A list of machine emulators completely written in JavaScript that I find to be both impressive and interesting. Writing an emulator in any language is difficult and requires some serious programming chops. But to do it in JavaScript must surely require a level of programming genius (or maybe madness - I hear it’s a fine line!) that us mere mortals can only dream of aspiring to.
These are my favourites that I’ve stumbled across, catalogued here so I can easily find them again whenever I feel the need for a retro computing fix…
These all need a modern (aka html5) browser with a fairly modern PC.
Sinclair
- JSSpeccy - ZX Spectrum
- qaop/js - ZX Spectrum fullscreen. Click on sides of window for menu
- JtyOne - ZX81 Emulator, with games! 3D Monster Maze anyone?
Atari
- EstyJS - Atari ST
Apple
Acorn
- jsBeeb - BBC Model B / Master
Commodore
- Scripted Amiga Emulator - Amiga emulator with some demos and free games
PC Linux
- Virtual X86 - Linux and old versions of Windows with GUI
- jsLinux - Command Line Linux
Ms-Dos
- js-dos - MS Dos in JavaScript. Includes a working copy of DOOM!
Nintendo
- jsnes - Online NES emulator, includes some classic games
Misc
- The author of the qaop/js spectrum emulator also has a page full of emulator links that is well worth checking out!
- Frederic Cambus’s github page also has a nice selection of emulator links.