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$Id: intro.html,v 1.90 2006/08/14 17:45:47 debug Exp $ |
$Id: intro.html,v 1.100 2006/11/04 06:40:20 debug Exp $ |
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Copyright (C) 2003-2006 Anders Gavare. All rights reserved. |
Copyright (C) 2003-2006 Anders Gavare. All rights reserved. |
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hardware components are emulated well enough to let unmodified operating |
hardware components are emulated well enough to let unmodified operating |
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systems (e.g. NetBSD) run as if they were running on a real machine. |
systems (e.g. NetBSD) run as if they were running on a real machine. |
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<p>Devices and processors (ARM, MIPS, PowerPC) are not simulated with 100% |
<p>Devices and processors are not simulated with 100% accuracy. They are |
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accuracy. They are only ``faked'' well enough to allow guest operating |
only ``faked'' well enough to allow guest operating systems to run without |
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systems run without complaining too much. Still, the emulator could be of |
complaining too much. Still, the emulator could be of interest for |
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interest for academic research and experiments, such as when learning how |
academic research and experiments, such as when learning how to write |
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to write operating system code. |
operating system code. |
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<p>The emulator is written in C, does not depend on third-party libraries, |
<p>The emulator is written in C, does not depend on third-party libraries, |
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and should compile and run on most 64-bit and 32-bit Unix-like systems. |
and should compile and run on most 64-bit and 32-bit Unix-like systems. |
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image. (This works for example with DECstation emulation, or when booting |
image. (This works for example with DECstation emulation, or when booting |
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from ISO9660 CDROM images.) |
from ISO9660 CDROM images.) |
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<p>Thanks to (in no specific order) Joachim Buss, Olivier Houchard, Juli |
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Mallett, Juan Romero Pardines, Alec Voropay, Göran Weinholt, Alexander |
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Yurchenko, and everyone else who has provided me with feedback. |
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<h3>Which processor architectures does GXemul emulate?</h3> |
<h3>Which processor architectures does GXemul emulate?</h3> |
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The architectures that are emulated well enough to let at least one |
The architectures that are emulated well enough to let at least one |
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guest operating system run (per architecture) are ARM, MIPS, and |
guest operating system run (per architecture) are ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, |
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PowerPC. |
and SuperH. |
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<a name="hosts"></a> |
<a name="hosts"></a> |
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<h3>Which host architectures are supported?</h3> |
<h3>Which host architectures are supported?</h3> |
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As of release 0.4.0 of GXemul, the old binary translation subsystem, which |
GXemul should compile and run on any modern host architecture (64-bit or |
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was used for emulation of MIPS processors on Alpha and i386 hosts, has |
32-bit word-length). |
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been removed. The current dynamic translation subsystem should work on any |
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host. |
<p>(The dynamic translation engine translates into an intermediate |
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representation, but not currently into native code. This means that there |
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is no need for per-host architecture backend code.) |
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(similar to what is used in high-performance emulators such as QEMU), |
(similar to what is used in high-performance emulators such as QEMU), |
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as long as that generated code abides to the C ABI on the host, but |
as long as that generated code abides to the C ABI on the host, but |
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for now I wanted to make sure that GXemul works without such native |
for now I wanted to make sure that GXemul works without such native |
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code back-ends. For this reason, as of release 0.4.0, GXemul is |
code back-ends. For this reason, since release 0.4.0, GXemul is |
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completely free of native code back-ends. |
completely free of native code back-ends. |
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operating systems think that they are there, but for all practical |
operating systems think that they are there, but for all practical |
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purposes, these caches are non-working. |
purposes, these caches are non-working. |
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<p>The emulator is <i>not</i> timing-accurate. It can be run in a |
<p>The emulator is in general <i>not</i> timing-accurate, neither at the |
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"deterministic" mode, <tt><b>-D</b></tt>. The meaning of deterministic is |
instruction level nor on any higher level. An attempt is made to let |
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simply that running two emulations with the same settings will result in |
emulated clocks run at the same speed as the host (i.e. an emulated timer |
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identical runs. Obviously, this requires that no user interaction is |
running at 100 Hz will interrupt around 100 times per real second), but |
