IBM Corp’s development laboratory in Rochester, Minnesota, has developed an architectural and timing simulator to improve the productivity of programmers and engineers developing computer hardware, operating systems, and end user applications based on PowerPC processors. The PowerPC Visual Simulator was created for IBM’s internal use before any PowerPC hardware was actually developed, and the group claims that it runs 10 times faster than the simulators it has used previously. The product also includes an optional timer feature, which analyses the internal operation of a PowerPC chip and predicts program execution time – it can be configured to match a specific implementation. This costs an extra $3,500 on top of a single-user PowerPC Visual Simulator licence, which is $6,000. The Simulator currently supports only the PowerPC 601, but support for the 603 will follow by year-end, and support for the 604 and 620 early next year.
