X86CSS
Languages and libraries
cpu emulator
SHOW HN2026
How HN took it
7 positive, 10 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 14 critical, out of 32 comments about the project. Thread score -0.17.
Idea: 3 for, 9 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 2 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 againstDesign: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Impressive technical achievement and clever clock engineering
From 3 comments
> There is absolutely no reason for CSS to be turing complete. I'd push back slightly — not on the practical point (obviously yes), but on the "why bother" question. The…
naillang on HNthis is incredible
MetaMonk on HNThe moxy of this is inspiring. I'm curious to know what you would rate as the most important features to make this work? It seems like calc+if do a lot of the heavy lifting, but…
ebolyen on HN
Fun and inspiring demo
From 2 comments
This is absolutely horrible... in a good way. Kinda like Doom in a PDF. Well done.
hudecekdev on HNThe moxy of this is inspiring. I'm curious to know what you would rate as the most important features to make this work? It seems like calc+if do a lot of the heavy lifting, but…
ebolyen on HN
Objections
CSS should not be Turing complete; it is unnecessary complexity
From 3 comments
There is absolutely no reason for css to be turing complete. None. That being said, well done
dmitrygr on HNIncredible achievement. Horrible development on CSS front. CSS should NOT be becoming turing complete. Nor any other DSL.
freakynit on HNThis is a cool demo, but it tells me that CSS might be too complex now. Why should you be able to emulate a CPU with a styling language? I’m not sure what you get by using a…
mbreese on HN
Calling it x86 is misleading since it only implements 8086 instructions
From 2 comments
The point is that the 8086 doesn't have anything close to the instruction set now referred to as x86_64 or even x86_32. Asking which it is is asking which instruction set it…
antonvs on HNThe instruction matrix they provide only includes 8086 instructions, not 186, 286 etc, which are all x86, hence the x at the start. From that wikipedia article, "The term "x86"…
voidUpdate on HN
Only works in Chromium-based browsers
From 2 comments
> Your browser is unable to run this demo. Please try with an up-to-date Chromium-based browser. Sorry to see internet regressing to Internet Explorer days.
gurjeet on HNOnly Chrome ..
_s_a_m_ on HN
Security risk if CSS can compute in restricted contexts
From 1 comment
the security implications here are underrated. CSS is evaluated in contexts where javascript is explicitly blocked - email clients, markdown renderers with sanitizers,…
umairnadeem123 on HN
Requests
A how-it-works write-up
From 1 comment
Really looking forward to a how it works post. What is that READMEM_1??
randfur on HN
Random number support
From 1 comment
Very cool. The horsle demo made me think, how hard would it be to add a virtual memory address (or a non-8086 RAND instruction) that returns a random byte (that would allow it to…
btdmaster on HN
Questions
Is it x86 or 8086 compatible
From 1 comment
So is this x86 compatible, or 8086 compatible? Because those are different things
voidUpdate on HN
Does it work in non-Chrome browsers
From 1 comment
I think we can look forward to running this on more non-Chrome browsers once @function [0] gets wider support? [0]: https://caniuse.com/wf-function
csmantle on HN
Alternatives named
Clock-by-hover CSS demos such as Jane Ori's CPU Hack
From 1 comment
> A hover-based clock, such as the one in Jane Ori's CPU Hack, is fast and stable, but requires you to hold your mouse on the screen, which some people claim does not count as…
Dylan16807 on HN
Redstone and Game of Life computers
From 1 comment
> There is absolutely no reason for CSS to be turing complete. I'd push back slightly — not on the practical point (obviously yes), but on the "why bother" question. The…
naillang on HN