Sigma16 home page

Sigma16 is a computer architecture designed for research and teaching in computer systems. This application provides a complete environment for programming in assembly and machine language and experimenting with the architecture.

The app runs in a web browser: just click the link in the box below. You don't need to download or install anything. Currently it runs on the Chromium browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera, DuckDuckGo) but not on Safari or Firefox.

It's convenient to bookmark this page (save it in your Favourites). The location of this page is permanent. Please don't bookmark the "Click to run Sigma16" link, as the destination of that link may change from time to time.

When the app runs in your browser, it will display the User Guide, which contains introductory tutorials as well as a detailed specification of the architecture, assembly language, and programming techniques. You can also access the User Guide directly, without launching the app:

• User Guide (html)
• User Guide (pdf)

This architecture is simpler than most commercial products, making it a good vehicle for teaching and experimentation:

• It is a 16-bit architecture with a simple yet powerful instruction set.
• A small core subset of the architecture is suitable for introductory teaching, and more advanced features support systems programming.
• Software tools include an assembler, linker, emulator, and IDE.
• Examples are provided that illustrate a variety of programming techniques, data structures, compilation patterns, concurrency and mutual exclusion, and more.
• There is a digital circuit that implements Sigma16. The circuit is specified at the level of logic gates and flip flops, and is expressed in Hydra, a functional computer hardware description language. Sigma16 programs can be executed using the emulator, and they can also be executed by simulating the digital circuit using the Hydra tools.
• Some components of the system, including the assembler and linker, are available as command line tools as well as on the graphical user interface provided by the web app. The command line tools require downloading and installation; see the User Guide for details.