Homebrew 3DSX vs CIA

[Deleted member 381889]

I'm wondering what the limitations and advantages of the both

 

[daxtsu]

(Advantages are given with "+" and disadvantages are given with "-")
3DSX:
+Easier to adapt to exploits since installing homebrew CIAs requires CFW
+Somewhat easier to "install" since you just toss them in a folder on the SD card, while a CIA has to be installed with a CIA manager
+From the programming side of things, it offers a quicker way of testing via netloading, but there's a rough CIA version of it (however, it's not quite as easy to use)
-Runs in the arguably less stable *hax environment
-Limited permissions in terms of what system services you can run; specific requirements require piggybacking onto system apps or games
-Limited size for code, ~2MB max without piggybacking onto a large game like Smash or MH4U
-No dynarec/dynamic code generation without an ARM11 kernel exploit

CIA:
+No realistic code size limit (much, much larger than 3DSX allows for generally)
+Runs in a more stable environment (CIA is a native format to the 3DS, and CFWs generally only patch signatures and few other things, so the OS is typically much more stable than when *hax is running)
+Dynarec/kernel access via svcBackdoor with no extra effort needed
+Can ask for any services as long as the RSF used to make the CIA requests them
-Somewhat more difficult to install due to needing a CIA manager
-Somewhat slower to test without using a special lib by cpasjuste


Basically, CIAs offer stability and access to everything, while 3DSX works without CFW and is more adaptable to non-CFW environments, at the cost of limited code size and some stability.

 

[Deleted member 381889]

(Advantages are given with "+" and disadvantages are given with "-")
3DSX:
+Easier to adapt to exploits since installing homebrew CIAs requires CFW
+Somewhat easier to "install" since you just toss them in a folder on the SD card, while a CIA has to be installed with a CIA manager
+From the programming side of things, it offers a quicker way of testing via netloading, but there's a rough CIA version of it (however, it's not quite as easy to use)
-Runs in the arguably less stable *hax environment
-Limited permissions in terms of what system services you can run; specific requirements require piggybacking onto system apps or games
-Limited size for code, ~2MB max without piggybacking onto a large game like Smash or MH4U
-No dynarec/dynamic code generation without an ARM11 kernel exploit

CIA:
+No realistic code size limit (much, much larger than 3DSX allows for generally)
+Runs in a more stable environment (CIA is a native format to the 3DS, and CFWs generally only patch signatures and few other things, so the OS is typically much more stable than when *hax is running)
+Dynarec/kernel access via svcBackdoor with no extra effort needed
+Can ask for any services as long as the RSF used to make the CIA requests them
-Somewhat more difficult to install due to needing a CIA manager
-Somewhat slower to test without using a special lib by cpasjuste


Basically, CIAs offer stability and access to everything, while 3DSX works without CFW and is more adaptable to non-CFW environments, at the cost of limited code size and some stability.

Thanks! This is a very good explanation. So my conclusion is that CIAs are generally better if you're just installing them (not creating them) and using them? As long as you can stand the wait of installing, of course

 

[daxtsu]

Thanks! This is a very good explanation. So my conclusion is that CIAs are generally better if you're just installing them (not creating them) and using them? As long as you can stand the wait of installing, of course

Homebrew CIAs tend to be under 20 megabytes (minus those huge video CIAs that Rinnegatamante's video stuff makes), so they should install in mere seconds.

 

[Deleted member 381889]

Homebrew CIAs tend to be under 20 megabytes (minus those huge video CIAs that Rinnegatamante's video stuff makes), so they should install in mere seconds.

Mhm, thanks!

 

[Alex4nder001]

What takes up more space on the SD card: A .3dsx homebrew app or an installed CIA version of it?

 

[Deleted User]

What takes up more space on the SD card: A .3dsx homebrew app or an installed CIA version of it?

Normally the cia version, but only by a few kilobytes.