SATSim: A Superscalar Architecture Trace Simulator: Using Interactive Animation

Abstract – This paper describes an interactive animation tool, SATSim, which conveys superscalar architecture concepts. It has been used in an advanced undergraduate computer architecture course to visualize the complicated behavioral patterns of superscalar architectures, such as out-of-order execution, in-order commitment, and the impact of branch mispredictions and cache misses. SATSim allows students to interactively change hardware configuration parameters and to observe their effects visually in a more accessible manner than is currently possible with existing simulators or with traditional static media