Reverse-engineering the Intel 8087's Tangent Algorithm: Beyond CORDIC
The Intel 8087's tangent algorithm combines CORDIC and polynomial approximation for enhanced performance.
Intel's 8087 floating-point chip, introduced in 1980, accelerated floating-point operations in systems like the IBM PC. This article examines the algorithm behind the chip's tangent instruction, which combines CORDIC and polynomial approximation for high accuracy and performance. The 8087 computes tangent in 90 microseconds, a significant improvement over the 8086's 13,000 microseconds.
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