We determine machine capabilities by performing an os/platform *query* first, like getauxv(). If the *query* fails, we move onto a cpu *probe*. The cpu *probe* tries to exeute an instruction and then catches a SIGILL on Linux or the exception EXCEPTION_ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION on Windows. Some OSes fail to hangle a SIGILL gracefully, like Apple OSes. Apple machines corrupt memory and variables around the probe.
Jeffrey Walton