Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pasteur!agate!ucbvax!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: <1443@percival.UUCP>
Date: 4 Jan 89 11:35:34 GMT
References: <6018@louie.udel.EDU> <533@boing.UUCP> <1434@percival.UUCP> <547@boing.UUCP> <13012@cup.portal.com> <1441@percival.UUCP> <13145@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: 39

In article <13145@cup.portal.com> DMasterson@cup.portal.com (David Scott Masterson) writes:
[Stuff deleted concerning PA and MathChip]
>Can software be compiled in such a way as to leave it up to the consumer which
>math library (or any libraries with competing types) is used in a generic
>sort of fashion?  For instance, could it be set up such that an ASSIGN could
>specify which library to use?  Would the program necessarily become more
>memory expensive or could the expense be hidden (well...) in another library
>that is loaded at run-time?
No.
>Why would software developers want to do this?  Some programs might run best
>usinginteger arithmetic in the average system, but a math coprocessor might
>significantly improve the average if it was available.  The user would
>probably best know the set up in some of these cases.
It has nothing to do with the software developers, but with compilers.
Most software developers will figure out the best way that the software
will run, and that usually means a standard machine.  If they wish, they
can put a version of the program on the disk that will run on an MC system.
Since most people do not have mathchips, most developers will only put a
(n) FFP version on the disk - even if a 68881 will speed things up.  On
the other hand, people won't buy MCs if there aren't any programs out
there that use it. Catch 22.

Hopefully the more PAs that are sold, and the more MCs bought will make
developers come out with IEEE versions.  As of now, the only 68881 versions
of programs are for a 68020/68881 combination which won't work with the
peripheral MC on the PA (because on the inline F-Code functions for the
68020).

Bill

>David Masterson
>DMasterson@cup.portal.com


-- 
               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/