1 @c Copyright 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,
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 80386 Dependent Features
12 @node Machine Dependencies
13 @chapter 80386 Dependent Features
17 @cindex i80306 support
18 @cindex x86-64 support
20 The i386 version @code{@value{AS}} supports both the original Intel 386
21 architecture in both 16 and 32-bit mode as well as AMD x86-64 architecture
22 extending the Intel architecture to 64-bits.
25 * i386-Options:: Options
26 * i386-Syntax:: AT&T Syntax versus Intel Syntax
27 * i386-Mnemonics:: Instruction Naming
28 * i386-Regs:: Register Naming
29 * i386-Prefixes:: Instruction Prefixes
30 * i386-Memory:: Memory References
31 * i386-Jumps:: Handling of Jump Instructions
32 * i386-Float:: Floating Point
33 * i386-SIMD:: Intel's MMX and AMD's 3DNow! SIMD Operations
34 * i386-16bit:: Writing 16-bit Code
35 * i386-Arch:: Specifying an x86 CPU architecture
36 * i386-Bugs:: AT&T Syntax bugs
43 @cindex options for i386
44 @cindex options for x86-64
46 @cindex x86-64 options
48 The i386 version of @code{@value{AS}} has a few machine
52 @cindex @samp{--32} option, i386
53 @cindex @samp{--32} option, x86-64
54 @cindex @samp{--64} option, i386
55 @cindex @samp{--64} option, x86-64
57 Select the word size, either 32 bits or 64 bits. Selecting 32-bit
58 implies Intel i386 architecture, while 64-bit implies AMD x86-64
61 These options are only available with the ELF object file format, and
62 require that the necessary BFD support has been included (on a 32-bit
63 platform you have to add --enable-64-bit-bfd to configure enable 64-bit
64 usage and use x86-64 as target platform).
67 By default, x86 GAS replaces multiple nop instructions used for
68 alignment within code sections with multi-byte nop instructions such
69 as leal 0(%esi,1),%esi. This switch disables the optimization.
73 @section AT&T Syntax versus Intel Syntax
75 @cindex i386 intel_syntax pseudo op
76 @cindex intel_syntax pseudo op, i386
77 @cindex i386 att_syntax pseudo op
78 @cindex att_syntax pseudo op, i386
79 @cindex i386 syntax compatibility
80 @cindex syntax compatibility, i386
81 @cindex x86-64 intel_syntax pseudo op
82 @cindex intel_syntax pseudo op, x86-64
83 @cindex x86-64 att_syntax pseudo op
84 @cindex att_syntax pseudo op, x86-64
85 @cindex x86-64 syntax compatibility
86 @cindex syntax compatibility, x86-64
88 @code{@value{AS}} now supports assembly using Intel assembler syntax.
89 @code{.intel_syntax} selects Intel mode, and @code{.att_syntax} switches
90 back to the usual AT&T mode for compatibility with the output of
91 @code{@value{GCC}}. Either of these directives may have an optional
92 argument, @code{prefix}, or @code{noprefix} specifying whether registers
93 require a @samp{%} prefix. AT&T System V/386 assembler syntax is quite
94 different from Intel syntax. We mention these differences because
95 almost all 80386 documents use Intel syntax. Notable differences
96 between the two syntaxes are:
98 @cindex immediate operands, i386
99 @cindex i386 immediate operands
100 @cindex register operands, i386
101 @cindex i386 register operands
102 @cindex jump/call operands, i386
103 @cindex i386 jump/call operands
104 @cindex operand delimiters, i386
106 @cindex immediate operands, x86-64
107 @cindex x86-64 immediate operands
108 @cindex register operands, x86-64
109 @cindex x86-64 register operands
110 @cindex jump/call operands, x86-64
111 @cindex x86-64 jump/call operands
112 @cindex operand delimiters, x86-64
115 AT&T immediate operands are preceded by @samp{$}; Intel immediate
116 operands are undelimited (Intel @samp{push 4} is AT&T @samp{pushl $4}).
