Editing UAE (emulator)

{{Short description|Computer emulator which emulates the Commodore Amiga}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox software
| title                  = 
| name                   = UAE
| logo                   = 
| screenshot             = E-UAE.png
| caption                = E-UAE 0.8.27 configuration and control panel
| collapsible            = 
| author                 = 
| developer              = {{Plain list |
* Bernd Schmidt (UAE)
* Toni Wilen (WinUAE, originally Mathias Ortmann, then Brian King)
* Richard Drummond (E-UAE)
* Mustafa 'GnoStiC' TUFAN (PUAE)
* Frode Solheim (FS-UAE)
* Rupert Hausberger (SAE)
}}
| released               = {{Start date and age|1995}}<!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=yes/no}} -->
| latest release version = 5.3.0 (WinUAE)
| latest release date    = {{Start date and age|2024|06|02|df=yes/no}}
| programming language   = [[C++]] and [[assembly language|ASM]]
| operating system       = [[Microsoft Windows]], [[MacOS]], [[Linux]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[FreeBSD]], [[NetBSD]], [[OpenBSD]], [[AmigaOS]]
| platform               = 
| size                   = 
| language               = 
| genre                  = [[Emulator]]
| license                = [[GNU General Public License]]
| website                = {{URL|https://www.winuae.net}}
}}
'''UAE''' is a [[computer]] [[emulator]] which emulates the [[computer hardware|hardware]] of [[Commodore International]]'s [[Amiga]] range of computers. Released under the [[GNU General Public License]], UAE is [[free software]].

==History==
Bernd Schmidt conceived of an emulator that can run Amiga software when he found that such a task was widely believed to be impossible. Schmidt had written previous programs for Amiga, and was further motivated by the desire to not lose games, demos, and sound modules to switching operating systems.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Amiga_Shopper_Issue_70_1996_Future_Publishing_GB_christmas_edition/page/n13|title=Mission: Impossible?|last=Taylor|first=David|magazine=Amiga Shopper|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=Christmas 1996|access-date=2022-05-15|issue=70|page=14}}</ref> UAE was released in 1995 and was originally called the ''Unusable Amiga Emulator'', due to its inability to boot.<ref name=amigahistory>{{cite web|url=http://www.amigau.com/aig/emulators/uae.html|title=UAE- Ultimate Amiga Emulator|work=Amiga history guide|year=2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/AmigaFormatMagazine_201902/Amiga_Format_Issue_089_1996_10_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n20|title=Emulation: The sincerest form of flattery|last=Goodwin|first=Simon|magazine=[[Amiga Format]]|date=October 1996|access-date=2022-05-15|issue=89|page=21}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/AmigaFormatMagazine_201902/Amiga_Format_Issue_108_1998_03_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n20|title=The Amiga Emulator|last=Goodwin|first=Simon|magazine=[[Amiga Format]]|date=March 1998|access-date=2022-05-15|issue=108|page=21}}</ref> In its early stages, it was known as ''Unix Amiga Emulator'' and later with other names as well. Today the name stands for ''Universal Amiga Emulator''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorldMagazine/PCW%20200008%20August%20Created%20From%20PCW%20Cover%20CD/page/n68|title=Past masters|last=Laing|first=Gordon|magazine=[[Personal Computer World]]|date=August 2000|access-date=2022-05-15|volume=23|issue=8|page=144}}</ref>

== Features ==
UAE is almost a full-featured Amiga emulator. It emulates most of its functions:

