3 \# Source code to NASM documentation
5 \M{category}{Programming}
6 \M{title}{NASM - The Netwide Assembler}
8 \M{author}{The NASM Development Team}
9 \M{license}{All rights reserved. This document is redistributable under the licence given in the file "COPYING" distributed in the NASM archive.}
10 \M{summary}{This file documents NASM, the Netwide Assembler: an assembler targetting the Intel x86 series of processors, with portable source.}
13 \M{infotitle}{The Netwide Assembler for x86}
14 \M{epslogo}{nasmlogo.eps}
20 \IR{-On} \c{-On} option
36 \IR{!=} \c{!=} operator
37 \IR{$, here} \c{$}, Here token
38 \IR{$, prefix} \c{$}, prefix
41 \IR{%%} \c{%%} operator
42 \IR{%+1} \c{%+1} and \c{%-1} syntax
44 \IR{%0} \c{%0} parameter count
46 \IR{&&} \c{&&} operator
48 \IR{..@} \c{..@} symbol prefix
50 \IR{//} \c{//} operator
52 \IR{<<} \c{<<} operator
53 \IR{<=} \c{<=} operator
54 \IR{<>} \c{<>} operator
56 \IR{==} \c{==} operator
58 \IR{>=} \c{>=} operator
59 \IR{>>} \c{>>} operator
60 \IR{?} \c{?} MASM syntax
62 \IR{^^} \c{^^} operator
64 \IR{||} \c{||} operator
66 \IR{%$} \c{%$} and \c{%$$} prefixes
68 \IR{+ opaddition} \c{+} operator, binary
69 \IR{+ opunary} \c{+} operator, unary
70 \IR{+ modifier} \c{+} modifier
71 \IR{- opsubtraction} \c{-} operator, binary
72 \IR{- opunary} \c{-} operator, unary
73 \IR{alignment, in bin sections} alignment, in \c{bin} sections
74 \IR{alignment, in elf sections} alignment, in \c{elf} sections
75 \IR{alignment, in win32 sections} alignment, in \c{win32} sections
76 \IR{alignment, of elf common variables} alignment, of \c{elf} common
78 \IR{alignment, in obj sections} alignment, in \c{obj} sections
79 \IR{a.out, bsd version} \c{a.out}, BSD version
80 \IR{a.out, linux version} \c{a.out}, Linux version
81 \IR{autoconf} Autoconf
82 \IR{bitwise and} bitwise AND
83 \IR{bitwise or} bitwise OR
84 \IR{bitwise xor} bitwise XOR
85 \IR{block ifs} block IFs
86 \IR{borland pascal} Borland, Pascal
87 \IR{borland's win32 compilers} Borland, Win32 compilers
88 \IR{braces, after % sign} braces, after \c{%} sign
90 \IR{c calling convention} C calling convention
91 \IR{c symbol names} C symbol names
92 \IA{critical expressions}{critical expression}
93 \IA{command line}{command-line}
94 \IA{case sensitivity}{case sensitive}
95 \IA{case-sensitive}{case sensitive}
96 \IA{case-insensitive}{case sensitive}
97 \IA{character constants}{character constant}
98 \IR{common object file format} Common Object File Format
99 \IR{common variables, alignment in elf} common variables, alignment
101 \IR{common, elf extensions to} \c{COMMON}, \c{elf} extensions to
102 \IR{common, obj extensions to} \c{COMMON}, \c{obj} extensions to
103 \IR{declaring structure} declaring structures
104 \IR{default-wrt mechanism} default-\c{WRT} mechanism
107 \IR{dll symbols, exporting} DLL symbols, exporting
108 \IR{dll symbols, importing} DLL symbols, importing
110 \IR{dos archive} DOS archive
111 \IR{dos source archive} DOS source archive
112 \IA{effective address}{effective addresses}
113 \IA{effective-address}{effective addresses}
115 \IR{elf, 16-bit code and} ELF, 16-bit code and
116 \IR{elf shared libraries} ELF, shared libraries
117 \IR{executable and linkable format} Executable and Linkable Format
118 \IR{extern, obj extensions to} \c{EXTERN}, \c{obj} extensions to
120 \IR{freelink} FreeLink
121 \IR{functions, c calling convention} functions, C calling convention
122 \IR{functions, pascal calling convention} functions, Pascal calling
