1 @c Copyright 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001,
3 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 @c This is part of the GAS manual.
5 @c For copying conditions, see the file as.texinfo.
9 @chapter MIPS Dependent Features
12 @node Machine Dependencies
13 @chapter MIPS Dependent Features
16 @cindex MIPS processor
17 @sc{gnu} @code{@value{AS}} for @sc{mips} architectures supports several
18 different @sc{mips} processors, and MIPS ISA levels I through V, MIPS32,
19 and MIPS64. For information about the @sc{mips} instruction set, see
20 @cite{MIPS RISC Architecture}, by Kane and Heindrich (Prentice-Hall).
21 For an overview of @sc{mips} assembly conventions, see ``Appendix D:
22 Assembly Language Programming'' in the same work.
25 * MIPS Opts:: Assembler options
26 * MIPS Object:: ECOFF object code
27 * MIPS Stabs:: Directives for debugging information
28 * MIPS ISA:: Directives to override the ISA level
29 * MIPS symbol sizes:: Directives to override the size of symbols
30 * MIPS autoextend:: Directives for extending MIPS 16 bit instructions
31 * MIPS insn:: Directive to mark data as an instruction
32 * MIPS option stack:: Directives to save and restore options
33 * MIPS ASE instruction generation overrides:: Directives to control
34 generation of MIPS ASE instructions
38 @section Assembler options
40 The @sc{mips} configurations of @sc{gnu} @code{@value{AS}} support these
44 @cindex @code{-G} option (MIPS)
46 This option sets the largest size of an object that can be referenced
47 implicitly with the @code{gp} register. It is only accepted for targets
48 that use @sc{ecoff} format. The default value is 8.
50 @cindex @code{-EB} option (MIPS)
51 @cindex @code{-EL} option (MIPS)
52 @cindex MIPS big-endian output
53 @cindex MIPS little-endian output
54 @cindex big-endian output, MIPS
55 @cindex little-endian output, MIPS
58 Any @sc{mips} configuration of @code{@value{AS}} can select big-endian or
59 little-endian output at run time (unlike the other @sc{gnu} development
60 tools, which must be configured for one or the other). Use @samp{-EB}
61 to select big-endian output, and @samp{-EL} for little-endian.
63 @cindex MIPS architecture options
73 Generate code for a particular MIPS Instruction Set Architecture level.
74 @samp{-mips1} corresponds to the @sc{r2000} and @sc{r3000} processors,
75 @samp{-mips2} to the @sc{r6000} processor, @samp{-mips3} to the
76 @sc{r4000} processor, and @samp{-mips4} to the @sc{r8000} and
77 @sc{r10000} processors. @samp{-mips5}, @samp{-mips32}, @samp{-mips32r2},
78 @samp{-mips64}, and @samp{-mips64r2}
80 @sc{MIPS V}, @sc{MIPS32}, @sc{MIPS32 Release 2}, @sc{MIPS64},
81 and @sc{MIPS64 Release 2}
82 ISA processors, respectively. You can also switch
83 instruction sets during the assembly; see @ref{MIPS ISA, Directives to
84 override the ISA level}.
88 Some macros have different expansions for 32-bit and 64-bit registers.
89 The register sizes are normally inferred from the ISA and ABI, but these
90 flags force a certain group of registers to be treated as 32 bits wide at
91 all times. @samp{-mgp32} controls the size of general-purpose registers
92 and @samp{-mfp32} controls the size of floating-point registers.
94 The @code{.set gp=32} and @code{.set fp=32} directives allow the size
95 of registers to be changed for parts of an object. The default value is
96 restored by @code{.set gp=default} and @code{.set fp=default}.
98 On some MIPS variants there is a 32-bit mode flag; when this flag is
99 set, 64-bit instructions generate a trap. Also, some 32-bit OSes only
100 save the 32-bit registers on a context switch, so it is essential never
101 to use the 64-bit registers.
105 Assume that 64-bit registers are available. This is provided in the
106 interests of symmetry with @samp{-mgp32} and @samp{-mfp32}.
108 The @code{.set gp=64} and @code{.set fp=64} directives allow the size
109 of registers to be changed for parts of an object. The default value is
110 restored by @code{.set gp=default} and @code{.set fp=default}.
114 Generate code for the MIPS 16 processor. This is equivalent to putting
115 @code{.set mips16} at the start of the assembly file. @samp{-no-mips16}
116 turns off this option.
119 @itemx -mno-smartmips
120 Enables the SmartMIPS extensions to the MIPS32 instruction set, which
121 provides a number of new instructions which target smartcard and
122 cryptographic applications. This is equivalent to putting
123 @code{.set smartmips} at the start of the assembly file.
