2.1.

5 General Concepts
1. The central processor unit (CPU) contains registers and what other basic elements?
Control Unit, Arithmetic Logic Unit, and the clock.
2. The central processor unit is connected to the rest of the computer system using what three
buses?
Data, Address, and Control buses.
3. Why does memory access take more machine cycles than register access?
Conventional memory is outside the CPU and it responds more slowly to access requests.
Registers are hard-wired inside the CPU.
4. What are the three basic steps in the instruction execution cycle?
Fetch, decode, execute.
5. Which two additional steps are required in the instruction execution cycle when a memory
operand is used?
Fetch memory operands, store memory operands.
6. During which stage of the instruction execution cycle is the program counter incremented?
During the fetch step.
7. When a program runs, what information does the OS read from the filenames disk directory
entry?
Section 2.1.4 mentions the filename, file size, and starting location on the disk. (Most
directories also store the files last modification date and time.)
8. After a program has been loaded into memory, how does it begin execution?
The OS executes a branch (like a GOTO) to the first machine instruction in the program.
9. Define multitasking
The CPU executes multiple tasks (programs) by rapidly switching from one program to the
next. This gives the impression that all programs are executing at the same time.
10. What is the function of the OS scheduler?
The OS scheduler determines how much time to allot to each task, and it switches between
tasks.
11. When the processor switches from one task to another, what values in the first tasks state
must be preserved?
The program counter, the tasks variables, and the CPU registers (including the status flags).
12. What is the duration of a single clock cycle in a 3-GHz processor?
3.33_10_10, which is 1.0/3.0_10_9.
2.2.5 x86 Architecture Details
1. What are the x86 processors three basic modes of operation?
Real-address mode, Protected mode, and System Management mode.
2. Name all eight 32-bit general-purpose registers.
EAX, EBX, ECX, EDX, ESI, EDI, ESP, EBP.
3. Name all six segment registers.
CS, DS, SS, ES, FS, GS.
4. What special purpose does the ECX register serve?
Loop counter.
5. Besides the stack pointer (ESP), what other register points to variables on the stack?
EBP.
6. Name at least four CPU status flags.
Most common: Carry, Sign, Zero, Overflow. Less common: Auxiliary Carry, Parity.
7. Which flag is set when the result of an unsigned arithmetic operation is too large to fit into the
destination?
Carry
8. Which flag is set when the result of a signed arithmetic operation is either too large or too
small to fit into the destination?
Overflow
9. Which flag is set when an arithmetic or logical operation generates a negative result?
Sign
10. Which part of the CPU performs floating-point arithmetic?

Floating-Point Unit
11. How many bits long are the FPU data registers?
80 Bits
12. Which Intel processor was the first member of the IA-32 family?
The Intel 80386.
13. Which Intel processor first introduced superscalar execution?
The Pentium.
14. Which Intel processor first used MMX technology?
The Pentium II.
15. Describe the CISC design approach.
CISC means complex instruction set: a large collection of instructions, some of which perform
sophisticated operations that might be typical of a high-level language.
16. Describe the RISC design approach.
The term RISC stands for reduced instruction set: a small set of simple (atomic) instructions
that may be combined into more complex operations.
2.3.3 x86 Memory Management
1. What is the range of addressable memory in protected mode?
4 GByte ( 0 to FFFFFFFFh).
2. What is the range of addressable memory in real-address mode?
1 MByte (0 to FFFFFh).
3. The two ways of describing an address in real-address mode are segment-offset and
Linear (absolute).
4. In real-address mode, convert the following hexadecimal segment-offset address to a linear
address: 0950:0100.
09600h
5. In real-address mode, convert the following hexadecimal segment-offset address to a linear
address: 0CD1:02E0.
0CFF0h.
6. In MASMs flat segmentation model, how many bits hold the address of an instruction or
variable?
32 bits.
7. In protected mode, which register references the descriptor for the stack segment?
SS register.
8. In protected mode, which table contains pointers to memory segments used by a single
program?
Local descriptor table.
9. In the flat segmentation model, which table contains pointers to at least two segments?
Global descriptor table.
10. What is the main advantage to using the paging feature of x86 processors?
The total size of all programs loaded into memory can exceed the amount of physical
memory installed in the computer.
11. Challenge: Can you think of a reason why MS-DOS was not designed to support protectedmode
programming?
This is an open-ended question, of course. It is a fact that MS-DOS first had to run on the
8086/8088 processors, which only supported Real-address mode. When later processors
came out that supported Protected mode, my guess is that Microsoft wanted MS-DOS to
continue to run on the older processors. Otherwise, customers with older computers would
refuse to upgrade to new versions of MS-DOS.
12. Challenge: In real-address mode,
The following segment-offset addresses point to the same linear address: 0640:0100 and
0630:0200.

