Lecture 12

EE260 Lecture 12
Introduction to Assembly Language:

Prepare to Assemble.
Introduction to Assembly
The motivation behind Assembly!
The scheme of Assembly!
The Assembly environment!
Sample codes
EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming
Motivation for Assembly Language
Why Learn Assembler?

directly analyze for bugs!
understanding why a program executes
differently than designed!
higher level language doesnt support all the
hardware features!
time-critical routines

code is short and easy!
code executes as fast as possible!
assembler is easy to learn :-}!
and FUN!
code can take full advantage of the hardware

features.!
allows understanding of the compilation process
of a program (e.g. calling conventions)

learning it for one processor makes it easy to
learn another dialect.!
by learning it, you simultaneously learn the
hardware!
it is simple: it always only does what you ask it
to.! and FUN!
its optimized for speed and space

assembly is naked (nothing hidden)!
allows for exact algorithm analysis!
a core dump can be used with assembly to debug a
problem.!
timing for a certain function can be obtained by
counting the operations required to fulfill it

enables newb programmers to become Experts.!
Assembly language programmers earn more $$$!
Writing assembly language is fun.!
and FUN!
Allows programmers to look like cyber geeks.
Applications for Assembly

Device Drivers!
Low-level embedded systems!
Real-time systems!
Speed-critical systems!
Space-critical systems!
Allows for parallel processes on a non-parallel
machine
C can be close to assembly

Both can:
access all the functions/ registers of the

ATMega328!
have a decidedly smaller footprint than Arduino
code.!
have time-sensitive functionality
Important Differences
In Assembly
working with the program counter and the stack.!

no predefined data types!
working directly with addresses or pointers
The Assembly Language Scheme
The Build Process

file.c
file.cpp
Preprocessor
file.i
file.ii
Compiler
file.s
Assembler
file.o
header1.h
headern.h
file.cmd
file1.o,...
file1.lib,...
Linker
file.map
file.out
Binary
Convertor
file.exe, file.srec, file.bin, file.hex, file.elf, file.coff
The Hardware
central processing unit!
(arithmetic logic unit)!
diverse storage units!
ports that control the peripherals!
GPIO!
timers!
other devices
How the CPU works

Reads an instruction (instruction fetch) from program
storage!
Loads data from data storage into necessary registers!
Executes the command!
Example Codes
Code (bin)
Code
(hex)
Put CPU to sleep
1001.0101.1000.1000
9588
Add register R1 to register R0
0000.1100.000.0001
0c01
Subtract register R1 from register R0
0001.1000.0000.0001
1801
Write constant 170 to register R16
1110.1010.0000.1010
ea0a
Multiply register R3 with register R2 and write the

result to registers R1 (MSB) and R0 (LSB)
1001.1100.0011.0010
9c32
CPU Operation
Executing: OCO1
Add register R0 to R1
0c01
ALU
Register
R0
Register
R1
ALU
+
ADD
ALU
+
ADD
Register
R0
write result to R0
Classes of Operations
Arithmetic and logic instructions!
Branch instructions!
Bit and bit-test instructions!
Data transfer instructions!
MCU control instructions
mnemonics
Operands
Data that the operation operates on!
Data must be put into specific registers in order to
operated on (executed)!
Arduino operations use at most 2 operands.
Possible Input/Output
Command Schemes
Input
Output
one 8-bit operand
one 8-bit result
two 8-bit operands
one 8-bit result
two 8-bit operands
one 16-bit result
one 16-bit operand
one 16-bit result
How is data included?

For a load command LDI R,C
we have the code:
15
14
13
12
11
10
c7
c6
c5
c4
r3
r2
r1
r0
c3
c2
c1
c0
Crazy-HuH?
Example Subroutine
InitializeOutput:
ldi r18, LED_PIN_MASK
sts PORTB_DDR_ADDR, r18
sts PORB_DATA_ADDR, r18
!
ret
Assembly Language
Mnemonics for the machine instructions!
Register names R0R31!
Directives: create data, specify addresses!
Symbols: names for values or addresses!
Syntax specifies addressing modes!
Numerical values (e.g., 23)!
Comments
Assembly Code Forms

Every line of code should be one of the following
1.[label:] directive [operands][Comment]

2.[label:] instruction [operands][Comment]
3.Comment
4.Empty line
Assembly Code
Lines should be limited to 120 characters!
Labels!
An alphanumeric string ending with at colon!
targets for jump and branch instructions!
Variable names in Program memory and RAM!
Comments!
; [text], or # [text]
Assembly Code Example

label:
.equ var1, 100
;set var1 to 100
.equ var2, 200
;set var2 to 200
Directive
test:
nop
;infinite loop
rjmp test
Instructions
; pure comment line