124 @samp{-mno-smartmips} turns off this option.
128 Generate code for the MIPS-3D Application Specific Extension.
129 This tells the assembler to accept MIPS-3D instructions.
130 @samp{-no-mips3d} turns off this option.
134 Generate code for the MDMX Application Specific Extension.
135 This tells the assembler to accept MDMX instructions.
136 @samp{-no-mdmx} turns off this option.
140 Generate code for the DSP Application Specific Extension.
141 This tells the assembler to accept DSP instructions.
142 @samp{-mno-dsp} turns off this option.
146 Generate code for the MT Application Specific Extension.
147 This tells the assembler to accept MT instructions.
148 @samp{-mno-mt} turns off this option.
152 Cause nops to be inserted if the read of the destination register
153 of an mfhi or mflo instruction occurs in the following two instructions.
156 @itemx -no-mfix-vr4120
157 Insert nops to work around certain VR4120 errata. This option is
158 intended to be used on GCC-generated code: it is not designed to catch
159 all problems in hand-written assembler code.
162 @itemx -no-mfix-vr4130
163 Insert nops to work around the VR4130 @samp{mflo}/@samp{mfhi} errata.
167 Generate code for the LSI @sc{r4010} chip. This tells the assembler to
168 accept the @sc{r4010} specific instructions (@samp{addciu}, @samp{ffc},
169 etc.), and to not schedule @samp{nop} instructions around accesses to
170 the @samp{HI} and @samp{LO} registers. @samp{-no-m4010} turns off this
175 Generate code for the MIPS @sc{r4650} chip. This tells the assembler to accept
176 the @samp{mad} and @samp{madu} instruction, and to not schedule @samp{nop}
177 instructions around accesses to the @samp{HI} and @samp{LO} registers.
178 @samp{-no-m4650} turns off this option.
184 For each option @samp{-m@var{nnnn}}, generate code for the MIPS
185 @sc{r@var{nnnn}} chip. This tells the assembler to accept instructions
186 specific to that chip, and to schedule for that chip's hazards.
188 @item -march=@var{cpu}
189 Generate code for a particular MIPS cpu. It is exactly equivalent to
190 @samp{-m@var{cpu}}, except that there are more value of @var{cpu}
191 understood. Valid @var{cpu} value are:
248 @item -mtune=@var{cpu}
249 Schedule and tune for a particular MIPS cpu. Valid @var{cpu} values are
250 identical to @samp{-march=@var{cpu}}.
252 @item -mabi=@var{abi}
253 Record which ABI the source code uses. The recognized arguments
254 are: @samp{32}, @samp{n32}, @samp{o64}, @samp{64} and @samp{eabi}.
260 Equivalent to adding @code{.set sym32} or @code{.set nosym32} to
261 the beginning of the assembler input. @xref{MIPS symbol sizes}.
263 @cindex @code{-nocpp} ignored (MIPS)
265 This option is ignored. It is accepted for command-line compatibility with
266 other assemblers, which use it to turn off C style preprocessing. With
267 @sc{gnu} @code{@value{AS}}, there is no need for @samp{-nocpp}, because the
268 @sc{gnu} assembler itself never runs the C preprocessor.
270 @item --construct-floats
271 @itemx --no-construct-floats
272 @cindex --construct-floats
273 @cindex --no-construct-floats
274 The @code{--no-construct-floats} option disables the construction of
275 double width floating point constants by loading the two halves of the
276 value into the two single width floating point registers that make up
277 the double width register. This feature is useful if the processor
278 support the FR bit in its status register, and this bit is known (by
279 the programmer) to be set. This bit prevents the aliasing of the double
280 width register by the single width registers.
282 By default @code{--construct-floats} is selected, allowing construction
283 of these floating point constants.
287 @c FIXME! (1) reflect these options (next item too) in option summaries;
288 @c (2) stop teasing, say _which_ instructions expanded _how_.
289 @code{@value{AS}} automatically macro expands certain division and
290 multiplication instructions to check for overflow and division by zero. This
291 option causes @code{@value{AS}} to generate code to take a trap exception
292 rather than a break exception when an error is detected. The trap instructions
293 are only supported at Instruction Set Architecture level 2 and higher.
297 Generate code to take a break exception rather than a trap exception when an
298 error is detected. This is the default.
302 Control generation of @code{.pdr} sections. Off by default on IRIX, on
307 When generating code using the Unix calling conventions (selected by
308 @samp{-KPIC} or @samp{-mcall_shared}), gas will normally generate code
309 which can go into a shared library. The @samp{-mno-shared} option
310 tells gas to generate code which uses the calling convention, but can
311 not go into a shared library. The resulting code is slightly more
312 efficient. This option only affects the handling of the
313 @samp{.cpload} and @samp{.cpsetup} pseudo-ops.
