Difference between revisions of "Category talk:Emulators"
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: 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) | ||
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| + | :: 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) | ||
Latest revision as of 12:47, 26 July 2025
Confusion about some things
I think the discussion 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? 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. 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? Jnc (talk) 12:47, 26 July 2025 (CEST)
