explain why we can mutate the FPU control word

library/core/src/num/dec2flt/fpu.rs

@@ -8,6 +8,17 @@ pub use fpu_precision::set_precision;
 // round to 80 bits causing double rounding to happen when values are eventually represented as
 // 32/64 bit float values. To overcome this, the FPU control word can be set so that the
 // computations are performed in the desired precision.
+//
+// Note that normally, it is Undefined Behavior to alter the FPU control word while Rust code runs.
+// The compiler assumes that the control word is always in its default state. However, in this
+// particular case the semantics with the altered control word are actually *more faithful*
+// to Rust semantics than the default -- arguably it is all the code that runs *outside* of the scope
+// of a `set_precision` guard that is wrong.
+// In other words, we are only using this to work around <https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/114479>.
+// Sometimes killing UB with UB actually works...
+// (If this is used to set 32bit precision, there is still a risk that the compiler moves some 64bit
+// operation into the scope of the `set_precision` guard. So it's not like this is totally sound.
+// But it's not really any less sound than the default state of 80bit precision...)
 #[cfg(all(target_arch = "x86", not(target_feature = "sse2")))]
 mod fpu_precision {
     use core::arch::asm;

library/core/src/num/dec2flt/number.rs

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ impl Number {
     /// There is an exception: disguised fast-path cases, where we can shift
     /// powers-of-10 from the exponent to the significant digits.
     pub fn try_fast_path<F: RawFloat>(&self) -> Option<F> {
+        // Here we need to work around <https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/114479>.
         // The fast path crucially depends on arithmetic being rounded to the correct number of bits
         // without any intermediate rounding. On x86 (without SSE or SSE2) this requires the precision
         // of the x87 FPU stack to be changed so that it directly rounds to 64/32 bit.