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taking place, and that clock speeds are fixed with the <tt><b>-I</b></tt> |
since the host speed may vary, e.g. because of other running processes, |
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option. (Deterministic in this case does <i>not</i> mean that the |
there is no guarantee as to how many instructions will be executed in |
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emulation will be identical to some actual real-world machine.) |
each of these 100 Hz cycles. |
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<p>(Note that user interaction means <i>both</i> input to the emulated |
<p>If the host is very slow, the emulated clocks might even lag behind |
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program/OS, and interaction with the emulator's debugger. Breaking into the |
the real-world clock. |
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debugger and then continuing execution may affect when/how interrupts |
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occur.) |
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<a href="guestoses.html#declinux">Linux/DECstation</a>, |
<a href="guestoses.html#declinux">Linux/DECstation</a>, |
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<a href="guestoses.html#sprite">Sprite</a>) |
<a href="guestoses.html#sprite">Sprite</a>) |
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<li><b>Acer Pica-61</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdarcinstall">NetBSD/arc</a>) |
<li><b>Acer Pica-61</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdarcinstall">NetBSD/arc</a>) |
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<li><b>NEC MobilePro 770, 780, 800, and 880</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdhpcmipsinstall">NetBSD/hpcmips</a>) |
<li><b>NEC MobilePro 770, 780, 800, 880</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdhpcmipsinstall">NetBSD/hpcmips</a>) |
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<li><b>Cobalt</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdcobaltinstall">NetBSD/cobalt</a>) |
<li><b>Cobalt</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdcobaltinstall">NetBSD/cobalt</a>) |
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<li><b>Malta</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdevbmipsinstall">NetBSD/evbmips</a>) |
<li><b>Malta</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdevbmipsinstall">NetBSD/evbmips</a>) |
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<li><b>Algorithmics P5064</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdalgorinstall">NetBSD/algor</a>) |
<li><b>Algorithmics P5064</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdalgorinstall">NetBSD/algor</a>) |
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<li><b>SGI O2 (aka IP32)</b> <font color="#0000e0">(<super>*</super>)</font> |
<li><b>SGI O2 (aka IP32)</b> <font color="#0000e0">(<super>*1</super>)</font> |
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(<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdsgimips">NetBSD/sgi</a>) |
(<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdsgimips">NetBSD/sgi</a>) |
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</ul> |
</ul> |
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<p> |
<p> |
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<ul> |
<ul> |
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<li><b>IBM 6050/6070 (PReP, PowerPC Reference Platform)</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdprepinstall">NetBSD/prep</a>) |
<li><b>IBM 6050/6070 (PReP, PowerPC Reference Platform)</b> (<a href="guestoses.html#netbsdprepinstall">NetBSD/prep</a>) |
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</ul> |
</ul> |
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<p> |
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<li><b><u>SuperH</u></b> |
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<ul> |
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<li><b>Sega Dreamcast</b> |
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<font color="#0000e0">(<super>*2</super>)</font> |
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(<a href="guestoses.html#netbsddreamcast">NetBSD/dreamcast</a>) |
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</ul> |
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</ul> |
</ul> |
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<p><small><font color="#0000e0">(<super>*</super>)</font> = |
<p> |
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Enough for root-on-nfs, but not for disk boot.)</small> |
<small><font color="#0000e0">(<super>*1</super>)</font> = |
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Enough for root-on-nfs, but not for disk boot.</small> |
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<br><small><font color="#0000e0">(<super>*2</super>)</font> = |
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Only enough to reach ramdisk userland; no root-on-nfs yet.</small> |
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<p>There is code in GXemul for emulation of many other machine types; the |
<p>There is code in GXemul for emulation of many other machine types; the |
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degree to which these work range from almost being able to run a complete |
degree to which these work range from almost being able to run a complete |
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<li>a console I/O device (putchar() and getchar()...) |
<li>a console I/O device (putchar() and getchar()...) |
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<li>an inter-processor communication device, for SMP experiments |
<li>an inter-processor communication device, for SMP experiments |
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<li>a very simple linear framebuffer device (for graphics output) |
<li>a very simple linear framebuffer device (for graphics output) |
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<li>a simple SCSI disk controller |
<li>a simple disk controller |
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<li>a simple ethernet controller |
<li>a simple ethernet controller |
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<li>a real-time clock device |
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</ul> |
</ul> |
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<p>This mode is useful if you wish to run experimental code, but do not |
<p>This mode is useful if you wish to run experimental code, but do not |