BMH is the original acronym for Bare Metal Hacking. As the name suggests, I launched this project to convey
to everyone the fun and enjoyment π of hacking bare-metal devices and micro-controllers by understanding
their basic mechanisms from the ground up.
It has been 40 years since I first encountered personal computers, and their performance has evolved
dramatically and become too complex π» for a beginner to understand. However, the fundamentals of computers
have not changed at all, neither 40 years ago nor today.
All applications are extensions of the basics. When you explore the BMH world, I am sure you will get to the
heart of things π‘ and find so much joy and pleasure π that you will want to shout with delight.
Standing beside me is Hack-chan ("chan" is a term of endearment for children in Japanese). He doesn't know
much about programming yet, but he will become a master of I/O operations and the basics of system programming
while learning antBASIC, just as I did 40 years ago.
Our development home base is Raspberry Pi 400
The concept of BMH has been in the works for more than ten years π, but the last thing I had to worry about
was the programming environment π§. A good development environment is essential for learning programming.
However, since personal computers are expensive πΈ, children π¦π§ cannot have them all to themselves as "My
Computer".
Therefore, BMH adopted the "Raspberry Pi 400 β¨" by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the UK π¬π§ as its
development environment.
The quad-core processor is more than fast enough π, and the central unit with a USB hub is inside the
keyboard, so simply connecting a display π₯ and mouse π± makes it a fine "$70 My Computer". The GPIO header,
essential for I/O programming, is another major attraction π not found in modern PCs. Moreover, since the OS
on Raspberry Pi utilizes the Linux kernel and Debian packages, we can enjoy the best programming environment
for free π.
It is inexpensive yet high-performance and excellently designed. I sincerely thank the Raspberry Pi
Foundation π for bringing to the world a development environment π children π¦π§ and schools π« can easily
purchase.
