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Raspberry Pi system software reference
Gay W., Apress, New York, NY, 2014. 132 pp. Type: Book (978-1-484207-97-0)
Date Reviewed: Mar 30 2015

Many of the books about the Raspberry Pi are targeted at those who wish to plug sensors, indicators, cameras, Arduino interfaces, and other devices into its various connectors; some of the breadboard diagrams in those books can most charitably be described as “interesting.”

This book is different. Its content is drawn from a larger book [1] by the same author; he asserts that it is focused on the system software aspects of the Raspberry Pi, with particular attention to the Raspbian operating system.

In the first chapter, it is suggested that you might want to access your Raspberry Pi desktop remotely, and instructions are provided for installing and using a virtual network computing (VNC) server. That is useful, but it is not something you will need to do the things described in the remainder of the book; a simple ssh connection in a terminal window will suffice.

The second chapter describes the boot process. It is noted that initial boot-loader stages execute in the graphics processing unit (GPU) and cache components, after which a config.txt file is read and kernel execution is initiated in the central processing unit (CPU). Parameters in that file are normally used to override default values for high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) hotplug behavior, console-on-screen position, and GPU memory size. They can, however, be used to adjust other characteristics, and the author devotes almost 30 pages to tables of allowable values for things like HDMI mode settings, cache disable, overclocking, and overvoltage.

Raspbian uses System-V initialization scripts, and the manner in which these are sequenced is described in some detail in chapter 3. It is noted that a user may wish to create a script for a new service, but there is no example of what might appear in such a script. Some additional detail about using an rc.local file and about initiating the execution of daemon processes as an unprivileged user would have been useful.

If your Raspberry Pi is working near its maximum capacity, you may wish to check how hot it is. The vcgencmd can be used for this purpose, and it is also able to show internal voltages, clock frequency, and other values. Many of its apparent options are yet to be implemented, but those that are presently known to work are documented in chapter 4.

A serial cable can be connected to the Raspberry Pi so that boot-time behavior and kernel debug information can be observed. Chapter 5 contains a couple of pages illustrating the sort of output one can expect to see.

In the penultimate chapter, it is noted that compiling software on a Raspberry Pi can take some time, so one might want instead to use a cross-compiler running on something like an Ubuntu 14.04 host or equivalent virtual machine. The Raspberry Pi Foundation provides a cross-compile tool suite that I have found satisfactory, and instructions can be found on its website for downloading and compiling a kernel using it.

The author observes that this may be problematic if you wish to use a Linux distribution, which may not have compatible shared libraries. He therefore shows how the cross-tool.ng source can be downloaded and compiled and then (in the final chapter) used to compile a kernel. Using the Foundation tool suite in a Debian or Ubuntu virtual machine is a lot easier.

I have never found it necessary to overclock my Raspberry Pi, significantly adjust its HDMI characteristics, or compile cross-tool.ng. But if there were a real need for any of those activities, I would consult this book.

More reviews about this item: Amazon

Reviewer:  G. K. Jenkins Review #: CR143299 (1507-0547)
1) Gay, W. Mastering the Raspberry Pi. Apress, New York, NY, 2014.
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