(FPA) Additional hardware to perform functions on
floating-point numbers such as addition, multiplication,
logarithms, exponentials, trigonometric functions and various
kinds of rounding and error detection. A floating-point
The term "floating-point accelerator" suggests a physically
larger system, often an extra circuit board, whereas a
"floating-point unit" is probably a single chip or even part
of a chip.
(1994-12-01)