Original author(s) | Roger Bowler |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Jay Maynard, Jan Jaeger, David "Fish" Trout, Greg Smith, Bernard van der Helm, Ivan Warren, and others[1] |
Initial release | 1999 |
Final release | 3.13
/ 29 September 2017 |
Preview release | 4.0.0-rc0
/ 16 December 2016 |
Repository | 3.xx spinhawk 4.0 hyperion |
Written in | C |
Operating system | Cross-platform |
Type | Emulator |
License | Q Public License |
Website | www |
Developer(s) | Jay Maynard, Jan Jaeger, David "Fish" Trout, Greg Smith, Bernard van der Helm, Ivan Warren, and others[2] |
---|---|
Stable release | 4.7.0
/ 10 March 2024 |
Repository | github |
Predecessor | Hercules 4.0.0 Release Candidate 0 |
Website | sdl-hercules-390 |
Hercules is a computer emulator allowing software written for IBM mainframe computers (System/370, System/390, and zSeries/System z) and for plug compatible mainframes (such as Amdahl machines) to run on other types of computer hardware, notably on low-cost personal computers. Development started in 1999 by Roger Bowler, a mainframe systems programmer.
Hercules runs under multiple parent operating systems including Linux, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Solaris, and macOS and is released under the open source software license QPL.[3] It is analogous to Bochs and QEMU in that it emulates CPU instructions and select peripheral devices only. A vendor (or distributor) must still provide an operating system, and the user must install it. Hercules was the first mainframe emulator to incorporate 64-bit z/Architecture support.