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Questions and Answers
What is the difference between SAL and SHL instructions?
What is the difference between SAL and SHL instructions?
There is no difference between the SAL and SHL instructions. They both perform the same operations.
What is the purpose of the SAR instruction?
What is the purpose of the SAR instruction?
The SAR instruction is used for signed data and performs an arithmetic right shift.
What is the purpose of the SHR instruction?
What is the purpose of the SHR instruction?
The SHR instruction is used for unsigned data and performs a logical right shift.
What is the purpose of using C structs in assembly code?
What is the purpose of using C structs in assembly code?
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How would you access the value of 't.x' in assembly code?
How would you access the value of 't.x' in assembly code?
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What are the left shift instructions used for in machine level instructions?
What are the left shift instructions used for in machine level instructions?
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What are the differences between SAL and SHL instructions?
What are the differences between SAL and SHL instructions?
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What is the purpose of the SAR instruction?
What is the purpose of the SAR instruction?
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What is the purpose of the SHR instruction?
What is the purpose of the SHR instruction?
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What is the purpose of using C structs in assembly code?
What is the purpose of using C structs in assembly code?
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How would you access the value of 't.y' in assembly code?
How would you access the value of 't.y' in assembly code?
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What are the left shift instructions used for in machine level instructions?
What are the left shift instructions used for in machine level instructions?
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What is the purpose of the CMPB instruction in Gas code?
What is the purpose of the CMPB instruction in Gas code?
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What is the condition for the jl jump instruction in signed comparisons?
What is the condition for the jl jump instruction in signed comparisons?
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What does the carry flag indicate in unsigned comparisons?
What does the carry flag indicate in unsigned comparisons?
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What is the purpose of the loop instruction?
What is the purpose of the loop instruction?
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What is the purpose of jump instructions in assembly language programming?
What is the purpose of jump instructions in assembly language programming?
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How does a jump instruction differ from a 'call' instruction in assembly language?
How does a jump instruction differ from a 'call' instruction in assembly language?
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What design technique is commonly used in assembly language programming to support program logic?
What design technique is commonly used in assembly language programming to support program logic?
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What is the purpose of a conditional jump instruction in assembly code?
What is the purpose of a conditional jump instruction in assembly code?
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What are the flags that can be set by arithmetic or logical instructions in assembly code?
What are the flags that can be set by arithmetic or logical instructions in assembly code?
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What is the purpose of the Carry Flag in assembly code?
What is the purpose of the Carry Flag in assembly code?
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What is the purpose of the Overflow Flag in assembly code?
What is the purpose of the Overflow Flag in assembly code?
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What are the assembler directives for defining the code section and the data section of a program?
What are the assembler directives for defining the code section and the data section of a program?
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What is the purpose of indirect addressing in assembly language?
What is the purpose of indirect addressing in assembly language?
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Why can't we write instructions to move a value directly from memory to memory?
Why can't we write instructions to move a value directly from memory to memory?
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What is the purpose of the cpuid function in the assembly code example?
What is the purpose of the cpuid function in the assembly code example?
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What are the advantages of using C over assembly code?
What are the advantages of using C over assembly code?
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What are the advantages of learning assembly language?
What are the advantages of learning assembly language?
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What is the purpose of integrating C and assembly code?
What is the purpose of integrating C and assembly code?
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What are the four fields in the format of an assembly language instruction?
What are the four fields in the format of an assembly language instruction?
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What is self-modifying code and why might it not work in certain situations?
What is self-modifying code and why might it not work in certain situations?
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Provide an example of self-modifying code in C.
Provide an example of self-modifying code in C.
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Explain the purpose of the CMPB instruction in Gas code.
Explain the purpose of the CMPB instruction in Gas code.
