[Galaxy S III General] danarama:
Glossary of terms

adb - Android Debug Bridge. This is a Windows or Linux command line tool that can be used to push files to a device, pull them, create directories. Very handy with a custom Kernel if you can't boot and need to get data from the device. This can be downloaded as part of the Android SDK or mskip's unified toolbox mentioned earlier.

AOSP - Android Open Source Project. This is google's code base. This is Android in it's pureset form. Anyone can download this code and build a ROM. It will take some work to build for a specific device however. Even Samsung start with this code at some point.

AOKP - Unofficial development team building ROMs based on AOSP accross a range of devices. AOKP stands for Android Open Kang Project. A play of the AOSP it is based on. Kang means to find / use (or even steal, although not in this case) source code.

baseband - The software responsible for controlling the radio hardware. Essential for network connectivity. Also referred to as "modem" or "radio"

bash - bash is a shell script language. Natively used in unix and linux, it can also be used within terminal emulators on android and scripts. Most mods that are scripts, use bash.

binary - a binary file is the opposite of a text file. It may contain data to be read by the OS rather than a human. It usually contains instructions on how a particular function should be handled.

binary counter - also referred to as flash counter. This is in part of the bootloader, viewed in download mode. The Binary counter increases as you flash non-stock (custom) recoveries and roms and kernels not "signed" by Samsung. The app, triangle away can help a little

boot.img - the kernel is contained within an .img file named boot.img. Not to be confised with sboot.img (bootloader)

bootloader - Bootloaders exist on almost any multi-OS bootable system. Windows has one, linux has one and android has one. It is how the device "decides" which OS to boot into. the user can manipulate hardware buttons during boot to alter which OS the bootloader boots into. It boots into Android by default but it can also boot into recovery or download mode. The bootloader is within an .img called sboot.img

brick - brick refers to a device that has been "bricked". A bricked device is beyond repair. In other words, your phone may as well be a brick, because it cant be a phone any more. A bricked device must be sent to the manufacturer / carrier / service centre for repair. You cannot repair a brick yourself. If you have something that can be repaired, it is not a true brick.

There are 2 types of brick referred to..

Soft brick, where the phone bootloops. These can sometimes be repaired, so for that reason it is not a true brick and I prefer to never use the term "Soft Brick".

Hard Brick. This is what I call a true brick. The phone cannot be repaired by a user. This of course does not extend to replacing parts. Sure, a brick can be replaced by replacing parts. It can't be fixed with external hardware or software however.

busybox - A set of tools to be added to android. Many root apps require busybox to run. It can be installed using an installer from the market. Similarly, most custom ROMs will contain busybox by default

clockwork mod - clockwork mod is a custom recovery

cfq - this is a scheduler (see scheduler). There is some info that can be read here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/i-o-schedulers/

checksum - see md5 checksum

cm - abbreviation for cyanogen mod. See Cyanogen

CPU - central processing unit. This is the brains of the operation. the CPU is what translates all the instructions and processes them. This is the main "power" behind any device. The better the CPU, the faster these instructions can be processed

custom ROM - A Custom ROM can be based on Touchwiz (Samsung stock), or it can be built from AOSP code. It really just means "unofficial" and will usually contain tweaks, fixes and imporvements for your device. A Custom ROM is a complete android replacement.

cwm - abbreviation for (see) Clockwork Mod.

cyanogen - a team of developers spanning multiple devices. Probably the most famous of development teams releasing heavily modified AOSP based ROMs. If there's any AOSP ROM thread for any Android device forum, there will be credits to cyanogen in there.

dalvik-cache - Dalvik-cache is a way of optimising applications. Its a way of ensuring all the dependencies an app requires are "at hand" to speed up use. It is rebuilt at start up when wiped. A de-odexed system will have more dalvik-cache than an odexed one.

de-odex - The act of removing odex from a stock ROM. On Stock ROMs, instead of using a dalvik-cache for system apps, we use .odex files instead. Generally custom ROMs prefer de-odexed configurations as it's easier to wipe and maintain when you make changes to your system.

deadline - this is a scheduler (see scheduler). There is some info that can be read here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/i-o-schedulers/

download mode - Samsung's own mode accessible via the bootloader. Hold Vul down, Home and power (from off) to boot here. Also referred to as "Odin Mode". This replaces the "fastboot mode" that most other devices have.

