CPU Simulator

CPU Simulator is a desktop Java application for step-by-step simulation of a simple CPU instruction flow.

The project models a basic processor with registers and memory, provides a graphical interface for building and executing command sequences, and persists commands in SQLite. It was built as a practice project to explore CPU simulation concepts, desktop UI development, architectural separation with MVP, and synchronization between application state and visualization.

Features

• step-by-step execution of a command sequence
• GUI for adding and managing commands
• visualization of register values
• visualization of memory state
• execution progress highlighting
• command usage statistics
• SQLite-based command persistence between launches
• MVP-based project structure

Supported commands

Current implementation supports the following commands:

• INIT <value> <address> — writes a value to memory
• LD <address> <register> — loads a value from memory into a register
• ST <register> <address> — stores a register value into memory
• ADD <register> <register | value> — adds either another register value or an immediate number
• MUL <register> <register | value> — multiplies either by another register value or an immediate number

Registers used in the simulator:

• A
• B
• C
• D

Tech stack

• Java 23
• Maven
• Java Swing
• SQLite JDBC

Architecture

The application follows the MVP (Model–View–Presenter) pattern:

• Model — CPU logic, RAM, command validation, program state, SQLite persistence
• View — Swing-based GUI components for command list, output, memory, registers, and statistics
• Presenter — interaction layer between UI and business logic

This separation makes the project easier to maintain, extend, and reason about.

Project structure

src/main/java
├── cpus        # application entry point
├── model       # CPU, RAM, commands, validation, persistence
├── presenter   # presenter layer
├── view        # Swing UI
└── util        # auxiliary event utilities