Glossary

A miniature dictionary for terms you may encounter on DSiBrew.

C

A language homebrew developers program in.

C++

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

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.

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.

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).

Dump

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

E

Exploit

A clever 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.

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.

I

IRC

Internet Relay Chat; that is, realtime text-based chat over the Internet.

S

SD Card

A common type of memory card, used by the DSi, digital cameras, music players, etc. Stands for Secure Digital. The standard SD card has a maximum capacity of 2 gigabytes (2048 Megabytes).

SDHC

Stands for Secure Digital High Capacity Card. A type of SD card with a higher storage capacity than normal SD cards. These are capable of holding up to 32 gigabytes of space.

System Menu

The DSi's main interface which appears after the health warning screen when the system is powered on. In the DSi this is where all of your default and downloaded channels and games are.

T

TMD

See Title metadata.

Title

A title is a DSi Game on a card or a DSiWare. 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.

Title Metadata

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