Embedded guy here. Concur with above. I come from a "do it in C, asm, etc" land on what use to be minimally capable processors.
Google "Python light control with RPi (Raspberry Pi)". Drastically simplifies things that use to be quite complicated for the novice to dig in to.
If you're a book reader, look for "Raspberry Pi Cookbook" by Simon Monk. Has pretty much everything you'll need to know in once place, including how to approach what you're talking about.