2.4.5 Components of a Typical x86 Computer

1. Describe SRAM and its most common use.
SRAM is an acronym for Static RAM, used in CPU cache memory.
2. Describe VRAM.
VRAM (video ram) holds displayable video data. When CRT monitors are used, VRAM is
dual ported, allowing one port to continuously refresh the display while another port
writes data to the display.
3. List at least two features found in the Intel P965 Express chipset.
Select any two features from the following list: (1) Intel Fast Memory Access uses an
updated Memory Controller Hub (MCH). (2) I/O Controller Hub (Intel ICH8/R/DH) that
supports serial ATA devices (disk drives). (3) Support for 10 USB ports, 6 PCI express
slots, networking, and Intel Quiet System technology. (4) High definition audio chip.
4. Name four types of RAM mentioned in this chapter.
Dynamic RAM, Static RAM, Video RAM, and CMOS RAM.
5. Which type of RAM is used for Level 2 cache memory?
Static RAM.
6. What advantages does a USB device offer over a standard serial or parallel device?
The computer can query a device connected via USB to find out its name and device type
and the type of driver it supports. The computer can also suspend power to individual
devices. None of these capabilities is possible with serial and parallel ports.
7. What is the purpose of the 8259A PIC controller?
The 8259 is the interrupt controller chip, sometimes called PIC, that schedules hardware
interrupts and interrupts the CPU.
8. What are the main differences between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth?
Bluetooth is a wireless communication protocol for exchanging small amounts of data
over short distances. It is commonly used with mobile devices such as cell phones and
PDAs. Wi-Fi devices operate at a greater speed and capacity than Bluetooth. Wi-Fi devices
often communicate with each other when in the range of a wireless network.
2.5.2 Input-Output System
1. Of the four levels of input/output in a computer system, which is the most universal and
portable?
The application program level.
2. What characteristics distinguish BIOS-level input/output?
BIOS functions communicate directly with the system hardware. They are independent of
the operating system.
3. Why are device drivers necessary, given that the BIOS already has code that communicates
with the computers hardware?
New devices are invented all the time with capabilities that were often not anticipated
when the BIOS was written.
4. In the example regarding displaying a string of characters, which level exists between the
operating system and the video controller card?
The BIOS level.
5. At which level(s) can an assembly language program manipulate input/output?
The operating system, BIOS, and hardware levels.
6. Why do game programs often send their sound output directly to the sound cards hardware
ports?
Game programs often try to take advantage of the latest features in specialized sound cards.
It should be noted that MS-DOS game applications were more prone to do this than games
running under MS-Windows. In fact, Windows-NT, 2000, and XP all prevent applications
from directly accessing system hardware.
7. Challenge: Is it likely that the BIOS for a computer running MS-Windows would be different
from that used by a computer running Linux?
No. The same BIOS would work for both operating systems. Many computer owners
install two or three operating systems on the same computer. They would certainly not
want to change the system BIOS every time they rebooted the computer!

3.1.11 Basic Elements of Assembly Language

1. Identify valid suffix characters used in integer constants.
h, q, o, d, b, r, t, y.
2. (Yes/No): Is A5h a valid hexadecimal constant?
No (a leading zero is required).
3. (Yes/No): Does the multiplication operator (*) have a higher precedence than the division
operator (/) in integer expressions?
No (they have the same precedence).
4. Write a constant expression that divides 10 by 3 and returns the integer remainder.
Expression: 10 MOD 3.
5. Show an example of a valid real number constant with an exponent.
Real number constant: 3.5E-02.
6. (Yes/No): Must string constants be enclosed in single quotes?
No, they can also be enclosed in double quotes.
7. Reserved words can be instruction mnemonics, attributes, operators, predefined symbols,
and __________.
Directives
8. What is the maximum length of an identifier?
247 Characters
9. (True/False): An identifier cannot begin with a numeric digit.
True
10. (True/False): Assembly language identifiers are (by default) case insensitive.
True
11. (True/False): Assembler directives execute at runtime.
False
12. (True/False): Assembler directives can be written in any combinationn of uppercase and lowercase
letters.
True
13. Name the four basic parts of an assembly language instruction.
Label, mnemonic, operand(s), comment.
14. (True/False): MOV is an example of an instruction mnemonic.
True
15. (True/False): A code label is followed by a colon (:), but a data label does not have a colon.
True
16. Show an example of a block comment.
Code example:
Comment !
This is a comment
This is also a comment
!
17. Why would it not be a good idea to use numeric addresses when writing instructions that
access variables?
Because the addresses coded in the instructions would have to be updated whenever new
variables were inserted before existing ones.
3.2.3 Example: Adding and Subtracting Integers
1. In the AddSub program (Section 3.2), what is the meaning of the INCLUDE directive?
The INCLUDE directive copies necessary definitions and setup information from the
Irvine32.inc text file. The data from this file is inserted into the data stream read by the
assembler.
2. In the AddSub program, what does the .CODE directive identify?
The .CODE directive marks the beginning of the code segment.
3. What are the names of the segments in the AddSub program?
code, data, and stack.
4. In the AddSub program, how are the CPU registers displayed?
By calling the DumpRegs procedure.