* [[Original Amiga chipset|Original Chip Set]] (OCS), [[Enhanced Chip Set]] (ECS) and [[Advanced Graphics Architecture]] (AGA)<ref name="ae_feat"/>
* I/O devices: ([[floppy disk]] drives, [[joystick]], [[Computer mouse|mouse]] and [[serial ports]])
* Processor: [[Motorola 68000]]/[[Motorola 68010|010]]/[[Motorola 68020|020]]/[[Motorola 68040|040]] CPU, optionally a [[Motorola 68881|68881]] FPU,<ref name="ae_feat"/><ref name=Amiga-Active-01>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/AmigActive_Issue_01_1999-10_Pinprint_GB/page/n19|title=Active reviews – Amiga Forever 3|last=Compton|first=Jason|magazine=Amiga Active|date=October 1999|access-date=2022-05-15|issue=1|page=38}}</ref> and as of WinUAE 3.0.0 beta 15, an enhanced [[PowerPC]] [[Just-in-time compilation|JIT]] core using the [[QEMU]] CPU libraries.<ref>{{cite web|title=WinUAE 3.0.0 Beta 16 Changelog|url=https://github.com/tonioni/WinUAE/commit/3e88892aadfc65919c7e34b7f99225e1cacadb91|website=GitHub|access-date=15 February 2016}}</ref>
* Memory: 2 MB Chip RAM and 8 MB Fast RAM, or 8 MB Chip RAM without Fast RAM. 64 MB [[Amiga Zorro III|Zorro III]] Fast RAM, independent of Chip RAM setting (68020+ only). 1 MB Slow RAM, for compatibility.<ref name="ae_feat">{{cite web|title=UAE Amiga Emulator|url=https://amiga.technology/uae/|access-date=2016-03-13}}</ref>
* [[ReTargetable Graphics#Picasso 96|Picasso 96]] graphics with 8&nbsp;MB of memory<ref name="ae_feat"/><ref name=Amiga-Active-01/>
* Serial port, and Simple parallel port is only sufficient for printing.<ref name="ae_feat"/>
* Networking via bsdsocket.library emulation<ref name="foss_bsdsocket">{{cite web|title=uae-0.8.29.tar.gz: uae-0.8.29/src/bsdsocket.c &#124; Fossies Archive|url=http://fossies.org/linux/misc/uae-0.8.29.tar.gz:a/uae-0.8.29/src/bsdsocket.c|access-date=2013-06-09|publisher=fossies.org}}</ref><ref name="go_bsdsocket">{{cite web|title=bsdsocket.txt - uae-wii - A port of the UNIX Amiga Emulator to Nintendo Wii - Google Project Hosting |url=https://code.google.com/p/uae-wii/source/browse/trunk/docs/bsdsocket.txt?r=2&spec=svn3|access-date=2013-06-09}}</ref>

For software, UAE may use [[disk image]]s made from original Amiga [[floppy disk]]s. These images have the file extension of "[[Amiga Disk File|ADF]]" (Amiga Disk File). Actual Amiga disks cannot be used, because of limitations in the [[floppy controllers]] used in other computers.<ref>{{cite web|url=//www.suite101.com/article.cfm/amiga/25486/2 |title=UAE - The Amiga Emulator |last=Chandler |first=John |work=Suite101 |page=2 |year=1999 |access-date=2009-07-15 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104132034/www.suite101.com/article.cfm/amiga/25486/2 |archive-date=November 4, 2007 }}</ref>
Images of Amiga [[File format|formatted]] [[hard drive]]s can also be made. UAE also supports mapping [[Virtual machine#Definitions|host operating system]]'s directories to Amiga hard drives, and finally, physical Amiga formatted hard drives can be mounted.

UAE does not include the original Amiga operating system ROM and files, which are required for running an Amiga system. These are included under license in packages like [[Amiga Forever]]. Original Kickstart 3.1 ROM images are also included with [[AmigaOS 4|AmigaOS4]] for [[PowerPC]] since version 4.1 Update 4. UAE also supports alternative system ROMs, such as those derived from the [[AROS]] project, however these do not provide the same degree of software compatibility as the original ROMs.

==Portability==
UAE has been ported to many host [[operating system]]s, including [[Linux]], [[macOS]], [[FreeBSD]], [[DOS]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[RISC OS]], [[BeOS]], [[Palm OS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], the [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] console, the [[PlayStation Portable|PSP]], [[PSVita]] and [[GP2X]] handhelds, [[iOS]], the [[Wii]] and [[Dreamcast]] consoles, and even to [[AmigaOS]], [[MorphOS]] and [[AROS]].

