Showing papers on "Emulation published in 1976"

The Effects-of Emerging Technology and Emulation Requirements on Microprogramming

Abstract: The structure of microprogrammed processors is largely determined by the state of (semiconductor) technology and the requirements of the task of emulation. We discuss the impact of LSI components on microprogrammable processors and in particular, the effect of large memory arrays, LSI microprocessors (bit-slices), programmable logic arrays, and high-speed shifters.

The role of emulation in performance measurement and evaluation

Abstract: Emulation of systems makes it possible to combine the predictive power of simulation with the advantages of measurement carried under a real system workload. An emulator is a microprogrammed implementation of the basic hardware machine. It can be easily instrumented to collect performance statistics on the instruction set processor (ISP) level and support performance measurement of different configurations and software of the emulated system. This paper describes the monitoring capabilities of the Microprogrammable Multi-Processor (MMP), a powerful emulator system that serves as an experimental tool for evaluating computer systems. The measurement capabilities of the MMP on various system levels are described, as well as existing performance monitoring tools and their applications. Preliminary results contrasting the Gibson mix and measured instruction frequencies on the AN/GYK-12 computer in a TACFIRE system are given.

An APL emulator on system/370

Abstract: Emulation of an APL machine on a System/370 is exemplified by the APL Assist, a microprogram that enables APL. expressions and defined functions to be executed at the hardware level. This paper discusses what the APL Assist does, how it works, and the way it interacts with System/370 software. Execution times for APL programs with and without the Assist are compared.

An insight into PDP-11 emulation

Abstract: In order to evaluate the Nanodata QM-1 as a universal host computer, an emulator for a contemporary computer, the PDP-11, was designed and constructed. It was required that the emulator be functionally equivalent to the target, without making excessive sacrifices in emulation speed. Some properties of emulation hardware necessary to achieve these goals are identified. In addition, the paper describes a monitor designed to support different emulators concurrently on a single host machine.

The Stanford emulation laboratory

Abstract: The Stanford Emulation Laboratory is designed to support general research in the area of emulation. Central to the laboratory is a universal host machine, the EMMY, which has been designed specifically to be an unbiased, yet efficient host for a wide range of target machine architectures. Microstore in the EMMY is dynamically microprogrammable and thus is used as the primary data storage resource of the emulator. Other laboratory equipment includes a reconfigurable main memory system and an independent control processor to monitor emulation experiments. Laboratory software, including two microassemblers, is briefly described. Three laboratory applications are described: (1) A conventional target machine emulation (a system 360), (2) ''microscopic'' examination of emulated target machine I-streams, and (3) Direct execution of a high level language (Fortran II).

Stanford Emulation Laboratory. Technical report No. 118

Abstract: The Stanford Emulation Laboratory is designed to support general research in the area of emulation. Central to the laboratory is a universal host machine, the EMMY, which has been designed specifically to be an unbiased, yet efficient host for a wide range of target machine architectures. Microstore in the EMMY is dynamically microprogrammable, and thus is used as the primary data storage resource of the emulator. Other laboratory equipment includes a reconfigurable main memory system and an independent control processor to monitor emulation experiments. Laboratory software, including two microassemblers, is briefly described. Three laboratory applications are described: a conventional target machine emulation (a system 360), ''microscopic'' examination of emulated target machine I-streams, and direct execution of a high-level language (Fortran II). 13 figures.

A Diagnostic Emulator for HEAO software development

Abstract: Diagnostic Emulation is the application of microprogramming to the emulation of an operational computer to support software development and verification for that computer. A conventional technique, Interpretive Computer Simulation (ICS), has been used for many years in support of such software development and verification efforts. The ICS method is becoming less cost effective. For the development of attitude control software for NASA's High Energy Astronomical Observatory (HEAO) diagnostic emulation was considered as an alternative.This paper describes the motivation for using an ICS or diagnostic emulator to validate command and control software, the potential advantages of microprogramming, and the analysis which led to the development of the HEAO Diagnostic Emulator rather than the use of conventional techniques. Also discussed are the emulator implementation tradeoff analysis, the resulting program design, and the interface between the microprogram and the assembly language modules. The results to date are described, including the capability, speed, and reliability of the program and initial user response.

Emulation Oriented Software First Development.

Abstract: : Software First is the design philosophy whereby applications software is developed to solve specific problems prior to the availability of applications hardware. One proposes the use of an interpretive computing facility, designed around a high performance microprogrammable host machine, to support and enhance Software First in the following manner: Applications programs are initially converted into a high-level intermediate text (DEL) by a straightforward one-plus pass compiler. The intermediate text so generated is executed interactively via a microcoded interpreter. This assures that diagnostics can be generated at the source level (e.g., dumpless debugging), and allows the exploitation of the host machine's inherent capabilities to attain speedy interactive response; and the intermediate text surrogates for applications programs, having been verified by interactive debugging, are the processed by a simple generator to produce applications-hardware compatible code. This hard code is then checked out on the development system by redefining the microcode running in the host machine so that it becomes an image of the projected applications hardware.