; another comment line
Operand Forms
Rd
Destination (& source) register R0-R31 or R16-R31
Rr
Source register R0-R31
Bit in the Register file or I/O Register (3-bit constant)
Bit in the Status Register (3-bit)
X,Y,Z Indirect Address Register (X=R27:R26, Y=R29:R28, Z=R31:R32)

K
Constant data
Constant Address
I/O location address
Displacement for direct addressing (6-bit)
PC
Program Counter
Operands
Labels; value of the location counter at the place they appear!
Variables defined by the .set directive!
Constants defined by the .equ directive!
Integer constants!
Decimal: 10, 255
Hex: 0x0a, or $0a!
Binary: 0b00001010!
Program counter (PC)
Operators
Symb
Name
Returns
Priority
Logical Not
1 if the expression is 0, 0 otherwise
14
Bitwise Not
all bits inverted
14
unary minus
the arithmetic negation of expression
14
multiplication
the product of the two expressions
13
division
the integer quotient (1st exp)/(2nd exp)
13
addition
the sum of the two expressions
12
subtraction
the difference (1st exp) (2nd exp)
12
<<
shift left
the (1st exp) shifted to the left by the (2nd exp)
11
>>
shift right
the (1st exp) shifted to the right by the (2nd exp)
11
<
less than
1 if the (1st exp) is less than the (2nd exp), 0 else
10
Operators
Name
Symb
Returns
Priority
<=
less or equal
1 only if the (1st exp) is less or equal to the (2nd exp)
10
>
greater than
1 if the (1st exp) is greater than the (2nd exp), 0 else
10
greater or equal
1 only if the (1st exp) is greater or equal to the (2nd exp)
10
equal
1 if the (1st exp) is equal to the (2nd exp), 0 else
not equal
1 if the (1st exp) is not equal to the (2nd exp), 0 else
&
bitwise AND
the bitwise AND of two expressions
bitwise XOR
the bitwise XOR of two expressions
bitwise OR
the bitwise OR of two expressions
&&
logical AND
true only if both operands are true
||
logical OR
true if either operand is true
>=
==
!=
Directives
not translated into op-codes!
they are used to:!
adjust the location of the program in memory !
define macros !
initialize memory!
...
Directives
.byte
Reserve byte to a variable
.comm
declares a common symbol
.data
specifies the Data section of a program.
.ifdef
tells the assembler to include the following code if the

condition is satisfied.
.else
tells the assembler to include the following code if the if

condition is false.
.include
include supporting files
#include
include supporting files
.file
start of a new logical file
Directives
.text
assemble what follows onto the end of the text subsection
.global
defines or acknowledges a global variable or subroutine,

often used with a variable specified by .comm
.extern
treats all undefined symbols as external
.space
allocates space (for an array)
.equ
define constants for use in a program
.set
define (local) variables used in a program
Directives
.abort
.align
.ascii
.asciz
.balign[
wl]
.byte
.comm
.data
.def
.dim
.double
.eject
.else
.end
.elseif
.endef
.endfunc
.endif
.endm
.endr
.equ
.equiv
.err
.even
.exitm
.extern
.fail
.file
.fill
.float
.func
.global
.hword
.ident
.if
.include
.incbin
.int
.irp
.irpc
.lcomm
.lflags
.line
.ln
.list
.long
.macro
.mri
.nolist
.octa
.org
.p2align
[wl]
.print
.psize
.purgem
.quad
.rept
.sbttl
.scl
.section
.set
.short
.single
.size
.sleb128
.skip
.space
.stabd
.stabn
.stabs
.string
.struct
.tag
.text
.title
.type
.uleb128
.val
.vtable_
entry
.word
The Assembly Environment
Setting up the Arduino

Assembly
The Arduino IDE doesnt directly allow assembly!
A number of approaches exist to do assembly
with the Arduino IDE:
1. Modify the IDE!
2. Inline Assembly!
3. Use AVR Studio instead of the Arduino IDE
AVR Studio/Toolchain
Slick integrated environment (Windows)!

Directly incorporates Assembly!
Requires knowledge of the bootloading process!
For power users.
Inline Assembly
Allows for all the assembly commands and
structures.!
Requires a lot of extra stuff in the code to support
the program that is not a part of the program!
more difficult to read/debug
Inline Assembly Example Line

asm("in %0, %1 \n\t : "=r" (value) : "I" (_SFR_IO_ADDR(PORTD)) );
asm() indicates to the IDE that assembly is used!

