Aemulor

Aemulor
Original author(s) Adrian Lees
Initial release March 2003
Stable release 2.32[1]
Operating system RISC OS
Type Emulator
License Proprietary commercial software

In computing, Aemulor is a emulator of the earlier 26-bit addressing-mode ARM microprocessors which runs on ARM processors under 32-bit addressing-mode versions of RISC OS. It was written by Adrian Lees and released in 2003. An enhanced version is available under the name Aemulor Pro.

The software allows Raspberry Pi,[2] Iyonix PC and A9home computers running RISC OS to make use of some software written for older hardware. As of 2012, compatibility with the BeagleBoard single-board computer was under development.

Development

The software's existence was first reported around the time of the announcement of the Iyonix in October 2002.[3][4] A demo version was released in February 2003,[5][6] with the commercial release in March of that year.[7][8][9]

Aemulor Pro was released in 2004. This added enhancements, including support for low colour modes, required by scorewriter Sibelius and many games.[10][11][12] A version for the A9home was released in 2005.[13] The software was exhibited at the 2006 Wakefield Show.[14]

In 2009, author Adrian Lees[15][16] posted on The Icon Bar, showing an early prototype of the software running on the BeagleBoard.[16][17] Progress on further compatibility for the Raspberry Pi single-board computer was announced by Lees on the RISC OS Open forum in 2012.[18] Developer R-Comp was reported in May 2012 to be hoping to make Aemulor available for its BeagleBoard-xM-based ARMini computer.[19]

Features

Sibelius running on the Iyonix

The software provides full 26-bit emulation[7] for applications written in C and ARM assembly language. It employs an XScale-optimised ARM code interpreter, supports SWI emulation from RISC OS 4 to 5, flag preservation and creation of dynamic areas in low memory.[20] Support for running A310Emu is included, allowing users to further emulate earlier versions of the OS, going back to Arthur.[21] As of 2003, due to the memory remapping employed, native 32-bit applications are restricted to a maximum size of 28Mb while Aemulor is running.[22]

The original release included an Easter egg, with a prize of an upgrade to the Pro version for the person who found it.[23][24]

Aemulor Pro adds support for low-bpp screen modes, sound, hardware emulation of VIDC/IOC, an altered memory map and 26-bit filing systems.[20] Some software, such as Sibelius, can be run both in the desktop and in full screen.[10]

Compatible software

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Title Purpose Vendor/publisher
ArtWorks[25] vector graphics MW Software
Impression[25] desktop publishing Computer Concepts
Sibelius[10] scorewriter Sibelius Software
Spheres of Chaos.[26] video game
StrongED[25] text editor
Zap[25] text editor

References

  1. ↑ "Aemulor Pro online manual". Spellings Computer Services. Archived from the original on 12 February 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=31593
  3. ↑ Williams, Chris (20 October 2002). "Iyonix 26 bit emulator in development". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "32-bit introduction". IYONIX pc. Castle Technology. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  5. ↑ Williams, Chris (22 February 2003). "South West show news". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Williams, Chris (9 March 2003). "South West show news". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Williams, Chris (25 March 2003). "Aemulor sees the light of day". Drobe. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  8. ↑ Hoare, John (25 March 2003). "Aemulor Released". Acorn Arcade. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  9. ↑ Peachey, John (June 2003). "Aemulor in Use". Archive 16 (9). Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Williams, Chris (12 March 2004). "Aemulor Pro embraces Sibelius". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  11. ↑ Mellor, Phil (6 May 2004). "Aemulor Pro is out now". Acorn Arcade. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Lee, Jeffrey (22 April 2004). "Aemulor Pro-gress". Acorn Arcade. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  13. ↑ Williams, Chris (5 November 2005). "Aemulor for the A9home released". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "Wakefield 2006". RISC World 6 (6). Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  15. ↑ Lees, Adrian. "The homepage of Adrian Lees". Adrian Lees. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Naulls, Peter (20 December 2009). "Aemulor on BeagleBoard". riscos.info. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  17. ↑ Lees, Adrian (20 December 2009). "Aemulor BeagleBoard". TIB forum. The Icon Bar. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  18. ↑ Lees, Adrian (20 June 2012). "Aemulor on the Beagle/Panda boards". ROOL forum. RISC OS Open. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  19. ↑ Proven, Liam (10 May 2012). "Best and the Rest: ARM Mini PCs". Reg Hardware. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Aemulor Professional". Spellings Computer Services. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  21. ↑ Williams, Chris (19 April 2003). "Aemulor turns to RISC OS 2". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  22. ↑ "Inside Aemulor". Foundation RISC User. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  23. ↑ Williams, Chris (5 August 2003). "Aemulor 2.2 upgrade online". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  24. ↑ Williams, Chris (19 December 2003). "Aemulor's brief Windows affair discovered". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Williams, Chris (19 November 2002). "Aemulor: Number of apps working on Iyonix 'growing daily'". Drobe. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  26. ↑ Brett, Paul. "Games World". RISC World. Retrieved 29 June 2012.