5. In the AddSub program, which statement halts the program?

The exit statement.
6. Which directive begins a procedure?
The PROC directive.
7. Which directive ends a procedure?
The ENDP directive.
8. What is the purpose of the identifier in the END statement?
It marks the last line of the program to be assembled, and the label next to END identifies
the programs entry point (where execution begins).
9. What does the PROTO directive do?
PROTO declares the name of a procedure that is called by the current program.
3.3.2 Assembling, Linking, and Running Programs
1. What types of files are produced by the assembler?
Object (.OBJ) and listing (.LST) files.
2. (True/False): The linker extracts assembled procedures from the link library and inserts
them in the executable program.
True.
3. (True/False): When a programs source code is modified, it must be assembled and linked
again before it can be executed with the changes.
True.
4. Which operating system component reads and executes programs?
Loader.
5. What types of files is produced by the linker?
Executable (.EXE).
3.4.12 Defining Data
1. Create an uninitialized data declaration for a 16-bit signed integer.
var1 SWORD ?
2. Create an uninitialized data declaration for an 8-bit unsigned integer.
var2 BYTE ?
3. Create an uninitialized data declaration for an 8-bit signed integer.
var3 SBYTE ?
4. Create an uninitialized data declaration for a 64-bit integer.
var4 QWORD ?
5. Which data type can hold a 32-bit signed integer?
SDWORD
6. Declare a 32-bit signed integer variable and initialize it with the smallest possible negative
decimal value. (Hint: Refer to integer ranges in Chapter 1.)
var5 SDWORD -2147483648
7. Declare an unsigned 16-bit integer variable named wArray that uses three initializers.
wArray WORD 10, 20, 30
8. Declare a string variable containing the name of your favorite color. Initialize it as a nullterminated
string.
myColor BYTE blue, 0
9. Declare an uninitialized array of 50 unsigned doublewords named dArray.
dArray DWORD 50 DUP(?)
10. Declare a string variable containing the word TEST repeated 500 times.
myTestString BYTE 500 DUP(TEST)
11. Declare an array of 20 unsigned bytes named bArray and initialize all elements to zero.
bArray BYTE 20 DUP(0)
12. Show the order of individual bytes in memory (lowest to highest) for the following doubleword
variable: val1 DWORD 87654321h
21h, 43h, 65h, 87h\
3.5.5 Symbolic Constants
1. Declare a symbolic constant using the equal-sign directive that contains the ASCII code
(08h) for the Backspace key.
BACKSPACE = 08h

2. Declare a symbolic constant named SecondsInDay using the equal-sign directive and
assign it an arithmetic expression that calculates the number of seconds in a 24-hour period.
SecondsInDay =24 * 60 * 60
3. Write a statement that causes the assembler to calculate the number of bytes in the following
array, and assign the value to a symbolic constant named ArraySize:
myArray WORD 20 DUP(?)

ArraySize= ( $ - myArray)
4. Show how to calculate the number of elements in the following array, and assign the value
to a symbolic constant named ArraySize:
myArray DWORD 30 DUP(?)

ArraySize= ( $ - myArray)/TYPE DWORD

5. Use a TEXTEQU expression to redefine PROC as PROCEDURE.
PROCEDURE TEXTEQU <PROC>
6. Use TEXTEQU to create a symbol named Sample for a string constant, and then use the
symbol when defining a string variable named MyString.
Code example:
Sample TEXTEQU <"This is a string">
MyString BYTE Sample

7. Use TEXTEQU to assign the symbol SetupESI to the following line of code:
mov esi,OFFSET myArray

SetupESI TEXTEQU <mov esi, OFFSET myArray>

4.1.10 Data Transfer Instructions
1. What are the three basic types of operands?
Register, immediate, and memory
2. (True/False): The destination operand of a MOV instruction cannot be a segment register.
False
3. (True/False): In a MOV instruction, the second operand is known as the destination operand.
False
4. (True/False): The EIP register cannot be the destination operand of a MOV instruction.
True
5. In the operand notation used by Intel, what does reg/mem32 indicate?
A 32-bit register or memory operand
6. In the operand notation used by Intel, what does imm16 indicate?
A 16-bit immediate (constant) operand
Use the following variable definitions for the remaining questions in this section:
.data
var1 SBYTE -4,-2,3,1
var2 WORD 1000h,2000h,3000h,4000h
var3 SWORD -16,-42
var4 DWORD 1,2,3,4,5

7. For each of the following statements, state whether or not the instruction is valid:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

mov ax,var1
mov ax,var2
mov eax,var3
mov var2,var3
movzx ax,var2
movzx var2,al
mov ds,ax
mov ds,1000h

(a) not valid (b) valid (c) not valid (d) not valid (e) not valid (f) not valid (g) valid (h) not
valid
8. What will be the hexadecimal value of the destination operand after each of the following
instructions execute in sequence?
mov al,var1
mov ah,[var1+3]

(a) FCh (b) 01h

; a.
; b.

9. What will be the value of the destination operand after each of the following instructions
execute in sequence?
mov
mov
mov
mov

ax,var2
ax,[var2+4]
ax,var3
ax,[var3-2]

;
;
;
;

a.
b.
c.
d.

