The 8087 and 287 Coprocessors

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References to the various Central Processing Units (CPUs) as the "86" refers to either the 8088, 8086, 80186, 80286, etc. References to the various coprocessors as the "87" refers to either the 8087, the 287, the 387, or the special IIT-2C87 processor.

The 8087 and 287 Coprocessors

All IBM-PC's, and most clones, contain a socket for a floating point coprocessor. If you shell out between $80 and $300, and plug the appropriate chip into that socket, then a host of floating point instructions is added to the assembly language instruction set.

The original IBM-PC, and the XT, accept the original floating point chip, the 8087. The AT accepts a later update, the 287. From a programming standpoint, the two chips are nearly identical: the 287 adds the instructions FSETPM and FSTSW AX, and ignores the instructions FENI and FDISI. There is, however, a rather nasty design flaw in the 8087, that was corrected in the 287.

To understand the flaw, you must understand how the 86 and 87 work as coprocessors. Whenever the 86 sees a floating point instruction, it communicates the instruction, and any associated memory operands, to the 87. Then the 86 goes on to its next instruction, operating in parallel with the 87. That's OK, so long as the following instructions don't do one of the following:

  1. Execute another floating point instruction; or
  2. Try to read the results of the still-executing floating point instruction.

If they do, then you must provide an instruction called WAIT (or synonymously FWAIT), which halts the 86 until the 87 is finished. For almost all floating point instructions, it should not be necessary to provide an explicit FWAIT; the 86 ought to know that it should wait. For the 8087, it IS necessary to give an explicit FWAIT before each floating point instruction: that is the flaw.

Because of the flaw, all assemblers supporting the 8087 will silently insert an FWAIT code (hex 9B) before all 87 instructions, except those few (the FN instructions other than FNOP) not requiring the FWAIT.

  • Microsoft recognizes the new 287 instructions, if and only if it sees the .287 directive. In general, don't attempt to police your instruction usage-- if you use an instruction available on a limited number of processors, I trust that you are programming for one of those processors.

In summary, if your program will be running only on machines with a 287, you can give ".287" directive. Your programs will be significantly shorter than if they were assembled by Microsoft. If you want your programs to run on all machines containing a floating point chip, you should refrain from specifying .287.

WARNING: The most common mistake 87 programmers make is to try to read the results of an 87 operation in 86 memory, before the results are ready. At least on my AT, the system often crashes when you do this! If your program runs correctly when single stepped, but crashes when set loose, then chances are you need an extra explicit FWAIT somewhere.


Emulating the 8087 by Software

There is a software package provided with many compilers (Borland's Turbo C and most Microsoft compilers, for example) that emulates the 8087 instruction set. The emulator is very cleverly implemented so that the programmer need not know whether a floating point chip will be available, or whether emulation will be necessary. This is done by having the linker replace all floating point machine instructions with INT calls to certain interrupts, dedicated to emulation. The interrupt handlers interpret the operands to the instructions, and emulate the 8087.

The Floating Point Stack

The 87 has its own register set, of 8 floating point numbers occupying 10 bytes each, plus 14 bytes of status and control information. Many of the 87's instructions cause the numbers to act like a stack, much like a Hewlett-Packard calculator. For this reason, the numbers are called the floating point stack.

The standard name for the top element of the floating point stack is either ST or ST(0); the others are named ST(1) through ST(7). Thus, for example, the instruction to add stack element number 3 into the top stack element is usually coded FADD ST,ST(3).


Floating Point Initializations

In general, you use the 87 by loading numbers from 86 memory to the 87 stack (using FLD instructions), calculating on the 87 stack, and storing the results back to 86 memory (using FST and FSTP instructions). There are seven constant numbers built into the 87 instruction set: zero, one, Pi, and four logarithmic conversion constants. These can be loaded using the FLD0, FLD1, FLDPI, FLDL2T, FLDL2E, FLDLG2, and FLDLN2 instructions. All other constants must be declared in, then loaded from, 86 memory. Integer constant words and doublewords can be loaded via FILD. Non-integer constant doubleword, quadwords, and ten-byte numbers can be loaded via FLD.


