MIDAS: A Microprocessor Display and Animation System

An interactive graphics program has been developed to simulate and animate the operation of a typical microcomputer system. MIDAS, a microprocessor interpreter display and animation system, allows the user full control over the simulation and the display and provides several auxiliary functions that enhance its capabilities as an instructional tool. The illustration of the activity of the computer, based on the Intel 8080 microprocessor, takes the form of an animated block diagram of the CPU and its peripherals. It shows the operation of the system at various levels of detail, down to the level of the devices' internal registers, buffers, control lines, and buses. This paper describes the design, implementation, and use of MIDAS. It discusses its effectiveness as a tool for teaching the complex, asynchronous interaction between devices of a computer system (known as "handshaking"). It also discusses a strategy for developing a generalized tool for simulating and animating arbitrary computer systems.