The Raspberry Pi makes an ideal match for the Internet of Things. But to put it to good use in IoT you need two areas of expertise, electronics and programming and because of the way hardware and software engineering tend to occupy separate niches, you may need help with combining the two.

Python is an excellent language with which to learn about the IoT or physical computing. It might not be as fast as C, but it is much easier to use for complex data processing. One reason for Python’s popularity is its wealth of supporting libraries and there are several for interfacing hardware. The GPIO Zero library is the official way to use Python with the GPIO and other devices and this book looks at how to use it to interface to fundamental IoT devices - from LEDs and buzzers to servos and stepper motors and several off-the-shelf Raspberry Pi add-ons. Importantly, it explains how it works so that you can extend it to custom devices. Studying GPIO Zero is also a great way to improve your Python and this book teaches you to think like an IoT programmer. After reading it, you will be in a better position to tackle interfacing anything-with-anything without the need for custom drivers and prebuilt hardware modules.

The emphasis in this book on understanding how things work and using this knowledge to create new devices and integrate them into GPIO Zero. You can use any Python development system that you know, but the programs in the book have been developed using Visual Studio Code and its remote development facilities. All the code is available on the book’s web page along with everything you need to get started.

Harry Fairhead has worked with microprocessors, and electronics in general, for many years and is an enthusiastic proponent of the IoT. He is the author of Raspberry Pi IoT in C, which has recently been republished in its second edition, updated for Raspberry Pi 4. His other recent books include Applying C For The IoT With Linux and Fundamental C: Getting Closer To The Machine.

Mike James is the author of Programmer’s Python: Everything is an Object and other programming and computer science titles in the I Programmer Library. His programming career spans several generations of computer technology, but he keeps his skills completely up to date and has a PhD in Computer Science.