual it gets updated frequently. To save time we
were just going to steal a huge list of links from somewhere, paste them here and
make ourselves scarce. But our editors told us off. Here then are our links with a
few comments
1
. It’s only a start, but should save you some time trawling the web.
1
Disclaimer: if a resource is mentioned here, it does not mean it is the best in class. Likewise,
if a resource isn’t mentioned, it doesn’t mean that it’s no good. We have no agenda apart
from getting people into computing and we have no affiliation with any of the sites or people
mentioned. We do rather like the Raspberry Pi Foundation, though.
What next?
Chapter 7