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A function prologue typically does the following actions if the architecture has a base pointer (also known as frame pointer) and a stack pointer: Pushes current base pointer onto the stack, so it can be restored later. Value of base pointer is set to the address of stack pointer (which is pointed to the top of the stack) so that the base ...
x86 assembly language includes instructions for a stack-based floating-point unit (FPU). The FPU was an optional separate coprocessor for the 8086 through the 80386, it was an on-chip option for the 80486 series, and it is a standard feature in every Intel x86 CPU since the 80486, starting with the Pentium.
The reset vector is a pointer or address, where the CPU should always begin as soon as it is able to execute instructions. The address is in a section of non-volatile memory (such as BIOS or Boot ROM ) initialized to contain instructions to start the operation of the CPU, as the first step in the process of booting the system containing the CPU.
An autorelative pointer is a pointer whose value is interpreted as an offset from the address of the pointer itself; thus, if a data structure has an autorelative pointer member that points to some portion of the data structure itself, then the data structure may be relocated in memory without having to update the value of the auto relative ...
Pointer formats are known as near, far, or huge. Near pointers are 16-bit offsets within the reference segment, i.e. DS for data and CS for code. They are the fastest pointers, but are limited to point to 64 KB of memory (to the associated segment of the data type). Near pointers can be held in registers (typically SI and DI).
The program counter (PC), [1] commonly called the instruction pointer (IP) in Intel x86 and Itanium microprocessors, and sometimes called the instruction address register (IAR), [2] [1] the instruction counter, [3] or just part of the instruction sequencer, [4] is a processor register that indicates where a computer is in its program sequence.
Here is a simple example of index register use in assembly language pseudo-code that sums a 100 entry array of 4-byte words: Clear_accumulator Load_index 400,index2 //load 4*array size into index register 2 (index2) loop_start : Add_word_to_accumulator array_start,index2 //Add to AC the word at the address (array_start + index2) Branch_and_decrement_if_index_not_zero loop_start,4,index2 //loop ...
Below is the full 8086/8088 instruction set of Intel (81 instructions total). [2] These instructions are also available in 32-bit mode, in which they operate on 32-bit registers (eax, ebx, etc.) and values instead of their 16-bit (ax, bx, etc.) counterparts.