317 @section MIPS ECOFF object code
319 @cindex ECOFF sections
320 @cindex MIPS ECOFF sections
321 Assembling for a @sc{mips} @sc{ecoff} target supports some additional sections
322 besides the usual @code{.text}, @code{.data} and @code{.bss}. The
323 additional sections are @code{.rdata}, used for read-only data,
324 @code{.sdata}, used for small data, and @code{.sbss}, used for small
327 @cindex small objects, MIPS ECOFF
328 @cindex @code{gp} register, MIPS
329 When assembling for @sc{ecoff}, the assembler uses the @code{$gp} (@code{$28})
330 register to form the address of a ``small object''. Any object in the
331 @code{.sdata} or @code{.sbss} sections is considered ``small'' in this sense.
332 For external objects, or for objects in the @code{.bss} section, you can use
333 the @code{@value{GCC}} @samp{-G} option to control the size of objects addressed via
334 @code{$gp}; the default value is 8, meaning that a reference to any object
335 eight bytes or smaller uses @code{$gp}. Passing @samp{-G 0} to
336 @code{@value{AS}} prevents it from using the @code{$gp} register on the basis
337 of object size (but the assembler uses @code{$gp} for objects in @code{.sdata}
338 or @code{sbss} in any case). The size of an object in the @code{.bss} section
339 is set by the @code{.comm} or @code{.lcomm} directive that defines it. The
340 size of an external object may be set with the @code{.extern} directive. For
341 example, @samp{.extern sym,4} declares that the object at @code{sym} is 4 bytes
342 in length, whie leaving @code{sym} otherwise undefined.
344 Using small @sc{ecoff} objects requires linker support, and assumes that the
345 @code{$gp} register is correctly initialized (normally done automatically by
346 the startup code). @sc{mips} @sc{ecoff} assembly code must not modify the
350 @section Directives for debugging information
352 @cindex MIPS debugging directives
353 @sc{mips} @sc{ecoff} @code{@value{AS}} supports several directives used for
354 generating debugging information which are not support by traditional @sc{mips}
355 assemblers. These are @code{.def}, @code{.endef}, @code{.dim}, @code{.file},
356 @code{.scl}, @code{.size}, @code{.tag}, @code{.type}, @code{.val},
357 @code{.stabd}, @code{.stabn}, and @code{.stabs}. The debugging information
358 generated by the three @code{.stab} directives can only be read by @sc{gdb},
359 not by traditional @sc{mips} debuggers (this enhancement is required to fully
360 support C++ debugging). These directives are primarily used by compilers, not
361 assembly language programmers!
363 @node MIPS symbol sizes
364 @section Directives to override the size of symbols
366 @cindex @code{.set sym32}
367 @cindex @code{.set nosym32}
368 The n64 ABI allows symbols to have any 64-bit value. Although this
369 provides a great deal of flexibility, it means that some macros have
370 much longer expansions than their 32-bit counterparts. For example,
371 the non-PIC expansion of @samp{dla $4,sym} is usually:
376 daddiu $4,$4,%higher(sym)
377 daddiu $1,$1,%lo(sym)
382 whereas the 32-bit expansion is simply:
386 daddiu $4,$4,%lo(sym)
389 n64 code is sometimes constructed in such a way that all symbolic
390 constants are known to have 32-bit values, and in such cases, it's
391 preferable to use the 32-bit expansion instead of the 64-bit
394 You can use the @code{.set sym32} directive to tell the assembler
395 that, from this point on, all expressions of the form
396 @samp{@var{symbol}} or @samp{@var{symbol} + @var{offset}}
397 have 32-bit values. For example:
406 will cause the assembler to treat @samp{sym}, @code{sym+16} and
407 @code{sym+0x8000} as 32-bit values. The handling of non-symbolic
408 addresses is not affected.
410 The directive @code{.set nosym32} ends a @code{.set sym32} block and
411 reverts to the normal behavior. It is also possible to change the
412 symbol size using the command-line options @option{-msym32} and
415 These options and directives are always accepted, but at present,
416 they have no effect for anything other than n64.
