Patent ID: 7127483

Claim:
In a microprocessor implementing a subtraction division algorithm for determining a quotient of a floating point divide operation by iteratively subtracting divisor multiples from a partial remainder, each subtraction producing an unshifted partial remainder in carry-save form that is multiplied by the radix of the algorithm to obtain a next partial remainder, a method of determining quotient digits comprising: calculating a carry-propagate form of a plurality of most significant bits to the right of the radix point of the unshifted partial remainder, a number of bits selected from the following table based on a radix of the SRT algorithm: Number of bits to convert to carry- Radix propagate form 2 3 4 4 8 5 16 6 32 7 and assigning a next quotient digit to be a whole number value of at least one of the most significant bits to the right of the radix point of the unshifted partial remainder.