> A dynamic recompiler is a type of software that translates code from one instruction set architecture (ISA) to another at runtime, rather than ahead of time. This process allows programs written for one platform to be executed on another platform without needing to modify the original code. Dynamic recompilation is often used in emulators, virtual machines, and just-in-time (JIT) compilation systems.
Is this what Dolphin does most of the time, or is all handcrafted at the assembly level?
My (limited) understanding is that most serious emulation is done via dynarec these days, particularly past the fourth / fifth gen of consoles.
For newer consoles, traditional interpreted emulation isn't going to be fast enough to be playable, so dynarec is the only realistic option.[0] For the older systems, it's more of a nice-to-have performance boost, particularly as a lot of people now like to play those with demanding upscalers and shaders. (Some older games, like Sonic 2, were designed around composite video artefacts and don't look right without CRT shaders.)
[0] Things get fuzzier on near-current gen consoles, which are more like PCs, and may hypothetically be best emulated with some kind of translation layer not unlike Proton.
(Citra, Panda3DS, Vita3K, touchHLE, and unidbg and more ) use dynamic for ARM CPU Emulation but Dolphin/cemu use same concept to emulate PowerPC Chips too
