What is an emulator?

I was wondering what an emulator actually is. I think I have a basic idea but I just want to see if I truly understand what it does.

An emulator can emulate a game console on your PCCheck the list on the left side of this page http://emulator-zone.com/Some are not so bad and some require hi system specs

Aren't flashcarts emulators to?
they emulate nds files on your NDS

Replying to #3

Sorta.They just convert the data of the rom into information that the DS will take as the real game.

Emulation is basically making something not native yet simerlary built from one platform to another.Try looking at a dictionary as well, emulation is more than just games...like how we humans emulate each other.1:Your stupid2. (same voice thanks to voice abilities being above average) Your stupidOr like how we can match ourselves to other beings...yup even dressing as a flower is sorta like emulation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emulator

athemoe · #3Aren't flashcarts emulators to?
they emulate nds files on your NDS

No, they play NDS files on your DS. There is no emulation needed because emulation is when you use software to act like the original hardware (that's why to emulate something, whatever you emulate it on has to be a lot more powerful than the original console). The DS is already a DS so it doesn't need to emulate the DS. You see?

emulation in hardware is possible, but rare outside of specialist fields

Replying to #8

Overdrive boards(most often called overdrive processors) are a good example of hardware emulation.

Emulation is the process of simulating the hardware of one machine on another machine so that the second machine is able to run software designed for the first machine. I'm so smart. ;)

Basically an emulator is software to make your computer/any hardware (within reason) act like another computer/any hardware (within reason). The only real requirement for it is that your computer be exponentially stronger than what you want to emulate.