Recall: C Program to a.

out
% gcc program.c
 program.c: File containing program written in
the C programming language
 a.out: File containing executable equivalent
program in machine language

2
 Steps in gcc These are text files – you can read
or write them with a text editor

program.c cpp cc1 hello.s

program.o
as

ld Library files
e.g., math.o, the math library
These are object files
a.out
(binary) – you can write
programs to read them
3
Steps in gcc
 cpp: C pre-processor
 Pre-processing of #include, #define, …
 Output: an expanded C program
 cc1: C compiler
 Output: an equivalent assembly language program
 Almost like machine language but readable
 as: Assembler
 Output: an equivalent machine language program
 ld: Linkage editor

4
Sample program.c
#include<stdio.h>
#include<math.h>
float a[100];
main() {
int i;
float sum;
for(i=0, sum=0.0; i<100; i++) {
a[i] = sqrt(a[i]);
sum += a[i];
}
printf("sum = %4.2f\n", sum);
}

5
Corresponding program.s
.section .bss, 8, 0x00000003, 0, 8
.bss:

.section .lit8, 1, 0x30000002, 8, 8 Assembler directives

.lit8:

.section .rodata, 1, 0x00000002, 0, 8

.rodata:

.section .bss
.origin 0x0
.align 0
.globl a
.type a, stt_object
.size a, 400
6
Assembly Representation.
a: # 0x0
.dynsym a sto_default
.space 400
.section .text

# Program Unit: main

.ent main
.globl main
main: # 0x0
.dynsym main sto_default
.frame $sp, 16, $31
.mask 0x80000000, -8
# gra_spill_temp_0 = 0
# gra_spill_temp_1 = 8
.loc 1 4 8
7
Assembly Representation..
# 1 #include<stdio.h>
# 2 #include<math.h>
# 3 float a[100];
# 4 main() {
.BB1.main: # 0x0
.type main, stt_func
lui $1, %hi(%neg(%gp_rel(main))) # [0] main
addiu $sp, $sp, -16 # [0]
addiu $1, $1, %lo(%neg(%gp_rel(main))) # [1] main
sf $gp, 0($sp) # [1] gra_spill_temp_0
addu $gp, $25,$1 # [2]
lw $5, %got_disp(a)($gp) # [3] a
.loc 1 7 5

8
 Example: Function Call and Return
void A() {
Caller
… Parameter
B(5); Function call
… Return address
}
void B (int x) {
Local variables
Callee
int a, b; Return

…
return();
}
9
Example: Function Call and Return.
What must be done on a function call?

 Transfer control to start of function

 Remember return address
 Where? In a General Purpose Register?
No. The callee might have been compiled to
use that register for its variables.
What must be done on a function return?

 Transfer control back to return address

10
Example: Function Call and Return..
What must be done on a function call?

 Transfer control to start of function

 Remember return address
 Where? In a variable (main memory location)?
No. That wouldn’t work for nested or
recursive function calls
What must be done on a function return?

 Transfer control back to return address

11
Example: Function Call and Return…
What must be done on a function call?

 Transfer control to start of function

 Remember return address
 Where? On a stack (in main memory)?
We could use the same stack for stack
allocation of space for local variables and
parameters of the function
What must be done on a function return?

 Transfer control back to return address

12
Aside: What is a Stack?
A data structure; like a stack of books
Operations:
Push: Insert onto top PUSH 47
POP; POP

Pop: Delete from top 47

-4
3
Last In First Out (LIFO)
SP: Stack Pointer, which keeps track of the
current top of stack element

13
Example: Function Call and Return….
What must be done on a function call?
 Pass parameters on stack
 Transfer control to start of function
 Remember return address
 Where? On a stack (in main memory)

 Allocate space for local variables on stack

What must be done on a function return?
 Pass return value (through stack)

 Clean up stack
 Transfer control back to return address

14
Problem: Separate Compilation
 Consider our simple example of compiling a C
program in program.c that calls a math library
function
 % gcc program.c
 cc1 might use general purpose registers R3-R10 for
the frequently used variables
 But, what if these registers are used by the math
function, which was compiled previously?
 When the math function is called, the values in R3-
R10 would be over written and therefore lost
 Unless we save the values of those registers as part
of the function call

15
Example: Function Call and Return
What must be done on a function call?
 Pass parameters on stack
 Transfer control to start of function
 Remember return address
 Where? On a stack (in main memory)
 Save register values on stack
 Allocate space for local variables on stack
What must be done on a function return?
 Pass return value (through stack)
 Restore register values from the stack
 Clean up stack
 Transfer control back to return address

16