Raspberry Pi Glossary of Terms Dictionary Concise

8/17/2019

Raspberry Pi Glossary of Terms Dictionary Concise

Raspberry Pi Glossary of Terms Dictionary Concise on: August 17, 2019 In: E-Books No Comments

The project glossary is a collection of vocabularies or phrases (the terms) captured from various models, reports and any other artifacts in the software project. Each term are de ned with its meaning speci c to the project domain. ‌ understand the design artifacts. provide description to key terms and phrases.

This Post Contains all the Necessary terms you have to know when you talk about Raspberry Pi or Arduino Projects. There is an Extended Version of this Glossary Which have more than 300 terms to Visit : Extended Dictionary Search:

Headings

De nations

A/mA

Ampere/Milliampere, the base unit of electrical current.

Milliamps 1/1000 of an ampere, measures the Current.

Abstraction

Representing a concept by hiding unnecessary details, revealing only the details that are important

Active Sensor

Sends a signal and then detects changes in the environment based on the data returned, usually requires an external power source

Algorithm

A series of precise instructions to solve a problem

Analogue signal

A continuous variable signal

Assets

Items needed to create a project, such as images or 3Dprinted parts

API

Application programming interface; a set of functions used when building Software.

Arm

A central processing unit that is designed for small devices

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Arduino

a platform based on hardware and software that reads inputs (a nger on a button, a light on sensor) and activates an output (a motor, a light etc.)

Armv6

The instruction set architecture used on the rst Raspberry Pi (Pi 1) and the Pi Zero range.

Armv7

The instruction set architecture used on the Raspberry Pi 2 range.

Armv8

The instruction set architecture used on the Raspberry Pi 3 range; very similar to Armv7 in 32-bit mode.

Bare metal

Programming the Raspberry Pi without using an operating system.

Bash

the most popular shell choice used in most Linux distrobutions

BCM2835

The RP's SoC multimedia processor, The SoC used on the Raspberry Pi 1, Compute Module 1, and Raspberry Pi Zero range

BCM2836

The SoC used on the original Raspberry Pi 2

BCM2837

The SoC used on the Raspberry Pi 3, Compute Module 3, and Raspberry Pi 2 version 1.2

BCM2711

The SoC used on the Raspberry Pi 4B

BLE/BTLE

Bluetooth Low Energy, a low-power version of the Bluetooth wireless communications protocol.

Bonding agent

Adhesive for sticking components together (e.g. glue)

Bootloader

Software responsible for leading the Linux kernel. The most common is GRUB.

Breadboard

A reusable circuit board for prototyping electronic circuits

BT

Bluetooth, a short-range, low-bandwidth, wireless communication protocol often used for mobile devices.

Bus

a communication system that transfers info from between computers or inside between compoents of a computer includes all hardware like bers, cables, communication protocols

CAD

Computer-aided design; allows precise 2D and 3D drawings and models of real-world objects to be designed on a computer

Circuit

A path along which current ows

CISC

-Complex instruction set computing

Closed source

-not open operating systems that dont let the user see insdide, EX

CODEC

Coder/Decoder, hardware or software blocks that encode and/or decode video or audio data.

Computational thinking

A set of mental skills that help to de ne a problem in such a way that a computer can solve it

Constructs

The basic elements of a computer program (e.g. if/else statements)

Console

a version of the terminal that is always avaliable, and the

rst thing you see on pi https://projects-raspberry.com/raspberry-pi-glossary-of-terms-dictionary-concise/

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Control ow

The order in which a computer executes instructions

Compute Module

A Pi variant aimed at commercial customers; uses a di erent form factor, facilitating use inside other products.

Communication protocol

Example: Internet Protocal (IP) a set a rules to send and recieve internet message

Computer program

collection of instructions to do a certain task usually executes it in a CPU or Central Processing Unit

Computer network/Data network

group of computer systems that are linked through communication channels to facilitate resource sharing

CSI

Camera Serial Interface, a hardware interface for connecting cameras to SoCs.

Desktop environment

software to make the GUI look pretty. GNOME and KDE are popular desktop envioemnets

Decomposition

Breaking a problem down into smaller, more manageable parts

Digital signal

A signal that is either on or o

Digital making

Creative projects requiring technical skill and understanding

DHCP

Dynamic Host Con guration Protocol, a network management protocol which dynamically assigns an IP address and other network con guration parameters to each device on a network.

Directoy

the linux term for what Windows calls folders where els are stored

DPI

Parallel Display Interface, an up to 24-bit parallel RGB interface via the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins.

DSI

Display Serial Interface, a hardware interface for connecting LCD panels.

Debuging

the process of going through a program's code to locate and x a problem or mistake.

Device Tree (DT)

A data structure for de ning hardware.

Device Tree source (DTS)

A human-readable source le to be compiled into a DTB.

Device Tree blob (DTB)

A binary le containing a Device Tree; the result of compiling DTS les.

