Simulator

From the Macscene Wiki

A program or device that mimics the output of a piece of hardware or software thourhg its own means.

This is similar to an emulator, but not the same. An emulator actually tries to mimic the hardware exactly (or at least for the most part). A simulator will not try to mimic the hardware exactly in software. Instead it will take a set of inputs and try to replicate the output in its own way.

ScummVM is an example of a simulator. There was no reasonable way for the ScummVM authors to know exactly how the original engines worked, so they had to reverse engineer the data files with the expected outputs through their own methods.

There is another definition of simulator that is conflicting. This definition has simulators being super accurate emulators. They are software programs that EXACTLY replicate a given processor. Chip designers use these to design their chips in software prior to having to fabricate chips, possibly requiring expensive investments such as fabrication plants. These simulators can be so accurate that some even simulate the effects of magnetism and heat dissipation. FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS SITE, THIS DEFINITION WILL NOT BE USED.