Atanua alternative: real-time logic simulation, now in the browser
Atanua, by Jari Komppa, is a real-time logic simulator designed for learning boolean logic and electronics, with a fast OpenGL interface and a deliberately low learning curve. Circuits simulate continuously at 1000 Hz, and wire colours show each signal: bright green high, dark green low, gray undriven and red for a conflict. Its parts include the basic gates in US and Finnish symbols, latches and flip-flops, clocks, a range of 74-series chips, an 8051-variant microcontroller, LEDs and 7- and 16-segment displays, and you can box circuits into custom components or add plug-ins. Its site now carries an end-of-life notice: the program is free (a license key is published there) and its source is open on GitHub. The latest Windows build is 1.3.141220; the Linux builds are 1.2 from 2013, and the only Mac build is for old PowerPC Macs, which the site says makes running it on a current Mac probably impossible. Atanua is a quick desktop sandbox for gates and chips; digiwleea runs in any browser and builds the gates themselves from transistors.
What Atanua is good at
Instant, continuous feedback: drop gates, wire them, and the circuit is already running, with colour-coded wires that make a short or an undriven input obvious. The 74-series chips and the microcontroller let a class go from gates to real parts, and teachers get an anti-cheating tool for homework. On Windows it remains a capable, now free, classroom simulator. (digiwleea is an independent project, not affiliated with Atanua or its author.)
How digiwleea is different
digiwleea runs in any modern browser, on Windows, Macs, Chromebooks, tablets and phones, with nothing to install, and it is actively developed. It also starts a level lower: instead of placing ready-made gates, you wire NMOS and PMOS transistors into a CMOS inverter and a NAND gate, save them as parts, then build adders, latches, registers, RAM and an 8-bit CPU that runs a stored program, through a 40+ level course where every part is checked against its truth table, with an AI tutor (Wleea). Like Atanua, every wire shows its state, including floating and short-circuit conditions.
| Atanua | digiwleea | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Windows; Linux builds from 2013; old PowerPC Macs only | Any modern browser, including Macs and Chromebooks |
| Starting point | Ready-made gates, flip-flops and 74-series chips | NMOS and PMOS transistors, then your own gates |
| Signal display | Wire colours: high, low, undriven, error | Wire values: 1, 0, floating, short |
| Status | End of life; free license key; open source | Actively developed |
| Price | Free (end-of-life license) | Free lab and Act I; Premium for the full course |
No sign-up is needed to start: open the lab and place your first transistor, or read the free theory course. The account (and the AI tutor) are optional.
More comparisons: Logic simulators
See for yourself: build a logic gate from transistors in the simulator, then follow the path from sand to an 8-bit CPU.
Open the digiwleea lab →Frequently asked
Is Atanua free?
Yes. Its site has an end-of-life notice that publishes a free license key and says the program is now open source, with the code on GitHub.
Does Atanua run on a Mac?
Its only Mac build is for old PowerPC Macs, and its download page says running it on a current Mac is probably impossible (it mentions a community Docker version). A browser simulator such as digiwleea runs on any Mac.
What can you simulate in Atanua?
Logic gates, latches and flip-flops, clocks, many 74-series chips, an 8051-variant microcontroller, LEDs and 7- and 16-segment displays, in real time at 1000 Hz.