117 AT&T register operands are preceded by @samp{%}; Intel register operands
118 are undelimited. AT&T absolute (as opposed to PC relative) jump/call
119 operands are prefixed by @samp{*}; they are undelimited in Intel syntax.
121 @cindex i386 source, destination operands
122 @cindex source, destination operands; i386
123 @cindex x86-64 source, destination operands
124 @cindex source, destination operands; x86-64
126 AT&T and Intel syntax use the opposite order for source and destination
127 operands. Intel @samp{add eax, 4} is @samp{addl $4, %eax}. The
128 @samp{source, dest} convention is maintained for compatibility with
129 previous Unix assemblers. Note that instructions with more than one
130 source operand, such as the @samp{enter} instruction, do @emph{not} have
131 reversed order. @ref{i386-Bugs}.
133 @cindex mnemonic suffixes, i386
134 @cindex sizes operands, i386
135 @cindex i386 size suffixes
136 @cindex mnemonic suffixes, x86-64
137 @cindex sizes operands, x86-64
138 @cindex x86-64 size suffixes
140 In AT&T syntax the size of memory operands is determined from the last
141 character of the instruction mnemonic. Mnemonic suffixes of @samp{b},
142 @samp{w}, @samp{l} and @samp{q} specify byte (8-bit), word (16-bit), long
143 (32-bit) and quadruple word (64-bit) memory references. Intel syntax accomplishes
144 this by prefixing memory operands (@emph{not} the instruction mnemonics) with
145 @samp{byte ptr}, @samp{word ptr}, @samp{dword ptr} and @samp{qword ptr}. Thus,
146 Intel @samp{mov al, byte ptr @var{foo}} is @samp{movb @var{foo}, %al} in AT&T
149 @cindex return instructions, i386
150 @cindex i386 jump, call, return
151 @cindex return instructions, x86-64
152 @cindex x86-64 jump, call, return
154 Immediate form long jumps and calls are
155 @samp{lcall/ljmp $@var{section}, $@var{offset}} in AT&T syntax; the
157 @samp{call/jmp far @var{section}:@var{offset}}. Also, the far return
159 is @samp{lret $@var{stack-adjust}} in AT&T syntax; Intel syntax is
160 @samp{ret far @var{stack-adjust}}.
162 @cindex sections, i386
163 @cindex i386 sections
164 @cindex sections, x86-64
165 @cindex x86-64 sections
167 The AT&T assembler does not provide support for multiple section
168 programs. Unix style systems expect all programs to be single sections.
172 @section Instruction Naming
174 @cindex i386 instruction naming
175 @cindex instruction naming, i386
176 @cindex x86-64 instruction naming
177 @cindex instruction naming, x86-64
179 Instruction mnemonics are suffixed with one character modifiers which
180 specify the size of operands. The letters @samp{b}, @samp{w}, @samp{l}
181 and @samp{q} specify byte, word, long and quadruple word operands. If
182 no suffix is specified by an instruction then @code{@value{AS}} tries to
183 fill in the missing suffix based on the destination register operand
184 (the last one by convention). Thus, @samp{mov %ax, %bx} is equivalent
185 to @samp{movw %ax, %bx}; also, @samp{mov $1, %bx} is equivalent to
186 @samp{movw $1, bx}. Note that this is incompatible with the AT&T Unix
187 assembler which assumes that a missing mnemonic suffix implies long
188 operand size. (This incompatibility does not affect compiler output
189 since compilers always explicitly specify the mnemonic suffix.)
