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- Newsgroups: alt.lang.asm
- Path: sparky!uunet!mcsun!sunic!fuw.edu.pl!cocos!jt
- From: jt@fuw.edu.pl (Jerzy Tarasiuk)
- Subject: Re: FPU
- In-Reply-To: riouxm@JSP.UMontreal.CA's message of 14 Jan 93 16:29:11 GMT
- Message-ID: <JT.93Jan22212822@fizyk1.fuw.edu.pl>
- Sender: news@fuw.edu.pl
- Nntp-Posting-Host: fizyk1
- Organization: Warsaw University Physics Dept.
- References: <1993Jan14.162911.21489@cc.umontreal.ca>
- Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 20:28:22 GMT
- Lines: 22
-
- >>>>> On 14 Jan 93 16:29:11 GMT, riouxm@JSP.UMontreal.CA (Rioux Martin) said:
- Rioux> terra@diku.dk (Morten Welinder) Writes:
- >No. (Except for FStsw Ax on 80287 and better.) To gain speed use parallel
- >execution of FPU and IU.
-
- Rioux> What do you mean by parallel execution of FPU and IU..? I'm new at this.
- Rioux> If someone has more HINTS for me please write...
-
- FPU (more formerly NDP, Numeric Data Processor) works paralelly with
- CPU (while FPU makes computations, CPU may execute next instructions).
- This causes when FPU stores any result to memory, CPU must verify the
- result was stored before attempts to get it (otherwise would be able
- to read old contents of memory instead the newly stored data).
- The verification is done by WAIT (FWAIT) instruction which waits until
- FPU finishes its instruction. Note on 80287 or better any FPU opcode
- acts as WAIT for previous (on 8087 not, since any but first FPU opcode
- must be preceded by WAIT or result will be unpredictable).
- There are cases when WAIT cannot be used: if want to reset FPU even if
- it is busy (throwing away its current work for a case due to error it
- is endless) or when don't know if FPU exist (would wait forever; to
- detect FPU need execute FNINIT, delay, FNSTSW, delay, check what was
- stored - if anything stored, FPU exists).
-