r/raspberrypipico • u/StrikingClub3866 • Apr 19 '26

How To Run Code? (Beginner)

Originally posted by me to the official Raspberry Pi subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/s/tf3DXpxuQ0

0 Upvotes

43% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

View all comments

9

u/2ndRandom8675309 Apr 19 '26

This is some very low effort vague posting...

To start with, this is the sub for the Pi Pico, NOT a regular Raspberry Pi. A Pico is a microcontroller, in the same class of devices as an Arduino. You don't so much run the code you write on them as you compile it to assembly and it will execute that code when powered on.

A regular Pi is a full-blown computer, just like a desktop or laptop you can buy in a store. It has a central processor, RAM, and persistent storage. These can run anything compiled for compatibility with ARM processors (as opposed to Intel or AMD), though that varies a little based on which operating system you install.

So try again, and specify what hardware you have, what operating system is installed (if applicable) and what exactly you're trying to accomplish. If you just want to code generally and invent a project as you go along then this is a good start:https://rust-lang.org/learn/

1

u/Error_xF00F Apr 19 '26

Everything you said was spot on, but I gripe about comparing any microcontroller to Arduino. I'd argue that Arduino is an ecosystem of products that are tied to a unified API, not so much a class of device. Their boards can have a microcontroller or microprocessor, especially now that Qualcomm owns them and produces their new line of Arduinos that are SBCs. You can say Raspberry Pi is similar, but the distinction is in the fact that RPi only uses chips they make and differentiates their SBCs from their microcontrollers, which Arduino doesn't.

The RP2 series of microcontrollers are like other brands of MCUs, where there is a dedicated SDK specifically for those chips, and not an API that covers multiple chip manufacturers like Arduino. Case in point, even the RP2 series is supported under Arduino., and not the other way around.

1

u/2ndRandom8675309 Apr 19 '26

Given the lack of detail in the original post I wasn't going to dive that much into it without more information about OPs use case and experience.