The article deals with the idea of computer emulation using the GPGPU technology in order to get performance improvements. Basic assumptions for using stream processing in computer emulation effectively are discussed and the structure of an emulator, together with the emulation technique are proposed. The emulator structure, in this case, is of distributed nature, so the communication issues are treated too. As an example demonstrating the viability of the proposal, Random Access Machine (RAM) emulator is given within the paper.
The paper deals with the design of a new hybrid RISC computer architecture, with the computation driven by a Petri net.A class of Petri nets, suitable for the purpose is proposed within the paper, based on Colored Petri nets.The design of the architecture followsstructure and memory organization, control unit and processing elements.The architecture is implemented using emuStudio emulation platform and its operation is demonstrated by an example at the end of the paper.
This article deals with some potentialities of computer emulation standardization. The approach means to find single universal technique or method, how large group of computers, with similar characteristics, can be emulated. Initial parts of the article show a thought process how the approach can be realized. Next follows an example of possible realization of the computer emulation standardization. Finally the article deals with pros and cons of the approach from various points of view.
Degree of emulator's ability to imitate emulated machine is defined by its accuracy. EmuStudio platform, used mainly for educational purposes, tries to be an accurate emulator. The most widely implemented accuracy level is preservation of emulated computer speed. Modification of host machine hardware affects the emulation speed and therefore it is necessary to guard if the emulation speed match the requirements.
Within the paper a description of communication model of plug-in based emuStudio emulation platform is given. The platform mentioned above allows the emulation of whole computer systems, configurable to the level of its components, represented by the plug-in modules of the platform. Development tasks still are in progress at the home institution of the authors. Currently the platform is exploited for teaching purposes within subjects aimed at machine-oriented languages and computer architectures. Versatility of the platform, given by its plug-in based architecture is a big advantage, when used as a teaching support tool. The paper briefly describes the emuStudio platform at its introductory part and then the mechanisms of inter-module communication are described.
Software based emulation of a real hardware is an imitation of its internal design by the software application (model), which behavior is similar to the behavior of the hardware (keeps functionality). Emulators are used with advantage in development (where expensive or old hardware is partially or completely supplied by an emulator), testing and also as a support for machine non-compatible software. Considering a concept of Von-Neumann computer, the central processing unit (CPU) emulation is a core of the computer emulator. Within this paper, theoretical aspects of a CPU emulation are treated and a concrete software solution is also presented.
