Alex Eames of RasPi.TV fame has got a new product he is launching via KickStarter. He sent me one to try out. The product is a 15cm (6 inch) ruler with a RPi.GPIO programming reference and GPIO header guide printed onto it. If you are going to have a ruler on your desk or in your laptop bag it might as well be one of these. Unless you are a 12 inch sort of person.
Now the information on the ruler is available in other forms so you don’t need this to use the GPIO. I tend to use my GPIO reference diagram when I am playing with the GPIO but I also use physical references. It is just convenient sometimes to not rely on a screen when you are up to your neck in browser windows, data sheets and iPlayer sessions. No matter how many sheets of paper you print off the ruler is more likely to stand the test of time.
I’m working on a Pi project at the moment that involves lots of GPIO, sketching and measuring lines. The ruler was quite useful.
I found the RPi.GPIO Python reference handy. I can never remember the commands for setting up and using the GPIO pins and always have to Google them or cut-n-paste from an existing script.
Pledges start at £3 so even if you don’t buy one for yourself you will probably want to buy one for your nearest Pi fan for Christmas. The ruler is flat so you can even stick one in a birthday card and post it.
You can find more details and back the project on the RasPiO GPIO Reference Ruler Kickstarter page.