The Raspberry Pi is a small cheap computer designed to get children interested in programming.
At the moment, I’m looking at the fourth edition of the Official Raspberry Pi user guide by Eben Upton. Upton is one of the founders of the Raspberry Pi foundation. He describes what he was trying to do in the introduction to the book:
I want every child, everywhere, to have access to an open, programmable, general purpose computer, and have the opportunity to learn to program …
With that in mind, here are the titles of the first two chapters:
- Chapter 1: Meet the Raspberry Pi
- Chapter 2: Getting Started with the Raspberry Pi
Nothing surprising there, for a book aimed at teenagers learning how to program. Now look at chapter 3:
- Chapter 3: Linux System Administration
That’s right - not “Setting up your Raspberry Pi” - not “How to tweak the settings on your new computer” - not “How to be the Boss of your Pi” but “Linux System Administration”. Upton takes his readers seriously; he invites them to to the work they need to do, to join a world of experts. He asks his readers to read carefully, and with commitment.