124 \IR{global, aoutb extensions to} \c{GLOBAL}, \c{aoutb} extensions to
125 \IR{global, elf extensions to} \c{GLOBAL}, \c{elf} extensions to
126 \IR{global, rdf extensions to} \c{GLOBAL}, \c{rdf} extensions to
128 \IR{got relocations} \c{GOT} relocations
129 \IR{gotoff relocation} \c{GOTOFF} relocations
130 \IR{gotpc relocation} \c{GOTPC} relocations
131 \IR{intel number formats} Intel number formats
132 \IR{linux, elf} Linux, ELF
133 \IR{linux, a.out} Linux, \c{a.out}
134 \IR{linux, as86} Linux, \c{as86}
135 \IR{logical and} logical AND
136 \IR{logical or} logical OR
137 \IR{logical xor} logical XOR
139 \IA{memory reference}{memory references}
141 \IA{misc directory}{misc subdirectory}
142 \IR{misc subdirectory} \c{misc} subdirectory
143 \IR{microsoft omf} Microsoft OMF
144 \IR{mmx registers} MMX registers
145 \IA{modr/m}{modr/m byte}
146 \IR{modr/m byte} ModR/M byte
148 \IR{ms-dos device drivers} MS-DOS device drivers
149 \IR{multipush} \c{multipush} macro
150 \IR{nasm version} NASM version
154 \IR{operating system} operating system
156 \IR{pascal calling convention}Pascal calling convention
157 \IR{passes} passes, assembly
162 \IR{plt} \c{PLT} relocations
163 \IA{pre-defining macros}{pre-define}
164 \IA{preprocessor expressions}{preprocessor, expressions}
165 \IA{preprocessor loops}{preprocessor, loops}
166 \IA{preprocessor variables}{preprocessor, variables}
167 \IA{rdoff subdirectory}{rdoff}
168 \IR{rdoff} \c{rdoff} subdirectory
169 \IR{relocatable dynamic object file format} Relocatable Dynamic
171 \IR{relocations, pic-specific} relocations, PIC-specific
172 \IA{repeating}{repeating code}
173 \IR{section alignment, in elf} section alignment, in \c{elf}
174 \IR{section alignment, in bin} section alignment, in \c{bin}
175 \IR{section alignment, in obj} section alignment, in \c{obj}
176 \IR{section alignment, in win32} section alignment, in \c{win32}
177 \IR{section, elf extensions to} \c{SECTION}, \c{elf} extensions to
178 \IR{section, win32 extensions to} \c{SECTION}, \c{win32} extensions to
179 \IR{segment alignment, in bin} segment alignment, in \c{bin}
180 \IR{segment alignment, in obj} segment alignment, in \c{obj}
181 \IR{segment, obj extensions to} \c{SEGMENT}, \c{elf} extensions to
182 \IR{segment names, borland pascal} segment names, Borland Pascal
183 \IR{shift command} \c{shift} command
185 \IR{sib byte} SIB byte
186 \IR{solaris x86} Solaris x86
187 \IA{standard section names}{standardised section names}
188 \IR{symbols, exporting from dlls} symbols, exporting from DLLs
189 \IR{symbols, importing from dlls} symbols, importing from DLLs
191 \IR{test subdirectory} \c{test} subdirectory
193 \IR{underscore, in c symbols} underscore, in C symbols
195 \IA{sco unix}{unix, sco}
196 \IR{unix, sco} Unix, SCO
197 \IA{unix source archive}{unix, source archive}
198 \IR{unix, source archive} Unix, source archive
199 \IA{unix system v}{unix, system v}
200 \IR{unix, system v} Unix, System V
201 \IR{unixware} UnixWare
203 \IR{version number of nasm} version number of NASM
204 \IR{visual c++} Visual C++
205 \IR{www page} WWW page
208 \IR{windows 95} Windows 95
209 \IR{windows nt} Windows NT
210 \# \IC{program entry point}{entry point, program}
211 \# \IC{program entry point}{start point, program}
212 \# \IC{MS-DOS device drivers}{device drivers, MS-DOS}
213 \# \IC{16-bit mode, versus 32-bit mode}{32-bit mode, versus 16-bit mode}
214 \# \IC{c symbol names}{symbol names, in C}
217 \C{intro} Introduction
219 \H{whatsnasm} What Is NASM?
