Assembly Language

Computer Architecture &

Organization
(CSE2003)

Dr Ashfaq Ahmad
Faculty, SCSE,
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Contents
• Assembly Language
• Assembly Language Programming

Session Objectives
• Understand Assembly Language programming.
Assembly language

• Assembly language is a low-level programming

language for a computer or other programmable device
specific to a particular computer architecture in
contrast to most high-level programming languages.
• Each family of processors has its own set of
instructions for handling various operations such as
getting input from keyboard, displaying information on
screen and performing various other jobs. These set of
instructions are called 'machine language instructions’.
• The low-level assembly language is designed for a
specific family of processors that represents various
instructions in symbolic code and a more
understandable form.
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Few advantages of using assembly language are −

• It requires less memory and execution time;
• It allows hardware-specific complex jobs in an easier
way;
• It is suitable for time-critical jobs;
• It is most suitable for writing interrupt service routines
and other memory resident programs.
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Assembly Language Statements

Assembly language programs consist of three types of
statements −
• Executable instructions or instructions,
• Assembler directives or pseudo-ops, and
• Macros.
• The executable instructions or
simply instructions tell the processor what to do.
Each instruction consists of an operation
code (opcode). Each executable instruction
generates one machine language instruction.
• The assembler directives or pseudo-ops tell the
assembler about the various aspects of the assembly
process. These are non-executable and do not
generate machine language instructions.
LC-3
• Little Computer 3, or LC-3, is a type of
computer educational programming language, an assembly
language, which is a type of low-level programming
language.
• The language is less complex than x86 assembly but has
many features similar to those in more complex languages.
• The LC-3 specifies a word size of 16 bits for its registers
and uses a 16-bit addressable memory with a 216-location
address space.
• Instructions are 16 bits wide and have 4-bit opcodes.
• The LC-3 instruction set implements fifteen types of
instructions, with a sixteenth opcode reserved for later use.
• The calling convention for C functions on the LC-3 is
similar to that implemented by other systems, such as the
x86 ISA.
Human-Readable Machine Language
Computers like ones and zeros…
0001110010000110
Humans like symbols…
ADD R6,R2,R6 ; increment index reg.

Assembler is a program that turns symbols into

machine instructions.
• ISA-specific:
close correspondence between symbols and instruction set
➢mnemonics for opcodes
➢labels for memory locations
• additional operations for allocating storage and initializing data

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An Assembly Language Program

;
; Program to multiply a number by the constant 6
;
.ORIG x3050 // This sets the starting memory location to x3050.
LD R1, SIX
LD R2, NUMBER
AND R3, R3, #0 ; Clear R3. It will
; contain the product.
• ; The inner loop */ Multiplication using Repeated Addition
• The program uses a loop to add R2 to R3, 6 times (since R1 is initialized to 6).

;
AGAIN ADD R3, R3, R2
ADD R1, R1, #-1 ; R1 keeps track of
BRp AGAIN ; the iteration. ()
; Once R1 reaches 0, the
HALT */
; loop exits, and the program
NUMBER .BLKW 1 executes HALT .

SIX .FILL x0006

;
.END 7-10
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LC-3 Assembly Language Syntax

Each line of a program is one of the following:
• an instruction
• an assember directive (or pseudo-op)
• a comment
Whitespace (between symbols) and case are ignored.
Comments (beginning with “;”) are also ignored.

An instruction has the following format:

LABEL OPCODE OPERANDS ; COMMENTS

optional mandatory
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Opcodes and Operands

Opcodes
• reserved symbols that correspond to LC-3 instructions
• listed in Appendix A
➢ex: ADD, AND, LD, LDR, …
Operands
• registers -- specified by Rn, where n is the register number
• numbers -- indicated by # (decimal) or x (hex)
• label -- symbolic name of memory location
• separated by comma
• number, order, and type correspond to instruction format
➢ex:
ADD R1,R1,R3
ADD R1,R1,#3
LD R6,NUMBER
BRz LOOP

7-12
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Labels and Comments

Label
• placed at the beginning of the line
• assigns a symbolic name to the address corresponding to line
➢ex:
LOOP ADD R1,R1,#-1
BRp LOOP
Comment
• anything after a semicolon is a comment
• ignored by assembler
• used by humans to document/understand programs
• tips for useful comments:
➢avoid restating the obvious, as “decrement R1”
➢provide additional insight, as in “accumulate product in R6”
➢use comments to separate pieces of program
7-13
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Assembler Directives
Pseudo-operations
• do not refer to operations executed by program
• used by assembler
• look like instruction, but “opcode” starts with dot

Opcode Operand Meaning

.ORIG address starting address of program
.END end of program
.BLKW n allocate n words of storage
.FILL n allocate one word, initialize with
value n
.STRINGZ n-character allocate n+1 locations,
string initialize w/characters and null
terminator
7-14
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Trap Codes
LC-3 assembler provides “pseudo-instructions” for
each trap code, so you don’t have to remember them.
Code Equivalent Description
HALT TRAP x25 Halt execution and print message to
console.
IN TRAP x23 Print prompt on console,
read (and echo) one character from keybd.
Character stored in R0[7:0].
OUT TRAP x21 Write one character (in R0[7:0]) to console.
GETC TRAP x20 Read one character from keyboard.
Character stored in R0[7:0].
PUTS TRAP x22 Write null-terminated string to console.
Address of string is in R0.

