The Raspberry PI 4 is a low-cost single-board comp

The Raspberry PI 4 is a low-cost single-board computer (SBC) designed for education, development, and IoT projects.

What is Raspberry PI 4?

The Raspberry PI 4 is the fourth generation of the Raspberry PI series, a single-board computer that offers improved performance and advanced connectivity.

Technical Specifications

Processor

  • **CPU": Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz
  • **GPU": VideoCore VI
  • **RAM": 2GB, 4GB, 8GB LPDDR4-3200
  • **Storage": MicroSD

Connectivity

  • **USB": 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
  • **Ethernet": Gigabit Ethernet
  • **WiFi": 802.11ac (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
  • **Bluetooth": Bluetooth 5.0
  • **GPIO": 40 GPIO pins

Video and Audio

  • **HDMI": 2x micro-HDMI (4K@60fps)
  • **Audio": 3.5mm jack
  • **Camera": CSI connector
  • **Display": DSI connector

Operating Systems

Raspberry PI OS

  • **Official": Official operating system
  • **Debian": Debian-based
  • **Desktop": Desktop interface
  • **Lite": Desktop-free version

Other Systems

  • **Ubuntu": Ubuntu for Raspberry PI
  • **Windows": Windows 10 IoT Core
  • **Android": Android TV
  • **LibreELEC": Media center

Use Cases

IoT

  • **Sensors": Sensor data collection
  • **Actuators": Actuator control
  • **Communication": Device communication
  • **Processing": Data processing

Development

  • **Prototyping": Rapid prototyping
  • **Testing": Software testing
  • **Development": Application development
  • **Learning": Programming learning

Servers

  • **Web server": Web server
  • **NAS": Network storage
  • **Media center": Media center
  • **Home automation": Home automation

Basic Configuration

Installation

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# Download Raspberry PI OS
wget https://downloads.raspberrypi.org/raspios_lite_armhf/images/raspios_lite_armhf-2023-05-03/2023-05-03-raspios-bullseye-armhf-lite.img.xz

# Write image to SD
sudo dd if=2023-05-03-raspios-bullseye-armhf-lite.img of=/dev/sdb bs=4M status=progress

Initial Configuration

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# Enable SSH
sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh

# Configure WiFi
sudo raspi-config

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

GPIO

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# GPIO usage example
import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
import time

# Configure GPIO
GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
GPIO.setup(18, GPIO.OUT)

# Turn on LED
GPIO.output(18, GPIO.HIGH)
time.sleep(1)
GPIO.output(18, GPIO.LOW)

# Clean up GPIO
GPIO.cleanup()

Common Projects

Home Automation

  • **Light control": Lighting control
  • **Sensors": Sensor monitoring
  • **Actuators": Actuator control
  • **Interface": Web interface

Media Center

  • **Kodi": Media center
  • **Plex": Media server
  • **Streaming": Content streaming
  • **Storage": Media storage

Web Server

  • **Apache": Web server
  • **Nginx": Web server
  • **PHP": PHP support
  • **MySQL": Database

Best Practices

Hardware

  • **Ventilation": Adequate ventilation
  • **Power": Adequate power supply
  • **SD Card": Quality SD card
  • **Case": Protective case

Software

  • **Updates": Keep updated
  • **Security": Configure security
  • **Backup": Backup configurations
  • **Monitoring": Monitor performance

Development

  • **Versioning": Version control
  • **Documentation": Document projects
  • **Testing": Test before implementing
  • **Optimization": Optimize code

References