/[gxemul]/trunk/RELEASE

This is repository of my old source code which isn't updated any more. Go to git.rot13.org for current projects!

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-revision 8 by dpavlin,
Mon Oct  8 16:18:19 2007 UTC
+revision 30 by dpavlin,
Mon Oct  8 16:20:40 2007 UTC
 Line 1
- Release notes for GXemul 0.3.3.2
+ Release notes for Gavare's eXperimental Emulator (GXemul), 0.4.2
- ================================
+ ================================================================
- Copyright (C) 2003-2005  Anders Gavare.
+ Copyright (C) 2003-2006  Anders Gavare.
- GXemul is an experimental instruction-level machine emulator. It can be
+ GXemul is an experimental instruction-level machine emulator. Several
- used to run binary code for (among others) MIPS-based machines. Several
+ emulation modes are available. In some modes, processors and surrounding
- emulation modes are available. For some emulation modes, processors and
+ hardware components are emulated well enough to let unmodified operating
- surrounding hardware components are emulated well enough to let unmodified
+ systems (e.g. NetBSD) run as if they were running on a real machine.
- operating systems run as if they were running on a real machine.
+ The documentation lists the machines and guest operating systems that can
- I have verified that the following "guest" operating systems can run
+ be regarded as "working" in GXemul. The best working guest operating
- inside the emulator:
+ systems are probably NetBSD/pmax, NetBSD/cats, and OpenBSD/cats.
-     Guest operating system             Emulated machine
-     ----------------------             ----------------
+ Changes between release 0.4.1 and 0.4.2 include, among other things:
-     NetBSD/pmax 2.0 (and 1.6.2)        DECstation 5000/200
-     OpenBSD/pmax 2.8-BETA              DECstation 5000/200
+     o)  The NetWinder emulation mode now works well enough to let
-     Ultrix 4.2-4.5                     DECstation 5000/200
+         NetBSD/netwinder run from a disk image.
-     Sprite demo harddisk image         DECstation 5000/200
-     Debian GNU/Linux for DECstation    DECstation 5000/200
+         (NetBSD/netwinder has to be installed manually, though, because
-     Redhat Linux 7.1 for mips          DECstation 5000/200
+         there is no installation ramdisk kernel. The GXemul documentation
-     NetBSD/arc 1.6.2                   Acer PICA-61
+         has an example of how to install NetBSD/netwinder using an emulated
-     OpenBSD/arc 2.3                    Acer PICA-61
+         NetBSD/pmax machine.)
-     NetBSD/hpcmips 2.0                 NEC MobilePro 770, 780, 800, 880
-     NetBSD/cobalt 2.0                  Cobalt
+     o)  Algorithmics P5064 emulation works well enough to let NetBSD/algor
+         run from a disk image. (Similar to NetBSD/netwinder, it has to
- A couple of other emulation modes exist. Some of these modes are almost
+         be installed manually, using another emulated machine.)
- working well enough to run complete guest operating systems, but most are
- just skeletons. The modes that work are listed in the documentation.
+     o)  PCI configuration register writes can now be handled, which allows
+         NetBSD/Malta (evbmips) 3.0.1 and NetBSD/cobalt 3.0.1 to run from
- The emulator can also be used in other experiments; it does not have to
+         PCI IDE harddisk images. (Previously, only NetBSD 2.1 worked for
- run entire guest operating systems. It is important to remember, though,
+         the Malta and Cobalt emulation modes.)
- that GXemul does not simulate things smaller than an instruction; this
- means that pipe-line stalls, penalties caused by branch-prediction misses,
+     o)  Some performance increases:
- and other effects are not simulated.
+         The virtual translation table update routine has been simplified
- Summary of changes between release 0.3.2 and 0.3.3.2:
+         to work the same way for 32-bit and 64-bit emulation, and this
+         apparently results in a speedup for all 64-bit modes.
-         x)  When booting from an ISO9660 (CDROM) filesystem image, the kernel
-             can now in some cases be read directly from the image, so there is
+         For 32-bit MIPS, some more instruction combinations have been added.
-             no need any longer to supply an external kernel. (It is a quick,
-             buggy, and very ugly hack, but it sometimes works.)
+ Please read the HISTORY files for more details.
-         x)  Mixing more than one disk image type (SCSI, IDE, PC-style floppy)
-             within one emulated machine is now possible. (There is however no
-             stable emulation mode yet that uses this.)
-         x)  Many minor updates and bugfixes.
  Files included in this release are:
-   BUGS                        A list of known bugs.
    HISTORY                     Detailed revision history / changelog.
    LICENSE                     Copyright message / license.
    README                      Quick start instructions, for the impatient.
    RELEASE                     This file.
    TODO                        TODO notes.
    configure, Makefile.skel    sh and make scripts for building GXemul.
+   demos                       Tutorial-like demos of testmachine functionality.
    doc                         Documentation.
    experiments                 Experimental code. (Usually not needed.)
    src                         Source code.
-   tests                       Regression tests.
- To build the emulator, run the ./configure script, and then run make.
+ To build the emulator, run the configure script, and then run make. This
+ should work on most Unix-like systems.
- Building the emulator should work on most Unix-like systems. (One system which
- is specifically known to NOT work is Ultrix/RISC inside the emulator; Ultrix
- chokes on the configure script and the default cc in Ultrix doesn't work.)
  Regarding files in the src/include/ directory: only some of these are written
  by me, the rest are from other sources (such as NetBSD). The license text says
-Line 133 
 them like this is in order:
+Line 125 
 them like this is in order:
      This product includes software developed by Marc Horowitz.
+     This product includes software developed by Brini.
+     This product includes software developed by Mark Brinicombe
+     for the NetBSD Project.
+     This product includes software developed by TooLs GmbH.
+     This product includes software developed by Manuel Bouyer.
+     This product includes software developed by the Alice Group.
+     This product includes software developed by Ichiro FUKUHARA.
+ Also, src/include/alpha_rpb.h requires the following:
+     Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 Carnegie-Mellon University.
+     All rights reserved.
+     Author: Keith Bostic, Chris G. Demetriou
+     Permission to use, copy, modify and distribute this software and
+     its documentation is hereby granted, provided that both the copyright
+     notice and this permission notice appear in all copies of the
+     software, derivative works or modified versions, and any portions
+     thereof, and that both notices appear in supporting documentation.
  See individual files for license details, if you plan to redistribute GXemul
  or reuse code.
- Thanks to everyone who has provided me with feedback.
+ Thanks to (in no specific order) Joachim Buss, Olivier Houchard, Juli Mallett,
+ Juan Romero Pardines, Alec Voropay, G�ran Weinholt, Alexander Yurchenko, and
+ everyone else who has provided me with feedback.
  If you have found GXemul useful in some way, or feel like sending me comments
  or feedback in general, then mail me at anders(at)gavare.se.

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