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From: khb@chiba.eng.sun.com (Keith Bierman - SPD Advanced Languages)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun
Subject: Suggestions about inline library use on Suns
Keywords: Miscellaneous
Message-ID: <8822@brazos.Rice.edu>
Date: 13 Jun 90 14:59:30 GMT
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X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 213, message 1

The SPARC instruction set includes f|d sqrt; the earliest implementation
of the SPARC FPU (the weitek 1164/65+fpc) did not include that instruction
(did not fit, I suppose).

Code executes correctly, albeit slowly if you try to execute the
non-hw-implemented instruction. If you plan to use one binary on mixed
platforms you should use an inline library ... but the one that
corresponds to the 4/110|4/260 with FPU1.

There was at one time a way to do the upgrade. As it is pricey, and
SPARCsations (and SLC's) are now pretty cheap I suspect one might be
tempted to buy a new machine _and_ run the old one .... if so, one might
use the least common denominator or two binary solution.

If you chose the two binary solution, I suggest using subdirectories
rather than _name, e.g.

	me/bin/sun4/fpu1
	me/bin/sun4/fpu2

This is in line with how to support mixed sun3 and sun4 organizations.

cheers (from the UK side of the pond)

Keith H. Bierman    |*My thoughts are my own. !! kbierman@Eng.Sun.COM
It's Not My Fault   | MTS --Only my work belongs to Sun* khb@chiba.Eng.Sun.COM
I Voted for Bill &  | Advanced Languages/Floating Point Group (415 336 2648) 
Opus                | "When the going gets Weird .. the Weird turn PRO"