Floating Point Operand Types

The list of floating point instructions contains a variety of operand types. Here is a brief explanation of those types:

0        stands for the top element of the floating point stack.
         A synonym for 0 is ST or ST(0).

i        stands for element number i of the floating point stack.
         i can range from 0 through 7.  A synonym for i is ST(i).

mem10r   is a 10-byte memory quantity (typically declared with a
         DT directive) containing a full precision floating point
         number. Intel recommends that you NOT store your numbers
         in full precision; that you use the following double
         precision format instead.  Full precision numbers are
         intended for storage of intermediate results (on the
         stack); they exist to insure maximum accuracy for
         calculations on double precision numbers, which is the
         official external format of 87 numbers.

mem8r    is an 8-byte memory quantity (typically declared with a
         DQ directive) containing a double precision floating
         point number.  This is the best format for floating
         point numbers on the 87.  The 87 takes the same amount
         of time on double precision calculations as it does on
         single precision.  The only extra time is the memory
         access of 4 more bytes; negligible in comparison to the
         calculation time.

mem4r    is a 4-byte quantity (typically defined with a DD
         directive) containing a single precision floating point
         number.

mem10d   is a 10-byte quantity (also defined via DT) containing a
         special Binary Coded Decimal format recognized by the
         FBLD and FBSTP instructions.  This format is useful for
         input and output of floating point numbers.

mem4i    is a 4-byte quantity representing a signed integer in
         two's-complement notation.

mem2i    is a 2-byte quantity representing a signed integer in
         two's-complement notation.

mem14    and mem94 are 14- and 94-byte buffers containing the 87
         machine state.

The 87 Instruction Set

Following is the 87 instruction set. The "w" in the opcode field is the FWAIT opcode, hex 9B, which is suppressed if .287 is selected. Again, "0", "1", and "i" stand for the associated floating point stack registers, not constant numbers! Constant numbers in the descriptions are given with decimal points: 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 10.0.

