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- From: clr1@st-andrews.ac.uk (Chris Livingston Rae)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn,comp.sys.acorn.tech,comp.emulators.misc,comp.emulator.misc
- Subject: BBC Emulators
- Date: 18 Sep 1994 14:55:27 GMT
- Message-ID: <35hkcv$t3g@calvin.st-and.ac.uk>
-
- This is a list of BBC emulators currently under progress, as far as I
- know. These people are all on my BBC emulator development mailing list
- (mail me for details). It's really just a reference for all of the people
- who have mailed me (and the authors) asking about the emulators.
-
- Enjoy!
-
- Chris
-
-
-
- - cut here ------------------------------------------------------------
-
- This is a list of all BBC B emulators currently under progress, to the
- best of my knowledge. Any updates, alterations or additions should be
- mailed to me, clr1@st-and.ac.uk. For those of you already on the list;
- while I was compiling it I thought of a couple of extra things to put in.
- Could you please mail me with version number, latest release date and any
- hardware requirements if you want them to be included.
-
- Thanks,
-
- Chris Rae
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
- Emulator: Beeb
- Author(s): James Bonfield (jkb@mrc-molecular-biology.cambridge.ac.uk) and
- Steve Youell (8271 emulation) (wgc-e@rx.xerox.com)
- Platform: Unix, with or without X11
- Language: C
- Implementation (core emulator):
-
- Currently has good 6502 and reasonable 6522 support. The keyboard is
- handled correctly by generating the necessary 6522 interrupts and letting
- the "hardware" do the work. Graphics support is dodgy. Sideways RAM and
- ROMS work fine too. I have minimal 6845 support, but this currently does
- work for modes 0, 1 and 2. It even provides some semblance of hardware
- scrolling (but only in the Y direction). I'll rewrite the 6845 again from
- scratch though as I've got better ideas now which should allow for split
- screen modes.
-
- Implementation (8271 emulation):
-
- The idea is to emulate the 8271 rather than OSWORD &7F as in effect all
- OSWORD &7F does is to give the 8271 all the data in the argument block.
- There will also be the Disk Box which is an X program for selecting disks
- and giving them to the drive. It's quite easy really, I don't have to
- worry about particularly tight programming as anything I write will be
- faster than the beeb disk drive. The idea is to have a program on the beeb
- which will take a disk and make an image from it containing all the sector
- id's and data. The final goal which would truly show off the beeb emulator
- and the disk drive I am writing would be to be able to have a disk image
- of exile, to be able to load it, protection 'n' all and then for the
- emulator to run it. [SY]
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
- Emulator: untitled as far as I know
- Author(s): Mike Borcherds (borchrds.teaching@physics.oxford.ac.uk)
- Platform: Archimedes
- Language: ARM Assembler
- Implementation:
-
- It supports all the standard graphics modes (and some that are odd
- widths/heights - such as Repton). It does beeb sounds quite well.
- Emulates the palette. Has a disk operating system. All in all it is
- fairly well developed. However, it cheats somewhat on keyboard emulation
- and does not really emulate much of the system/user vias.
-
- Still, it runs a lot of games - Arcadians,Repton,ChuckieEgg, etc. It does
- not handle split screens/palette yet. [MC]
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
- Emulator: BPC
- Author(s): Mark Cooke (ee2015@mail.bristol.ac.uk)
- Platform: PC DOS
- Language: Assembler
- Implementation:
-
- Final stages - sound/ADC left to do. A bit of tweaking of the screen
- update loop for speed.
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
- Emulator: Xbeeb
- Author(s): James Fidell (jfid@micro-focus-ltd.co.uk)
- Platform: Unix / X Windows
- Language: C
- Implementation:
-
- MODE 7 teletext works, near enough complete 6502 and 6522 emulation, some
- CRTC emulation, no sound, no graphics. [JF]
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
- Emulator: MacBeebEm
- Version: 12 September 1994
- Author(s): Chris Lam, Aston University, UK (lamcw@sun.aston.ac.uk)
- Platform: Apple Macintosh
- Language: Think C 6.00
- Implementation:
-
- 6502 CPU - some invalid opcodes included.
-
- 6522 system via - 100Hz (T1) ints, 50Hz video sync ints, asynchronous
- keyboard
- ints.
-
- 6522 user via - timers T1 & T2 working.
-
- 6845 CRTC - graphics modes 0 to 6 are fully supported. a reasonable TELETEXT
- mode is available (but no fancy graphics or colours). MODE 8 (in AUG) also
- works.
-
- ULA video - flashing colours and PALETTE are working.
-
- runs BASIC, Wordwise Plus, Sphinx Adventure, Arcadians, Chuckie Egg,
- Planetoids, Snapper, White Knight II, Zalaga. These all work very reliably.
- This may give the impression that MacBeebEm is near completion but this is
- not the case!
-
- All editing works and a copy cursor is present.
- Speed is slower than a real beeb but it's acceptable (on an LC475).
-
- Future plans:
-
- some form of saving and loading programs. multi-mode graphics screens.
- [CL]
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
- Emulator: BBC386
- Author: Stephen Quan (quan@sol.surv.utas.edu.au)
- Platform: MS-DOS, Unix
- Language: 386+ and C
- Implementation:
-
- I am currently working on both a C version and a 386 (assembly) version of
- an emulator for a bbc model-b. The C version will actually run on any
- platform with a C compiler (no graphics yet...), but it is terrible slow
- since I have not implemented any optimisations. Rather, I use the C
- version to verify my ideas before I dive into deep water with assembly
- code.
-
- The current status is, I have implemented 6502 without BCD and have hacks
- for OSWRCH and OSRDCH.
-
- I am now working on the keyboard and other shiela functions in FE40-FE4F.
- When this is completed, I can remove the hack for OSRDCH. Later on I will
- work on some of the 6845 (sheila functions in FE00-FE0F, I think) so I can
- remove the hack for OSWRCH.
-
- Overall, the hardware side, Fred, Jim & Sheila seems a bit more complex
- than I thought, and reading the AUG, studying (2nd semester started) and
- working, will mean I might be forced to a snail's pace. [SQ]
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
- Emulator: My6502
- Version: 2.7 (5 August 1994)
- Author(s): Chris Rae (clr1@st-and.ac.uk)
- Platform: IBM PC
- Language: 80286 assembler under Turbo Pascal 6 IDE
- Requires: 286+ processor
- Implementation:
-
- 6502 instruction set working okay; still some minor bugs. No SHEILA I/O
- implemented, OSWRCH and OSRDCH trapped and not implemented. Boots into
- BASIC okay. [CR]
-
- Future plans:
-
- To implement &FE30 ROM switching, keyboard, then screen.
-
- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
- Emulator: BBCEm
- Author(s): Nigel Something; sorry - no surname! (apm1001@phx.cam.ac.uk)
- Platform: Acorn Archimedes
- Language: ARM Assembler
- Implementation:
-
- Has no hardware poking as yet, can read keyboard boot up state on "switch
- on", takes input by blasting key presses into the 16byte keyboard buffer.
- Output is done after processing as the monitor is not yet connected. Can
- boot up to BASIC prompt in 1.5 secs Can execute BASIC programs and draw
- graphics. There are some OPcode bugs that cause it to crash occasionally. [N]
-
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
- --
- +-------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
- | /-- |_| /-- | (~ | "And the driving is like the driving of Jehu, |
- | \-- | | | | _) | the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously." |
- +-------------------+-------------------- Second Book of Kings 9 v20 -+
-
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