Category talk:Emulators - Revision history

Jnc: /* Confusion about some things */ Now I'm more confused than ever! Is there anything that should be fixed?

2025-07-26T10:47:37Z

‎Confusion about some things: Now I'm more confused than ever! Is there anything that should be fixed?

Larsbrinkhoff: /* Confusion about some things */ Adding to the confusion?

2025-07-26T08:10:47Z

‎Confusion about some things: Adding to the confusion?

Jnc: Confusion about some things - what do people think?

2025-07-25T15:55:26Z

Confusion about some things - what do people think?

New page

==Confusion about some things==

I think the discussion [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1584617/simulator-or-emulator-what-is-the-difference here] about the difference between a simulator and emulator is fairly convincing: an 'emulator' is something that copies exactly the ''external'' behaviour of a thing (like an [[ICE]]), whereas a 'simulator' is a thing that models precisely the ''internal'' behaviour of a thing (like the [[SPICE]] circuit simulator).

Which leaves a question: are things like [[SIMH]] 'simulators', or 'emulators', by that definition?

I recall reading that for the simulated [[IMP]], they had a bit of trouble getting it to run, because it had a lot of external-timing dependencies. So they had to make it much more careful about its operating speed. (Which sounds like a 'simulator' thing in a way... but maybe an 'emulator' thing too.) Not that SMH exactly matches how most CPUs operate internally, either! And most CPU emulators can't be plugged in in place of a real one - with the possible exception of one running in a [[UniBone/QBone]]. So which are SIMH and friends?

Any way, if we decide that things like SIMH really are simulators, it looks like we'll have to re-name this category? [[User:Jnc|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc|talk]]) 17:55, 25 July 2025 (CEST)

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:47, 26 July 2025
Line 11:		Line 11:
	: I subscribe to the definition provided by the stackoverflow answer. But there is still some wiggle room with regards to simulation: to what precision do we need to model? Must a simulator be cycle accurate down to the nanosecond and keep track of ''all'' internal processor states? Does that also apply to peripheral devices? What about analog level? "To simulate a computer, you must first simulate the universe" - to paraphrase Carl Sagan. The SIMH suite is not consistent in this; individual targets may or may not model internal states.		: I subscribe to the definition provided by the stackoverflow answer. But there is still some wiggle room with regards to simulation: to what precision do we need to model? Must a simulator be cycle accurate down to the nanosecond and keep track of ''all'' internal processor states? Does that also apply to peripheral devices? What about analog level? "To simulate a computer, you must first simulate the universe" - to paraphrase Carl Sagan. The SIMH suite is not consistent in this; individual targets may or may not model internal states.
	: I believe there is a broad consensus out there that SIMH would be called emulators. Most other similar projects are. [[User:Larsbrinkhoff\|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff\|talk]]) 10:10, 26 July 2025 (CEST)		: I believe there is a broad consensus out there that SIMH would be called emulators. Most other similar projects are. [[User:Larsbrinkhoff\|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff\|talk]]) 10:10, 26 July 2025 (CEST)
		+
		+	:: Now I'm more confused than ever, about what the correct word is for things like SIMH! I'm going to officially throw my hands into the air, give up, and leave things the way they are - although I may add a few words about how 'there seems to be a broad consensus out there that things like SIMH would be called emulators'. Is there anything else that should be fixed? [[User:Jnc\|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc\|talk]]) 12:47, 26 July 2025 (CEST)

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:10, 26 July 2025
Line 8:		Line 8:

	Any way, if we decide that things like SIMH really are simulators, it looks like we'll have to re-name this category? [[User:Jnc\|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc\|talk]]) 17:55, 25 July 2025 (CEST)		Any way, if we decide that things like SIMH really are simulators, it looks like we'll have to re-name this category? [[User:Jnc\|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc\|talk]]) 17:55, 25 July 2025 (CEST)
		+
		+	: I subscribe to the definition provided by the stackoverflow answer. But there is still some wiggle room with regards to simulation: to what precision do we need to model? Must a simulator be cycle accurate down to the nanosecond and keep track of ''all'' internal processor states? Does that also apply to peripheral devices? What about analog level? "To simulate a computer, you must first simulate the universe" - to paraphrase Carl Sagan. The SIMH suite is not consistent in this; individual targets may or may not model internal states.
		+	: I believe there is a broad consensus out there that SIMH would be called emulators. Most other similar projects are. [[User:Larsbrinkhoff\|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff\|talk]]) 10:10, 26 July 2025 (CEST)