221 The Netwide Assembler, NASM, is an 80x86 assembler designed for
222 portability and modularity. It supports a range of object file
223 formats, including Linux and \c{NetBSD/FreeBSD} \c{a.out}, \c{ELF},
224 \c{COFF}, Microsoft 16-bit \c{OBJ} and \c{Win32}. It will also output
225 plain binary files. Its syntax is designed to be simple and easy to
226 understand, similar to Intel's but less complex. It supports \c{Pentium},
227 \c{P6}, \c{MMX}, \c{3DNow!}, \c{SSE} and \c{SSE2} opcodes, and has
231 \S{yaasm} Why Yet Another Assembler?
233 The Netwide Assembler grew out of an idea on \i\c{comp.lang.asm.x86}
234 (or possibly \i\c{alt.lang.asm} - I forget which), which was
235 essentially that there didn't seem to be a good \e{free} x86-series
236 assembler around, and that maybe someone ought to write one.
238 \b \i\c{a86} is good, but not free, and in particular you don't get any
239 32-bit capability until you pay. It's DOS only, too.
241 \b \i\c{gas} is free, and ports over DOS and Unix, but it's not
242 very good, since it's designed to be a back end to \i\c{gcc}, which
243 always feeds it correct code. So its error checking is minimal. Also,
244 its syntax is horrible, from the point of view of anyone trying to
245 actually \e{write} anything in it. Plus you can't write 16-bit code in
248 \b \i\c{as86} is Minix- and Linux-specific, and (my version at least)
249 doesn't seem to have much (or any) documentation.
251 \b \i\c{MASM} isn't very good, and it's expensive, and it runs only under
254 \b \i\c{TASM} is better, but still strives for MASM compatibility,
255 which means millions of directives and tons of red tape. And its syntax
256 is essentially MASM's, with the contradictions and quirks that
257 entails (although it sorts out some of those by means of Ideal mode).
258 It's expensive too. And it's DOS-only.
260 So here, for your coding pleasure, is NASM. At present it's
261 still in prototype stage - we don't promise that it can outperform
262 any of these assemblers. But please, \e{please} send us bug reports,
263 fixes, helpful information, and anything else you can get your hands
264 on (and thanks to the many people who've done this already! You all
265 know who you are), and we'll improve it out of all recognition.
269 \S{legal} Licence Conditions
271 Please see the file \c{Licence}, supplied as part of any NASM
272 distribution archive, for the \i{licence} conditions under which you
276 \H{contact} Contact Information
278 The current version of NASM (since about 0.98.08) are maintained by a
279 team of developers, accessible through the \c{nasm-devel} mailing list
280 (see below for the link).
281 If you want to report a bug, please read \k{bugs} first.
283 NASM has a \i{WWW page} at
284 \W{http://www.web-sites.co.uk/nasm}\c{http://www.web-sites.co.uk/nasm},
285 and another, with additional information, at
286 \W{http://nasm.2y.net/}\c{http://nasm.2y.net/}
288 The original authors are \i{e\-mail}able as
289 \W{mailto:jules@dsf.org.uk}\c{jules@dsf.org.uk} and
290 \W{mailto:anakin@pobox.com}\c{anakin@pobox.com}.
291 The latter is no longer involved in the development team.
293 \i{New releases} of NASM are uploaded to the official sites
294 \W{http://www.web-sites.co.uk/nasm}\c{http://www.web-sites.co.uk/nasm}
296 \W{ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/software/devel/nasm/}\i\c{ftp.kernel.org}
298 \W{ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/devel/lang/assemblers/}\i\c{ibiblio.org}.