(a) 1000h (b) 3000h (c) FFF0h (d) 4000h

10.What will be the value of the destination operand after each of the following instructions
execute in sequence?
mov edx,var4
movzx edx,var2
mov edx,[var4+4]
movsx edx,var1

;
;
;
;

a.
b.
c.
d.

(a) 00000001h (b) 00001000h (c) 00000002h (d) FFFFFFFCh

4.2.8 Addition and Subtraction
Use the following data for the next several questions:
.data
val1 BYTE 10h
val2 WORD 8000h
val3 DWORD 0FFFFh
val4 WORD 7FFFh
1. Write an instruction that increments val2.
inc val2
2. Write an instruction that subtracts val3 from EAX.
sub eax,val3
3. Write instructions that subtract val4 from val2.
Code:
mov ax,val4
sub val2,ax

4. If val2 is incremented by 1 using the ADD instruction, what will be the values of the Carry
and Sign flags?
CF=0, SF=1.
5. If val4 is incremented by 1 using the ADD instruction, what will be the values of the Overflow
and Sign flags?
OF= 1, SF=1.
6. Where indicated, write down the values of the Carry, Sign, Zero, and Overflow flags after
each instruction has executed:
mov ax,7FF0h
add al,10h ;
a. CF = SF = ZF = OF =
add ah,1 ;
b. CF = SF = ZF = OF =
add ax,2 ;
c. CF = SF = ZF = OF =
(a) CF=1, SF=0, ZF=1, OF=0
(b) CF=0, SF=1, ZF=0, OF=1
(c) CF=0, SF=1, ZF=0, OF=0
7. Implement the following expression in assembly language: AX _ (_val2 _ BX) _ val4.
mov
neg
add
sub

ax,val2
ax
ax,bx
ax,val4

8. (Yes/No): Is it possible to set the Overflow flag if you add a positive integer to a negative integer?
No
9. (Yes/No): Will the Overflow flag be set if you add a negative integer to a negative integer
and produce a positive result?
Yes
10. (Yes/No): Is it possible for the NEG instruction to set the Overflow flag?
Yes (for example, mov al, -128 . . . followed by . . . neg al).

11. (Yes/No): Is it possible for both the Sign and Zero flags to be set at the same time?
No
12. Write a sequence of two instructions that set both the Carry and Overflow flags at the same
time.
mov al,80h
add al,80h

13. Write a sequence of instructions showing how the Zero flag could be used to indicate unsigned
overflow after executing INC and DEC instructions.
mov al,0FFh
inc al
jz overflow_occurred
mov bl,1
dec bl
jz overflow_occurred

4.3.8 Data-Related Operators and Directives

1. (True/False): The OFFSET operator always returns a 16-bit value.
False.
2. (True/False): The PTR operator returns the 32-bit address of a variable.
False.
3. (True/False): The TYPE operator returns a value of 4 for doubleword operands.
True.
4. (True/False): The LENGTHOF operator returns the number of bytes in an operand.
False.
5. (True/False): The SIZEOF operator returns the number of bytes in an operand.
True.
Use the following data definitions for the next seven exercises:
.data
myBytes BYTE 10h,20h,30h,40h
myWords WORD 3 DUP(?),2000h
myString BYTE "ABCDE"

6. Insert a directive in the given data that aligns myBytes to an even-numbered address.
.data
ALIGN 2
myBytes BYTE 10h, 20h, 30h, 40h
etc.

7. What will be the value of EAX after each of the following instructions execute?
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov

eax,TYPE myBytes
eax,LENGTHOF myBytes
eax,SIZEOF myBytes
eax,TYPE myWords
eax,LENGTHOF myWords
eax,SIZEOF myWords
eax,SIZEOF myString

;
;
;
;
;
;
;

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

(a) 1 (b) 4 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 4 (f) 8 (g) 5

8. Write a single instruction that moves the first two bytes in myBytes to the DX register. The
resulting value will be 2010h.
mov dx, WORD PTR myBytes
9. Write an instruction that moves the second byte in myWords to the AL register.
mov al, BYTE PTR myWords+1
10. Write an instruction that moves all four bytes in myBytes to the EAX register.
mov eax, DWORD PTR myBytes
11. Insert a LABEL directive in the given data that permits myWords to be moved directly to a
32-bit register.
myWordsD LABEL DWORD
myWords WORD 3 DUP(?),2000h
.code
mov eax,myWordsD

12. Insert a LABEL directive in the given data that permits myBytes to be moved directly to a
16-bit register.
myBytesW LABEL WORD
myBytes BYTE 10h,20h,30h,40h
.code
mov ax,myBytesW

