So what exactly is GPIO?

So what exactly is GPIO?

Well the real question is what isn’t it?
Most of us pay little or no attention to this much neglected function not knowing all it can do for you.

A computer usually interacts with the outside world by means of the keyboard, mouse and monitor, but this interaction is typically with a human being. When interacting with other “smart” devices, we have Ethernet, USB and serial ports. But if the computer has to control or monitor simpler devices, the GPIO function could fit the bill nicely. A GPIO pin lets you either get input for your program from outside the computer or to provide output to the user.

GPIO is implemented on most of Corvalent motherboards and stands for General all Purpose Input/Output.

Some of the uses for them are detecting button presses, receiving interrupt requests from an external device, blinking LEDs or controlling and monitor devices.
Corvalent provides sample code to help developing you custom application or control software.

On Corvalent boards the GPIO function is typically implemented as a 10 pin header.
Of these pins, 2 are dedicated to power and the other 8 can be configured as a digital input or output, most of the time even individually.

So keep this in mind next time you are in need of further customization for your system and project.