Glossary

A miniature dictionary for terms that may be encountered on 3DSBrew.

A

AXI WRAM

The name given to 512KiB of SRAM ("Work" RAM) connected to the SOC via AXI. It is where the ARM11 kernel resides.

appcore

appcore is the name given to one of the Old 3DS's ARM11 CPU cores. It refers to the core that is used to run games and other NCCH content. The other core is called syscore.

C

C

A language homebrew developers program in, also used to make everything from web browsers to timers for computers.

C++

An object oriented language homebrew developers program in. Like its name suggests, C++ is essentially a step up from C.

CCI

CTR Cart Image. A file extension for game ROM images. The file format is a specialisation of the NCSD container format.

CFA

CTR File Archive. A file extension for NCCH containers that contain non-executable data.

CIA

CTR Importable Archive. A file extension used for archives built from data from Nintendo's CDN.

Citra

A work-in-progress Nintendo 3DS emulator.

CTR

Nintendo’s codename for the Nintendo 3DS.

CXI

CTR eXecutable Image. A file extension for NCCH containers that contain executable code.

D

DSi

A handheld console created by Nintendo. It is the second successor to the Nintendo DS, and the 6th generation portable Nintendo gaming system. It features two (larger) screens, two cameras, and an online shop system. The menu is also overhauled, now using similar channels as used on the Wii. It has a screen brightness that can be set to one step higher than the DS Lite.

DS Lite

The predecessor to the DSi. It came after the original DS PHAT and has a screen that can be set to 4x as bright as the DS PHAT.

DS "PHAT"

The original Nintendo DS. It ended up being the successor to the Game Boy, though Nintendo did not intend for this to happen. It added a touch screen.

DSP

Digital Signal Processor. The 3DS uses a DSP core to do the audio mixing instead of relaying on dedicated mixing hardware like the predecessor.

DSiWare

A platform started by Nintendo that allows developers to cheaply create and then sell original content at low prices (compared to the prices of brand new DSi games). All DSiWare games are available on the DSi Shop Channel on the main menu.

Dump

To extract the protected contents of something like a chip, NAND drive or disc which are otherwise inaccessible and/or incomprehensible under normal circumstances.

DS Download Play

Another application built into the Nintendo 3DS firmware. It is a place where people can download multiplayer games from another DS or 3DS. With those compatible games it is possible to use only one game card while playing with several people.

E

Exploit

A circumvention of security allowing a user to perform tasks that are not normally permitted. Often several exploits will be employed in a series with the user gaining increased authority over a system at each step, the goal typically being complete access and control.

F

FCRAM

FCRAM (Fast Cycle RAM) is a new technology developed by the Fujitsu Corporation that approaches the problem of DRAM/Processor speed in a different way. It is one of the components of 3DS hardware.

G

gx

The official API provided by Nintendo to access the 3DS's graphics subsystem.

H

Hexadecimal (Hex)

A term used to describe the base 16 number system, in which each digit represents four bits. After the digits 0-9, the letters A-F are used to represent the values 10-15. Hexadecimal is the preferred format for displaying binary data, as it is easy to mentally convert to/from binary and uses only 2 characters per byte.

Home Menu

The 3DS's Home Menu is the main interface which appears after the system is powered on. In the 3DS this is where all of your default and downloaded channels and games are.

I

IRC

Internet Relay Chat is, real-time text-based chat over the Internet.

M

MPO

Multi-Picture Object is the open file-format used by Nintendo to make 3D images. It uses Exif tags and MP tags with JPG. MPO files can be read like two JPG files stuck together.

N

NCCH

A file format for storing the content of any installed title. This is the format used by CXI and CFA files.

NCSD

A file format for grouping up to eight NCCH partitions. This is the format used by CCI files and the NAND structure.

P

PICA200

The GPU used by the 3DS. See Hardware#GPU.

S

SD Card

Secure Digital Cards are common type of memory cards used by the 3DS, digital cameras, music players, etc. The standard SD card has a maximum capacity of 2 gigabytes (2048 megabytes); however, some 4 GB cards exist but are rare. These cards usually do not have great compatibility with non-SDHC products, even though they are not SDHC, so 2 GB is the preferable size.

SDHC

Secure Digital High Capacity Card are a type of SD cards with a higher storage capacity than normal ones. These are theoretically capable of holding up to 2 terabytes of space, but are politically limited by the current standards to 32 gigabytes.

syscore

syscore is the name given to one of the Old 3DS's ARM11 CPU cores. It refers to the core that is used to run the operating system software stack. The other core is called appcore.

T

Ticket

A ticket is a file containing signature and encryption information on a particular title. Tickets may be console-unique: In particular, tickets for eShop contents are issued uniquely for each 3DS and hence cannot be transferred directly to other devices. System titles (and other content not available on eShop) are using tickets called CommonETickets, which are common to all devices.

Title

A title is a 3DS Game on a card or in a 3DS. This includes the built-in channels and menus. A title is identified by a unique title ID, an 8 byte (4 character) long code used for title identification. All titles are encrypted for security purposes.

Related pages: Title list, Title Metadata, Ticket, Title Database

Title Metadata (TMD)

Title metadata is a format used for storing metadata about a title and its installed contents, including which contents they consist of and their SHA1 hashes.

TWL

Codename used for the Nintendo DSi.

Related pages: TWL FIRM, ARM7 Registers