4.4.5 Indirect Addressing

1. (True/False): Any 16-bit general-purpose register can be used as an indirect operand.
False.
2. (True/False): Any 32-bit general-purpose register can be used as an indirect operand.
True
3. (True/False): The BX register is usually reserved for addressing the stack.
False.
4. (True/False): A general protection fault occurs in real-address mode when an array subscript
is out of range.
False.
5. (True/False): The following instruction is invalid: inc [esi]
True (the PTR operator is required).
6. (True/False): The following is an indexed operand: array[esi]
True
Use the following data definitions for the remaining questions in this section:
myBytes BYTE 10h,20h,30h,40h
myWords WORD 8Ah,3Bh,72h,44h,66h
myDoubles DWORD 1,2,3,4,5
myPointer DWORD myDoubles

7. Fill in the requested register values on the right side of the following instruction sequence:
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov

esi,OFFSET myBytes
al,[esi]
al,[esi+3]
esi,OFFSET myWords + 2
ax,[esi]
edi,8
edx,[myDoubles + edi]
edx,myDoubles[edi]
ebx,myPointer
eax,[ebx+4]

; a. AL =
; b. AL =
; c. AX =
; d. EDX =
; e. EDX =
; f. EAX =

(a) 10h (b) 40h (c) 003Bh (d) 3 (e) 3 (f) 2

8. Fill in the requested register values on the right side of the following instruction sequence:
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov
mov

esi,OFFSET myBytes
ax,[esi]
eax,DWORD PTR myWords
esi,myPointer
ax,[esi+2]
ax,[esi+6]
ax,[esi-4]

; a. AX =
; b. EAX =
; c. AX =
; d. AX =
; e. AX =

(a) 2010h (b) 003B008Ah (c) 0 (d) 0 (e) 0044h

4.5.5 JMP and LOOP Instructions
1. (True/False): A JMP instruction can only jump to a label inside the current procedure.
True.
2. (True/False): JMP is a conditional transfer instruction.
False
3. If ECX is initialized to zero before beginning a loop, how many times will the LOOP
instruction repeat? (Assume ECX is not modified by any other instructions inside the loop.)
4,294,967,296 times.
4. (True/False): The LOOP instruction first checks to see whether ECX is not equal to zero;
then LOOP decrements ECX and jumps to the destination label.
False

5. (True/False): The LOOP instruction does the following: It decrements ECX; then, if ECX is
not equal to zero, LOOP jumps to the destination label.
True
6. In real-address mode, which register is used as the counter by the LOOP instruction?
CX
7. In real-address mode, which register is used as the counter by the LOOPD instruction?
ECX
8. (True/False): The target of a LOOP instruction must be within 256 bytes of the current location.
False (-128 to +127 bytes from the current location).
9. (Challenge): What will be the final value of EAX in this example?
mov eax,0
mov ecx,10 ; outer loop counter
L1:
mov eax,3
mov ecx,5 ; inner loop counter
L2:
add eax,5
loop L2 ; repeat inner loop
loop L1 ; repeat outer loop

This is a trick! The program does not stop, because the first LOOP instruction decrements ECX to
zero. The second LOOP instruction decrements ECX to FFFFFFFFh, causing the outer loop
to repeat.
10. Revise the code from the preceding
Insert the following instruction at label L1: push ecx, Also insert the following instruction before the
second LOOP instruction: pop ecx. (Once you have added these instructions,the final value of eax is
1Ch.)
5.2.2 Linking to an External Library
1.(True/False):A link library consists of assembly language source code.
False (it contains object code).
2. Use the PROTO directive to declare a procedure named MyProc in an external link library.
MyProc PROTO

3. Write a CALL statement that calls a procedure named MyProc in an external link library.
call MyProc

4. What is the name of the 32-bit link library supplied with this book?
Irvine32.lib.
5. Which library contains functions called from Irvine32.lib?
Kernel32.lib.
6. What type of file is kernel32.dll?
Kernel32.dll is a dynamic link library that is a fundamental part of the MS-Windows
operating system.
5.3.4 The Books Link Library
1. Which procedure in the link library generates a random integer within a selected range?
RandomRange procedure.
2. Which procedure in the link library displays Press [Enter] to continue. . . and waits for the
user to press the Enter key?
WaitMsg procedure.
3. Write statements that cause a program to pause for 700 milliseconds.
mov eax,700
call Delay

4. Which procedure from the link library writes an unsigned integer to the console window in
decimal format?
WriteDec procedure.
5. Which procedure from the link library places the cursor at a specific console window
location?
Gotoxy procedure.
6. Write the INCLUDE directive that is required when using the Irvine32 library.

