Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!know!sdd.hp.com!caen!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!gatech!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!mcsun!ukc!edcastle!aiai!aipna!awb From: awb@uk.ac.ed.aipna (Alan W Black) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: Re: Floating point support in GCC Message-ID: Date: 17 Apr 91 14:22:56 GMT References: <1991Apr16.135942.18650@menudo.uh.edu> Sender: news@aipna.ed.ac.uk Organization: Dept of AI, Edinburgh University, UK Lines: 31 In-reply-to: st12a@menudo.uh.edu's message of 16 Apr 91 13:59:42 GMT In article <1991Apr16.135942.18650@menudo.uh.edu> st12a@menudo.uh.edu (richard henderson~) writes: In article awb@uk.ac.ed.aipna (Alan W Black) writes: >The correct solution to the problem is to modifiy the GCC 386 machine >description so that it never generates any 387 instructions. This Would not a better solution be to add a 387 emulator to the MINIX kernel? I have recently ordered my copy of MINIX 1.5 as a cost-effective alt to Xenix, and I am interested in persuing this topic. However, I would be interested in hooking up with someone who knows the kernel a bit more intimately. richard~ richard@stat.tamu.edu st12a@menudo.uh.edu This is true, we exchanged mail with Richard Stallman on this issue and his recommendation was that the operating system should provide the emulation. This is probably true but will also ways be slow if floating point instructions have to be interpreted. Our solution is sort of half way in that it is the compiler support code (added by ld) that provides the emulation, rather than the kernel. I think kernel emulation would be right but always slow while changing the gcc 386 description would be easier and more efficient, but I'm willing to be proved wrong. Alan Alan W Black 80 South Bridge, Edinburgh, UK Dept of Artificial Intelligence tel: (+44) -31 650 2713 University of Edinburgh email: awb@ed.ac.uk