Joining the Pi4J team

In my book “Getting Started with Java on Raspberry Pi” I dedicated a chapter on Pi4J , the leading framework to combine the power of Java with the hardware capabilities of the Raspberry Pi. This project which was started in 2012 by Robert Savage , evolved during the years to be able to support all the different Raspberry Pi-versions and many types of hardware components.

In 2019 rework started for a V2-version which should bring the functions of the library back to the core: supporting all the Pi’s and I/O functions. As the underlying library WiringPi got deprecated , the new version will use PiGpio . A system of plugins will allow to support other boards next to the Pi and all types of hardware as stand-alone project, making it a lot easier to keep the core project stable.

To assist Robert in the maintenance of the Pi4J project and to finish the build of the new version, I recently joined the team of this open-source project. While I get into the code, I will first focus on the documentation on the new website, organizing the stuff to be done, etc.

Other volunteers are also interested in contributing so I really believe the second version of Pi4J, the new 8Gb Raspberry Pi 4 and the upcoming 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS will make this an inexpensive but powerfull combination. It will allow us all to build more impressive personal and professional projects combining hard- and (Java-)software.