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Terminology

Started by Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas, 19, August, 2013, 01:49:09 AM

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Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

This topic is here to list terms that may be used.

Hacking = To steal or damage data.  By modifying the game, you are "damaging" the original data. Therefore it isn't "original" anymore.
Modding = I assume this is tweaks that can be applied to personal hacks? (Like the Jump Patch or The Battle Camera Rotation patch?)
References = Pointers (Like Code or data pointers.)
Index =
Entry =
Bank/Database/Table =
Assembly/ASM/Arm/Thumb =

address/offset =
signed = Number may be negative, positive, or 0.
unsigned =  Number is positive or 0.

If anyone knows any terms that should go in this list, then don't forget to reply.
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Thunder-squall

quickly scouring your GBA ASM thread:

GBATEK
MOV
LDR
STR
B, BL
BLE, BEQ, etc.
THUMB
ARM
ASM hacking
DS (I assume this was the Nintendo Dual Screen)
GBA (it's been long enough that people don't know what this means anymore)
PC (may as well be throrough)
RAM
ROM
hex
VBA (the emulator, I think)
VBA-SDL-H
lr (r14)
rtt = run to thumb

etc. Man, I think it's just better to provide links to people who've already done this stuff.

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

#2
QuoteGBA (it's been long enough that people don't know what this means anymore)
Are you sure? I would think that would be common sense to the average gamer, especially since GBA files use the extension ".gba".

GBATEK = The GBA and DS Hacking Bible. Most, if not all, hardware information can be found here.
MOV = Thumb instruction that is meant for setting a register to a value. (register=number)
LDR = Loads a value from a location in memory. (register=[memory_address], where the value at memory_address is put in the register.)
STR = Similar to LDR, except you are changing the value at memory address. [memory_address]=register)
B, BL = Branch / Branch Link ; The first is a simple jump in code, and the second is a function call. (It's a jump as well, but stores the return address in lr.)
BLE, BEQ, etc. are branches as well. But they are conditionals. Branch if Less or Equal ; Branch if Equal.
Thumb = Code where each instruction is 16-bit.
Arm = Code where each instruction is 32-bit.
ASM hacking = Assembly.... It's when you hack code.
PC = Portable Computer
PC = Price Counter (I think.) The location in code currently being executed. I think.
RAM = Random Access Memory. (Read/Write) Usually for variables and stuff. Although, the NDS can load entire files into RAM due to the ROM not being mapped to memory.
ROM = Read Only Memory (Read) The file itself, that's the reason why it is read-only, otherwise you might lose something.
hex = Base 16. (Instead of Base 10, which most people use.) Often prefixed with 0x. Sometimes they can be suffixed with h.
VBA-SDL-H = A command line version of VBA that's used for debugging.
lr (r14) = The return address for returning from a called function. (Basically, you continue after the function call that called the function.)
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Misery

I believe the most important term to clarify here is ASM, or Assembly, since the word itself might not mean much for someone who isn't familiar with it. It's a word used in computer science, and refers to the most basic of instructions a system is capable of, the operations used by the processor to make things run. Thus:
ASM Programming: to program using those instructions.
ASM Hacking: to observe or change a program at assembly level.
Assembly Language: The collective of all commands and instructions available in any given system.

For anyone interested in getting started with this, I can recommend this document, which explains machine language (yet another term for assembly language) using the Commodore 64 as an example. I for one have never done any programming on the C64, but it gives a very thorough explanation of the basics, which is very necessary to understand the purpose of the various ASM instructions. I had been struggling for a good while to find an explanation of ASM programming until I found this.

As for the term hacking, I think the most basic meaning of it is trying to understand a program or system without having access to the schematics (usually source code). Another term for this is reverse-engineering. What is usually referred to as hacking on this site might be more accurately described as modding.

Two more words I think we need to get a bit more in depth with is ROM and RAM, the former because there seems to be some confusion regarding the actual meaning, and the latter simply because it's something we see a lot.

Usually when people say ROM they seem to refer to the virtual copy of data comprising a commercial game. However, the game cartridge put into a GBA is just as much of a ROM as a digital copy, and a ROM could contain any type of data, not necessarily data used to form a game. ROM is simply data which cannot be modified at runtime.

RAM, on the other hand, can be modified at runtime, and that is in fact the whole point of it. As far as I know, it's called "Random Access" because the system can access any part of it at any point, without having to read it in any specific order.

Teawater: pretty sure PC stands for Program Counter in assembly context, but I think you got the meaning right. Probably doesn't matter much since it's generally not something you should mess with.

Thunder squall: most of what you listed is mnemonics for assembly instructions. I know Salanewt posted a reference sheet for those somewhere on this site, but I can't remember where.

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

#4
Oh sorry, I must have been rushing through those definitions randomly.... but yes, pc is definitely Program Counter, I was going to look it up so I could remember, but I must have forgot to. Thanks for reminding me.

Salanewt's Arm/Thumb guide. http://forum.goldensunhacking.net/index.php?topic=1317.0
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Thunder-squall

^ good link.  So Sala's the other Yoshi guy? I checked the guy's stats like you suggested, and man, the he's got mad respect.  You should perhaps put some of his reference stuff in a thread and sticky it.  Or Atrius should, I mean.  Make it easier for noobs like me to find it.

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

#6
Yes, the other Yoshi guy. If you've seen my signature, I have a banner for Yoshi's Lighthouse. Both of us have been on there ever since its creation back in 2009. (Although, be warned, it's a pretty inactive forum otherwise. There might be a couple other users visiting, however.) (Both of us coming from GSHC Classic before it was created, ofcourse. By GSHC Classic, I mean when GSHC used to be hosted on invisionfree. When we moved, it was archived. Our first move was to omgforum, but that didn't last long. In the end, we ended up here.)

Also, Salanewt did make a topic for Helpful Links one time, but this particular topic might not be listed in it, I forget.
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Misery

It's not in the helpful link thread.
While that's my go-to thread for useful stuff in GS hacking, it's missing a lot of resources by now. I think we could use a new, updated sticky. Which Sala obviously can't do since he isn't here.

Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas

Thanks.

I nominate you to make that sticky thread. (If you want to.) Although, Atrius would have to do the sticky-ing.
Golden Sun Docs: Broken Seal - The Lost Age - Dark Dawn | Mario Sports Docs: Mario Golf & Mario Tennis | Misc. Docs
Refer to Yoshi's Lighthouse for any M&L hacking needs...

Sometimes I like to compare apples to oranges. (Figuratively) ... They are both fruits, but which one would you eat more? (If taken literally, I'd probably choose apples.)
Maybe it is over-analyzing, but it doesn't mean the information is useless.


The only GS Discord servers with significance are:
Golden Sun Hacking Community
GS Speedrunning
/r/Golden Sun
GS United Nations
Temple of Kraden

Can you believe how small the Golden Sun Community is?

2+2=5 Don't believe me? Those are rounded decimal numbers. Take that, flat earth theorists! :)

Thunder-squall

Quote from: Teawater on 03, January, 2014, 10:06:27 AM
Thanks.

I nominate you to make that sticky thread. (If you want to.) Although, Atrius would have to do the sticky-ing.
Calling upon my intense wisdom and expertise on these matters, I second this nomination.

Misery

Haha, thank you both for the vote of confidence. I could do this, but the truth is I don't remember exactly where everything is or what is relevant, so I might need some reminders and suggestions for what links to add.

Might still be worth it though, just to have a list of links that can actually be updated to include new information.