Inside Macintosh: PowerPC Numerics /

Preface - About This Book

What's in This Book

Part 1 describes the features shared by all PowerPC Numerics implementations and includes examples that show how to use PowerPC Numerics effectively. These examples are written in C, although other high-level languages might provide support for PowerPC Numerics. Read Part 1 to find out how PowerPC Numerics implements IEEE Standard 754 in general or to learn more about this standard.

Part 2 explains the numeric implementation in compilers and in the PowerPC Numerics library MathLib. This library is provided in ROM to implement both IEEE Standard 754 and the recommendations in the FPCE technical report. Part 2 is for use exclusively by C language programmers.

Part 3 explains the implementation in PowerPC hardware and the available assembly-language tools that perform numeric operations. Part 3 is for use by assembly-language programmers and by those who wish to look at compiler output.

The appendixes provide supplementary reference material. They give the differences between PowerPC Numerics and SANE, show how to port numerical programs to PowerPC processor-based Macintosh computers, provide listings of the header files in MathLib, and describe the FPCE recommendations for compilers. There are also summaries of the MathLib functions and PowerPC assembly-language floating-point instructions for your reference.

The bibliography at the end of this book lists some of the major sources on numerics. Refer to this bibliography for more extensive information on IEEE Standard 754, the FPCE technical report, or numerical programming in general. Also at the end of this book are a glossary of terms and an index.