Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!imagen!atari!good
From: good@atari.UUCP (Roy Good)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Looking for details on Atari Floating Point 68881 support
Message-ID: <1163@atari.UUCP>
Date: 7 Sep 88 19:54:07 GMT
References: <8809061532.AA26180@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 35

All subsidiaries have now received a copy of the SFP004 Developer's Kit,
which includes demos, sample routines and documentation. There should be no
reason why they cannot provide information.
Available applications and compilers is a separate issue, over which we have
little control. All major compiler developers have been notified of the
hardware addressing used (remember, this board operates in peripheral mode
rather than coprocessor mode, in Motorola terminology). The sample code
would allow you to "hand-carve" code to access the chip in 68K assembler, 
but it is up to the compiler people to generate object code directly from
C, or have "intelligent routines" which can use the 68881 or emulate it.
And once the compilers are there, applications will follow. Most of
this is documented in the Dev.Kit manual, or in the sheet included with
the SFP004.

The 'three addresses' (US, Canada and UK) are cited for one reason only -
this is the English/American [:-)] manual, and not the final native language
one (ie the German one will indicate Raunheim, the French one Atari France etc)

>  - What is the 'suggested price' for it in the US ?
> 
We have not set a price on it - it is part of the Developers' Kit update
($20) which also includes the TOS 1.4 Developer Release.
> "Software links math chip to 68000/family ,uPs  AR233 (Reprinted from
> EDN; Jan. 23, 1986)". What is this ? Could someone please tell me if this is
> a journal, magazine etc. ?

This is Electronic Design News, a US periodical. I am sure European computer
mags have run similar articles about 68000 (rather than 68020/030) interfaces 
to 68881.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roy J. Good
Product Development, Atari Corporation
Views expressed are my own. Atari may agree or disagree; they have the right.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------