Introduction to the Nintendo DS

This introduction provides an overview of the NDS from an programmers perspective focusing on the interface between the NDS and the outside world as well as the technical specifications of the hardware.

Processors

The NDS has two processors internally. The "primary" processor when running NDS applications is the ARM9, while the ARM7 is a support processor. Responsibilities are split among the two processors while running NDS applications.

ARM7 specific responsibilities:

• Interfacing with the touch screen, see intro_input_touch below for more information.
• Microphone input, see intro_input_micro below for more information.
• Sound playback, see intro_output_sound below for more information.
• Interfacing with the wireless network, see Wireless Connectivity below for more information.
• Access to the Real Time Clock.

Todo:

(A03) confirm assumption about microphone being ARM7 related.

(A03) describe user output capabilities

(A03) describe wireless capabilities

Note:

There is a distinction between NDS applications and GBA applications. When running a GBA application, it appears that the ARM9 is shutdown and not available.

Input from the User

The NDS provides many input possibilies from the user.

The "most flashy" of the user interfaces is the NDS's lower touch screen. The user can simply touch the screen to provide input. The touch screen also provides a set of tempurature settings, and the NDSTech Wiki provides an algorithm for determining the tempurature based on readings of the sensors.

The X/Y coordinates provided by the touch screen must be scaled appropriately, as the coordinates do not fit within the range of the screen X/Y coordinates.

The NDS also has a built in microphone, providing a wide variety of possibilities. Of course, the most obvious would be a chat type enhancment for a group play application along the lines of Roger Wilco used in internet enabled team games.

Output to the User

Wireless Connectivity

---