# Concepts

Source: [https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/concepts.html](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/concepts.html)

The Snapdragon® Telematics Application Framework (TelAF) is designed to simplify embedded 
            automotive telematics development and connect your applications to the TelAF services. **But how do we do                that?** We've developed a set of conventions and tools that let you easily hook up your custom apps to
            existing service apps (platform services) which then in turn hook up to the OS and hardware through
            an adapter. When you are developing your apps for a target you only need to worry about how to
            connect to services and send or receive data.

This section explains all of our concepts and how to integrate the concepts into developing your apps
                and building your system. Refer to our [Glossary](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/glossary.html) to define some of our basic terminology.

## Develop

The built product of TelAF is the TelAF runtime
                environment which is created from a system. A system is how you configure and
                customize the TelAF Runtime Environment for your target and define what apps and
                platform services that you want to use. Apps are collections of components and files
                that run in a secure environment called a sandbox. At the heart of every app is one
                or more components, the component is the collection of code or other files that are
                functionally related and need to exist in the same space. Components communicate
                with each other and/or other apps through interfaces.

The following sections explain our strategies to use components and interfaces in
                developing your components, apps and systems:

| Section | Description |
| --- | --- |
| [Systems, apps, and components](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/concepts_environment.html) | Overview of Systems, Apps and Components |
| [Definition files](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/def_files.html) | Use Definition Files to build systems, apps, and<br>                                components |
| [Kernel modules](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/concepts_kernel_module.html) | Learn about Kernel Modules within a TelAF System |
| [Components](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/concepts_components.html) | Learn about components and how to integrate your code into<br>                                one |
| [Interfaces](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/concepts_interfaces.html) | Use interfaces to facilitate component and app<br>                                communication |
| [Inter-process<br>                                    Communication](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/concepts_ipc.html) | Use IPC to communicate between different processes |
| [Event-driven programming](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/concepts_events.html) | Use Event-driven Programming to trigger callback<br>                                functions |
| [API files](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-41102-3/topic/api_files.html) | Work with the API files to develop Apps |

Last Published: Apr 23, 2025

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