Glossary

From iPodLinux

Unfamiliar with iPodLinux lingo? Here is a list of common terms you will read on our WIKI, forums, and our blog.

ARM

The architecture of the iPod's processor. Find out more about the ARM architecture. All hard-drive based iPod generations have dual core.

Busybox

Busybox is a utility that combines many common Linux tools into a single program. Most of the command-line tools in the core uClinux distribution are part of Busybox. The Busybox binary is part of the current Userland.

ext2 / ext3

When installing iPodLinux on a WinPod, the pre-formatted file system, also called the music partition, does not allow Linux to be installed on. The reason being that it uses the FAT format, which Linux cannot run from. Hence, another small partition with the ext2 format must be added to the iPod's disk (taking a few dozen MB of space away from the FAT partition). While Linux users should be familiar with accessing this partition, Mac and Windows users can find help here with accessing the ext2 partition.

Hotdog

Hotdog is a fast compositing graphics engine with support for alpha blending. It is currently used by podzilla among other things.

iPodloader

iPodLoader was a rudimentary bootloader for iPodLinux. iPodloader 2 is a replacement bootloader that supports loading kernels and images from files instead of from the firmware partition. It supports both iPodLinux and Rockbox systems in addition to the default Apple operating system. It also supports selection menus and other handy features.

Linux Partition

If you install iPodLinux on a WinPod, a new partition has to be added. That is the Linux partition, and its format is ext3.

MacPod

iPods partitioned for use with Macintosh. MacPods have 2 partitions - the first for the firmware and a second HFS+ partition for data/music. iPod Linux uses the HFS+ Partition for storing its root file system on, unlike the FAT32 formatted WinPods.

MPD

Music Player Daemon is the improved MP3 playback module for podzilla 2. The decoder daemon is separate from the controller interface, allowing music playback in the background.

Partition

Hard disks can be divided into separate sections with different types of file systems - these are called partitions. iPods are initially partitioned differently if they are a WinPod or a MacPod.

Piezo

The piezoelectric buzzer inside the iPod that has the ability to play high pitched tones. As of yet it is only used to make a "click" noise when moving the wheel or pressing a button.

Nilss used the piezo in a very creative way to extract the boot ROM from the flash memory on the 4g models which was essential to figuring out how to run Linux on these new models with a changed architecture. Read the story here.

podzilla

iPod Linux's default user interface. Currently all Applications are integrated into podzilla 0 or added as modules in podzilla 2.

Rockbox

Rockbox is a project similar to iPodLinux, originally for Archos, but later ported to various other devices including certain iPods.

Rockbox does not use Linux but rather their own customized open source firmware.

root

This word has two meanings. The first refers to the superuser. The superuser is the administrator and has all rights on a computer. E.g. you have to be logged in or use the superuser account if you want to install a bootloader on your iPod.

The other meaning refers to the root directory.

In short: The root directory is the first or top-most directory in a hierarchy.

In this case:

On Linux: After mounting the ext3 partition in /mnt/ipod the root of the ext3 partition is located there.

On Mac OS: Open the iPod icon on the desktop. The folder that opens is the root.

On Windows: Open My Computer. Find the drive that is your iPod. Open it. The folder that opens is the root.

Note that the "root of the iPod's Linux partition" refers to the root of the ext3 partition while the "root of the iPod's data/music partition" refers to the Mac OS/Windows root.

Toolchain

A set of tools comprising of a compiler, linker, assembler and associated utilities used to cross-compile applications for ARM uClinux from another platform, such as x86 (Intel/AMD based PCs) or PPC (Macs). The toolchains for compiling iPodLinux applications can be found on the Toolchain page.

TTK

TTK is a higher-level user interface library for the iPod, a level above something like SDL or Nano-X, that works mostly with the concepts of windows and widgets.

Tux

Linux's official mascot, a penguin.

uClinux

An extremely portable Linux distribution, optimized for embedded architectures without a full memory management unit (such as the ARM7TDMI core). More information can be found on the uClinux website.

Unsupported

Often, on this wiki and on the forums, we discuss things that we call "Unsupported". Things that are unsupported are, well... Not supported.

This means that the programs and guides marked as unsupported are either contributed by people we do not know or trust, or are in an unfinished state. Hence, if you you tell us that it doesn't work, we can't do anything about it, because it's beyond our control.

Do not join the IRC channel and ask for help, we don't want to hear your problems.

While "Unsupported" does not mean "Impossible", fixing problems that arise from using unsupported guides may be beyond your skills. Do some research, search the forums, search this wiki, and search the Internet. You'll figure it out once you learn enough about what you're trying to do. We are not your personal tutors! If you attempt an unsupported guide, you are on your own!

See the troubleshooting page for help. It lists all ways we know of how to fix a broken iPod caused by an iPodLinux installation.

Userland

Software the user interacts with - in iPodLinux terms this usually refers to the default set of Linux applications and configuration files that are found on the root file system, including podzilla. You can find more information on the userland page.

WinPod

iPods partitioned for use with Windows. WinPods have 2 partitions - the first for the firmware and a second FAT32 partition for data/music. iPod Linux requires a third ext2/3 partition for storing its root file system on, as Linux requires a suitable file system to have as its root device.