191 Almost all instructions have the same names in AT&T and Intel format.
192 There are a few exceptions. The sign extend and zero extend
193 instructions need two sizes to specify them. They need a size to
194 sign/zero extend @emph{from} and a size to zero extend @emph{to}. This
195 is accomplished by using two instruction mnemonic suffixes in AT&T
196 syntax. Base names for sign extend and zero extend are
197 @samp{movs@dots{}} and @samp{movz@dots{}} in AT&T syntax (@samp{movsx}
198 and @samp{movzx} in Intel syntax). The instruction mnemonic suffixes
199 are tacked on to this base name, the @emph{from} suffix before the
200 @emph{to} suffix. Thus, @samp{movsbl %al, %edx} is AT&T syntax for
201 ``move sign extend @emph{from} %al @emph{to} %edx.'' Possible suffixes,
202 thus, are @samp{bl} (from byte to long), @samp{bw} (from byte to word),
203 @samp{wl} (from word to long), @samp{bq} (from byte to quadruple word),
204 @samp{wq} (from word to quadruple word), and @samp{lq} (from long to
207 @cindex conversion instructions, i386
208 @cindex i386 conversion instructions
209 @cindex conversion instructions, x86-64
210 @cindex x86-64 conversion instructions
211 The Intel-syntax conversion instructions
215 @samp{cbw} --- sign-extend byte in @samp{%al} to word in @samp{%ax},
218 @samp{cwde} --- sign-extend word in @samp{%ax} to long in @samp{%eax},
221 @samp{cwd} --- sign-extend word in @samp{%ax} to long in @samp{%dx:%ax},
224 @samp{cdq} --- sign-extend dword in @samp{%eax} to quad in @samp{%edx:%eax},
227 @samp{cdqe} --- sign-extend dword in @samp{%eax} to quad in @samp{%rax}
231 @samp{cqo} --- sign-extend quad in @samp{%rax} to octuple in
232 @samp{%rdx:%rax} (x86-64 only),
236 are called @samp{cbtw}, @samp{cwtl}, @samp{cwtd}, @samp{cltd}, @samp{cltq}, and
237 @samp{cqto} in AT&T naming. @code{@value{AS}} accepts either naming for these
240 @cindex jump instructions, i386
241 @cindex call instructions, i386
242 @cindex jump instructions, x86-64
243 @cindex call instructions, x86-64
244 Far call/jump instructions are @samp{lcall} and @samp{ljmp} in
245 AT&T syntax, but are @samp{call far} and @samp{jump far} in Intel
249 @section Register Naming
251 @cindex i386 registers
252 @cindex registers, i386
253 @cindex x86-64 registers
254 @cindex registers, x86-64
255 Register operands are always prefixed with @samp{%}. The 80386 registers
260 the 8 32-bit registers @samp{%eax} (the accumulator), @samp{%ebx},
261 @samp{%ecx}, @samp{%edx}, @samp{%edi}, @samp{%esi}, @samp{%ebp} (the
262 frame pointer), and @samp{%esp} (the stack pointer).
265 the 8 16-bit low-ends of these: @samp{%ax}, @samp{%bx}, @samp{%cx},
266 @samp{%dx}, @samp{%di}, @samp{%si}, @samp{%bp}, and @samp{%sp}.
269 the 8 8-bit registers: @samp{%ah}, @samp{%al}, @samp{%bh},
270 @samp{%bl}, @samp{%ch}, @samp{%cl}, @samp{%dh}, and @samp{%dl} (These
271 are the high-bytes and low-bytes of @samp{%ax}, @samp{%bx},
272 @samp{%cx}, and @samp{%dx})
275 the 6 section registers @samp{%cs} (code section), @samp{%ds}
276 (data section), @samp{%ss} (stack section), @samp{%es}, @samp{%fs},
280 the 3 processor control registers @samp{%cr0}, @samp{%cr2}, and
284 the 6 debug registers @samp{%db0}, @samp{%db1}, @samp{%db2},
285 @samp{%db3}, @samp{%db6}, and @samp{%db7}.
288 the 2 test registers @samp{%tr6} and @samp{%tr7}.
291 the 8 floating point register stack @samp{%st} or equivalently
292 @samp{%st(0)}, @samp{%st(1)}, @samp{%st(2)}, @samp{%st(3)},
293 @samp{%st(4)}, @samp{%st(5)}, @samp{%st(6)}, and @samp{%st(7)}.
