Hour 2. Understanding the Raspbian Linux Distribution
What You’ll Learn in This Hour:
What is Linux?
How to use the Raspbian command line
The Raspbian graphical user interfaceThis hour, you will learn about Raspbian, the operating system that runs on your Raspberry Pi and
supports the Python programming environment. By the end of this hour, you should know how to
navigate to and from the Raspbian graphical user interface (GUI), what software comes preinstalled,
and some basic shell commands.
Learning About Linux
Linux is the third most popular desktop operating system in the world, after Microsoft Windows and
Apple OS X. Therefore, the general public tends to be unaware of the Linux operating system.
However, Linux is an incredibly robust and flexible operating system that can run on everything from
large supercomputers all the way down to small embedded devices.
Did You Know: Devices That Use Linux
You might be surprised to learn that the Kindle ebook reader runs on Linux. The IBM
Watson supercomputer, which appeared on the television game show Jeopardy! in
2011, also runs on Linux.Raspberry Pi’s Raspbian operating system is a distribution of Linux. To understand the concept of a
Linux distribution, think of an automobile. Cars have different features, such as body type, body color,
automatic or manual windows, heated or regular seats, and so on. Different cars have different
features. However, all cars have an engine. The “engine” in the Raspberry Pi’s operating system is
Linux. The various specific “features” are in the Raspbian distribution.
The Raspbian distribution is based on a Linux distribution called Debian. Debian, which was created
in 1993, is a well-respected and stable distribution. It is the basis for many other popular Linux
distributions, such as Ubuntu.
By the Way: Raspbian Software Packages
You can install and use more than 35,000 software packages on your Raspberry Pi, and
many of them are free! You can find a small list of the packages at the Raspberry Pi
store: store.raspberrypi.com.Because it is based on Debian, Raspbian has the stability of and many of the same benefits as Debian.
This means your little Raspberry Pi uses a very powerful operating system. Raspbian and Pi provide
you with applications such as word processing, powerful 3D Python game graphic programs, and