Glossary

These are some common terms we use in Legato.

Term (aka) Definition
adef application definition file used to define the external interfaces and internal content of apps that can be built, installed, and run on target devices
AirVantage Sierra Wireless cloud
Application (app) a collection of one or more processes running one or more executables
Application core application processor, usually embedded inside the same chip set as a cellular modem
API Application Programming Interface - set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications
.api API file extension
AT see Open At
Beidou Chinese GNSS
BSP Board Support Package
Build Environment Legato's application framework
Build Tools pre-built scripts, executuables, etc to build Legato
C language the C programming language
Runtime Library Legato C Runtime Library
cdef Component definition file used to define the external interfaces and internal content of reusable software components
CDC Communication Device Class specification
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access - channel access method used by radio communication technologies
CID Packet Data Protocol (PDP) Context Identifier
CLIP/CLIR Calling Line Identification Presentation/Restriction
Component collection of code and other files that are functionally related for reuse and sharing
Config Tree device configuration database
Definition Files (def files) define system, application, and component files used as input to build tools
Device (target) modem, GPS, dev kit or any other hardware
Dev Kit Board Sierra Wireless' developer hardware
Developer Studio Sierra Wireless Windows-based IDE
DTMF dual-tone multi-frequency signaling
event-driven programming where flow is determined by events like sensor outputs
ECM Ethernet Control Modem (subclass of CDC)
Firmware (fw) permanent software programmed into read-only memory
Framework (a-f) software framework used to implement a standardized code structure
Galileo European Union's GNSS
Gateway a node (router) on a TCP/IP network that serves as an access point to another network
Git distributed revision control and source code management system
GitHub web-based hosting service for Git repositories
GLONASS Russian GNSS
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System, generic name for systems like GPS
GPIO General Purpose Input/Output, a generic pin on a chip
GPRS General packet radio service, a packet oriented mobile data service
GPS Global Positioning System, satellite navigation system
Host omputer that hosts Legato development: the dev host
IDE Integrated Development Environment
Interface software to communicate between devices or programs, or computers and users
IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity, a number to identify 3GPP devices
IPC inter-process communication
Kernel Core of an operating system (hardware abstraction, security, and software abstraction)
language independent Legato's interface definition language (IDL), similar to C
le_* C runtime library source files
MAC Media Access control - MAC address
MSD Minimum Set of Data
Modem Integrated telecom processor or external modem
NMEA National Marine Electronics Association used to communicate between marine navigation and control devices
Open AT Sierra Wireless application framework and operating system for M2M communication
PLMN Public Land Mobile Network
Process virutal memory address space executing one or more threads
Root File System file system contained on the same partition on which the root directory is located
Runtime Environment a standardized configuration for environment variables
Sandbox security mechanism for separating running programs
sdef system definition files are use to interconnect apps with each other and with the target's runtime environment (e.g., hardware devices)
Service ready to use IPC APIs
Source Sierra Wireless resource hub
Supervisor privileged process running on the target
SSH Secure Shell
smack utility to spoof MAC address
stack hardware register that holds the address of a memory location
TAIP Trimble ASCII Interface Protocol, common for vehicle monitoring
Target (device) an embedded wireless module
thread thread of execution - sequence of prgrammed instructions
Tools Target, Host, and Build tools
Toolchain development toolset linked (or chained) together
xdef all definition files: adef, cdef, sdef
Yocto Yocto open source project for BSPs