FMUL

FMUL is a mnemonic instruction used in some assembly languages, particularly in older architectures and embedded systems. It stands for "Floating-Point Multiply". This instruction is designed to perform multiplication operations on floating-point numbers.

When an FMUL instruction is executed, the processor takes two floating-point values, typically stored in dedicated floating-point registers, and multiplies them together. The result of this multiplication is then stored in another floating-point register, or sometimes overwrites one of the original operands. The specific floating-point representation used, such as IEEE 754 single-precision or double-precision, depends on the processor's architecture.

The FMUL instruction is fundamental for any application that involves mathematical calculations with non-integer numbers, such as scientific simulations, graphics rendering, or signal processing. Its availability and specific implementation details can vary significantly between different CPU designs. Understanding FMUL is key to comprehending how floating-point arithmetic is handled at the machine code level for such tasks.