Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!tcdcs!swift.cs.tcd.ie!vax1.tcd.ie!ecarroll
From: ecarroll@vax1.tcd.ie (Eddy Carroll)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: BBC micro emulator ?
Message-ID: <6005.2646f385@vax1.tcd.ie>
Date: 8 May 90 16:27:48 GMT
References: <1496@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca>
Organization: Computer Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin
Lines: 38

In article <1496@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca>, lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca
(Larry Phillips) writes:
> In <17780@ultima.cs.uts.oz>, vilkas@ultima.cs.uts.oz (Peter Sumskas) writes:
>>
>>There is actually a BBC emulator for the amiga...I believe it was written by
>>the same bunch as wrote the Transformer, ut is called Beeb. It is an English
>>product and that is all I can tell you.
> 
> How accurate is the emulation? Will it drop characters if the operator types
> faster than a someone trying to juggle threewatermelons and learn the keyboard
> at the same time? :-)
> 
> -larry

I've seen it, and played with it briefly. It seems pretty good for what it
does. It was written for Commodore UK by Ariadne software (whom some long-time
c.s.a readers will recognise as the people behind the Kickstart Guide to the
Amiga). It opens its own draggable screen and multitasks properly. It has its
own 68000-based BBC BASIC interpreter which is pretty fast (I've heard figures
of 6-7 times faster than the original BBC, but I haven't checked them out; the
original BBC was no slouch either). Hence, BASIC programs zip along. If there
is any machine-code, the emulator drops back to interpreting 6502 (i.e. slow).

Most of the OS calls and graphics modes are supported. With an RS232 cable,
you can hook up to a real BBC and transfer programs onto Amiga disk directly
from the BBC's disk (this is handled automatically from within the emulator).
Overall, it seems to serve its intended purpose (allowing BBC educational progs
to be run on the Amiga, to encourage UK schools to upgrade to the Amiga) quite
well. It costs about #50 or so. Commodore UK can probably give more details on
UK: 0728-770088.

As an aside, it was demoed at a computer club meeting here and a BBC owner
came up and rattled off a quick BBC Basic mandelbrot program on it. It
ran first time, and was said to be noticeably faster (he seemed impressed :-)
-- 
Eddy Carroll           ----* Genuine MUD Wizard  | "You haven't lived until
ecarroll@vax1.tcd.ie                             |    you've died in MUD!"
ecarroll%vax1.tcd.ie@cunyvm.cuny.edu             |  -- Richard Bartle