294 These registers are overloaded by 8 MMX registers @samp{%mm0},
295 @samp{%mm1}, @samp{%mm2}, @samp{%mm3}, @samp{%mm4}, @samp{%mm5},
296 @samp{%mm6} and @samp{%mm7}.
299 the 8 SSE registers registers @samp{%xmm0}, @samp{%xmm1}, @samp{%xmm2},
300 @samp{%xmm3}, @samp{%xmm4}, @samp{%xmm5}, @samp{%xmm6} and @samp{%xmm7}.
303 The AMD x86-64 architecture extends the register set by:
307 enhancing the 8 32-bit registers to 64-bit: @samp{%rax} (the
308 accumulator), @samp{%rbx}, @samp{%rcx}, @samp{%rdx}, @samp{%rdi},
309 @samp{%rsi}, @samp{%rbp} (the frame pointer), @samp{%rsp} (the stack
313 the 8 extended registers @samp{%r8}--@samp{%r15}.
316 the 8 32-bit low ends of the extended registers: @samp{%r8d}--@samp{%r15d}
319 the 8 16-bit low ends of the extended registers: @samp{%r8w}--@samp{%r15w}
322 the 8 8-bit low ends of the extended registers: @samp{%r8b}--@samp{%r15b}
325 the 4 8-bit registers: @samp{%sil}, @samp{%dil}, @samp{%bpl}, @samp{%spl}.
328 the 8 debug registers: @samp{%db8}--@samp{%db15}.
331 the 8 SSE registers: @samp{%xmm8}--@samp{%xmm15}.
335 @section Instruction Prefixes
337 @cindex i386 instruction prefixes
338 @cindex instruction prefixes, i386
339 @cindex prefixes, i386
340 Instruction prefixes are used to modify the following instruction. They
341 are used to repeat string instructions, to provide section overrides, to
342 perform bus lock operations, and to change operand and address sizes.
343 (Most instructions that normally operate on 32-bit operands will use
344 16-bit operands if the instruction has an ``operand size'' prefix.)
345 Instruction prefixes are best written on the same line as the instruction
346 they act upon. For example, the @samp{scas} (scan string) instruction is
350 repne scas %es:(%edi),%al
353 You may also place prefixes on the lines immediately preceding the
354 instruction, but this circumvents checks that @code{@value{AS}} does
355 with prefixes, and will not work with all prefixes.
357 Here is a list of instruction prefixes:
359 @cindex section override prefixes, i386
362 Section override prefixes @samp{cs}, @samp{ds}, @samp{ss}, @samp{es},
363 @samp{fs}, @samp{gs}. These are automatically added by specifying
364 using the @var{section}:@var{memory-operand} form for memory references.
366 @cindex size prefixes, i386
368 Operand/Address size prefixes @samp{data16} and @samp{addr16}
369 change 32-bit operands/addresses into 16-bit operands/addresses,
370 while @samp{data32} and @samp{addr32} change 16-bit ones (in a
371 @code{.code16} section) into 32-bit operands/addresses. These prefixes
372 @emph{must} appear on the same line of code as the instruction they
373 modify. For example, in a 16-bit @code{.code16} section, you might
380 @cindex bus lock prefixes, i386
381 @cindex inhibiting interrupts, i386
383 The bus lock prefix @samp{lock} inhibits interrupts during execution of
384 the instruction it precedes. (This is only valid with certain
385 instructions; see a 80386 manual for details).
387 @cindex coprocessor wait, i386
389 The wait for coprocessor prefix @samp{wait} waits for the coprocessor to
390 complete the current instruction. This should never be needed for the
391 80386/80387 combination.
393 @cindex repeat prefixes, i386
395 The @samp{rep}, @samp{repe}, and @samp{repne} prefixes are added
396 to string instructions to make them repeat @samp{%ecx} times (@samp{%cx}
397 times if the current address size is 16-bits).
