#c8

Another CHIP-8 emulator

#Building

Make sure that you have SDL2 installed as well as the development libraries. Then run:

make

#Running

To run c8 you will need to supply a CHIP-8 ROM file (You can find some ROM files here)

./c8 -r rom.ch8

Note: Some CHIP-8 emulators in the past had interesting quirks. Some CHIP-8 programs depend on these quirks to function properly. The -shift, -vf, -mem, and -jump flags enable these separate quirks. If your CHIP-8 does not run or run incorrectly try enabling some of these flags.

#What is CHIP-8?

The CHIP-8 is a virtual machine dating all the way back to the mid-1970s. It is a very simple VM that has the following specs:

• 4 kilobytes of RAM
• 16 8-bit registers
• Subroutine stack
• Timers for delays and sound
• 16 key keyboard input
• 64x32 pixel monochrome display
• Monotone beeper
• 35 opcodes/instructions

The CHIP-8 isn't really a useful platform, even for games, even though the majority of CHIP-8 software is just games. It IS however, a great platform to learn how emulation and virtual machines work.

Implementing a CHIP-8 VM is relatively easy on modern systems and in the process it teaches the user how virtual machines and emulators work. The CHIP-8 is sort of like a "Baby's First Virtual Machine" for someone who has never dipped their toes into this field.

#TODO

This project is still a work in progress. Some things that need to be changed are:

• Implement and test other CHIP-8 "quirks"
• Port to other systems(?)

#Note

This specific CHIP-8 implementation is based on code from Austin Morlan. More specifically, it is based off of this article. Needless to say, my version has many different alterations and improvements when compared to the original.