So I'm trying to write a user manual for Dolphin 3.5, since it'd be a good exercise in technical documentation (plus I like writing, a lot) and it might benefit the community. Of course it's strictly unofficial atm. It's going to offer some technical insight into the inner workings of Dolphin, but not so much as to overwhelm the average reader. A document like this needs to be accurate, however, to be useful. There are parts of the emulator that I'm a bit sketchy on, so if any devs or knowledgeable users have any info about the following questions/topics, I'd appreciate your input. Don't worry about getting too detailed either; be as verbose as you want.
1) - JITIL Recompiler - From what I understand, this stands for Just-In-Time-Intermediate-Language, correct? This takes native GC/Wii code for the PPC-based CPU, recompiles it into another intermediate language (doing some optimizations?) before finally recompiling this into x86 or x64 assembly, correct? What exactly is this intermediate language?
2) - Enable Screen Saver - If you click on the Config button and go to the Wii tab, there's an option to Enable Screen Saver. What I have written so far reads : "When checked, allows the computer's screen saver to activate while running Dolphin." I'm largely curious as to if that's true. It just seems like a strange option to have, especially in the Wii section.
3) - DVD Root & Apploader - If you click on the Config button and go to the Paths tabs, you can specify paths for the DVD Root and Apploader. I just want to clarify what the DVD Root and the Apploader are. If you extract the files from an ISO, you get a directory structure that mirrors what's on the DVD you dumped, so Dolphin lets you specify the "root" directory of the game, effectively allowing you to boot games using these extracted files, correct? I have no idea what the apploader is. Useful for Homebrew on Dolphin or something?
4) - Scaled EFB Copy - On a technical level, what exactly is the Embedded Frame Buffer and why does scaling a copy of it improve graphical quality?
5) - Ignore Format Changes - Does what it says on the tin, i.e. ignores format changes to the EFB. I'm a bit curious as to how often format changes happen (and why); also, for confirmation, this option is always enabled on OpenGL, but it can be disabled on DX9 and DX11, correct?
6) - XFB - What exactly is the External Frame Buffer, and what are the technical differences between Real and Virtual?
7) - Show Drives & Purge Cache - Misc. curiosity, under the View menu in the toolbar, what does the Show Drives option actually do? Purge Cache, I assume deletes the code cache, shader cache, both, or something else?
8) - Texture Cache Accuracy - On a technical level, what is the texture cache, and how do you make it more/less accurate?
There'll be more as I progress with the manual, but thanks to anyone willing to respond.
1) - JITIL Recompiler - From what I understand, this stands for Just-In-Time-Intermediate-Language, correct? This takes native GC/Wii code for the PPC-based CPU, recompiles it into another intermediate language (doing some optimizations?) before finally recompiling this into x86 or x64 assembly, correct? What exactly is this intermediate language?
2) - Enable Screen Saver - If you click on the Config button and go to the Wii tab, there's an option to Enable Screen Saver. What I have written so far reads : "When checked, allows the computer's screen saver to activate while running Dolphin." I'm largely curious as to if that's true. It just seems like a strange option to have, especially in the Wii section.
3) - DVD Root & Apploader - If you click on the Config button and go to the Paths tabs, you can specify paths for the DVD Root and Apploader. I just want to clarify what the DVD Root and the Apploader are. If you extract the files from an ISO, you get a directory structure that mirrors what's on the DVD you dumped, so Dolphin lets you specify the "root" directory of the game, effectively allowing you to boot games using these extracted files, correct? I have no idea what the apploader is. Useful for Homebrew on Dolphin or something?
4) - Scaled EFB Copy - On a technical level, what exactly is the Embedded Frame Buffer and why does scaling a copy of it improve graphical quality?
5) - Ignore Format Changes - Does what it says on the tin, i.e. ignores format changes to the EFB. I'm a bit curious as to how often format changes happen (and why); also, for confirmation, this option is always enabled on OpenGL, but it can be disabled on DX9 and DX11, correct?
6) - XFB - What exactly is the External Frame Buffer, and what are the technical differences between Real and Virtual?
7) - Show Drives & Purge Cache - Misc. curiosity, under the View menu in the toolbar, what does the Show Drives option actually do? Purge Cache, I assume deletes the code cache, shader cache, both, or something else?
8) - Texture Cache Accuracy - On a technical level, what is the texture cache, and how do you make it more/less accurate?
There'll be more as I progress with the manual, but thanks to anyone willing to respond.