The VMIPS project offers a MIPS R3000 simulator for software developers.
If you're in the market for a MIPS R3000 simulator, VMIPS project comes highly recommended. This virtual machine simulator is based around a MIPS R3000 RISC CPU core and is entirely open-source, written in GNU C++. Unlike other simulators, VMIPS does not require special hardware to run programs. This feature sets it apart as a full virtual machine.
As VMIPS is based on an existing architecture, programmers can quickly find tools to build programs to run on VMIPS. This attribute makes VMIPS an accessible option for those looking to delve into MIPS-based simulations.
What's more, since VMIPS is rooted in the RISC architecture, the basic machine-language commands are all relatively straightforward to understand and implement.
One of the most significant perks of VMIPS is how effortlessly it can be extended to include virtual devices such as frame buffers and disk drives, to name a few. With a simple class structure written in C++, programmers can customize VMIPS to their liking.
Moreover, this simulator is intended to be a "concrete" virtual machine, which means that it maintains a tight correspondence between its structures and computer hardware that exists physically nowadays. Suppose a programmer wishes to modify the CPU simulation. In that case, they can easily extract the CPU class from the VMIPS source code and replace it with something that better suits their needs.
What's new in the latest release? A bug with the address-translation exception response code has been fixed. Previously, it was loading the wrong virtual page number. Also, the previous version experienced trouble compiling with gcc 4.1.x, which has been rectified.
Overall, if you're after an open-source MIPS R3000 simulator that can be extensively customized and requires no special hardware to run programs, VMIPS is an excellent option to consider.
As VMIPS is based on an existing architecture, programmers can quickly find tools to build programs to run on VMIPS. This attribute makes VMIPS an accessible option for those looking to delve into MIPS-based simulations.
What's more, since VMIPS is rooted in the RISC architecture, the basic machine-language commands are all relatively straightforward to understand and implement.
One of the most significant perks of VMIPS is how effortlessly it can be extended to include virtual devices such as frame buffers and disk drives, to name a few. With a simple class structure written in C++, programmers can customize VMIPS to their liking.
Moreover, this simulator is intended to be a "concrete" virtual machine, which means that it maintains a tight correspondence between its structures and computer hardware that exists physically nowadays. Suppose a programmer wishes to modify the CPU simulation. In that case, they can easily extract the CPU class from the VMIPS source code and replace it with something that better suits their needs.
What's new in the latest release? A bug with the address-translation exception response code has been fixed. Previously, it was loading the wrong virtual page number. Also, the previous version experienced trouble compiling with gcc 4.1.x, which has been rectified.
Overall, if you're after an open-source MIPS R3000 simulator that can be extensively customized and requires no special hardware to run programs, VMIPS is an excellent option to consider.
What's New
Version 1.3.2: N/A