==Emulation speed==
There have been many threads in the past on [[Usenet]] and other public forums where people argued about the possibility of writing an Amiga emulator. Some considered UAE to be attempting the impossible; to be demanding that a system read, process and output 100 MB/s of data when the fastest PC was a 66&nbsp;MHz [[Intel 80486|486]], while keeping various emulated chips (the Amiga [[chipset]]) all in sync and appearing as they were supposed to appear to software.

UAE was almost entirely unusable in its first releases, but slowly and step by step, it fleshed out its support of the Amiga chipset and by the end of 1997 was able to emulate an [[Amiga 500]] at a quality and speed that were sufficient for productivity use and for many games.

Since then, UAE has been usable, thanks partly to the effort taken to develop it and partly to the big improvements in technology that brought computers many times faster than those UAE was initially running on. Many [[Amiga games]] and applications can run smoothly on a [[Pentium II]]-era system. The realization that a useful Amiga emulator could be written contributed to an increase in enthusiasm about emulation, which started or sped-up efforts to write emulators for other and often less popular computer and electronic game architectures{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}.

A major improvement was made in 2000 by Bernd Meyer with the use of [[Just-in-time compilation]],<ref name="amigahistory" /> which significantly improved the emulation speed, to the extent that average PCs could now emulate some [[Amiga software]] faster than any real Amiga could run it. UAE can use as much of the host's power in [[native mode]] as possible, or balance it with other requirements of the host OS, or to accurately reflect the original speed, depending on a user's choice. UAE also provides an [[ReTargetable Graphics|RTG]]-compatible "[[video card]]" for the Amiga side of the emulation which is tailored for display on the host hardware, so as not to be limited to the emulation of the original Amiga video hardware.


==Project development==
There are six main [[fork (software)|fork]]s of the original program:

* '''WinUAE''', designed to run on [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], ported by Mathias Ortmann<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/technologie/raubkopien-die-spur-von-megauploadcom-fuehrt-nach-zug|title=Raubkopien: Die Spur von Megaupload.com führt nach Zug|language=de|trans-title=Pirate copies: The trail of Megaupload.com leads to Zug|last=Bütikofer|first=Christian|work=[[Handelszeitung]]|date=2012-01-20|access-date=2022-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515035717/https://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/technologie/raubkopien-die-spur-von-megauploadcom-fuehrt-nach-zug|archive-date=2022-05-15|url-status=live}}</ref> and currently developed by Toni Wilen<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr74DwAAQBAJ&pg=PP13|title=The Future Was Here: The Commodore Amiga|last=Maher|first=Jimmy|publisher=[[MIT Press]]|date=2018|access-date=2022-05-15|page=xii|isbn=978-0-262-01720-6}}</ref>
* '''PUAE''', designed to run on [[Unix]] platforms (continuation of the abandoned E-UAE and also a port of WinUAE) 
* '''FS-UAE''', designed to run on [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[macOS]] and [[Linux]] (a port of WinUAE with a focus on emulating games, featuring a new on-screen [[GUI]] and cross-platform online play)
* '''UAE4all''', a stripped and optimized version, designed to emulate an OCS Amiga on low-end devices. UAE4all2 add AGA and hard disk support.
* '''Scripted Amiga Emulator (SAE)''', designed to run in a modern browser using [[JavaScript]] and [[HTML5]]. It is also based on WinUAE and was released on 1. September 2012 by Rupert Hausberger.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/naTmeg/ScriptedAmigaEmulator|title = Scripted Amiga Emulator| website=[[GitHub]] |date = 24 October 2021}}</ref><ref>http://scriptedamigaemulator.net/ Scripted AMIGA Emulator</ref> SAE needs a very fast computer to run on.<ref>http://scriptedamigaemulator.net/readme.htm Scripted AMIGA Emulator in JavaScript</ref>
*'''UAE4ARM''', designed to run on ARM devices including the [[Raspberry Pi]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chiappetta|first=Marco|date=2017-07-14|title=Build A Killer Amiga Emulator For Under $100 With The Raspberry Pi 3|url=https://hothardware.com/reviews/amiga-emulator-with-raspberry-pi-3|access-date=2021-03-01|website=HotHardware|language=en-us}}</ref> It's the only fork supporting Just-In-Time on ARM devices. Others supported platforms are Pandora, Android and libretro.

