em87 -- Kernel Module

Perform/emulate hardware floating-point operations

The  kernel  module  em87  performs  or  emulates  hardware  floating-point
operations.  Whether  it performs the  operations or emulates  them depends
whether your  computer contains a mathematics  co-processor.  Note that the
Intel 80486-DX processor has the co-processor built in.

em87 is called  a kernel module because you can  link it into the kernel or
exclude it from the kernel, just  like a device driver.  However, it is not
a true  device driver  because it  does not perform  I/O from  a peripheral
device.   To install  em87 into  a kernel (should  your kernel  not already
contain  it),  log in  as  the  superuser root  and  execute the  following
commands:

    cd /etc/conf
    em87/mkdev
    bin/idmkcoh -o /kernel_name

where kernel_name  is the name of  the new kernel to  build.  When you next
boot COHERENT, hardware floating point will be enabled.

See Also

device drivers,
float,
kernel

© 2012 by Stephen A. Ness