Moving Up From The Breadboard - Raspberry Pi User Manual

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Figure 12-6:
The output
of the
gpioinput
.py program
By extending the code to look for multiple push-buttons, each on an individual GPIO pin, you
could even create a simple four-button game controller . For example, you could combine the
preceding code with the Raspberry Snake game from Chapter 11, "An Introduction to Python",
to turn the Raspberry Pi into a simple games console . You can also combine both input and
output examples into a single program, which waits for the button to be pushed and then turns
on the LED by sending the output pin high . To ensure that you've understood the concepts in
this section, try creating that combined program now . If you get stuck, or you want to check
your method, turn to Appendix A, "Python Recipes", for a sample solution .

Moving Up From the Breadboard

As the previous examples in this chapter have shown, breadboards are excellent for quickly
creating prototype circuits for experimentation . They're fast and reusable, and they don't
damage components .
However, breadboards also have some disadvantages . They're bulky, expensive, and prone to
loose connections—which can result in critical components falling out, especially while the
breadboard is being transported from place to place . Figure 12-7 demonstrates this perfectly:
despite best efforts, the push-button component is only loosely secured in the breadboard,
and is likely to fall out if the circuit is handled roughly .
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