Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!purdue!decwrl!decvax!tektronix!percival!billc
From: billc@percival.UUCP (William J. Coldwell)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 68881 and the PA was:(none)
Message-ID: <1441@percival.UUCP>
Date: 31 Dec 88 11:03:28 GMT
References: <6018@louie.udel.EDU> <533@boing.UUCP> <1434@percival.UUCP> <547@boing.UUCP> <13012@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: billc@percival.UUCP (William J. Coldwell)
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga
Distribution: na
Organization: Percy's UNIX, Portland, OR.
Lines: 43

In article <13012@cup.portal.com> Doug_B_Erdely@cup.portal.com writes:
>Ok guys.. I have a CMI PA. If I get the math chip and use 1.3.. Will ANY AND
>ALL programs math routines be speeded up, or does a program have to be written
>just for a math chip??? In other words... HOW transparent is this to the
>System??
>
>          - Doug -
>
> Doug_B_Erdely@Portal.Cup.Com

Doug (and everyone else interested):

  The math chip will only speed up IEEE math functions, not FFP, or regular
  integer/transcendental math functions.

   What it will speed up: Programs that are compiled to use IEEE by the IEEE
   libraries (provided on the WB1.3 enhancer or the PA disk).

 What this means to you is that just about all of the current software out
 does not support using the math chip.  Software developers will start using
 the math chip (if they feel like it - you know how "THEY" are) now that 1.3
 has been released.  The simple part of it, is that all that needs to be
 done is to recompile the software to use IEEE (the +fi option in Manx - 
 sorry , don't use Lettuce so I don't know what is needed there).

  It iss a good bet that anything that uses math intensive functions will
  eventually be recompiled for IEEE.  Don't give up - I have one (but I
  developed the software, so I guess that's not fair), and I know of a few
  projects being worked on that support the math chip.


   Need more info? Email me or CMI Tech Support at:

    ...tektronix!sequent!blowpig!lillian (CMI Tech Support)
    or me (at the address below).

     Bill

-- 
               William J. Coldwell - Amiga Attitude Adjuster
  CRYOGENIC SOFTWARE - 3647 W 97th #21B - Denver, CO 80030 - (303) 465-1330
 "We the unwilling, led by the unknowing,   ...tektronix!reed!percival!billc
  are doing the impossible, for the ungrateful."       \sequent!blowpig/