419 @section Directives to override the ISA level
421 @cindex MIPS ISA override
422 @kindex @code{.set mips@var{n}}
423 @sc{gnu} @code{@value{AS}} supports an additional directive to change
424 the @sc{mips} Instruction Set Architecture level on the fly: @code{.set
425 mips@var{n}}. @var{n} should be a number from 0 to 5, or 32, 32r2, 64
427 The values other than 0 make the assembler accept instructions
428 for the corresponding @sc{isa} level, from that point on in the
429 assembly. @code{.set mips@var{n}} affects not only which instructions
430 are permitted, but also how certain macros are expanded. @code{.set
431 mips0} restores the @sc{isa} level to its original level: either the
432 level you selected with command line options, or the default for your
433 configuration. You can use this feature to permit specific @sc{mips3}
434 instructions while assembling in 32 bit mode. Use this directive with
437 @cindex MIPS CPU override
438 @kindex @code{.set arch=@var{cpu}}
439 The @code{.set arch=@var{cpu}} directive provides even finer control.
440 It changes the effective CPU target and allows the assembler to use
441 instructions specific to a particular CPU. All CPUs supported by the
442 @samp{-march} command line option are also selectable by this directive.
443 The original value is restored by @code{.set arch=default}.
445 The directive @code{.set mips16} puts the assembler into MIPS 16 mode,
446 in which it will assemble instructions for the MIPS 16 processor. Use
447 @code{.set nomips16} to return to normal 32 bit mode.
449 Traditional @sc{mips} assemblers do not support this directive.
451 @node MIPS autoextend
452 @section Directives for extending MIPS 16 bit instructions
454 @kindex @code{.set autoextend}
455 @kindex @code{.set noautoextend}
456 By default, MIPS 16 instructions are automatically extended to 32 bits
457 when necessary. The directive @code{.set noautoextend} will turn this
458 off. When @code{.set noautoextend} is in effect, any 32 bit instruction
459 must be explicitly extended with the @code{.e} modifier (e.g.,
460 @code{li.e $4,1000}). The directive @code{.set autoextend} may be used
461 to once again automatically extend instructions when necessary.
463 This directive is only meaningful when in MIPS 16 mode. Traditional
464 @sc{mips} assemblers do not support this directive.
467 @section Directive to mark data as an instruction
470 The @code{.insn} directive tells @code{@value{AS}} that the following
471 data is actually instructions. This makes a difference in MIPS 16 mode:
472 when loading the address of a label which precedes instructions,
473 @code{@value{AS}} automatically adds 1 to the value, so that jumping to
474 the loaded address will do the right thing.
476 @node MIPS option stack
477 @section Directives to save and restore options
479 @cindex MIPS option stack
480 @kindex @code{.set push}
481 @kindex @code{.set pop}
482 The directives @code{.set push} and @code{.set pop} may be used to save
483 and restore the current settings for all the options which are
484 controlled by @code{.set}. The @code{.set push} directive saves the
485 current settings on a stack. The @code{.set pop} directive pops the
486 stack and restores the settings.
488 These directives can be useful inside an macro which must change an
489 option such as the ISA level or instruction reordering but does not want
490 to change the state of the code which invoked the macro.
492 Traditional @sc{mips} assemblers do not support these directives.
494 @node MIPS ASE instruction generation overrides
495 @section Directives to control generation of MIPS ASE instructions
497 @cindex MIPS MIPS-3D instruction generation override
498 @kindex @code{.set mips3d}
499 @kindex @code{.set nomips3d}
500 The directive @code{.set mips3d} makes the assembler accept instructions
501 from the MIPS-3D Application Specific Extension from that point on
502 in the assembly. The @code{.set nomips3d} directive prevents MIPS-3D
503 instructions from being accepted.
505 @cindex SmartMIPS instruction generation override
506 @kindex @code{.set smartmips}
507 @kindex @code{.set nosmartmips}
508 The directive @code{.set smartmips} makes the assembler accept
509 instructions from the SmartMIPS Application Specific Extension to the
510 MIPS32 @sc{isa} from that point on in the assembly. The
511 @code{.set nosmartmips} directive prevents SmartMIPS instructions from
514 @cindex MIPS MDMX instruction generation override
515 @kindex @code{.set mdmx}
516 @kindex @code{.set nomdmx}
517 The directive @code{.set mdmx} makes the assembler accept instructions
518 from the MDMX Application Specific Extension from that point on
519 in the assembly. The @code{.set nomdmx} directive prevents MDMX
520 instructions from being accepted.
522 @cindex MIPS DSP instruction generation override
523 @kindex @code{.set dsp}
524 @kindex @code{.set nodsp}
525 The directive @code{.set dsp} makes the assembler accept instructions
526 from the DSP Application Specific Extension from that point on
527 in the assembly. The @code{.set nodsp} directive prevents DSP
528 instructions from being accepted.
530 @cindex MIPS MT instruction generation override
531 @kindex @code{.set mt}
532 @kindex @code{.set nomt}
533 The directive @code{.set mt} makes the assembler accept instructions
534 from the MT Application Specific Extension from that point on
535 in the assembly. The @code{.set nomt} directive prevents MT
536 instructions from being accepted.
538 Traditional @sc{mips} assemblers do not support these directives.