Desktop environment

software to make the GUI look pretty. GNOME and KDE are popular desktop envioemnets

Dt-Blob.bin

A binary le containing initial GPIO con guration that is read by the rmware at boot time; despite the name, this is not Device Tree blob (although it is compiled by the Device Tree tools).

DVI

Digital Visual Interface, a video interface for connecting a source device to a monitor or display; electrically compatible with HDMI, so a simple adapter can convert from one to the other (excluding audio, which DVI does not support).

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BalenaEtcher

The tool we recommend for programming SD cards ready for use on our devices; available for Linux, Windows, and Mac.

Embedded or Nested

one piece of programming is contained within another.

Ethernet

standard way to connect computers on a network with a wire connection interface for connecting multiple devices likes computers, routers, and switches

EXT2/3/4

THe EXTended le system, the most common le system used in Linux

Executable

a le that can be run as a program. Linux les must be marked exeutlable in order to run

Flat Cable Connectors

a type of ribbon cable that connects things inside a computer but can be used externally, usually connects disk drives to disk drive controllers

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions!

Firmware

A Software bundle that lets the system address the USB wireless adapter

File system

The wat a hard drive or other storage device is formatted so that its ready for storage

Flashing

installing an operating system

GNU

A free software project which provides many of the tools used in Linux distributions

GNOME

one of the most common Linux desktop envioemnt

GPIO

General Purpose Input/Output, the programmable pins on the Raspberry Pi.

GPU

Graphical Processing Unit, a hardware device for handling graphical (and related) tasks at high speed; on the Raspberry Pi range up to the Pi 3B+, this is called the VideoCore4 (VC4), and is built into the SoC. On the Pi 4, a newer and faster version called VideoCore6 (VC6) is used.

GRUB

the GRand Uni ed Bootloader, created by GNU and used to load the Linux kernel

HAT

Hardware Attached on Top, a speci cation for designing devices to attach to the Raspberry Pi.

Hardware

physical parts of a computer system

Hard Disc

storage device for information for programs that works by magnetics

HDMI

High-De nition Multimedia Interface, a standard interface for transmitting uncompressed video and compressed or uncompressed audio data from a source device to a display device.

HDCP

High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, an optional encryption mechanism used for HDMI or DVI transmission.

HVS

Hardware Video Scaler, a hardware block in the VC4 or VC6 GPU on all Raspberry Pi models that is used for manipulating and displaying bitmaps.

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I2C/I2C/IIC

Inter-Integrated Circuit (pronounced I-squared-C), an electrical protocol used for attaching lower-speed peripheral ICs to processors and microcontrollers in shortdistance, intra-board communication.

Interface

a shared connection between two things such a hardware device and a computer or a human and a computer

IEEE

computer society that puts out conferences and information and updates and stands for Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers

I2S

Inter-Integrated Circuit Sound, an electrical serial bus interface standard used for connecting digital audio devices together.

ISP

Imaging System Pipeline, a set of hardware (and sometimes software) stages that processes images from a camera into a high-quality result; the Raspberry Pi has a built-in hardware ISP that processes images captured from a camera attached to the CSI port.

Kernel

brain or core that provides basic services to the operating system

KDE

Antoehr popular Linux desktop envieomtn

LAN

Local Area Network, an Ethernet- or wireless-based communication network in a localised area, for example a house or o

LED

ce.

Light-Emitting Diode, a semiconductor device that produces light using electricity.

Linux

The main operating system used on the Raspberry Pi; the particular customised distribution for the Raspberry Pi range is called Raspbian; third parties have also produced their own distributions.

Live CD

A linux distrobution provided as a CD or DVD which dosent require installation

MBps

megabytes per second, Measure of computer processor storage, Is equal to 2^20 bytes

Mbps

megabits per second, Measure of data transfer speed, One megabit is 1 million bits

Micro-controller

a small computer that has a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals

Micro SD card

removable memory card for storing information

MSD

Mass Storage Device (amongst other things), such as an SD card or hard disk drive.

MQTT - MQTT stands for MQ Telemetry Transport, a lightweight and simple machine-tomachine protocol often used for IoT devices; see the MQTT website.

NAND - a NAND gate is a logic gate, speci cally an inverted AND gate; can also refer to a type of ash memory that uses NAND logic.

NIC

-network interface controller/card -A computer hardware component that connects a

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NOOBS - New Out of Box software, easy OS

NOOBS is no longer developed by the Raspberry Pi team,

system image installation for the Raspberry Pi

see PINN instead.

range; note OTP

One-Time Programmable, a type of memory that can only be programmed once, and retains the programmed data after power o ; used for serial numbers etc.

Overlay

A boot-time or run-time patch to a Device Tree allowing a degree of con guration by the user

Operator

tells the computer what to do with inputs values and variables. (See inputs values and variables.)

Output

Data sent out by a program (e.g. sound from a speaker)

Parsed

to have been analysed

Passive sensor

Detects changes in the environment without actively sending out a signal (e.g. a PIR sensor)

Package manager

a oool for keeping track of an intstalling new software

Package

a collection of les required to rrun an applicaiton, typically handed by teh package manager

Partition

a section of a hard drive that is ready to have a le system applied to it for storage

Parrellism

In some computer languages it is possible to make the computer perform more than one task at the same time.