The assembler instruction is defined as a single string
constant: "in %0, %1 \n\t!
The list of output operands follow, separated by commas.
"=r" (value)
Next, a comma separated list of input operands.
"I" (_SFR_IO_ADDR(PORTD))
Inline Assembly
Recommended by the Text!
Useful for incorporating a
single command!
Not practical for code of any
length.
Modifying the IDE

The Arduino IDE is OPEN SOURCE!!
This means that anyone can modify it for their
purposes.!
The source code is freely available.!
Requires a process that needs to be done
whenever you wish to upgrade to the latest
version.
Modifying the IDE

The Arduino IDE actually uses the gcc process
which includes assembly language.!
The IDE needs to be modified to accept .s files.!
The gcc standard uses .s files (not .S) for
assembly files.
Modifying the Arduino IDE

http://rwf.co/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=smallcpus
(for MacOs, but applies to others)
1. Get the source code for the Arduino IDE.

https://github.com/arduino/Arduino!
2. Extract to obtain the folder Arduino-master.!
3. Open the Sketch.java file in a text editor
Arduino-master/app/src/processing/app/Sketch.java

4. Insert the .s capability
Search for: sc.isExtension("c")
...
// 3. then loop over the code[] and save each .java file
!
for (SketchCode sc : code) {

if (sc.isExtension("c") || sc.isExtension("cpp") || sc.isExtension("h")) {
// no pre-processing services necessary for java files
...
insert
if (sc.isExtension("c") || sc.isExtension("cpp") || sc.isExtension("h") || sc.isExtension("s")) {

4. Insert the .s capability
Search for: String[] getExtensions()
...
/**
* Returns a String[] array of proper extensions.
*/
public String[] getExtensions() {
return new String[] { "ino", "pde", "c", "cpp", "h" };
}
...
insert
return new String[] { "ino", "pde", "c", "cpp", h, s };
5. Save Sketch.java

6. Open Complier.java in a text editor.
Arduino-master/app/src/processing/app/debug/Compiler.java
7. Search for: compileFiles(!

8. In the command findFilesInFolder(), replace the
capital S with lowercase s.!
9. Repeat this search and do the replace (3 more times).!
10. Save the Compiler.java file.

11. Make sure you have a recent version of the Java
platform on your system
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase
/downloads/index-jsp-138363.html

12.Make sure you have a Java command-line tool installed
on your system. Apache ANT is recommended. This is
available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Windows Help:
https://ant.apache.org/manual/install.html
Mac: For OS 10.9 and above, this needs to be installed!
using Homebrew. In a terminal window:
ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/Homebrew/homebrew/go/install)"
then!
brew install ant

13. In your command window, move to wherever you have the
directory!
Arduino-master/build
14. Build the Arduino IDE using: ant build
(which should end with BUILD SUCCESSFUL)!
15. Package the Arduino IDE using: ant dist
It will ask you to enter a version number, and give a
suggestion, e.g. [0105]. I recommend you tack on asm, for
example, enter: 1.0.5.asm
(it may take about 6 minutes and end with BUILD SUCCESSFUL)

16. The Arduino IDE can be found in the zip file created.!
17. Unzip the file and install the application in some
reasonable place on your computer.!
18.The IDE just created should function exactly as the one
you download off the arduino.cc siteexcept it can
handle .s files!
Sample Codes
Coding using the New IDE

Including the assembly still requires a .ino file.!
It will also require a .s file.!
It may require a .h file.!
The .s and .h files will need to be created with
the same name as the .ino file, in a text editor.!
All the files need to be in the same directory!
Opening the .ino file opens the other(s).
Test Code 1
asmtest.ino
#include "asmtest.h"
!
asmtest.h
/* Global register variables.*/
#ifdef __ASSEMBLER__
void setup()
{
asminit(0);
}
void loop()
{
led(0);
delay(1000);
led(1);
delay(1000);
}
/* C-only stuff */
/* Assembler-only stuff */
!
#else /* !ASSEMBLER */
#include <stdint.h>
!
extern "C" uint8_t led(uint8_t);

extern "C" uint8_t asminit(uint8_t);
!
#endif /* ASSEMBLER */
Test Code 1
asmtest.s
#include "avr/io.h"
#include "asmtest.h"