    Opcode    Instruction     Description

 w  D9 F0     F2XM1           0 := (2.0 ** 0) - 1.0
 w  DB F1     F4X4            IIT only: 4 by 4 matrix multiply
 w  D9 E1     FABS            0 := |0|
 w  DE C1     FADD            1 := 1 + 0, pop
 w  D8 C0+i   FADD i          0 := i + 0
 w  DC C0+i   FADD i,0        i := i + 0
 w  D8 C0+i   FADD 0,i        0 := i + 0
 w  D8 /0     FADD mem4r      0 := 0 + mem4r
 w  DC /0     FADD mem8r      0 := 0 + mem8r
 w  DE C0+i   FADDP i,0       i := i + 0, pop
 w  DB E8     FBANK 0         IIT only: set bank pointer to default
 w  DB EB     FBANK 1         IIT only: set bank pointer to bank 1
 w  DB EA     FBANK 2         IIT only: set bank pointer to bank 2
 w  DF /4     FBLD mem10d     push, 0 := mem10d
 w  DF /6     FBSTP mem10d    mem10d := 0, pop
 w  D9 E0     FCHS            0 := -0
9B  DB E2     FCLEX           clear exceptions
 w  D8 D1     FCOM            compare 0 - 1
 w  D8 D0+i   FCOM 0,i        compare 0 - i
 w  D8 D0+i   FCOM i          compare 0 - i
 w  D8 /2     FCOM mem4r      compare 0 - mem4r
 w  DC /2     FCOM mem8r      compare 0 - mem8r
 w  D8 D9     FCOMP           compare 0 - 1, pop
 w  D8 D8+i   FCOMP 0,i       compare 0 - i, pop
 w  D8 D8+i   FCOMP i         compare 0 - i, pop
 w  D8 /3     FCOMP mem4r     compare 0 - mem4r, pop
 w  DC /3     FCOMP mem8r     compare 0 - mem8r, pop
 w  DE D9     FCOMPP          compare 0 - 1, pop both
 w  D9 FF     FCOS            387 only: push, 1/0 := cosine(old 0)
 w  D9 F6     FDECSTP         decrement stack pointer
 w  DB E1     FDISI           disable interrupts (.287 ignore)
 w  DE F9     FDIV            1 := 1 / 0, pop
 w  D8 F0+i   FDIV i          0 := 0 / i
 w  DC F8+i   FDIV i,0        i := i / 0
 w  D8 F0+i   FDIV 0,i        0 := 0 / i
 w  D8 /6     FDIV mem4r      0 := 0 / mem4r
 w  DC /6     FDIV mem8r      0 := 0 / mem8r
 w  DE F8+i   FDIVP i,0       i := i / 0, pop
 w  DE F1     FDIVR           1 := 0 / 1, pop
 w  D8 F8+i   FDIVR i         0 := i / 0
 w  DC F0+i   FDIVR i,0       i := 0 / i
 w  D8 F8+i   FDIVR 0,i       0 := i / 0
 w  D8 /7     FDIVR mem4r     0 := mem4r / 0
 w  DC /7     FDIVR mem8r     0 := mem8r / 0
 w  DE F0+i   FDIVRP i,0      i := 0 / i, pop
 w  DB E0     FENI            enable interrupts (.287 ignore)
 w  DD C0+i   FFREE i         empty i
 w  DE /0     FIADD mem2i     0 := 0 + mem4i
 w  DA /0     FIADD mem4i     0 := 0 + mem2i
 w  DE /2     FICOM mem2i     compare 0 - mem2i
 w  DA /2     FICOM mem4i     compare 0 - mem4i
 w  DE /3     FICOMP mem2i    compare 0 - mem2i, pop
 w  DA /3     FICOMP mem4i    compare 0 - mem4i, pop
 w  DE /6     FIDIV mem2i     0 := 0 / mem2i
 w  DA /6     FIDIV mem4i     0 := 0 / mem4i
 w  DE /7     FIDIVR mem2i    0 := mem2i / 0
 w  DA /7     FIDIVR mem4i    0 := mem4i / 0
 w  DF /0     FILD mem2i      push, 0 := mem2i
 w  DB /0     FILD mem4i      push, 0 := mem4i
 w  DF /5     FILD mem8i      push, 0 := mem8i
 w  DE /1     FIMUL mem2i     0 := 0 * mem2i
 w  DA /1     FIMUL mem4i     0 := 0 * mem4i
 w  D9 F7     FINCSTP         increment stack pointer
9B  DB E3     FINIT           initialize 87
 w  DF /2     FIST mem2i      mem2i := 0
 w  DB /2     FIST mem4i      mem4i := 0
 w  DF /3     FISTP mem2i     mem2i := 0, pop
 w  DB /3     FISTP mem4i     mem4i := 0, pop
 w  DF /7     FISTP mem8i     mem8i := 0, pop
 w  DE /4     FISUB mem2i     0 := 0 - mem2i
 w  DA /4     FISUB mem4i     0 := 0 - mem4i
 w  DE /5     FISUBR mem2i    0 := mem2i - 0
 w  DA /5     FISUBR mem4i    0 := mem4i - 0
 w  D9 C0+i   FLD i           push, 0 := old i
 w  DB /5     FLD mem10r      push, 0 := mem10r
 w  D9 /0     FLD mem4r       push, 0 := mem4r
 w  DD /0     FLD mem8r       push, 0 := mem8r
 w  D9 E8     FLD1            push, 0 := 1.0
 w  D9 /5     FLDCW mem2i     control word := mem2i