PCB

printed circuit board; a board connecting electronic components

Peripheral bus

a bus for things like printers and hard drives

Program

is a sequence of instructions (or algorithm) written in a language or code that a computer can understand and put into action. A computer will do exactly what it is told so a program must be accurate.

Programming language

name given to one of the many ways in which a computer can be given instructions in a program. Examples include C++, JavaScript, Logo, PHP, Python and Ruby.

Programming paradigm

A style or way of thinking about programming (e.g. object-oriented)

Protoboard

A board which allows you to add components to a prototype circuit by soldering or cutting strips

Pink Pony/Unicorn -

A feature request for a future Raspberry Pi model that is unlikely to happen.

Pi NoIR –

O

cial camera module without the usual infrared lter.

PXE –

Preboot Execution Environment. A method to get a device to boot via the network.

PINN -

A third-party development of the NOOBS system, often a better option than the o

PoE -

cial NOOBS.

Power over Ethernet, a mechanism to power a device through its Ethernet connection; we produce a PoE HAT for the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ and Raspberry Pi 4 Model B.

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Polyfuse -

A self-resetting electrical fuse used on some Pi models to protect against over-current; can take hours or even days to reset.

Porting

conferting software to make it suitable for di rent processors -EX: x86 software to ARMv6 processor

Rendering

the processing of an outline image using color and shading to make it appear solid and three-dimensional.

Raspi-Con g

A command line tool for con guring Raspbian's operating system features; see our o

raspivid, raspistill, raspiyuv, raspividyuv

cial documentation.

a set of applications to run the Raspberry Pi Camera Module in various modes; see our o

Raspbian -

cial documentation.

A Debian-based Linux distribution targeted at the entire Raspberry Pi range, regarded as the o

cial operating

system; the current version is based on Debian Buster, with the rst release in June 2019; see the Wikipedia entry for further release details.

Raspberry Pi Desktop

A version of the LXDE desktop environment, speci cally tailored to the Raspberry Pi (used to be called PIXEL).

RPF -

Raspberry Pi Foundation, the original, Uk-registered educational charity (1129409) that launched the Raspberry Pi.

RPT/RPF(T) - Raspberry Pi Trading, a wholely

- Raspberry Pi Trading, a wholely owned commercial

owned commercial subsidiary of the RPF which

subsidiary of the RPF which designs and develops all

designs and develops all Raspberry Pi products,

Raspberry Pi products, including magazines; all pro ts

including magazines; all pro ts from the RPT go

from the RPT go to the RPF for use in their educational

to the RPF for use in their educational

programmes.

programmes.

Root

the main user accout in linux, equivalent to the Windows administrativor acount. Also called the superuser

rpi-update

A program you can run on a Raspberry Pi to download the very latest test rmware and Linux kernel; there is no guarantee that the latest version will work correctly, so you should only run rpi-update if recommended by a Raspberry Pi engineer.

Schematic

A diagram or plan representing a circuit

Selection

Choosing which code to execute based on a condition (if/else)

Sequencing

Executing lines of code one after another

Subroutine

A named set of instructions in a program (also referred to as a function/procedure)

Shell

a text based command prompt, loaded in a terminal used for human interaction, interpets inputs from a keybaord for example, is NOT on the kernel but uses the kernal

Sudo

a program that allows retrcted users to run a command as the root user

SoC

System on a Chip, an integrated circuit that comprises all components of a computer.

SPI

Serial Peripheral Interface bus, a synchronous serial communication interface speci cation used for short

distance communication. https://projects-raspberry.com/raspberry-pi-glossary-of-terms-dictionary-concise/

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SSH

Secure Shell, a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network; see our o

cial documentation or the Wikipedia

article on SSH. Terminal

a text-based command prompt in whcih the suer interacts with a shell program -a device that enables you to communicate with the computer

TLA

Three-letter abbreviation, almost the entire reason for this glossary.

TLS

Transport Layer Security, a cryptographic protocol used to supply security over a computer network, often used to secure other protocols such as MQTT.

TP1/TP2

Test points.

UART

Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter, a protocol for asynchronous serial communication in which the data format and transmission speeds are con gurable.

Upcycle

Using materials which otherwise would be thrown away in order to make something of value

USB

Universal Serial Bus, the main Raspberry Pi models have four USB sockets for connecting USB devices, for example mice or keyboards.

Variable

A named area in memory where data is stored

VC4, VC6

The VideoCore4 or VideoCore6 GPU used on the Raspberry Pi; contains a large number of hardware blocks that handle graphics, cameras, display, CODECs, etc.

VNC

A graphical desktop sharing system that uses the Remote Frame Bu er protocol (RFB) to remotely control another computer

Volt (V)

SI-derived unit for electrical potential di erence.

Watt

A measure of power often used when specifying power supplies.

X11

The X Window system, a package that provides a graphical user interface (GUI)

10Base-T

Twisted Pair Ethernet

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