.global asminit ; Define the function asminit()
.global led ; The assembly function must be declared as global
asminit:
sbi 4,5 ; 4 = DDRB (0x24 - 0x20). Bit 5 = pin 13
ret
!
led:
cpi r24, 0x00 ; Parameter passed by caller in r24
breq turnoff
sbi 5, 5 ; 5 = PORTB (0x25 - 0x20). Bit 5 = pin 13
ret
turnoff:
cbi 5, 5 ; 5 = PORTB (0x25 - 0x20). Bit 5 = pin 13
ret
Test Code 2
asmtest2.ino
asmtest2.h
Test Code 2
asmtest2.s
#include "avr/io.h"
#define yl r28
#define yh r29
#define delay 1000 // const long delay = 1000ms;
!
.global setup
.global loop
setup:
sbi _SFR_IO_ADDR(DDRB), DDB5 ; Bit 5 = pin 13
ret
loop:
push yl
push yh
call millis ; call millis(): 4-byte return value in r25...r22
// Use Y as a pointer to fetch the next time to switch the LED
ldi yl, lo8(nextSwitchAfterMillis)
ldi yh, hi8(nextSwitchAfterMillis)
ld r18, y+
ld r19, y+
Test Code 2
asmtest2.s
ld r20, y+
ld r21, y+
ld r17, y // ledStatus comes immediately after lastMillis, so we can use y
// Compare nextSwitchAfterMillis with value returned by millis()
sub r18, r22
sbc r19, r23
sbc r20, r24
sbc r21, r25
brcc tooEarly ; carry is set if r18...r21(nextSwitchAfterMillis) < r22...r25(millis())
// Toggle LED state: 0 -> 1, 1 -> 0
inc r17
andi r17, 1
// Store ledStatus for next time. y still points at its memory location
st y, r17
// set LED state
brne turnoff
cbi _SFR_IO_ADDR(PORTB), PORTB5; Bit 5 = pin 13
rjmp ledSwitched
Test Code 2
asmtest2.s
turnoff:
sbi _SFR_IO_ADDR(PORTB), PORTB5; Bit 5 = pin 13
!
ledSwitched:
// Add long delay; to result of call to millis()
ldi r17, lo8(delay)
add r22, r17
ldi r17, hi8(delay)
adc r23, r17
ldi r17, hlo8(delay)
adc r24, r17
ldi r17, hhi8(delay)
adc r25, r17
// Store this as the next point in time when we need to toggle the LED
st -y, r25
st -y, r24
st -y, r23
st -y, r22

Test Code 2
tooEarly:
pop yh
pop yl
ret
!
.data
!
nextSwitchAfterMillis:
.long 0
!
ledStatus:
.byte 0
asmtest2.s
Test Code 3
speedArduino.ino
void setup()
{
pinMode(13, OUTPUT);
}
void loop()
{
digitalWrite(13, HIGH);
digitalWrite(13, LOW);
}
speedC.ino
void setup()
{
DDRB |= (1<<5);
}
void loop()
{
while(1)
{
PORTB |= 0x20;
PORTB &= ~(0x20);
}
}
Test Code 3
speedASM.ino
speedASM.s
.global setup
.global loop
setup:
sbi 0x04, 5 ; DDRB 5 = pin 13
ret
loop:
sbi 0x03, 5 ; write PINB5 -> 1 (toggle)
sbi 0x03, 5 ; (toggle again)
rjmp loop ; used an rjmp, not ret
Program Results
Binary Size!
(bytes)
Speed!
(kHz)
Arduino
874
121
472
2,667
Assembly
472
4,002
Program Results
Arduino
121kHz
2.66MHz
Assembly
4.00MHz

Lecture 12

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Lecture 12

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EE260 Lecture 12

Introduction to Assembly Language:

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

Motivation for Assembly Language

Why Learn Assembler?

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

Why Learn Assembler?

code can take full advantage of the hardware

Why Learn Assembler?

Why Learn Assembler?

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

Why Learn Assembler?

Allows programmers to look like cyber geeks.

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

Applications for Assembly

C can be close to assembly

access all the functions/ registers of the

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

working with the program counter and the stack.!

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

The Assembly Language Scheme

The Build Process

file.exe, file.srec, file.bin, file.hex, file.elf, file.coff

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

How the CPU works

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

Put CPU to sleep

Add register R1 to register R0

Subtract register R1 from register R0

Write constant 170 to register R16

Multiply register R3 with register R2 and write the

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

one 8-bit operand

one 8-bit result

two 8-bit operands

one 8-bit result

two 8-bit operands

one 16-bit result

one 16-bit operand

one 16-bit result

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

How is data included?

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

Assembly Code Forms

1.[label:] directive [operands][Comment]

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

Assembly Code Example

.equ var1, 100

;set var1 to 100

.equ var2, 200

;set var2 to 200

; pure comment line

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming

Destination (& source) register R0-R31 or R16-R31

Source register R0-R31

Bit in the Register file or I/O Register (3-bit constant)

Bit in the Status Register (3-bit)

X,Y,Z Indirect Address Register (X=R27:R26, Y=R29:R28, Z=R31:R32)

I/O location address

Displacement for direct addressing (6-bit)

EE260 Lecture 12: Introduction to Assembly Language Programming