Emulaatioon

Emulaatioon is the illative form of the Finnish noun emulaatio, which in English corresponds to emulation. Emulation is the process of reproducing the behavior of a system or process using another system, so the reproducing system can run software and perform tasks as if it were the original.

In computing, emulation involves recreating the hardware, software interfaces, or environment of a target system on a host system. This enables programs designed for one architecture to run on a different one. Common examples include video game console emulators that run cartridge or disc software on PCs or mobile devices, and API emulation layers such as Wine or Proton that allow Windows applications to run on Unix-like systems.

Emulation can be implemented in several ways. Interpretation directly translates each instruction in real time, which is simple but slower. Dynamic recompilation translates blocks of instructions into host code on the fly to improve speed. Some systems also rely on dedicated hardware or co-processors to accelerate emulation.

Emulation supports software preservation, interoperability, and accessibility. It helps preserve digital artifacts that would otherwise become unusable, and it supports developers testing across platforms without owning multiple devices.

Limitations include performance overhead, timing and input-latency differences, and incomplete compatibility for some software. Legal considerations may arise around the use of copyrighted firmware or game ROMs and licensing of emulated software.