398 @cindex REX prefixes, i386
400 The @samp{rex} family of prefixes is used by x86-64 to encode
401 extensions to i386 instruction set. The @samp{rex} prefix has four
402 bits --- an operand size overwrite (@code{64}) used to change operand size
403 from 32-bit to 64-bit and X, Y and Z extensions bits used to extend the
406 You may write the @samp{rex} prefixes directly. The @samp{rex64xyz}
407 instruction emits @samp{rex} prefix with all the bits set. By omitting
408 the @code{64}, @code{x}, @code{y} or @code{z} you may write other
409 prefixes as well. Normally, there is no need to write the prefixes
410 explicitly, since gas will automatically generate them based on the
411 instruction operands.
415 @section Memory References
417 @cindex i386 memory references
418 @cindex memory references, i386
419 @cindex x86-64 memory references
420 @cindex memory references, x86-64
421 An Intel syntax indirect memory reference of the form
424 @var{section}:[@var{base} + @var{index}*@var{scale} + @var{disp}]
428 is translated into the AT&T syntax
431 @var{section}:@var{disp}(@var{base}, @var{index}, @var{scale})
435 where @var{base} and @var{index} are the optional 32-bit base and
436 index registers, @var{disp} is the optional displacement, and
437 @var{scale}, taking the values 1, 2, 4, and 8, multiplies @var{index}
438 to calculate the address of the operand. If no @var{scale} is
439 specified, @var{scale} is taken to be 1. @var{section} specifies the
440 optional section register for the memory operand, and may override the
441 default section register (see a 80386 manual for section register
442 defaults). Note that section overrides in AT&T syntax @emph{must}
443 be preceded by a @samp{%}. If you specify a section override which
444 coincides with the default section register, @code{@value{AS}} does @emph{not}
445 output any section register override prefixes to assemble the given
446 instruction. Thus, section overrides can be specified to emphasize which
447 section register is used for a given memory operand.
449 Here are some examples of Intel and AT&T style memory references:
452 @item AT&T: @samp{-4(%ebp)}, Intel: @samp{[ebp - 4]}
453 @var{base} is @samp{%ebp}; @var{disp} is @samp{-4}. @var{section} is
454 missing, and the default section is used (@samp{%ss} for addressing with
455 @samp{%ebp} as the base register). @var{index}, @var{scale} are both missing.
457 @item AT&T: @samp{foo(,%eax,4)}, Intel: @samp{[foo + eax*4]}
458 @var{index} is @samp{%eax} (scaled by a @var{scale} 4); @var{disp} is
459 @samp{foo}. All other fields are missing. The section register here
460 defaults to @samp{%ds}.
462 @item AT&T: @samp{foo(,1)}; Intel @samp{[foo]}
463 This uses the value pointed to by @samp{foo} as a memory operand.
464 Note that @var{base} and @var{index} are both missing, but there is only
465 @emph{one} @samp{,}. This is a syntactic exception.
467 @item AT&T: @samp{%gs:foo}; Intel @samp{gs:foo}
468 This selects the contents of the variable @samp{foo} with section
469 register @var{section} being @samp{%gs}.
472 Absolute (as opposed to PC relative) call and jump operands must be
473 prefixed with @samp{*}. If no @samp{*} is specified, @code{@value{AS}}
474 always chooses PC relative addressing for jump/call labels.
476 Any instruction that has a memory operand, but no register operand,
477 @emph{must} specify its size (byte, word, long, or quadruple) with an
478 instruction mnemonic suffix (@samp{b}, @samp{w}, @samp{l} or @samp{q},
481 The x86-64 architecture adds an RIP (instruction pointer relative)
482 addressing. This addressing mode is specified by using @samp{rip} as a
483 base register. Only constant offsets are valid. For example:
486 @item AT&T: @samp{1234(%rip)}, Intel: @samp{[rip + 1234]}
487 Points to the address 1234 bytes past the end of the current
490 @item AT&T: @samp{symbol(%rip)}, Intel: @samp{[rip + symbol]}
491 Points to the @code{symbol} in RIP relative way, this is shorter than
492 the default absolute addressing.
