Reporting bugs: there is nothing to gain in frustrating reporters

[Mattias Karlsson]

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005, Robert Dewar wrote:

> Mattias Karlsson wrote:
>> On Sat, 18 Jun 2005, Robert Dewar wrote:
>> 
>>> Mattias Karlsson wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Don't know about you, but I consider any processor that is unable to 
>>>> store a register to memory and then read back the same value to be buggy.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> THe x86/x87 does not violate this requirement
>
>> In my Obi-Wan-Point-Of-View it does. :-)
>
> Well I think it is inapprorpiate to assign erroneous points of
> view to Obi-Wan :-) Once again, on the x86/x87 the process IS "able
> to store a register to memory and then read back the same value".
> ANy claim to the contrary is ill-informed.
>
>> This entire debate comes from one thing: currently floating point has 
>> always type long double untill stored to memory, regardless of 
>> user-specified type. At -O1 this becomes more or less non-deterministic.
>
> Yes, right, but that is a different issue from being able to store
> a register to memory and then read back the same value.

I confess of being overly generic, and quite fuzzy about my point.


Anyway my point of view is that the solution to anyone needing strict IEEE 
semantics are:
1) Use -float-store
2) Use sse math
3) Learn to live without it.

Since the "gcc-is-buggy" solution of changing x87 rounding modes will:
1) Be a lot of work.
2) Cause a lot of regressions.