I don't know about anyone else, but this really reminds me of 0x10c [0]
I'm still fascinated by the idea of a setting with virtual mini computers, I've designed a couple as thought exercises based on it/space travel as well as cyberpunk mixing in a little Zach like flavour for some of the chip design
Not sure why, but I've not been able to convince myself that it's anything other than ultra niche, so if you're interested in this and want to talk about it, chime in here or drop me an email (in profile)
-[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0x10c
I love the pin level emulation model of this. The self contained modular behaviour of components has real flexibility.
For a long time I have wondered if extremely thin but explicitly defined interfaces are an under-explored domain for interoperability.
Beyond simple chip emulation, any set of values that are sampled on each side of the interface at defined times, and a small set of signals to provided temporal access. Be it pins, a small set of registers, or a memory mapped region, it seems like an excellent target for conformance testing.
Perhaps in a world of AI generated code, modular components with explicit conformance requirements would allow people to not care what happens inside the black box, provided it cannot be made to violate it's behaviour requirements.
I was able to get my Amstrad CPC emulator to pin-level for all chips... but then in this mode it does run at full speed... if you have a M2 or faster CPU :')
so I also added a "soldered" mode that speeds things up a little by being less modular (no taking the CRTC out!), and a fast mode after all. Pin-level, however, gave me an excellent oracle to verify correctness at all times, which is a benefit on it's own.
Now I'm tempted to make a USB-connected extension port so you could use all real hardware with it :)
(did not release the pin-level code yet, wait a week)
Things (hardware, software) have been designed since the epoch to be treated as black boxes. Not all things, mind you, but most things do strive for modularity. I find it amusing that this idea is being realized by more people in an effort to satisfy the AIs.
I have been aware of this for some time, I come from an age before frameworks.
This isn't something realised, so much as seeing a further supporting argument.
Extremely cool. Loading up these games in a split seconds used to take eons as a kid with the tapes.
Bruce Lee on ZX spectrum was my jam!
It would be nice if there were a UI feature on the site to adjust the volume. Some of the game sounds are way too loud.
just want to mention that some of these have the volume turned up a bit higher than I expected, which you don't notice until you click on the game
Hacker NEWS
Maybe at least include the date