495 Other addressing modes remain unchanged in x86-64 architecture, except
496 registers used are 64-bit instead of 32-bit.
499 @section Handling of Jump Instructions
501 @cindex jump optimization, i386
502 @cindex i386 jump optimization
503 @cindex jump optimization, x86-64
504 @cindex x86-64 jump optimization
505 Jump instructions are always optimized to use the smallest possible
506 displacements. This is accomplished by using byte (8-bit) displacement
507 jumps whenever the target is sufficiently close. If a byte displacement
508 is insufficient a long displacement is used. We do not support
509 word (16-bit) displacement jumps in 32-bit mode (i.e. prefixing the jump
510 instruction with the @samp{data16} instruction prefix), since the 80386
511 insists upon masking @samp{%eip} to 16 bits after the word displacement
512 is added. (See also @pxref{i386-Arch})
514 Note that the @samp{jcxz}, @samp{jecxz}, @samp{loop}, @samp{loopz},
515 @samp{loope}, @samp{loopnz} and @samp{loopne} instructions only come in byte
516 displacements, so that if you use these instructions (@code{@value{GCC}} does
517 not use them) you may get an error message (and incorrect code). The AT&T
518 80386 assembler tries to get around this problem by expanding @samp{jcxz foo}
529 @section Floating Point
531 @cindex i386 floating point
532 @cindex floating point, i386
533 @cindex x86-64 floating point
534 @cindex floating point, x86-64
535 All 80387 floating point types except packed BCD are supported.
536 (BCD support may be added without much difficulty). These data
537 types are 16-, 32-, and 64- bit integers, and single (32-bit),
538 double (64-bit), and extended (80-bit) precision floating point.
539 Each supported type has an instruction mnemonic suffix and a constructor
540 associated with it. Instruction mnemonic suffixes specify the operand's
541 data type. Constructors build these data types into memory.
543 @cindex @code{float} directive, i386
544 @cindex @code{single} directive, i386
545 @cindex @code{double} directive, i386
546 @cindex @code{tfloat} directive, i386
547 @cindex @code{float} directive, x86-64
548 @cindex @code{single} directive, x86-64
549 @cindex @code{double} directive, x86-64
550 @cindex @code{tfloat} directive, x86-64
553 Floating point constructors are @samp{.float} or @samp{.single},
554 @samp{.double}, and @samp{.tfloat} for 32-, 64-, and 80-bit formats.
555 These correspond to instruction mnemonic suffixes @samp{s}, @samp{l},
556 and @samp{t}. @samp{t} stands for 80-bit (ten byte) real. The 80387
557 only supports this format via the @samp{fldt} (load 80-bit real to stack
558 top) and @samp{fstpt} (store 80-bit real and pop stack) instructions.
