Simulator or Emulator? What is the difference?

Question

While I understand what simulation and emulation mean in general, I almost always get confused about them. Assume that I create a piece of software that mimics existing hardware/software, what should I call it? A simulator or an emulator?

Could anyone explain the difference in terms of programming?

Bonus: What is the difference in English between these two terms? (Sorry, I am not a native speaker :))

Answer 1

An emulator is an alternative to the real system but a simulator is used to optimize, understand and estimate the real system.

Answer 2

In computer science both a simulation and emulation produce the same outputs, from the same inputs, that the original system does; However, an emulation also uses the same processes to achieve it and is made out of the same materials. A simulation uses different processes from the original system. Also worth noting is the term replication, which is the intermediate of the two - using the same processes but being made out of a different material.

So if I want to run my old Super Mario Bros game on my PC I use an SNES emulator, because it is using the same or similar computer code (processes) to run the game, and uses the same or similar materials (silicon chip). However, if I want to fly a Boeing 747 jet on my PC I use a flight simulator because it uses completely different processes from the original (there are no actual wings, lift or aerodynamics involved!).

Here are the exact definitions taken from a computer science glossary:

A simulation is a model of a system that captures the functional connections between inputs and outputs of the system, but without necessarily being based on processes that are the same as, or similar to, those of the system itself.

A replication is a model of a system that captures the functional connections between inputs and outputs of the system and is based on processes that are the same as, or similar to, those of the system itself.

An emulation is a model of some system that captures the functional connections between inputs and outputs of the system, based on processes that are the same as, or similar to, those of that system, and that is built of the same materials as that system.

Reference: The Open University, M366 Glossary 1.1, 2007

Answer 3

Both are models of an object that you have some means of controlling inputs to and observing outputs from.

The key difference is that:

• With an emulator, you want the output exactly match what the object you are emulating would produce.
• With a simulator, you want certain properties of your output to be similar to what the object would produce.

Let me give an example -- suppose you want to do some system testing to see how adding a new sensor (like a thermometer) to a system would affect the system. You know that the thermometer sends a message 8 time a second containing its measurement.

Simulation -- if you do not have the thermometer yet, but you want to test that this message rate will not overload you system, you can simulate the sensor by attaching a unit that sends a random number 8 times a second. You can run any test that does not rely on the actual value the sensor sends.

Emulation -- suppose you have a very expensive thermometer that measures to 0.001 C, and you want to see if you can get by with a cheaper thermometer that only measures to the nearest 0.5 C. You can emulate the cheaper thermometer using an expensive thermometer and then rounding the reading to the nearest 0.5 C and running tests that rely on the temperature values.

Note that simulations can also be used for forecasting or predicting behavior. Finite element analysis simulations are used in many applications, including weather prediction and virtual wind tunnels.

The definitions of the terms:

• emulation -- surpass or exactly match
• simulate -- imitate in appearance or character

Answer 4

Emulator:

Consider a situation that you know only English and you are in China. In order to interact with a Chinese person you need a translator. Now, role of translator is that it will seek input from you in English and convert to Chinese and and give that input to the Chinese person and gets response from the Chinese person and convert to English and give the output to you in English. Now that translator and Chinese person is the emulator. Both combine will provide similar functionality as if you were communicating with the English person. So hardware may be different but functionality will be same.

Simulator:

I can't give better example than SPICE or flight simulator. Both will replace hardware component behavior with the software or mathematical model which will behave similar to the hardware.

In the end it depends on the context that which solution better suits project needs.

Answer 5

If a flight-simulator could transport you from A to B then it would be a flight-emulator.

An emulator can replace the original for real use.
A Virtual PC emulates a PC.

A simulator is a model for study and analysis.

An emulator will always have to operate close to real-time. For a simulator that is not always the case. A geological simulation could do 1000 years/second or more.

Answer 6

Simulation = For analysis and study

Emulation = For usage as a substitute

A simulator is an environment which models but an emulator is one that replicates the usage as on the original device or system.

Simulator mimics the activity of something that it is simulating. It "appears"(a lot can go with this "appears", depending on the context) to be the same as the thing being simulated. For example the flight simulator "appears" to be a real flight to the user, although it does transport you from one place to another.

Emulator, on the other hand, actually "does" what the thing being emulated does, and in doing so it too "appears to be doing the same thing". An emulator may use different set of protocols for mimicking the thing being emulated, but the result/outcome is always the same as the original object. For example, EMU8086 emulates the 8086 microprocessor on your computer, which obviously is not running on 8086(=different protocols), but the output it gives is what a real 8086 would give.