Most beginner have questions on which one is for me? Arduino or Raspberry Pi to know which is for you ? We must know what is arduino and Raspberry pi.
What is the difference between the Arduino and Raspberry Pi?
In short Arduino is microcontroller board based on ATmega328p microcontroller without OS running at 16MHz clock having memory in kilo bytes and Raspberry Pi is like single board computer running at 1.2 Ghz speed with Linux operating system with memory in Giga bytes.
Where I can use each?
Arduino can be used for simple applications having repetitive tasks such as getting some data from sensor, Plant watering system, Voltage measurement, Water flow measurement, etc for more on application read this book Arduino Projects Vol-1.
Raspberry Pi is mostly used in console applications, as IoT server, Cloud, Image processing, etc.
Arduino
Arduino Getting Started Guide is here
Arduino is Open source platform. Arduino is a 8-bit RISC microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P (datasheet). It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz quartz crystal, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started. You can tinker with your UNO without worring too much about doing something wrong, worst case scenario you can replace the chip for a few dollars and start over again.
There are many types of Arduino boards for different applications and sizes such as UNO, MEGA, NANO, MICRO, etc.
Specifications of Arduino Uno:
| Microcontroller | ATmega328P |
| Operating Voltage | 5V |
| Input Voltage (recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limit) | 6-20V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output) |
| PWM Digital I/O Pins | 6 |
| Analog Input Pins | 6 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 20 mA |
| DC Current for 3.3V Pin | 50 mA |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB (ATmega328P) of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader |
| SRAM | 2 KB (ATmega328P) |
| EEPROM | 1 KB (ATmega328P) |
| Clock Speed | 16 MHz |
| LED_BUILTIN | 13 |
| Length | 68.6 mm |
| Width | 53.4 mm |
| Weight | 25 g |
Which language do you use for Arduino?
Arduino uses C++ language for its programming. You can download free Arduino IDE fro programming available at https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. Arduino can be programmed using online IDE also.
Arduino becomes much popular because of its Huge community support for Interface Libraries. you can get almost all device interfacing libraries with example codes.
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi Getting Started Guide is here
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python. There are two types of boards Raspberry Pi 2 and Raspberry Pi 3. Pi 3 comes with on board WiFi and it is 64-bit.
Raspberry Pi 3 Specifications
SoC: Broadcom BCM2837
CPU: 4× ARM Cortex-A53, 1.2GHz
GPU: Broadcom VideoCore IV
RAM: 1GB LPDDR2 (900 MHz)
Networking: 10/100 Ethernet, 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.1 Classic, Bluetooth Low Energy
Storage: microSD
GPIO: 40-pin header, populated
Ports: HDMI, 3.5mm analogue audio-video jack, 4× USB 2.0, Ethernet, Camera Serial Interface (CSI), Display Serial Interface (DSI)
What language do you use for Raspberry Pi?
Raspbian comes preloaded with Python, the official programming language of the Raspberry Pi and IDLE 3, a Python Integrated Development Environment.