560 @cindex @code{word} directive, i386
561 @cindex @code{long} directive, i386
562 @cindex @code{int} directive, i386
563 @cindex @code{quad} directive, i386
564 @cindex @code{word} directive, x86-64
565 @cindex @code{long} directive, x86-64
566 @cindex @code{int} directive, x86-64
567 @cindex @code{quad} directive, x86-64
569 Integer constructors are @samp{.word}, @samp{.long} or @samp{.int}, and
570 @samp{.quad} for the 16-, 32-, and 64-bit integer formats. The
571 corresponding instruction mnemonic suffixes are @samp{s} (single),
572 @samp{l} (long), and @samp{q} (quad). As with the 80-bit real format,
573 the 64-bit @samp{q} format is only present in the @samp{fildq} (load
574 quad integer to stack top) and @samp{fistpq} (store quad integer and pop
578 Register to register operations should not use instruction mnemonic suffixes.
579 @samp{fstl %st, %st(1)} will give a warning, and be assembled as if you
580 wrote @samp{fst %st, %st(1)}, since all register to register operations
581 use 80-bit floating point operands. (Contrast this with @samp{fstl %st, mem},
582 which converts @samp{%st} from 80-bit to 64-bit floating point format,
583 then stores the result in the 4 byte location @samp{mem})
586 @section Intel's MMX and AMD's 3DNow! SIMD Operations
592 @cindex 3DNow!, x86-64
595 @code{@value{AS}} supports Intel's MMX instruction set (SIMD
596 instructions for integer data), available on Intel's Pentium MMX
597 processors and Pentium II processors, AMD's K6 and K6-2 processors,
598 Cyrix' M2 processor, and probably others. It also supports AMD's 3DNow!
599 instruction set (SIMD instructions for 32-bit floating point data)
600 available on AMD's K6-2 processor and possibly others in the future.
602 Currently, @code{@value{AS}} does not support Intel's floating point
605 The eight 64-bit MMX operands, also used by 3DNow!, are called @samp{%mm0},
606 @samp{%mm1}, ... @samp{%mm7}. They contain eight 8-bit integers, four
607 16-bit integers, two 32-bit integers, one 64-bit integer, or two 32-bit
608 floating point values. The MMX registers cannot be used at the same time
609 as the floating point stack.
611 See Intel and AMD documentation, keeping in mind that the operand order in
612 instructions is reversed from the Intel syntax.
615 @section Writing 16-bit Code
617 @cindex i386 16-bit code
618 @cindex 16-bit code, i386
619 @cindex real-mode code, i386
620 @cindex @code{code16gcc} directive, i386
621 @cindex @code{code16} directive, i386
622 @cindex @code{code32} directive, i386
623 @cindex @code{code64} directive, i386
624 @cindex @code{code64} directive, x86-64
625 While @code{@value{AS}} normally writes only ``pure'' 32-bit i386 code
626 or 64-bit x86-64 code depending on the default configuration,
627 it also supports writing code to run in real mode or in 16-bit protected
628 mode code segments. To do this, put a @samp{.code16} or
629 @samp{.code16gcc} directive before the assembly language instructions to
630 be run in 16-bit mode. You can switch @code{@value{AS}} back to writing
631 normal 32-bit code with the @samp{.code32} directive.
633 @samp{.code16gcc} provides experimental support for generating 16-bit
634 code from gcc, and differs from @samp{.code16} in that @samp{call},
635 @samp{ret}, @samp{enter}, @samp{leave}, @samp{push}, @samp{pop},
636 @samp{pusha}, @samp{popa}, @samp{pushf}, and @samp{popf} instructions
637 default to 32-bit size. This is so that the stack pointer is
638 manipulated in the same way over function calls, allowing access to
639 function parameters at the same stack offsets as in 32-bit mode.
640 @samp{.code16gcc} also automatically adds address size prefixes where
641 necessary to use the 32-bit addressing modes that gcc generates.
643 The code which @code{@value{AS}} generates in 16-bit mode will not
644 necessarily run on a 16-bit pre-80386 processor. To write code that
645 runs on such a processor, you must refrain from using @emph{any} 32-bit
646 constructs which require @code{@value{AS}} to output address or operand
649 Note that writing 16-bit code instructions by explicitly specifying a
650 prefix or an instruction mnemonic suffix within a 32-bit code section
651 generates different machine instructions than those generated for a
652 16-bit code segment. In a 32-bit code section, the following code
653 generates the machine opcode bytes @samp{66 6a 04}, which pushes the
654 value @samp{4} onto the stack, decrementing @samp{%esp} by 2.
660 The same code in a 16-bit code section would generate the machine
661 opcode bytes @samp{6a 04} (ie. without the operand size prefix), which
662 is correct since the processor default operand size is assumed to be 16
663 bits in a 16-bit code section.
