etch  ] [  etch-m68k  ] [  lenny  ] [  squeeze  ] [  sid  ]
[ Source: hercules  ]

Package: hercules (3.06-1)

System/370, ESA/390 and z/Architecture Emulator

Hercules is an open source software implementation of the mainframe System/370 and ESA/390 architectures, in addition to the new 64-bit z/Architecture.

This means that your PC can emulate an IBM mainframe processor. The mainframe can range from a 360 to a z900 - running in "System/370" mode, "ESA/390" mode, or "z/Architecture" mode. Hercules executes S/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture instructions and channel programs. It emulates mainframe I/O devices by using PC devices. For example, 3390 DASD devices are emulated by large files on your hard disk, and local 3270 screens are emulated by tn3270 sessions.

Hercules implements only the raw S/370, ESA/390, and z/Architecture instruction set; it does not provide any operating system facilities. This means that you need to provide an operating system or standalone program which Hercules can load from an emulated disk or tape device. You will have to use a free software operating system such as Linux, write the operating system or standalone program yourself, obtain a license from IBM to run one of their operating systems on your PC, or use IBM programs and operating systems which have been placed in the public domain.

Virtual networking can be accomplished using the TUN/TAP driver in 2.2 and 2.4 kernels. For older kernels, try the vmnet package.

Hercules was created by Roger Bowler and is maintained by Jay Maynard. Jan Jaeger designed and implemented many of the advanced features of Hercules.

Tags: Hardware Enablement: Emulation, User Interface: Command Line, Role: Program, Scope: Utility

Other Packages Related to hercules

  • depends
  • recommends
  • suggests
  • dep: libbz2-1.0
    high-quality block-sorting file compressor library - runtime
  • dep: libc6 (>= 2.7-1) [not ia64]
    GNU C Library: Shared libraries
    also a virtual package provided by libc6-udeb
  • dep: libc6.1 (>= 2.7-1) [ia64]
    GNU C Library: Shared libraries
    also a virtual package provided by libc6.1-udeb
  • dep: libcap2 (>= 2.11)
    support for getting/setting POSIX.1e capabilities
  • dep: libgcc1 (>= 1:4.3) [armel]
    GCC support library
  • dep: zlib1g (>= 1:1.1.4) [amd64, ia64]
    compression library - runtime
    dep: zlib1g (>= 1:1.2.3.3.dfsg) [not amd64, ia64]
  • sug: x3270
    X11 program for telnet sessions to IBM mainframes

Download hercules

Download for all available architectures
Architecture Package Size Installed Size Files
amd64 2,058.4 kB7432 kB [list of files]
armel 2,277.7 kB7252 kB [list of files]
hppa 2,368.7 kB7524 kB [list of files]
i386 2,266.0 kB7316 kB [list of files]
ia64 3,061.1 kB12420 kB [list of files]
mips 2,221.1 kB7824 kB [list of files]
mipsel 2,229.7 kB7932 kB [list of files]
powerpc 2,264.3 kB7688 kB [list of files]
s390 2,286.3 kB7404 kB [list of files]
sparc 2,200.5 kB7512 kB [list of files]