Microcode is a computer hardware technique that interposes a layer of organisation between the CPU hardware and the programmer-visible instruction set architecture of the computer. As such, the microcode is a layer of hardware-level instructions that implement higher-level machine code instructions or internal state machine sequencing in many digital processing elements. Microcode is used in general-purpose central processing units, although in current desktop CPUs, it is only a fallback path for cases that the faster hardwired control unit cannot handle.
A simulation is an approximate imitation of the operation of a process or system; that represents its operation over time.
An embedded system is a computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electrical system. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including electrical or electronic hardware and mechanical parts. Because an embedded system typically controls physical operations of the machine that it is embedded within, it often has real-time computing constraints. Embedded systems control many devices in common use today. Ninety-eight percent of all microprocessors manufactured are used in embedded systems.
In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model of a computer. It is also referred to as architecture or computer architecture. A realization of an ISA, such as a central processing unit (CPU), is called an implementation.
In computer engineering, a hardware description language (HDL) is a specialized computer language used to describe the structure and behavior of electronic circuits, and most commonly, digital logic circuits.
Simics is a full-system simulator used to run unchanged production binaries of the target hardware at high-performance speeds. Simics was originally developed by the Swedish Institute of Computer Science (SICS), and then spun off to Virtutech for commercial development in 1998. Virtutech was acquired by Intel in 2010 and Simics is now marketed by Wind River Systems, which was in the past a subsidiary of Intel.
In software development, a breakpoint is an intentional stopping or pausing place in a program, put in place for debugging purposes. It is also sometimes simply referred to as a pause.
In computer engineering, microarchitecture, also called computer organization and sometimes abbreviated as µarch or uarch, is the way a given instruction set architecture (ISA) is implemented in a particular processor. A given ISA may be implemented with different microarchitectures; implementations may vary due to different goals of a given design or due to shifts in technology.
twoOStwo was a commercial software product developed by Parallels Software Studio. The workstation software consisted of a virtual machine suite for Intel x86-compatible computers which allowed the creation and execution of multiple x86 virtual computers simultaneously. Each virtual machine instance could execute its own guest operating system including Windows, Linux, OS/2 and BSD variants.
Virtutech was founded in 1998 as a spin-off from the Swedish Institute of Computer Science (SICS), in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2004, the headquarters was moved to San Jose, California, USA. The Stockholm site remains the company's R&D center. The company's main product is Simics software, used by teams of software developers to simulate computer systems. This facilitates the development, testing, and debugging of embedded software that runs devices such as high-end servers, network hardware, aerospace/military vehicles, and automobiles. Virtutech markets products that allow embedded software developers to create virtual models of hardware using an ordinary desktop computer, run specified sets of tests, and walk the programs through each step of execution, both forwards and backwards. See the Simics Wikipedia article for more on the product.
An instruction set simulator (ISS) is a simulation model, usually coded in a high-level programming language, which mimics the behavior of a mainframe or microprocessor by "reading" instructions and maintaining internal variables which represent the processor's registers.
In integrated circuit design, hardware emulation is the process of imitating the behavior of one or more pieces of hardware with another piece of hardware, typically a special purpose emulation system. The emulation model is usually based on a hardware description language source code, which is compiled into the format used by emulation system. The goal is normally debugging and functional verification of the system being designed. Often an emulator is fast enough to be plugged into a working target system in place of a yet-to-be-built chip, so the whole system can be debugged with live data. This is a specific case of in-circuit emulation.
Simulation software is based on the process of modeling a real phenomenon with a set of mathematical formulas. It is, essentially, a program that allows the user to observe an operation through simulation without actually performing that operation. Simulation software is used widely to design equipment so that the final product will be as close to design specs as possible without expensive in process modification. Simulation software with real-time response is often used in gaming, but it also has important industrial applications. When the penalty for improper operation is costly, such as airplane pilots, nuclear power plant operators, or chemical plant operators, a mock up of the actual control panel is connected to a real-time simulation of the physical response, giving valuable training experience without fear of a disastrous outcome.
ARM Instruction Set Simulator, ARMulator, is one of the software development tools provided by the development systems business unit of ARM Limited to all users of ARM-based chips. It owes its heritage to the early development of the instruction set by Sophie Wilson. Part of this heritage is still visible in the provision of a Tube BBC Micro model in ARMulator.
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system to behave like another computer system. An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peripheral devices designed for the guest system. Emulation refers to the ability of a computer program in an electronic device to emulate another program or device. Many printers, for example, are designed to emulate HP LaserJet printers because so much software is written for HP printers. If a non-HP printer emulates an HP printer, any software written for a real HP printer will also run in the non-HP printer emulation and produce equivalent printing. Since at least the 1990s, many video game enthusiasts have used emulators to play classic arcade games from the 1980s using the games' original 1980s machine code and data, which is interpreted by a current-era system.
In computer engineering, computer architecture is a set of rules and methods that describe the functionality, organization, and implementation of computer systems. Some definitions of architecture define it as describing the capabilities and programming model of a computer but not a particular implementation. In other definitions computer architecture involves instruction set architecture design, microarchitecture design, logic design, and implementation.
MikroSim is an educational software computer program for hardware-non-specific explanation of the general functioning and behaviour of a virtual processor, running on the Microsoft Windows operating system. Devices like miniaturized calculators, microcontroller, microprocessors, and computer can be explained on custom-developed instruction code on a register transfer level controlled by sequences of micro instructions (microcode). Based on this it is possible to develop an instruction set to control a virtual application board at higher level of abstraction.
Microarchitecture simulation is an important technique in computer architecture research and computer science education. It is a tool for modeling the design and behavior of a microprocessor and its components, such as the ALU, cache memory, control unit, and data path, among others. The simulation allows researchers to explore the design space as well as to evaluate the performance and efficiency of novel microarchitecture features. For example, several microarchitecture components, such as branch predictors, re-order buffer, and trace cache, went through numerous simulation cycles before they become common components in contemporary microprocessors of today. In addition, the simulation also enables educators to teach computer organization and architecture courses with hand-on experiences.
OVPsim is a multiprocessor platform emulator used to run unchanged production binaries of the target hardware. It has public APIs allowing users to create their own processor, peripheral and platform models. Various models are available as open source. OVPsim is a key component of the Open Virtual Platforms initiative (OVP), an organization created to promote the use of open virtual platforms for embedded software development. OVPSim requires OVP registration to download.
VisualSim Architect is an electronic system-level software for modeling and simulation of electronic systems, embedded software and semiconductors. VisualSim Architect is a commercial version of the Ptolemy II research project at University of California Berkeley. The product was first released in 2003. VisualSim is a graphical tool that can be used for performance trade-off analyses using such metrics as bandwidth utilization, application response time and buffer requirements. It can be used for architectural analysis of algorithms, components, software instructions and hardware/ software partitioning.