666 @section AT&T Syntax bugs
668 The UnixWare assembler, and probably other AT&T derived ix86 Unix
669 assemblers, generate floating point instructions with reversed source
670 and destination registers in certain cases. Unfortunately, gcc and
671 possibly many other programs use this reversed syntax, so we're stuck
680 results in @samp{%st(3)} being updated to @samp{%st - %st(3)} rather
681 than the expected @samp{%st(3) - %st}. This happens with all the
682 non-commutative arithmetic floating point operations with two register
683 operands where the source register is @samp{%st} and the destination
684 register is @samp{%st(i)}.
687 @section Specifying CPU Architecture
689 @cindex arch directive, i386
690 @cindex i386 arch directive
691 @cindex arch directive, x86-64
692 @cindex x86-64 arch directive
694 @code{@value{AS}} may be told to assemble for a particular CPU
695 (sub-)architecture with the @code{.arch @var{cpu_type}} directive. This
696 directive enables a warning when gas detects an instruction that is not
697 supported on the CPU specified. The choices for @var{cpu_type} are:
699 @multitable @columnfractions .20 .20 .20 .20
700 @item @samp{i8086} @tab @samp{i186} @tab @samp{i286} @tab @samp{i386}
701 @item @samp{i486} @tab @samp{i586} @tab @samp{i686} @tab @samp{pentium}
702 @item @samp{pentiumpro} @tab @samp{pentiumii} @tab @samp{pentiumiii} @tab @samp{pentium4}
703 @item @samp{k6} @tab @samp{athlon} @samp{sledgehammer}
704 @item @samp{.mmx} @samp{.sse} @samp{.sse2} @samp{.3dnow}
707 Apart from the warning, there are only two other effects on
708 @code{@value{AS}} operation; Firstly, if you specify a CPU other than
709 @samp{i486}, then shift by one instructions such as @samp{sarl $1, %eax}
710 will automatically use a two byte opcode sequence. The larger three
711 byte opcode sequence is used on the 486 (and when no architecture is
712 specified) because it executes faster on the 486. Note that you can
713 explicitly request the two byte opcode by writing @samp{sarl %eax}.
714 Secondly, if you specify @samp{i8086}, @samp{i186}, or @samp{i286},
715 @emph{and} @samp{.code16} or @samp{.code16gcc} then byte offset
716 conditional jumps will be promoted when necessary to a two instruction
717 sequence consisting of a conditional jump of the opposite sense around
718 an unconditional jump to the target.
720 Following the CPU architecture (but not a sub-architecture, which are those
721 starting with a dot), you may specify @samp{jumps} or @samp{nojumps} to
722 control automatic promotion of conditional jumps. @samp{jumps} is the
723 default, and enables jump promotion; All external jumps will be of the long
724 variety, and file-local jumps will be promoted as necessary.
725 (@pxref{i386-Jumps}) @samp{nojumps} leaves external conditional jumps as
726 byte offset jumps, and warns about file-local conditional jumps that
727 @code{@value{AS}} promotes.
728 Unconditional jumps are treated as for @samp{jumps}.
739 @cindex i386 @code{mul}, @code{imul} instructions
740 @cindex @code{mul} instruction, i386
741 @cindex @code{imul} instruction, i386
742 @cindex @code{mul} instruction, x86-64
743 @cindex @code{imul} instruction, x86-64
744 There is some trickery concerning the @samp{mul} and @samp{imul}
745 instructions that deserves mention. The 16-, 32-, 64- and 128-bit expanding
746 multiplies (base opcode @samp{0xf6}; extension 4 for @samp{mul} and 5
747 for @samp{imul}) can be output only in the one operand form. Thus,
748 @samp{imul %ebx, %eax} does @emph{not} select the expanding multiply;
749 the expanding multiply would clobber the @samp{%edx} register, and this
750 would confuse @code{@value{GCC}} output. Use @samp{imul %ebx} to get the
751 64-bit product in @samp{%edx:%eax}.
753 We have added a two operand form of @samp{imul} when the first operand
754 is an immediate mode expression and the second operand is a register.
755 This is just a shorthand, so that, multiplying @samp{%eax} by 69, for
756 example, can be done with @samp{imul $69, %eax} rather than @samp{imul