On a real Wii, a WAD is "installed." The system extracts the content to specific paths on the NAND Flash memory: /title/[HighID]/[LowID]/content/
If you want, I can:
In the context of the Dolphin Emulator , (Where’s All the Data) are archive files used to install Wii system software, "channels," and games directly to the emulator’s virtual NAND (internal flash memory). Unlike standard ROMs like ISO or WBFS files which are launched as standalone discs, WADs are typically installed to the system menu to appear as icons, similar to how they function on an actual Wii console. Core Functions of WADs in Dolphin WAD files serve several specific roles within the emulator: wii wads for dolphin
This means Dolphin is emulating the Wii, which is emulating the NES. This introduces a performance overhead, but it provides perfect compatibility because it's using Nintendo's official emulation code. On a real Wii, a WAD is "installed