sgstair

Since I'm feeling especially helpful.... here's a listing of the frequently asked questions here and answers for them. If you have a question that you think should be here, please post it in this thread and I may add it to this post. Q: What exactly is DS Wifi and what can it do? A: the DS Wifi library I'm working on is a software toolkit for homebrew developers that will let them use the wifi capabilities on the DS in a very similar way to the way computers use a wireless network card. It's not designed to have a specific set of end uses, rather it will provide a way for the community to create application using internet support, ds-ds communications, and other things that standard wifi cards can do. Q: What license will DS Wifi be released under? A: Probably the BSD licence, I've had people also suggest the MIT license, I'll review them and pick one before release. Q: Will DS Wifi support WEP/WPA? A: The hardware has built in support for WEP, so it will be supported. WPA is a software extension of WEP that changes the key, I'm looking into what it will take to support WPA but I don't know if it can be done yet. Q: Will the DS Wifi support access points? ad hoc mode? Nifi? A: The initial release is planned to support both access points and ad-hoc operation (there are a few small technical difficulties with ad-hoc at the moment, but those will likely be fixed before release). Nifi is merely a modification of 802.11, and a raw wireless interface will be provided for those who want to construct their own nifi packets (technically it will be possible to run regular 802.11 and nifi at the same time, but this isn't a wonderful idea) - To use Nifi though, you will have to understand 802.11 enough to create your own 802.11 packets and read and understand the incoming packets. Q: What will the developer interface look like? A: The TCP/IP interface will try to mimic traditional Berkley sockets, for the purpose of allowing software to easily be ported to DS. There will also be some special API for connecting to access points, setting up IP addresses, and raw wifi traffic. Q: When will it be released??? A: Well, that's really complicated. Please try to remember that I'm working off of my own documentation of a foreign hardware system - not all of the features of the wifi hardware are completely mapped out yet, and I run into problems due to that from time to time. Also, despite my best efforts I have been unable to make lwIP do what I want it to. So, I'm not going to give an estimate as I'll probably wind up being way off the mark. I try to post updates on my website (www.akkit.org) when I have something to report. Q: Can the DS Wifi be used to run things on the DS? A: The DS Wifi Library is merely a tool for developers to add to their programs, it does not in any way change how you run code on the DS - you still will need passme/flashme/wifime to run the homebrew that the library is used in, just like any other homebrew at the moment. Q: What will you do with the money from the DS Wifi Bounty (sc.tri-bit.com)? A: Well, perhaps you're being too curious by asking a question like this... but the money will go to paying bills, keeping me fed, and buying new equipment to play with. Q: What's the deal with the DS trojan/virus/bricking thingy? A: First, see this news post (1emulation.com) - A few notes, it's a trojan, which means it will not spread, and it requires someone to download it and run it to be hurt. There are only two known files at the moment that have it, but by far most homebrew can be trusted. Just as a general rule you shouldn't be going off and running things from shady places on the net anyway Q: I have no experience writing server/client software. What do I need to learn in order to be ready to use DS Wifi in my projects? A: As programming client/server applications on the DS Will be nearly identical to programming them on the PC and other systems, there are undoubtedly other places where you can find tutorials for writing client/server software. As for what you need to learn, you will need a working knowledge of Berkley Sockets, sometimes just called 'sockets' (for which there are countless tutorials on the web). That's all that's really required, but having some understanding of how existing client/server apps work will be very useful in making your system run smoothly. Ok, if you have more questions you think should be listed here, let me know in this thread and I might add them. -Stephen

I'd leave it open, it's a valid question. As for what it can do, think of a wifi card for a laptop/pc. Yeah, whatever that can do, likely this will do too. In terms of a wifi card though, I'm just providing an interface for people to use the wifi; what can be done with that is entirely up to other developers. -Stephen

Jaja: good gues Yeah, I'm working on finishing up that menu before I do more wifi (and it will be worth it, beleive me.) -Stephen

Things are well, going. The bit bug is done with, but lwIP continues to cause no end to pain. My next news post will probably be about dumping lwIP, but not before I have time to work on it again (need another day or maybe 2 to finish a different project) So, progress is being made... will take just a bit longer yet. -Stephen

I've looked at one implementation of lwip on GC, it did use an OS, I'm not sure about the one you're talking about... Either way, I'm using the most recent version ow lwIP available, so I hope there aren't any serious problems with it -Stephen

There has been a single isolated incident in which DarkFader has written a program with the purpose of overwriting the firmware of the DS, and a few other systems. The homebrew community (and #dsdev) has not endorsed this, nor are they responsible for spreading it. Quit the hype please, people. A destructive program like this is intentional, and will not affect normal homebrew; DS wifi will NOT be affected. As usual, use caution in what you run, and don't run every odd program off of obscure/illegal forums, you'll be fine. -Stephen

Actually, I've rewritten some things and added some other code to the system and I think it will work properly with my current implementation.... note that OS != threads, and my implmentation remains non-threaded. -Stephen

Could have been.... I didn't notice an outage though. could be an outage later, as I'm linked on the front page of vgcats (for the wifi demos) atm -Stephen

Nifi is more of a lite version of 802.11, It doesn't use LLC with a frame type to emulate ethernet like standard 802.11 -Stephen

A virus for DS would be well, very difficult. It would have to live on an external medium, as integrating into the firmware is out of the question. Secondly it would have to be very selective (it could only affect a few mediums without being huge), and the ds is limited enough it couldn't exactly do anything interesting anyway. -Stephen

I've already started but ds wifi is still taking priority. -Stephen

heh heh.... well - data transfer rates aren't the biggest worry when making a ds tunnel... Like I said, I have some ideas, I may be able to make it work reliably. Until then, I won't tell you how -Stephen

Well, I have a number of ideas on how to make it work; it'll just take some experimentation though, I think. -Stephen

A tunnel isn't really related to the ds's wifi implementation, but it is possible I think, and will be one of my subsequent projects. -Stephen

A router is cheaper? really? just watch for deals; in the US you can fairly regularly get a generic wifi card of some sort for only $10-20 -Stephen

The deal with wireless routers is... they're nice to have. The wifi should work with any card though, provided you can pipe the signals through it to where you want (say, internet connection sharing to allow internet access from a wifi card) a router won't be necessary though, a wifi card in ad-hoc mode should work just as well (don't worry about how to configure it yet, if you don't know, tutorials will probably come out shortly after the release -Stephen

it will be able to do either; in the case of nifi you will have to write your own 802.11 handler to receive data, and there is an interface to send raw packets. This will be out of the question for most people but for those of us who are familiar with nifi, it should prove very useful. -Stephen

Will probably be released under BSD. -Stephen

I too have a 16MB card that doesn't work with the gbampv2 loader - it *does* however work with gbampv1, so we're looking into it to see what the problem might be.. -Stephen

You would have to ask Well, probably pay bills, with at least part of it. Other than that I'm looking at registering Eagle (PCB editing software) and getting some more equipment for other projects... -Stephen

Yes, DS-DS wifi will be working. -Stephen

I've "pinned" it here, for now. I will eventually add a more complete FAQ thread once we get more of the initial questions asked. -Stephen

I plan to support AD-Hoc, WPA is not supported at the moment but I'll look into how much work it will take to add it. -Stephen

The ds wifi library is just an interface to the internet, but it's likely someone will port a browser of some sort to it not long after it's release, although that may just be lynx or some text based browser initially. -Stephen

Correct. The wifi library will just be an addon for homebrew applications - some method of running the homebrew is still required. -Stephen