efs - Important partition / directory on the root of your phone. Ensures the IMEI number is present in the software. Back this up, because if it breaks, it's gone for ever. You need Samsung to repair.

eMMC - Embedded MultiMedia Card. This is like an SD card, but it's embedded in a device. the eMMC is a NAND flash memory chip which acts as internal memory (storage) on the S3.

exFAT - exFAT is a Microsoft proprietary (closed source) file system, used for media (sdcards, USB flash memory, HDD's etc). ExFAT is not natively supported in Linux and AOSP ROMs

ext - ext2, ext3 and ext4 are file systems created specifically for Linux. Our internal memory is ext (or "extended" as it is known). This can sometimes be used to refer to an ext partition, an old school method of partitioning your sdcard to link the internal ext partitions to to increase app space on low memory devices. Ext file systems cannot be read on Windows machines without special applications / drivers installed.

extSdCard - This is referring to the removable Micro SD card. Samsung ROMs mount the rremovable sd card in Android as /extSdCard. Recoveries such as CWM will mount it as external_sd. Both of these terms are valid, but it depends if the phone is booted to Android or Recovery. In AOSP ROMs, the removable SD card is often mounted as /sdcard1

FAT32 - another file system which is quite old now but still a good one. This is the only file system that is compatible with all devices unconditionally. The downfall is a maximum file size limit of 4 GB. Windows disk management GUI can only format up to 32 GB. Windows command lien tool "diskpart" can format up to the max volume size of 2 TB, as can many 3rd party tools such as easeus.

flash - Flash means a few things. It can refer to the fact that our internal memory is NAND Flash (Solid state) memory. It can also be the act of "flashing", or "to flash", meaning to install to flash memory. This doesn't really refer to installing an .apk. Rather, it refers to bigger, OS, System or device wide altering modifications (Kernels, recoveries, ROMs etc). Always back up before flashing.

Custom ROMS are usually flashed from your SDcard via recovery, as are kernels and basebands however, kernels and basebands usually can come in .tar format which means odin/mobile odin can flash them too from your computer/sdcard respectively. Rule of thumb, .zip from sdcard via recovery. .tar from sdcard via mobile odin or from computer using odin

flash counter - See binary counter

framework - The android frameworks are a standard structure within android that the OS is built around. It determines things like policy (how the OS should manage an event). It controls everything from notification behaviours to the theme. Anything visual within Android with exception to the notification area is controlled by framework-res-apk. AOSP and most manufactured ROMs only have 1 frsamework-res, however Samsugn Touchwiz ROMs alsu have a twframework-res.apk for Samsung only visuals.

gapps - Google Apps (gapps). AOSP ROMs like Cyanogen, have been asked by google to not include the google apps packages, which are proprietary to google (meaning not open source). This means that when you download these roms, you need to flash a gapps package separately. They are usually available as link in the ROM thread

governor - governors are included with kernels. I will not go into too much detail but essentially, the governor is a set of instructions which tell the kernel how to manage the CPU. It can control when the CPU ramps up or down, or how long it stays at a certain frequency. Most custom kernels come with a selection of governors to choose from using things like Set CPU. The governor settings for each can also be fine tuned or tweaked to y7our liking.

hotplug - this is a governor (see governor). Governors are explained in great detail here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/governors-explained/ - not all these governors are valid for our device, but it's a good technical read.

jig - a small usb device that plugs into the USB port of the S3. Designed to provoke "bricked" S3's to boot to download mode in an attempt to help recovery the device.

kernel - The kernel, it is said - is the "beating heart" of Android (or any OS for that matter). It sit's between the application layer (Android, applications etc) and the Hardware (CPU, Memory) and handles all transactions between the physical and the virtual. It passes information and instructions inbetween and translates. Very important stuff!

lulzactive - this is a governor (see governor). Governors are explained in great detail here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/governors-explained/ - not all these governors are valid for our device, but it's a good technical read.

md5 checksum - md5 checksum is a way to verify that a zip (or file) is not corrupt. A developer or uploader may provide a hexidecimal string called an md5 checksum. This checksum is a test done on the files that gives it a unique string based on it's contents. If you download the file and check the checksum and it does not match, it means the contents of the file have altered, usually meaning it is corrupt and shouldn't be flashed.

