fWtoIEEE [D>=21]

Converts the contents of W from SPLat floating point format to big endian IEEE-754 format. This involves re-arranging the byte and bit order to make the number compatible with 3rd party equipment such as graphics HMIs. After this instruction has been executed the data in W should NOT be operated on with any floating point calculation.

This instruction is not accurately simulated by SPLat/PC. In simulation W is set to NaN (Not a Number). That means you cannot use it to explore the two floating point formats.

Explanation: The floating point format adopted in SPLat is a special format designed to be more efficient for implementation in an 8-bit processor. It keeps mantissa and exponent in separate bytes, whereas in IEEE they cross byte boundaries.

Dialect restriction: Available only in boards with dialect 21 or greater.