.. _glossary:

Glossary of Terms
#################

.. glossary::
   :sorted:

   API
      (Application Program Interface) A defined set of routines and protocols for
      building application software.

   application
      The set of user-supplied files that the Zephyr build system uses
      to build an application image for a specified board configuration.
      It can contain application-specific code, kernel configuration settings,
      and at least one Makefile.
      The application's kernel configuration settings direct the build system
      to create a custom kernel that makes efficient use of the board's
      resources.
      An application can sometimes be built for more than one type of board
      configuration (including boards with different CPU architectures),
      if it does not require any board-specific capabilities.

   application image
      A binary file that is loaded and executed by the board for which
      it was built.
      Each application image contains both the application's code and the
      Zephyr kernel code needed to support it. They are compiled as a single,
      fully-linked binary.
      Once an application image is loaded onto a board, the image takes control
      of the system, initializes it, and runs as the system's sole application.
      Both application code and kernel code execute as privileged code
      within a single shared address space.

   board
      A target system with a defined set of devices and capabilities,
      which can load and execute an application image. It may be an actual
      hardware system or a simulated system running under QEMU.
      The Zephyr kernel supports a :ref:`variety of boards <boards>`.

   board configuration
      A set of kernel configuration options that specify how the devices
      present on a board are used by the kernel.
      The Zephyr build system defines one or more board configurations
      for each board it supports. The kernel configuration settings that are
      specified by the build system can be over-ridden by the application,
      if desired.

   IDT
      (Interrupt Descriptor Table) a data structure used by the x86
      architecture to implement an interrupt vector table. The IDT is used
      to determine the correct response to interrupts and exceptions.

   ISR
      (Interrupt Service Routine) Also known as an interrupt handler, an ISR
      is a callback function whose execution is triggered by a hardware
      interrupt (or software interrupt instructions) and is used to handle
      high-priority conditions that require interrupting the current code
      executing on the processor.

   kernel
      The set of Zephyr-supplied files that implement the Zephyr kernel,
      including its core services, device drivers, network stack, and so on.

   XIP
      (eXecute In Place) a method of executing programs directly from long
      term storage rather than copying it into RAM, saving writable memory for
      dynamic data and not the staic program code.