🚀 go-pugleaf

In the recent articles on Rounding Modes in IEEE arithmetic, Lawrence Crowl
and Herman Rubin have got around to discussing the chicken and egg problem:
if hardware continues to think of the IEEE rounding as "MODES" and puts them
in "status registers" rather than as part of the instruction, then the
software folk will continue not to write languages which use these
desireable facilities.

Well us hardware folks (Acorn) have come to your rescue: the floating point
system for the Acorn RISC Machine (VLSI Technology VL86C010 and VL86C020)
provides the rounding modes as part of the instruction. There is both a
hardware and a software implementation of it. Full details have been emailed
to Lawrence (since he put his foot in it first), so email him [or me if you
are really stuck] for more.

One little thing: ARM based computers start at 649 pounds in the UK. And you
can't buy them in the states at all. Must be something in your culture
which doesn't want control over rounding modes :-)!

--Roger Wilson