I'm Rebuilding Mars MIPS for You

Hi HN,

I've been working on a project called webMARS, a browser-based version of the MARS MIPS simulator used in many computer architecture courses.

The original MARS tool is a Java desktop application. My goal was to bring a similar experience to the browser so students can write, assemble and run MIPS programs without installing anything.

You can try it here: https://webmars.nfiles.top/

Repository: https://github.com/codigoavulso/webMARS

The interface tries to stay close to the original MARS layout (editor, registers, console, tools), but the implementation is web-based and still evolving.

I'm mainly looking for feedback from people who:

- teach computer architecture - have used MARS/SPIM before - work with assembly or CPU simulators

Questions I'm particularly interested in:

- What features from MARS would you consider essential? - Are there other tools you'd expect in a teaching-oriented MIPS IDE? - Does the UI feel usable compared to the original desktop version? - What would make this genuinely useful in a classroom setting?

Any feedback, testing, bug reports or suggestions are very welcome.

nels.ferreira@sapo.pt