TAWS – The Amiga Workbench Simulation
taws.ch
taws.ch
I had an idea some time ago of implementing the relevant Amiga ROM libraries (intuition, graphics etc.) so that the calls could be transferred to browser DOM. The CPU would be a normal m68k emulation. Original application could be started and the windows they open would actually be DOM elements.
My first stage of this implementation was to transfer the libraries as emulations for Win32 Windows. In this implementation intuition-windows are Windows windows. :) To be clear, the idea is to emulate the API, not the HW. I guess it's like WINE but for Amiga.
I have some early POC prototypes of this using emscripten. So in principle it can be run in a browser. Maybe some day...
It's kind of a crazy idea but kinda cool I think. :)
Both ideas have their place place though and I'd definitely be interested to see your project (if it ever matures) too
An emulator emulates the hardware (CPU, network interface, disk, graphics, etc.) and the real operating system runs mostly or entirely unmodified atop this.
A simulator reproduces the APIs that an application expects without running the actual operating system code, through some combination of a port or a reimplementation.
However, I think it's fair to use the word simulation here too. It is a simulation from the user's point of view.
In fact, another way to categorize all this is at which level the mimicry happens: hardware, API, or user.
An emulation presents a replica of something else's outward observable behavior.
A simulation runs a specific internal model, which generates some gestalt behavioral results.
An emulator might simply mimic surface-level behavior directly, or use an internal simulation in order to generate it from first principles.
There really isn't a hard and fast agreed-upon definition of these terms in software, but these seem in tune with their non-computing definitions.
To add a little: sometimes emulation can be achieved by simulation.
However, you are right, this can be called a simulator since it simulates the Amiga user experience on a very high level.
Impressive effort. I wonder if it's using UAE or another emulation layer cross-compiled to JS?
http://apollo-core.com/index.htm?page=products
That thing at the top, the Vampire V4 is what they’re currently working on. As far as I can gather, it’s not available for general consumption yet, but man how insanely cool is that!
They’ve made their own “68080” which can run at 1ghz, and that V4 board can also run in standalone mode: read: not as a cpu replacement, but full Amiga reimplementation (all custom chips) in FPGA. I found some cool videos about it on YouTube also, running Scala (the multimedia editing environment, not the functional programming language ;).
Anyeays, your post about nostalgic feelings hit close to home so thought I would share my own amazement + nostalgia dive :)
There was probably a few years when there would have been commercial appeal-- getting a few more years of life from all those workstation platforms (pre-SPARC Suns, pre-PA-RISC HPs, etc.) that ran on 68k-family chips, anyone with a Mac that had software performance-constrained by the PPC migration-- as well as the Amiga enthusiasts.
When Transmeta showed itself to the world, I figured that's where their business case lived. (68k as one of many possible small-run high-margin markets)
This is really well done, and the nearest I've got to OS 4. Looks and feels spot on. Even screen scrolling.
I'm gonna be sad now. :(
The source code looks really well laid-out and modular too.
I really miss it...I'd love a desktop PC with Amiga's GUI, a decent cli and the Amiga's responsiveness!!!
1. double-click "System";
2. double-click "Shell";
3. type in "C:" and press [RETURN].
And the gimmick falls apart, revealed for what it truly is. For bonus points, open "Utilities" and try to launch "MultiView". Good luck with that.
System: and RAM: work as expected.
IIRC "C" is one of the default 'assigns' (top-level links which point to drawers), so "C:" would point to the "C" drawer inside whichever drive Workbench is installed on.
I could never, ever confuse AmigaOS with Windows, as my first decade of having to use Windows kept reminding me. AmigaOS was nicely designed, and worked. ;) As I mentioned in the parallel subthread, I'd forgotten c, l, and t in the 15 years since I last touched one.
So what exactly is your point?
The OP merely pointed out where it fails and shows the cracks.
A simulator doesn't have to share the technologies nor even be 100% accurate recreation. It just needs to imitate it.
That's the important bit; not the technology. The fact "it look[s] like a working system" is proof enough that it is a simulator.
I think sometimes people expect too much on HN.
So, in other words, it's simulating a working system.
I've clearly demonstrated in my original post that there is no working system, and I even documented step-by-step the proof of that, so why the hell are you still arguing? Have you actually tried following the steps which I documented?
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1584617/simulator-or-emu...