I have written a few other emulators, and the very first question is always: is this feasible? The things to look for are:
- Software. Is the VT100 firmware available?
- Documentation. Is the hardware documented?
- Prior art. Are there other emulators to learn from?
Luckily, the VT100 checks all boxes. The VT100 ROMs, both the 8080 firmware and the character generator ROM, have been imaged and put online. Bitsavers provides the detailed VT100 Technical Manual and schematics. MAME has a working VT100 emulator, and Jeff Parsons added one to his suite of JavaScript emulators.
One question remained, would a Rasperry Pi be powerful enough to simulate all the VT100 in real time? I wasn't sure, but projects like RetroPie suggest it should be.
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