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What libraries are available for interfacing with the GPIO?

1
  • not a complete list, but here are a few - although I think this question will be closed, as list-type questions tend not to work well on the stack sites, as there will be a never-ending stream of answers Jun 22, 2015 at 4:05

9 Answers 9

16

I'm going to interpret what I think you might be asking more broadly as "How can I control GPIO from userland?"

A very nice way to get started using GPIO is using the /sys filesytem. You can do it all from the command line.

For example,

cd sys/class/gpio
echo 0 > export
cd gpio0
echo high > direction

More documentation is in linux/Documentation/gpio.txt.

6
  • 1
    Does this work with every OS?
    – Alex L
    Jun 13, 2012 at 7:12
  • This is linux-specific.
    – blueshift
    Jun 13, 2012 at 9:03
  • 1
    Are there any tutorials that use this method? I have only seen libraries (mainly the python one). Jun 13, 2012 at 13:56
  • 2
    This isn't necessarily a library as per the request of the OP. Jun 18, 2012 at 17:04
  • 1
    The other answers for this question are much better - this answer does not answer the question about libraries.
    – recantha
    Jan 2, 2013 at 13:29
13

There is one that I've found here. I haven't had the chance to test it, as my Pi hasn't arrived. It does, however, look assuring. There's even a forum thread here that professes promising payoff. If you want a down-to-the-basics C example using standard libraries, there's one here from eLinux.

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  • What was your experiece of this library, then? Aug 9, 2015 at 9:53
11

RPi.GPIO is a Python package for GPIO control.

This tutorial video shows the basic usage of the package.

2

quick2wire can be used by regular users (not root):

Quick2Wire Python API

A Python library for controlling the hardware attached to the Raspberry Pi's header pins, without running as the root user.

2
  • While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes.
    – Mark Booth
    Feb 7, 2013 at 0:59
  • @MarkBooth : "the essential part of the answer" is "can be used by regular users" unlike other answers.
    – dugres
    Feb 7, 2013 at 14:51
2

I use Wiring PI and it works really great. I use it with language C and had no problems so far. It is easy to understand and simple to handle.

2

I realize I'm answering a question that is years old, but there is one that hasn't been mentioned yet: gpiozero. https://gpiozero.readthedocs.io/en/stable/

It should already be installed on new versions of Raspbian. You can also install it on other versions of Linux. https://gpiozero.readthedocs.io/en/stable/installing.html

1

Pi4J allows you to control the GPIO pins using Java. I'm not sure how it works but there's an explanation at http://pi4j.com/

0
1

It is really simple to control the GPIO ports in any language as shown on http://elinux.org, so I believe that you actually do not need a framework for the direct control.

You need to know which additional features you expect of a framework, like

  • Remote control via a browser
  • A pretty browser UI or maybe a standalone program
  • Automatic timebased control (cron jobs)

I ended up writing a framework for myself: Control GPIO ports over HTTP and with cron jobs which perfectly fits my needs. I wanted to have something for home-automation. So I needed cron jobs and a JSON web interface to run a native app on my iPhone. Therefore I did not write a browser UI. I believe it would also be good for an alarm system.

I did not find a (complete) list of frameworks yet. There are some mentioned on the forum of raspberrypi.org.

1

Johny-Five is quite easy to use for those familiar with Node.js or JavaScript. See http://johnny-five.io/examples/raspi-io/

npm install johnny-five raspi-io
var five = require("johnny-five");
var Raspi = require("raspi-io").RaspiIO;
var board = new five.Board({
  io: new Raspi()
});

board.on("ready", function() {
  var led = new five.Led("P1-13");
  led.blink();
});

Specially useful for Pi projects controlling GPIO through a Web server

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