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Study Notes
Here are the study notes for the text:
Assembly Language Programming IV: Shift, Struct, and Recursion
-
Shift Instructions
- Can shift bits in a byte, word, or long word by a variable number of positions
- Implemented using SAL/SHL (logical left shift) and SAR/SHR (arithmetic/logical right shift)
- Target can be a register or memory location (byte, word, or long word)
- Count of bits to shift can be specified with immediate data or the
%cl
register
-
Structures in C and Assembly
- Example C struct:
struct teststruct { int x; int y; char name[NAMELEN]; } t;
- Accessing structs in assembly code:
-
movl 4(%esp),%edx
(pointer to t) -
movl (%edx),%eax
(x itself) -
movl 4(%edx),%ebx
(y itself) -
movb 8(%edx),%cl
(first string char)
-
- Example C struct:
-
Multiply and Divide Instructions
- Unsigned multiply and divide:
mul
anddiv
- Signed multiply and divide:
imul
andidiv
- Multiply operation:
mulb %bl, %ax
(byte),mulw %bx, %dx, %ax
(word),mull %ebx, %edx, %eax
(long)
- Unsigned multiply and divide:
-
Example: For/While Loop and Mul
- C code:
unsigned int i, n; n = 1; for (i = 1; i <= n; i++) { ... }
- Assembly code:
movl $1, %ecx
(initial loop count),loop label
(decrement and test%ecx
)
- C code:
Assembly Language Programming III: Condition Codes and Jump Instructions
-
Jumps and Flow of Control
- No "if-else", "for", "do", or "do...while" statements in assembly language
- Use conditional and unconditional jump instructions for branching and looping
-
Flags and Conditional Jumps
- Flags set by arithmetic or logical instructions:
- Carry Flag (CF)
- Zero Flag (ZF)
- Sign Flag (SF)
- Parity Flag (PF)
- Overflow Flag (OF)
- Conditional jump instructions:
jz
(zero),jnz
(not zero),js
(sign),jns
(not sign), etc.
- Flags set by arithmetic or logical instructions:
-
Unconditional Jumps
-
jmp
instruction: loads a new value into%eip
-
jmp
can be used to create infinite loops
-
Assembly Language Programming I: Introduction
-
C versus Assembly Language
- C is a "portable assembly language"
- Advantages of assembly language: low-level operations, access to memory via pointers, integrates well with assembly language functions
-
Best of Both Worlds
- Integrate C and assembly code
- Make assembly code callable from C### Assembler Directives
-
.globl
directive defines a label for external reference (call) -
.text
directive defines the code section of a program (ROM) -
.data
directive defines the static data section of a program (RAM) -
.end
directive marks the end of the assembly language -
.bss
directive allows the assembler to set labels for uninitialized memory space (not used in this context)
Sections and Directives
-
.text
section places assembler output into program memory space (e.g., ROM) -
.data
section places assembler output into a static initialized memory space (e.g., RAM) -
.section
directive designates sections where assembler output is placed into memory
Defining and Initializing Static Storage Locations
-
.long
directive defines a 32-bit memory location -
.word
directive defines a 16-bit memory location -
.byte
directive defines an 8-bit memory location -
.ascii
directive defines a string -
.asciz
directive defines a null-terminated string
Defining Constant Values
- Constant definitions follow C conventions (e.g.,
$123
,$0x123
,$'a'
,$'\n'
) - Note:
$'\0'
results in0
instead of\0
, use$0
to get around this problem
Symbolic Constant Names
- Allow the use of symbols for numeric values
- Format:
SYMBOL = value
- Example:
NCASES = 8
Addressing Memory
- Direct addressing uses hard-coded memory addresses (not recommended except for HW-based addresses)
- Indirect addressing uses a label for a memory address
- Indirect addressing with offset is similar to
*(pointer+4)
in C
Integrating C and Assembly
- Using a makefile, C driver filename is
mycodec.c
, and assembly filename ismycode.s
- Example: function
cpuid
with C "driver" incpuidc.c
and assembly code incpuid.s
Self-Modifying Code
- Assembler does not support
cpuid
instruction, so self-modifying code is used as a workaround - However, this approach would not work in certain environments (e.g., PROM/ROM, UNIX/Linux with code space protection)
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Description
Test your knowledge of assembly language programming and its use in manipulating structures, performing shifts, and implementing recursion. This quiz covers topics such as accessing C structures in assembly code and using C structs in assembly code. Sharpen your skills and see how well you understand these concepts.