The fact that the software is usable serves primarily to validate the accuracy of the documentation (how else can you prove that you have recreated the hardware faithfully?). The source code to MAME serves as this documentation.
This is achieved by documenting the hardware and how it functions. As electronic technology continues to rush forward, MAME prevents this important 'vintage' software from being lost and forgotten. MAME’s purpose is to preserve decades of software history. MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework. A Arcade - MAME Emulator on the Windows platform