The most active fork is WinUAE; current versions of this still contain bugs and compatibility issues. 

Specific versions:
{{nowrap|UAE v0.8.29 2008-11-30,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.amigaemulator.org/files/sources/develop/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120915212826/http://www.amigaemulator.org/files/sources/develop/|archive-date = 2012-09-15|title = Prevention Archives}}</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20120915212826/http://www.amigaemulator.org/files/sources/develop/uae-0.8.29.tar.bz2 2016-03-19</ref><!--uae-0.8.29.tar.bz2 SHA256 2463524b19b36ab44de158c5f24871878eda05230ea391343849959643634317 904K-->}}
{{nowrap|FS-UAE v3.1.66 
<ref>https://fs-uae.net/download#linux 2019-11-05</ref><!--fs-uae-3.0.2.tar.gz SHA256 4ededc341edf12ad84e15ecfaf7942ebba12b75aec8c78fb0275d13c749f8aab-->}}
{{nowrap|E-UAE v0.8.29 2007-03-28<ref>https://www.rcdrummond.net/uae/index.html https://www.rcdrummond.net/uae/e-uae-0.8.29-WIP4/e-uae-0.8.29-WIP4.tar.bz2 2016-03-19</ref><!--e-uae-0.8.29-WIP4.tar.bz2 SHA256 9828cb0fca783160bcb33900d0254f4bdaade1c9a41256e5f298e973d0c07456-->}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software|Amiga}}

* [[Amiga Forever]], Amiga emulator
* [[Basilisk II]], [[Apple Macintosh]] emulator which uses UAE to emulate the 68k processor
* [[Hatari (emulator)|Hatari]], [[Atari ST]]/[[Atari STe|STe]]/[[Atari TT|TT]]/[[Atari Falcon|Falcon]] computer series emulator which uses UAE for the core m68k emulation
* Previous, [[NeXT]] computer emulator, derived from [[Hatari (emulator)|Hatari]]
* [[Fellow (computing)|Fellow]], another Amiga emulator which was released not too long after the first usable versions of UAE, and generated [[competition]] beneficial to both projects.
* [[POSE (Palm OS Emulator)|POSE]], [[Palm OS]] emulator that is based on Copilot, which in turn was based on UAE's m68k emulation

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* Announcement by Bernd Schmidt on Usenet, Message-ID: <[http://groups.google.com/group/comp.emulators.misc/msg/000d6d55799c8fb2?dmode=source&hl=en 421jqo$91h@news.rwth-aachen.de]>.
* Announcement by Bernd Meyer of the Just In Time compiler on Usenet, Message-ID: <[http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.amiga.advocacy/msg/7641384925acc7e5?dmode=source&utoken=2mXi4zcAAABT3izeGZqQMEyV6xT3IfTXE2QmY8oDF1sAdvcxt9QZTyMa_sdYz5lVn_2UDP88P857iwONH1Yfp8McFSyNlTKa 8nbkst$ta9$1@wombat.cs.monash.edu.au]>.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://amiga.technology/ UAE Website]
* [http://www.winuae.net WinUAE Website]
* [https://github.com/GnoStiC/PUAE PUAE - fork of E-UAE]
* [http://fs-uae.net FS-UAE - A fork of WinUAE and E-UAE]
* [http://scriptedamigaemulator.net/ Scripted Amiga Emulator]
* [http://gbamiga.elowar.com/ Gamebase Amiga] - provides a single click ROM starting interface on top of WinUAE

{{AmigaOS}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uae (Emulator)}}
[[Category:1995 software]]
[[Category:Amiga emulators]]
[[Category:AmigaOS 4 software]]
[[Category:Amiga emulation software]]
[[Category:Proprietary video game console emulators]]
[[Category:GP2X emulation software]]
[[Category:MacOS emulation software]]
[[Category:MorphOS emulation software]]
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
[[Category:Unix emulation software]]
[[Category:Windows emulation software]]
[[Category:68k emulators]]
[[Category:Cross-platform software]]