7-15
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; LC−3 P rog ram t h a t d i s p l a y s 2

; ” H ell o World ! ” t o t h e c o n s o l e
LEA (Load Effective Address) loads the address of the HW string
(which contains "Hello World!") into register R0.
.ORIG x3000
LEA R0 , HW ;loadaddressofstring
PUTS ;outputstringtoconsole
HALT ; end p r o g ram
HW .STRINGZ ” H ell o World ! ”
.END
This instruction tells the LC-3 to print the string whose address is stored in R0.
In this case, it will print the string "Hello World!" to the console.

.STRINGZ is a directive that defines a null-terminated string in memory. The string

"Hello World!" is stored starting at the memory address defined by HW.
7-16
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Style Guidelines
Use the following style guidelines to improve
the readability and understandability of your programs:
1. Provide a program header, with author’s name, date, etc.,
and purpose of program.
2. Start labels, opcode, operands, and comments in same column
for each line. (Unless entire line is a comment.)
3. Use comments to explain what each register does.
4. Give explanatory comment for most instructions.
5. Use meaningful symbolic names.
• Mixed upper and lower case for readability.
• ASCIItoBinary, InputRoutine, SaveR1
6. Provide comments between program sections.
7. Each line must fit on the page -- no wraparound or truncations.
• Long statements split in aesthetically pleasing manner.
7-17
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Subroutine

A subroutine is a small, reusable block of code within a program

that performs a specific task. Instead of repeating the same code
multiple times, we can define a subroutine and call
it whenever needed.

Key Features of a Subroutine:

1.Reusability → Can be called multiple times in the program.
2.Modularity → Helps break a large program into smaller,
manageable parts.
3.Code Optimization → Reduces redundancy and makes the code
more efficient.
4.Easier Debugging → Since it is an independent unit, errors are
easier to find and fix.
7-18
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How a Subroutine Works in Assembly?

1.Call the Subroutine

•In assembly language, a subroutine is typically called using a
Jump to Subroutine (JSR) instruction.
•This saves the current execution location so the program can
return after executing the subroutine.
2.Execute the Subroutine
•The subroutine performs its task, such as calculations or
data processing.
3.Return to the Main Program
•The RET (Return) instruction is used to go back to the original
point in the main program after completing the subroutine.
Example from the Given Code
•The subroutine F computes f(n)=2n+3f(n) = 2n + 3f(n)=2n+3.
7-19
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A subroutine for the function f(n) = 2n+3.

Calls the subroutine F, passing

R0 as an argument.
Stores the computed result (stored in R1) into memory address FN.

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• Additional Material on Next Slides

7-21
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Assembly Process
Convert assembly language file (.asm)
into an executable file (.obj) for the LC-3 simulator.

First Pass:
• scan program file
• find all labels and calculate the corresponding addresses;
this is called the symbol table
Second Pass:
• convert instructions to machine language,
using information from symbol table
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First Pass: Constructing the Symbol Table

1. Find the .ORIG statement,
which tells us the address of the first instruction.
• Initialize location counter (LC), which keeps track of the
current instruction.

2. For each non-empty line in the program:

a) If line contains a label, add label and LC to symbol table.
b) Increment LC.
– NOTE: If statement is .BLKW or .STRINGZ,
increment LC by the number of words allocated.

3. Stop when .END statement is reached.

NOTE: A line that contains only a comment is considered an empty line.

7-23
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Practice
Construct the symbol table for the program in Figure 7.1
(Slides 7-11 through 7-13).

Symbol Address

7-24
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Second Pass: Generating Machine Language

For each executable assembly language statement,
generate the corresponding machine language instruction.
• If operand is a label,
look up the address from the symbol table.

Potential problems:
• Improper number or type of arguments
➢ex: NOT R1,#7
ADD R1,R2
ADD R3,R3,NUMBER
• Immediate argument too large
➢ex: ADD R1,R2,#1023
• Address (associated with label) more than 256 from instruction
➢can’t use PC-relative addressing mode

7-25
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Practice
Using the symbol table constructed earlier,
translate these statements into LC-3 machine language.

Statement Machine Language

LD R3,PTR

ADD R4,R1,#-4

LDR R1,R3,#0

BRnp GETCHAR

7-26
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LC-3 Assembler
Using “assemble” (Unix) or LC3Edit (Windows),
generates several different output files.
This one gets
loaded into the
simulator.

7-27
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Object File Format

LC-3 object file contains
• Starting address (location where program must be loaded),
followed by…
• Machine instructions

Example
• Beginning of “count character” object file looks like this:
0011000000000000 .ORIG x3000
0101010010100000 AND R2, R2, #0
0010011000010001 LD R3, PTR
1111000000100011 TRAP x23
.
.
. 7-28
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Multiple Object Files

An object file is not necessarily a complete program.
• system-provided library routines
• code blocks written by multiple developers

For LC-3 simulator,

can load multiple object files into memory,
then start executing at a desired address.
• system routines, such as keyboard input, are loaded
automatically
➢loaded into “system memory,” below x3000
➢user code should be loaded between x3000 and xFDFF
• each object file includes a starting address
• be careful not to load overlapping object files

7-29
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Linking and Loading

Loading is the process of copying an executable image
into memory.
• more sophisticated loaders are able to relocate images
to fit into available memory
• must readjust branch targets, load/store addresses

Linking is the process of resolving symbols between

independent object files.
• suppose we define a symbol in one module,
and want to use it in another
• some notation, such as .EXTERNAL, is used to tell assembler
that a symbol is defined in another module
• linker will search symbol tables of other modules to resolve
symbols and complete code generation before loading
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