Simplicity Betrayed.

The article discusses computer emulating systems, providing examples of how even a relatively primitive system such as the TRS-80 can prove to have unexpected subtleties and complications which make an exact simulation difficult to achieve. A comparison is drawn to the Java Virtual Machine, which is...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Communications of the ACM Vol. 53; no. 6; pp. 52 - 59
Autor principal: PHILLIPS, GEORGE
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Association for Computing Machinery Jun2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:The article discusses computer emulating systems, providing examples of how even a relatively primitive system such as the TRS-80 can prove to have unexpected subtleties and complications which make an exact simulation difficult to achieve. A comparison is drawn to the Java Virtual Machine, which is said to embody related concepts in a more forward-looking context. The code needed to create a correct emulation of a diagonal line is analyzed by way of example, which involves floating-point numbers, central processing unit cycles, and cycle-wasting subroutines.