If you've heard about the Raspberry Pi you may know that it provides a fantastic method to learn about using a computer and to develop some skills that go beyond the basics. 

It has the ability to provide a bridge between the sometimes abstract computing environment and the physical world. In this case we are going to use it to set up a monitoring 'stack' consisting of the software platforms Prometheus and Grafana. This will allow us to measure and monitor a range of different aspects of computing technology including developing your own specialised monitoring.

What sort of things will we learn?

Good question! 

• What sort of versions of the Raspberry Pi are there?
• What hardware do I need to get it up and going?
• What sort of operating system do I need and how do we install it.
• How do I do [Insert any number of cool things]?

Is this book for you?

It's not written for experts. It's put together as a guide to get you started if you're unsure about how to make the first move with a Raspberry Pi.

Why has the book been written?

Because in the process of learning things, it's a great way to remember them if you write them down :-).

Writing about how to do cool stuff with computers means that we're accumulating ways to help ourselves out when the going gets tricky. Making a book out of the information is a no-brainer since that way more people benefit from the process.

The awesome that is Leanpub.

The book has some information in it, but there will be updates over time. Publishing using Leanpub will allow readers to get easy notification of when updates and improvements are made.

Enjoy.

So we hope you get something out of the book, please excuse the sometimes light-hearted conversational manner in which we approach the topic and enjoy the Raspberry Pi!