I have a number of (3) Raspberry PIs - 2x4B(4GB) + 1x3B+(1GB). I am into robotics and I’m a programmer by profession. My favourite language is Java (which I work with and in) and I love maker robotics. This is a new and exciting era that we live in which anyone can do things that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. I welcome questions about PIs in general (OS, languages, AI, robotics, etc), programming and approaches to programming (not the same thing). I am a professional and hobbyist alike. Hope to hear from you all.
Example questions might be:
What Linux choices work best (on various versions of the PI)?
How can I develop robotics projects in Java?
What doesn’t work (on various versions of the PI)?
Can I set up Kodi and a NAS on a PI simultaneously and how?
Can I use an Arduino and a PI in concert and how?
I am here to help the community and move technology for makers into the future. Thanks to Core Electronics for having me here.
Welcome QEM, thanks for your introduction! There’s often a Raspberry Pi question or two on the forum, if I run into something out of my league then I’ll @tag you in.
While the Pi is a general purpose computer I’d separate your functions a bit. Kodi and a NAS might go on one device once you get them set up and stable, but development of robot stuff should be separate.
The Pi environment generally uses Python and as a programmer you could learn that fairly easily, but I see pages of results to a ‘raspberry pi java robot’ search.
As for Linux distributions, unless you have a flavor you work with already, start with Raspbian, since that’s where most of the examples and support are.
It’s all about having a go, so pick one thing e.g. configure Samba (for Windows shares) and add an external HDD on Raspbian and you basically have a NAS.
The ‘cost of changing’ is generally just having another SD card and burning the disk image on it.
I have Kodi and NAS setup already. Pi4J will be used to program my project because Java is excellent and Python is not. Sorry Python developers, but I have no desire to learn or use Python when it is not necessary.
As to operating systems for PIs, I have tried most of them and can provide recommendations in terms of use case. For example, in robots, use NOOBS, set up keyboard and wi-fi, and select Raspbian with NO GUI INTERFACE. Username: pi, password: raspberry. This version of Linux is very very lightweight and perfect for robotics work.
For those interested in NAS, Core Electronics has some excellent hardware to build a very powerful compact NAS solution.