The Pi Wedge isn't quite required, but it does make life a lot easier.You can use either Ethernet or WiFi (check out our Raspberry Pi WiFi tutorial for help with that. Your Pi will need an Internet connection to download WiringPi.We're also assuming you have the necessary mouse, keyboard and display hooked up to your Pi.Check out our How to Install Raspbian tutorial for help with that. Your Raspberry Pi should have an SD card with Raspbian installed on it.Some further notes on that bill of materials:

Here's a wishlist-full of everything we used for this tutorial.

C is faster and may be easier for those familiar with the old standby. Python is easy (especially if your a programming novice) and doesn't require any compilation. Our favorite IDE for programming on the Raspberry Pi.Įach programming language has it's share of pros and cons.

Using an IDE - How to download and install Geany.

WiringPi Example - A simple example program that shows off WiringPi's input and output capabilities.

WiringPi API - An overview of the basic functions provided by the WiringPi library.

WiringPi Setup and Test - How to install WiringPi and then take it for a test drive on the command line.

RPi.GPIO Example - An example Python script that shows off both input and output functionality.

RPi.GPIO API - An overview of the Python functions you can use to drive GPIO.

GPIO Pinout - An overview of the Pi's GPIO header.

Here's a quick overview of what's covered: In this tutorial we'll show two different approaches to reading and driving the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins: python and C. Whether you're a fan of the easily-readable, interpretive scripting language Python or more of a die-hard C programmer, you'll find a programming option that suits our needs. If you've never driven an LED or read in a button press using the Raspberry Pi, this tutorial should help to get you started. We've pared that list down, and ended up with two really solid, easy tools for driving I/O: Python and C (using the WiringPi library). Programming in what language? Take your pick! A quick glance at the Raspberry Pi GPIO examples shows that there are dozens of programming-language-choices. Driving the Raspberry Pi's I/O lines requires a bit of programming.

Fritzing 40 pin raspberry pi header