Abstract: Simulation processing is performed on a host apparatus in respective time periods to simulate operation of simulated agents of a target apparatus. During each time period, the simulation processing exclusively simulates operation of a single simulated agent. When the target program code processed in a current time period allocated for simulation of a given simulated agent includes a transaction start instruction representing a start of a transaction comprising instructions executed between the transaction start instruction and a transaction end instruction for which effects of the instructions of the transaction are to be committed when the transaction end instruction is reached in the absence of the transaction being aborted, it is detected whether the current time period ends before the transaction end instruction of the transaction is reached, and if so the transaction is aborted. This enables a correct transaction behaviour to be simulated without requiring memory conflict checking.

Abstract: Simulation processing is performed on a host apparatus in respective time periods to simulate operation of simulated agents of a target apparatus. During each time period, the simulation processing exclusively simulates operation of a single simulated agent. When the target program code processed in a current time period allocated for simulation of a given simulated agent includes a transaction start instruction representing a start of a transaction comprising instructions executed between the transaction start instruction and a transaction end instruction for which effects of the instructions of the transaction are to be committed when the transaction end instruction is reached in the absence of the transaction being aborted, it is detected whether the current time period ends before the transaction end instruction of the transaction is reached, and if so the transaction is aborted. This enables a correct transaction behaviour to be simulated without requiring memory conflict checking.