INCLUDE Irvine32.inc.
7. What types of statements are inside the Irvine32.inc file?
PROTO statements (procedure prototypes) and constant definitions. (There are also text
macros, but they are not mentioned in this chapter.)
8. What are the required input parameters for the DumpMem procedure?
ESI contains the datas starting address, ECX contains the number of data units, and EBX
contains the data unit size (byte, word, or doubleword).
9. What are the required input parameters for the ReadString procedure?
EDX contains the offset of an array of bytes, and ECX contains the maximum number of
characters to read.
10. Which processor status flags are displayed by the DumpRegs procedure?
Carry, Sign, Zero, Overflow, Auxiliary carry, and Parity.
11. Challenge: Write statements that prompt the user for an identification number and input a
string of digits into an array of bytes.
.data
str1 BYTE "Enter identification number: ",0
idStr BYTE 15 DUP(?)
.code
mov edx,OFFSET str1
call WriteString
mov edx,OFFSET idStr
mov ecx,(SIZEOF idStr) - 1
call ReadString

5.4.3 Stack Operations

1. Which register (in protected mode) manages the stack?
ESP.
2. How is the runtime stack different from the stack abstract data type?
The runtime stack is the only type of stack that is managed directly by the CPU. For example,
it holds the return addresses of called procedures.
3. Why is the stack called a LIFO structure?
LIFO stands for last in, first out. The last value pushed into the stack is the first value
popped out from the stack.
4. When a 32-bit value is pushed on the stack, what happens to ESP?
ESP is decremented by 4.
5. (True/False) Only 32-bit values should be pushed on the stack when using the Irvine32
library.
True.
6. (True/False) Only 16-bit values should be pushed on the stack when using the Irvine16 library.
False (you can push both 16-bit and 32-bit values).
7. (True/False) Local variables in procedures are created on the stack.
True.
8. (True/False) The PUSH instruction cannot have an immediate operand.
False (yes, it can, from the 80186 processor onward).
9. Which instruction pushes all of the 32-bit general-purpose registers on the stack?
PUSHAD.
10. Which instruction pushes the 32-bit EFLAGS register on the stack?
PUSHFD.
11. Which instruction pops the stack into the EFLAGS register?
POPFD.
12. Challenge: Another assembler (called NASM) permits the PUSH instruction to list multiple
specific registers. Why might this approach be better than the PUSHAD instruction in
MASM? Here is a NASM example: PUSH EAX EBX ECX
NASMs approach permits the programmer to be specific about which registers are to be
pushed. PUSHAD, on the other hand, does not have that flexibility. This becomes important
when a procedure needs to save several registers and at the same time return a value to
its caller in the EAX register. In this type of situation, EAX cannot be pushed and popped
because the return value would be lost.

13. Challenge: Suppose there were no PUSH instruction. Write a sequence of two other instructions
that would accomplish the same as PUSH EAX.
sub esp,4
mov [esp],eax

5.5.6 Defining and Using Procedures

1. (True/False): The PROC directive begins a procedure and the ENDP directive ends a
procedure.
True.
2. (True/False): It is possible to define a procedure inside an existing procedure.
False
3. What would happen if the RET instruction was omitted from a procedure?
Execution would continue beyond the end of the procedure, possibly into the beginning of
another procedure. This type of programming bug is often difficult to detect!
4. How are the words Receives and Returns used in the suggested procedure documentation?
Receives indicates the input parameters given to the procedure when it is called. Returns
indicates what value, if any, the procedure produces when it returns it to its caller.
5. (True/False): The CALL instruction pushes the offset of the CALL instruction on the stack.
False (it pushes the offset of the instruction following the call).
6. (True/False): The CALL instruction pushes the offset of the instruction following the
CALL on the stack.
True.
7. (True/False): The RET instruction pops the top of the stack into the instruction pointer.
True.
8. (True/False): Nested procedure calls are not permitted by the Microsoft assembler unless
the NESTED operator is used in the procedure definition.
False (there is no NESTED operator).
9. (True/False): In protected mode, each procedure call uses a minimum of 4 bytes of stack
space.
True.
10. (True/False): The ESI and EDI registers cannot be used when passing parameters to procedures.
False.
11. (True/False): The ArraySum procedure (Section 5.5.3) receives a pointer to any array of
doublewords.
True (it also receives a count of the number of array elements).
12. (True/False): The USES operator lets you name all registers that are modified within a
procedure.
True.
13. (True/False): The USES operator only generates PUSH instructions, so you must code POP
instructions yourself.
False.
14. (True/False): The register list in the USES directive must use commas to separate the register
names.
False.
15. Which statement(s) in the ArraySum procedure (Section 5.5.3) would have to be modified
so it could accumulate an array of 16-bit words? Create such a version of ArraySum and
test it.
The following statements would have to be modified:
add eax,[esi] becomes --> add ax,[esi]
add esi,4 becomes --> add esi,2

5.6.3 Program Design Using Procedures

1. What is the name given to the process of dividing up large tasks into smaller ones?
Functional decomposition, or top-down design.
2. Which procedures in the Summation program design (Section 5.6.1) are located in the
Irvine32 library?
Clrscr, WriteString, ReadInt, and WriteInt.
3. What is a stub program?