An md5 checksum is easy to check on android. My preferred method is using an android terminal emulator. Lets imaging I have a file on my external sd card called "rom.zip"...

In terminal emulator, type "md5 /mnt/extSdCard/rom.zip" and the terminal will give you an md5 string, If this matches the uploader's string, you're good to go.

If you're downloading something on Windows and then transferring it to your phone, it's a good idea to check md5 on both.

Linux is pretty much the same except the command is "md5sum"

For windows: http://www.winmd5.com/

modem - see baseband

NAND - NAND is a type of Flash memory. If anyone say's "NAND" to you, they are talking about the internal memory (Storage) of your device.

nandroid - nandroid refers to a backup taken or restored via custom recoveries. This is a universal term, although nowadays most recoveries simply say "backup" or "restore", but it is a nandroid backup they will be taking or restoring, which got it's name from the NAND flash memory that Android devices use internally. Nandroids are often only compatible with the variant of recovery you have. For example, a backup taken with CWM may not be compatible with TWRP, unless they introduce a compatibility setting in the future, which Philz recovery has done.

noop - this is a scheduler (see scheduler). There is some info that can be read here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/i-o-schedulers/

oem - Original Equipment Manufacturer. The OEM ROM for us is teh one the Manufacturer (Samsung) shipped with the phone.

overclock - overclocking is to set the CPU clock speed (frequency) higher than intended by the manufacturer. For example, the S3 has a 1.4 GHz (1400 MHz) maximum clock speed. With the use of a custom kernel and an application such as Set CPU, you can set this higher, to 1.6GHz or maybe even higher.

The risk is that the higher clock speed uses more voltage and voltage = heat. A higher clock with higher heat can permanently damage the CPU. Overclocking is usually paired with undervolting for these reasons. Another risk is instability. Each individual CPU has different tolerances due to imperfections in the manufacturing process. My CPU may be stable at 1.6 GHz, yet yours may be stable at a higher or lower clock. The side effects you will see here will be random reboots when the phone is under load.

pegasusq - this is a governor (see governor). Governors are explained in great detail here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/governors-explained/ - not all these governors are valid for our device, but it's a good technical read.

radio - see baseband

RAM - Random Access Memory. Great explanation here: http://www.androidcentral.com/ram-what-it-how-its-used-and-why-you-shouldnt-care

scheduler - built into kernels, there are schedulers to determine how CPU load is spread across different tasks. There are also read / write schedulers that spread out read and write operation priorities across the internal memory. Like Governors, there are different types of scheduler available.

sio - this is a scheduler (see scheduler). There is some info that can be read here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/i-o-schedulers/

stock - Imagine your phone is on a shelf in a shop. The phone is "stock" of that shop. If anything is referred to as "stock", this means standard for the device / as it was when shipped / as per factory set up. It is the opposite of custom. Some people refer to AOSP ROMs as "Stock Android". This may be the case for some phones, like the Nexus devices, but generally this is incorrect. Stock is whatever the phone came with as standard.

triangle away - an application designed to reset the binary counter. Warning, newer bootloaders (4.1.1+) now re-increment the binary counter at boot, so some trickery is required to get the counter to remain 0. This can be troublesome if you need to return for warranty.

undervolt - to undervolt is to lower the voltage used, either by the CPU or the GPU. Kernels assign a static voltage to each clock speed. For example, 200 MHz = 900 mV, 300MHz = 925 mV. Undervolting is the process of lowering this voltage staticaly for each clock speed, which potentially will save battery, although many people think it wont have much affect. Beware, undervolting too much can cause instability. When a clock frequency hasn't got enough power to sustain, the device will likely reboot or power off.

vanilla - meaning plain. Often used to refer to the "pure" android. AOSP without OEM skins, UI's and Launchers etc. The people who incorrectly use "Stock" to describe AOSP, really mean vanilla.

zzmove - this is a governor (see governor). Governors are explained in great detail here: http://www.alliance-rom.com/community/wiki/governors-explained/ - not all these governors are valid for our device, but it's a good technical read.