PCjs Machines
Home of the original IBM PC emulator for browsers.
About PCjs
The PCjs Project is a collection of computer simulations written in JavaScript. It is an open-source project maintained on GitHub and hosted at pcjs.org.
The goals of the project are to create fast, full-featured simulations of classic computer hardware, help people understand how these early machines worked, make it easy to experiment with different machine configurations, and provide a platform for running and analyzing early computer software.
The simulations are written entirely in JavaScript and run well in a variety of web browsers, on both desktop and mobile devices. Machines are created with simple XML files that define a set of machine components, along with the features that each component should enable. More details about PCjs machine definitions and component capabilities will be made available in the Documentation section.
The Challenger 1P
The first PCjs simulation was C1Pjs, which emulates the Challenger 1P, a 6502-based microcomputer introduced by Ohio Scientific in 1978. C1Pjs v1.0 was released in July 2012. More information about the first release of C1Pjs was posted on the OSI Discussion Forum at osiweb.org.
IBM PC and Compatibles
The next PCjs simulation was PCx86, which emulates the original IBM PC, IBM PC XT, and IBM PC AT, as well as compatible machines like the COMPAQ DeskPro 386. PCx86 v1.0 was released in late 2012.
PCx86 emulates the Intel 8088, 80186, 80286 and 80386 CPUs, and it faithfully renders characters and graphics produced by the IBM Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA), Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA), and Video Graphics Array (VGA) video cards.
Support for assorted motherboard and expansion bus components (eg, disk controllers, parallel and serial ports, etc) is available in any appropriately configured machine, along with the powerful built-in PCjs Debugger that provides visual access and control of the simulated hardware.
Over time, the set of PCjs machines has slowly expanded to include Minicomputers, Programmable Calculators, LED Simulations, Terminals, and Arcade Games.
License
The PCjs Project is now an open-source project on GitHub. All published portions are free for redistribution and/or modification under the terms of the MIT License.
You are required to include the following links and copyright notice:
PCjs © 2012-2024 Jeff Parsons
in every copy or modified version of this work, and to display that notice on every web page or computer that it runs on.
More Information
If you have questions or run into any problems, feel free to send email.