A stub program contains all of its important procedures, but the procedures are
either
empty or nearly empty.
4. (True/False): The ArraySum procedure of the Summation program (Section 5.6.1)
directly
references the name of an array variable.
False (it receives a pointer to an array).
5. Which lines in the PromptForIntegers procedure of the Summation program (Section
5.6.1)
would have to be modified so it could handle an array of 16-bit words? Create such a
version
and test it.
The following statements would have to be modified:
mov [esi],eax becomes --> mov [esi],ax
add esi,4 becomes --> add esi,2

6. Draw a flowchart for the PromptForIntegers procedure of the Summation program

(flowcharts
were introduced in Section 5.5.4).
6.2.10 Section Review
1. In the following instruction sequence, show the resulting value of AL where indicated,
in binary:
mov al,01101111b
and al,00101101b
mov al,6Dhand al,4Ah
mov al,00001111b
or al,61h
mov al,94h
xor al,37h

; a.
; b.
; c.
; d.

(a) 00101101 (b) 01001000 (c) 01101111 (d) 10100011

2. In the following instruction sequence, show the resulting value of AL where indicated, in
hexadecimal:
mov al,7Ah
not al
mov al,3Dh
and al,74h
mov al,9Bh
or al,35h
mov al,72h
xor al,0DCh

; a.
; b.
; c.
; d.

(a) 85h (b) 34h (c) BFh (d) AEh

3. In the following instruction sequence, show the values of the Carry, Zero, and Sign flags
where indicated:
mov al,00001111b
test al,00000010b ; a. CF= ZF= SF=
mov al,00000110b
cmp al,00000101b ; b. CF= ZF= SF=
mov al,00000101b
cmp al,00000111b ; c. CF= ZF= SF=

(a) CF=0, ZF=0, SF=0

(b) CF=0, ZF=0, SF=0
(c) CF=1, ZF=0, SF=1
4. Write a single instruction using 16-bit operands that clears the high 8 bits of AX and does
not change the low 8 bits.
and ax,00FFh

5. Write a single instruction using 16-bit operands that sets the high 8 bits of AX and does not
change the low 8 bits
.or ax,0FF00h

6. Write a single instruction (other than NOT) that reverses all the bits in EAX.
xor eax,0FFFFFFFFh

7. Write instructions that set the Zero flag if the 32-bit value in EAX is even and clear the Zero
flag if EAX is odd.
test eax,1 ; (low bit set if eax is odd)

8. Write a single instruction that converts an uppercase character in AL to lowercase but does
not modify AL if it already contains a lowercase letter.
or al,00100000b

9. Write a single instruction that converts an ASCII digit in AL to its corresponding binary value. If AL already
contains a binary value (00h to 09h), leave it unchanged.
and al,00001111b

10. Write instructions that calculate the parity of the 32-bit memory operand. Hint: Use the
formula presented earlier in this section: B 0 XOR B1 XOR B2 XOR B3.
.data
memVal DWORD ?
.code
mov al,BYTE PTR
xor al,BYTE PTR
xor al,BYTE PTR
xor al,BYTE PTR

memVal
memVal+1
memVal+2
memVal+3

11. Given two bit-mapped sets named SetX and SetY, write a sequence of instructions that generate
a bit string in EAX that represents members in SetX that are not members of SetY.
; Method 1: X - (X intersection Y)
mov eax,SetX ; X
mov edx,eax ; (X intersection Y)
and edx,SetY
sub eax,edx ; X - (X intersection Y)
; Method 2: (X union Y) - Y
mov eax,SetX
or eax,SetY ; X union Y
sub eax,SetY ; (X union Y) Y

6.3.5 Conditional Loops

1. Which jump instructions follow unsigned integer comparisons?
JA, JNBE, JAE, JNB, JB, JNAE, JBE, JNA
2. Which jump instructions follow signed integer comparisons?
JG, JNLE, JGE, JNL, JL, JNGE, JLE, JNG
3. Which conditional jump instruction branches based on the contents of ECX?
JECXZ
4. (Yes/No): Are the JA and JNBE instructions equivalent? Explain your answer.
Yes, because they both depend on the flag combinations of CF = 0 and ZF = 0.
5. Suppose the CMP instruction compares the integers 7FFFh and 8000h. Show how the JB
and JL instructions would generate different results if used after comparing these values.
If JL is used after comparing 7FFFh to 8000h, the operands will be processed as signed
values (+32,767 and _32,768), so the jump will not be taken. If JB is used instead, the values
will be considered unsigned, and the jump will be taken.
6. Which conditional jump instruction is equivalent to the JNA instruction?
JBE
7. Which conditional jump instruction is equivalent to the JNGE instruction?
JL
8. (Yes/No): Will the following code jump to the label named Target?
mov ax,8109h
cmp ax,26h
jg Target

No (8109h is negative and 26h is positive).

