These boards are designed to run whatever script you flash to it in a loop and will do so as long as the board has power. The script your write is the operating

These boards are designed to run whatever script you flash to it in a loop and will do so as long as the board has power. The script your write is the operating system. Think: relatively simple, dedicated, repeatable applications (if/then scenarios) Controlling lights in your house, simple robotic behaviors (sensor I/O and motor control, nothing ML related), or reading/displaying sensor data (temperature, light, etc), are common applications for microcontrollers. There isn't enough onboard memory to run anything too complex like an OS. If that is the route you want to go, the Pi Zero might be more suitable for an entry-level board that can handle a Linux kernel.