Messages in this thread | | | Date | Tue, 19 Sep 2000 12:36:36 -0500 | From | Timur Tabi <> | Subject | Re: Question: Using floating point in the kernel |
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** Reply to message from "Richard B. Johnson" <root@chaos.analogic.com> on Tue, 19 Sep 2000 11:58:34 -0400 (EDT)
> Tell the driver maintainer that you found a BUG. There is no floating- > point allowed in the kernel because the state of the FP Unit is > undefined in the kernel. If you 'define' it, i.e., `finit` then you > will mess up somebody who was using the FP Unit in user-mode. > > Also, the '386 FP emulation, which is still supported, can produce a > double-fault if you try to use it (at some places) in kernel-mode > code. > > Basically, there is nothing in the kernel that will ever require > floating point. Use fixed point if you need 'decimals' and stuff for > printing.
What about MMX? It uses floating point registers, but it's not technically floating point.
-- Timur Tabi - ttabi@interactivesi.com Interactive Silicon - http://www.interactivesi.com
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