 w  D9 /4     FLDENV mem14    environment := mem14
 w  D9 EA     FLDL2E          push, 0 := log base 2.0 of e
 w  D9 E9     FLDL2T          push, 0 := log base 2.0 of 10.0
 w  D9 EC     FLDLG2          push, 0 := log base 10.0 of 2.0
 w  D9 ED     FLDLN2          push, 0 := log base e of 2.0
 w  D9 EB     FLDPI           push, 0 := Pi
 w  D9 EE     FLDZ            push, 0 := +0.0
 w  DE C9     FMUL            1 := 1 * 0, pop
 w  D8 C8+i   FMUL i          0 := 0 * i
 w  DC C8+i   FMUL i,0        i := i * 0
 w  D8 C8+i   FMUL 0,i        0 := 0 * i
 w  D8 /1     FMUL mem4r      0 := 0 * mem4r
 w  DC /1     FMUL mem8r      0 := 0 * mem8r
 w  DE C8+i   FMULP i,0       i := i * 0, pop
    DB E2     FNCLEX          nowait clear exceptions
    DB E1     FNDISI          disable interrupts (.287 ignore)
    DB E0     FNENI           enable interrupts (.287 ignore)
    DB E3     FNINIT          nowait initialize 87
 w  D9 D0     FNOP            no operation
    DD /6     FNSAVE mem94    mem94 := 87 state
    D9 /7     FNSTCW mem2i    mem2i := control word
    D9 /6     FNSTENV mem14   mem14 := environment
    DF E0     FNSTSW AX       AX := status word
    DD /7     FNSTSW mem2i    mem2i := status word
 w  D9 F3     FPATAN          0 := arctan(1/0), pop
 w  D9 F8     FPREM           0 := REPEAT(0 - 1)
 w  D9 F5     FPREM1          387 only: 0 := REPEAT(0 - 1) IEEE compat.
 w  D9 F2     FPTAN           push, 1/0 := tan(old 0)
 w  D9 FC     FRNDINT         0 := round(0)
 w  DD /4     FRSTOR mem94    87 state := mem94
 w  DD /6     FSAVE mem94     mem94 := 87 state
 w  D9 FD     FSCALE          0 := 0 * 2.0 ** 1
9B  DB E4     FSETPM          set protection mode
 w  D9 FE     FSIN            387 only: push, 1/0 := sine(old 0)
 w  D9 FB     FSINCOS         387 only: push, 1 := sine, 0 := cos(old 0)
 w  D9 FA     FSQRT           0 := square root of 0
 w  DD D0+i   FST i           i := 0
 w  D9 /2     FST mem4r       mem4r := 0
 w  DD /2     FST mem8r       mem8r := 0
 w  D9 /7     FSTCW mem2i     mem2i := control word
 w  D9 /6     FSTENV mem14    mem14 := environment
 w  DD D8+i   FSTP i          i := 0, pop
 w  DB /7     FSTP mem10r     mem10r := 0, pop
 w  D9 /3     FSTP mem4r      mem4r := 0, pop
 w  DD /3     FSTP mem8r      mem8r := 0, pop
 w  DF E0     FSTSW AX        AX := status word
 w  DD /7     FSTSW mem2i     mem2i := status word
 w  DE E9     FSUB            1 := 1 - 0, pop
 w  D8 E0+i   FSUB i          0 := 0 - i
 w  DC E8+i   FSUB i,0        i := i - 0
 w  D8 E0+i   FSUB 0,i        0 := 0 - i
 w  D8 /4     FSUB mem4r      0 := 0 - mem4r
 w  DC /4     FSUB mem8r      0 := 0 - mem8r
 w  DE E8+i   FSUBP i,0       i := i - 0, pop
 w  DE E1     FSUBR           1 := 0 - 1, pop
 w  D8 E8+i   FSUBR i         0 := i - 0
 w  DC E0+i   FSUBR i,0       i := 0 - i
 w  D8 E8+i   FSUBR 0,i       0 := i - 0
 w  D8 /5     FSUBR mem4r     0 := mem4r - 0
 w  DC /5     FSUBR mem8r     0 := mem8r - 0
 w  DE E0+i   FSUBRP i,0      i := 0 - i, pop
 w  D9 E4     FTST            compare 0 - 0.0
 w  DD E0+i   FUCOM i         387 only: unordered compare 0 - i
 w  DD E1     FUCOM           387 only: unordered compare 0 - 1
 w  DD E8+i   FUCOMP i        387 only: unordered compare 0 - i, pop
 w  DD E9     FUCOMP          387 only: unordered compare 0 - 1, pop
 w  DA E9     FUCOMPP         387 only: unordered compare 0 - 1, pop both
9B            FWAIT           wait for 87 ready
 w  D9 E5     FXAM            C3 -- C0 := type of 0
 w  D9 C9     FXCH            exchange 0 and 1
 w  D9 C8+i   FXCH 0,i        exchange 0 and i
 w  D9 C8+i   FXCH i          exchange 0 and i
 w  D9 C8+i   FXCH i,0        exchange 0 and i
 w  D9 F4     FXTRACT         push, 1 := expo, 0 := sig
 w  D9 F1     FYL2X           0 := 1 * log base 2.0 of 0, pop
 w  D9 F9     FYL2XP1         0 := 1 * log base 2.0 of (0+1.0), pop