9. (Yes/No): Will the following code jump to the label named Target?
mov ax,-30
cmp ax,-50
jg Target
YES

10. (Yes/No): Will the following code jump to the label named Target?
mov ax,-42
cmp ax,26
ja Target

Yes (the unsigned representation of _42 is compared to 26)

11. Write instructions that jump to label L1 when the unsigned integer in DX is less than or
equal to the integer in CX.
cmp dx,cx
jbe L1

12. Write instructions that jump to label L2 when the signed integer in AX is greater than the
integer in CX.
cmp ax,cx
jg L2

13. Write instructions that first clear bits 0 and 1 in AL. Then, if the destination operand is equal
to zero, the code should jump to label L3. Otherwise, it should jump to label L4.
and al,11111100b
jz L3
jmp L4

6.4.3 Conditional Loop Instructions

1. (True/False): The LOOPE instruction jumps to a label when (and only when) the Zero flag
is clear.
False.
2. (True/False): The LOOPNZ instruction jumps to a label when ECX is greater than zero and
the Zero flag is clear.
True.
3. (True/False): The destination label of a LOOPZ instruction must be no farther than -128 or +127 bytes from the
instruction immediately following LOOPZ.
True
4. Modify the LOOPNZ example in Section 6.4.2 so that it scans for the first negative value in
the array. Change the array initializers so they begin with positive values.
.data
array SWORD 3,5,14,-3,-6,-1,-10,10,30,40,4
sentinel SWORD 0
.code
main PROC
mov esi,OFFSET array
mov ecx,LENGTHOF array
next:
test WORD PTR [esi],8000h ; test sign bit
pushfd ; push flags on stack
add esi,TYPE array
popfd ; pop flags from stack
loopz next ; continue loop while ZF=1
jz quit ; none found
sub esi,TYPE array ; ESI points to value

5. Challenge: The LOOPNZ example in Section 6.4.2 relies on a sentinel value to handle the possibility
that a positive value might not be found. What might happen if we removed the sentinel?
If a matching value were not found, ESI would end up pointing beyond the end of the
array. By pointing at an undefined memory location, a program runs the risk of causing a
runtime error.
6.5.5 Conditional Structures
Notes: In all compound expressions, use short-circuit evaluation. Assume that val1 and X are 32-bit
variables.

1. Implement the following pseudocode in assembly language:

if ebx > ecx then
X = 1
cmp ebx,ecx
jna next
mov X,1
next:

2. Implement the following pseudocode in assembly language:

if edx <= ecx then
X = 1
else
X = 2
cmp edx,ecx
jnbe L1
mov X,1
jmp next
L1: mov X,2
next:

3. Implement the following pseudocode in assembly language:

if( val1 > ecx ) AND ( ecx > edx ) then
X = 1
else
X = 2;
cmp val1,ecx
jna L1
cmp ecx,edx
jna L1
mov X,1
jmp next
L1: mov X,2
next:

4. Implement the following pseudocode in assembly language:

if( ebx > ecx ) OR ( ebx > val1 ) then
X = 1
else
X = 2
cmp ebx,ecx
ja L1
cmp ebx,val1
ja L1
mov X,2
jmp next
L1: mov X,1
next:

5. Implement the following pseudocode in assembly language:

if( ebx > ecx AND ebx > edx) OR ( edx > eax ) then
X = 1
else
X = 2
cmp ebx,ecx ; ebx > ecx?
jna L1 ; no: try condition after OR
cmp ebx,edx ; yes: is ebx > edx?
jna L1 ; no: try condition after OR
jmp L2 ; yes: set X to 1
;-----------------OR(edx > eax) -----------------------L1: cmp edx,eax ; edx > eax?
jna L3 ; no: set X to 2
L2: mov X,1 ; yes:set X to 1
jmp next ; and quit
L3: mov X,2 ; set X to 2
next:

6. In the program from Section 6.5.4, why is it better to let the assembler calculate
NumberOfEntries rather than assigning a constant such as NumberOfEnteries _ 4?
Future changes to the table will alter the value of NumberOfEntries. We might forget to
update the constant manually, but the assembler can correctly adjust a calculated value.
7. Challenge: Rewrite the code from Section 6.5.3 so it is functionally equivalent, but uses
fewer instructions.
.data
sum DWORD 0
sample DWORD 50
array DWORD 10,60,20,33,72,89,45,65,72,18
ArraySize = ($ - Array) / TYPE array
.code
mov eax,0 ; sum
mov edx,sample
mov esi,0 ; index
mov ecx,ArraySize
L1: cmp esi,ecx
jnl L5
cmp array[esi*4],edx
jng L4
add eax,array[esi*4]
L4: inc esi
jmp L1
L5: mov sum,eax

6.6.3 Section Review

1. A finite-state machine is a specific application of what type of data structure?
A directed graph.
2. In a finite-state machine diagram, what do the nodes represent?
Each node is a state.
3. In a finite-state machine diagram, what do the edges represent?
Each edge is a transition from one state to another, caused by some input.
4. In the signed integer finite-state machine (Section 6.6.2), which state is reached when the
input consists of +5?
State C.
5. In the signed integer finite-state machine (Section 6.6.2), how many digits can occur after a
minus sign?
An infinite number of digits.
6. What happens in a finite-state machine when no more input is available and the current state
is a nonterminal state?
The FSM enters an error state.
7. Would the following simplification of a signed decimal integer finite-state machine work
just as well as the one shown in Section 6.6.2? If not, why not?
No. The proposed FSM would permit a signed integer to consist of only a plus (+) or
minus (-) sign. The FSM in Section 6.6.2 would not permit that.