Simulating and validating virus machines

Abstract Virus machines are computing devices inspired by the transmission and replication of viruses. This model of computation has been proved to be as powerful as Turing machines, while using very simple semantics: instructions can open channels to let viruses travel between different hosts. The basic model is sequential, in the sense that only one instruction can be executed in each time step. This behaviour is, in principle, easy to follow by using pen and paper, but it can become harder when the model is big enough, as it happens with other models of computation. This paper introduces a base software for virus machines that simulates their behaviour and has an easy approach for both researchers and developers. Besides, apart from the simulator, the software has two other main purposes: on the one hand, a experimental validator has been introduced to help the researcher with both the design and the formal verification of such devices; on the other hand, it has included a tool to create a LaTeX graphic of a virus machine with the usual visuals.