This library also supports the RPi2 and upwards, with the bcm2836 and upwards chipsets

Installing The Library

The library homepage

In the commands below change the .XX to match the current library version number, e.g. “.37”.

If you are using the GUI then open the command prompt using Menu > Other > LXTerminal

Using your RPi download the .tar.gz file from the library page to your “/home/pi/” root directory.  You can do this using wget on the command line:

cd /home/pi/

wget http://www.airspayce.com/mikem/bcm2835/bcm2835-1.XX.tar.gz

Install the library files using the following commands

Unzip the downloaded file (Change the file version number to match your downloaded version)

tar zxvf bcm2835-1.XX.tar.gz

The files will be unzipped into a folder called “/home/pi/bcm2835-#.#” where # is the version number. (The following instructions are based on the instructions in the bcm2835.h file so if something doesn’t work check there to see if the instructions have changed)

Change to the directory the files we’re unzipped into (Change the directory version number to match your downloaded version)

cd bcm2835-1.XX

Run the configure exe

./configure

Execute the makefile

make

Then

sudo make check

Then

sudo make install

(The sudo is needed to elevate permissions to the root user)

The library is now ready to use.

Using the Library In A NetBeans Project

Including the library header file

#include <bcm2835.h>

When you compile you also need to include -lbcm2835 so the libraries object file is added to the final compilation.

Right click the project > Properties > Build > Linker > In the ‘Libraries’ section press the ‘…’ button > Add Option… > Other Option > Enter: -lbcm2835

Using the Library In A Geany Project

Including the library header file

#include <bcm2835.h>

When you compile you also need to include -lbcm2835 so the libraries object file is added to the final compilation.
For example at the command line:

gcc clk.c -o clk -lbcm2835

In a simple makefile for a project with a single file called main.c:

all: output_file_name

output_file_name: main.o
	gcc main.o -lbcm2835 -o output_file_name

main.o: main.c
	gcc -c main.c

clean:
	rm -rf *o output_file_name

Trying out an example project using the command line C compiler

You can compile one of the examples using this:

cd examples/blink
gcc -o blink -l rt blink.c -l bcm2835 

and then run the blink exe with this command:

sudo ./blink

If you connect the positive pin of a 5V LED to pin 11 of the P1 header it should be blinking. Use CTRL+Break or CTRL+SHIFT+C to stop the exe.

Problems With The Library

DelayMicroseconds() is a handy function but if you use it a lot you’ll find operation takes much longer than it should.  This is because the function allows the linux scheduler to know the process is sleeping and decide to move on to another process.  See here for a better solution if you need to avoid this.

Controlling Pins

See the header file for all of the functions.

RPi1 Model B+ and RPi2 Model B

//Setup
bcm2835_gpio_fsel(RPI_BPLUS_GPIO_J8_40, BCM2835_GPIO_FSEL_INPT);		//RPI1B+ & RPi2B <<Set as input
bcm2835_gpio_fsel(RPI_BPLUS_GPIO_J8_40, BCM2835_GPIO_FSEL_OUTP);		//RPI1B+ & RPi2B <<Set as output
bcm2835_gpio_set_pud(RPI_BPLUS_GPIO_J8_40, BCM2835_GPIO_PUD_UP);		//RPI1B+ & RPi2B <<Set pull up

//Outputs
#define LED_GREEN(state)				bcm2835_gpio_write(RPI_BPLUS_GPIO_J8_40, !state)        //RPI1B+ & RPi2B

//Inputs
//bcm2835_gpio_lev returns uint8_t
#define SW_A_INPUT						bcm2835_gpio_lev(RPI_BPLUS_GPIO_J8_40)                    //RPI1B+ & RPi2B

RPi1 V2 (old)

//Outputs
#define LED_GREEN(state)				bcm2835_gpio_write(RPI_V2_GPIO_P1_24, !state)
#define LED_YELLOW(state)				bcm2835_gpio_write(RPI_V2_GPIO_P1_26, !state)

//Inputs
//bcm2835_gpio_lev returns uint8_t
#define SW_A_INPUT						bcm2835_gpio_lev(RPI_V2_GPIO_P1_03)

Upgrading to a newer version of the library

Just reinstall, no need to uninstall the old one.