Bochs
 | |
 | |
| Original author(s) | Kevin Lawton[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Community based; owned by Mandriva |
| Initial release | 1994[3] |
| Stable release | 2.8[4] 
/ 10 March 2024 |
| Repository | |
| Written in | English |
| Type | Emulator |
| License | GNU Lesser General Public License |
| Website | bochs |
Bochs (pronounced "box") is a portable IA-32 and x86-64 IBM PC compatible emulator and debugger mostly written in C++ and distributed as free software under the GNU Lesser General Public License. It supports emulation of the processor(s) (including protected mode), memory, disks, display, Ethernet, BIOS and common hardware peripherals of PCs.
Many guest
Bochs is mostly used for operating system development (when an emulated operating system crashes, it does not crash the host operating system, so the emulated OS can be debugged) and to run other guest operating systems inside already running host operating systems. It can also be used to run older software — such as PC games — which will not run on non-compatible, or too fast computers.
History
Bochs started as a program with a commercial license, at the price of
Use
Bochs emulates the hardware needed by PC operating systems, including hard drives, CD drives, and floppy drives. It doesn't utilize any host CPU virtualization features, therefore is slower than most virtualization (as opposed to emulation) software. It provides additional security by completely isolating the guest OS from the hardware. Bochs also has extensive debugging features. It is widely used for OS development, as it removes the need for constant system restarts (to test code).
BFE, described as a "Graphical Debugger Interface for the Bochs PC Emulator", is a graphical interface for the debugger within the Bochs PC emulator that makes it possible to debug software step-by-step at the instruction and register level, much like Borland's Turbo Debugger.[6]
Emulated hardware
| Class | Device |
|---|---|
Video card |
Cirrus Logic CL-GD5430 ISA |
| Cirrus Logic PCI
| |
3dfx Interactive Voodoo Banshee / Voodoo3
| |
| Sound card | ES1370 (PCI), Basic Sound Device
|
network card |
|
| Chipset | PIIX4 southbridge. For PCI cards there are 5 PCI slots.
|
USB |
Root hub and the devices mouse (optional), tablet, keypad (default), disk. |
| SMP | Can simulate up to 8 CPUs. |
| Enhanced BIOS or SeaBIOS | . |
References
- ^ a b Gael Duval (March 23, 2000). "MandrakeSoft buys Bochs for Linux and commits it to Open Source". Retrieved September 21, 2011.
- ^ Thinking inside and outside the Bochs with Kevin Lawton, By Ken Hess, August 25, 2011, ZDNet
- ^ Bochs was written by Kevin Lawton starting in 1994., 1.1. What is Bochs?, Chapter 1. Introduction to Bochs, Bochs User Manual
- ^ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
- ^ "Features". bochs.sourceforge.io. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ "BFE : about". SourceForge. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ "Bochs User Manual - Features". Retrieved 2016-04-06.