300 Announcements are posted to
301 \W{news:comp.lang.asm.x86}\i\c{comp.lang.asm.x86},
302 \W{news:alt.lang.asm}\i\c{alt.lang.asm} and
303 \W{news:comp.os.linux.announce}\i\c{comp.os.linux.announce}
305 If you want information about NASM beta releases, and the current
306 development status, please subscribe to the \i\c{nasm-devel} email list
308 \W{http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nasm-devel}\c{http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nasm-devel},
309 \W{http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nasm-devel}\c{http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/nasm-devel}
311 \W{http://sourceforge.net/projects/nasm}\c{http://sourceforge.net/projects/nasm}.
313 The preferred list is the list at Sourceforge, which is also the home to
314 the latest nasm source code and releases. The other lists are open, but
315 may not continue to be supported in the long term.
318 \H{install} Installation
320 \S{instdos} \i{Installing} NASM under MS-\i{DOS} or Windows
322 Once you've obtained the \i{DOS archive} for NASM, \i\c{nasmXXX.zip}
323 (where \c{XXX} denotes the version number of NASM contained in the
324 archive), unpack it into its own directory (for example \c{c:\\nasm}).
326 The archive will contain four executable files: the NASM executable
327 files \i\c{nasm.exe} and \i\c{nasmw.exe}, and the NDISASM executable
328 files \i\c{ndisasm.exe} and \i\c{ndisasmw.exe}. In each case, the
329 file whose name ends in \c{w} is a \I{Win32}\c{Win32} executable,
330 designed to run under \I{Windows 95}\c{Windows 95} or \I{Windows NT}
331 \c{Windows NT} Intel, and the other one is a 16-bit \I{DOS}\c{DOS}
334 The only file NASM needs to run is its own executable, so copy
335 (at least) one of \c{nasm.exe} and \c{nasmw.exe} to a directory on
336 your PATH, or alternatively edit \i\c{autoexec.bat} to add the
337 \c{nasm} directory to your \i\c{PATH}. (If you're only installing the
338 \c{Win32} version, you may wish to rename it to \c{nasm.exe}.)
340 That's it - NASM is installed. You don't need the nasm directory
341 to be present to run NASM (unless you've added it to your \c{PATH}),
342 so you can delete it if you need to save space; however, you may
343 want to keep the documentation or test programs.
345 If you've downloaded the \i{DOS source archive}, \i\c{nasmXXXs.zip},
346 the \c{nasm} directory will also contain the full NASM \i{source
347 code}, and a selection of \i{Makefiles} you can (hopefully) use to
348 rebuild your copy of NASM from scratch.
350 Note that the source files \c{insnsa.c}, \c{insnsd.c}, \c{insnsi.h}
351 and \c{insnsn.c} are automatically generated from the master
352 instruction table \c{insns.dat} by a Perl script; the file
353 \c{macros.c} is generated from \c{standard.mac} by another Perl
354 script. Although the NASM 0.98 distribution includes these generated
355 files, you will need to rebuild them (and hence, will need a Perl
356 interpreter) if you change insns.dat, standard.mac or the
357 documentation. It is possible future source distributions may not
358 include these files at all. Ports of \i{Perl} for a variety of
359 platforms, including DOS and Windows, are available from
360 \W{http://www.cpan.org/ports/}\i{www.cpan.org}.
363 \S{instdos} Installing NASM under \i{Unix}
365 Once you've obtained the \i{Unix source archive} for NASM,
366 \i\c{nasm-X.XX.tar.gz} (where \c{X.XX} denotes the version number of
367 NASM contained in the archive), unpack it into a directory such
368 as \c{/usr/local/src}. The archive, when unpacked, will create its
369 own subdirectory \c{nasm-X.XX}.
371 NASM is an \I{Autoconf}\I\c{configure}auto-configuring package: once
372 you've unpacked it, \c{cd} to the directory it's been unpacked into
373 and type \c{./configure}. This shell script will find the best C
374 compiler to use for building NASM and set up \i{Makefiles}
377 Once NASM has auto-configured, you can type \i\c{make} to build the
378 \c{nasm} and \c{ndisasm} binaries, and then \c{make install} to
379 install them in \c{/usr/local/bin} and install the \i{man pages}
380 \i\c{nasm.1} and \i\c{ndisasm.1} in \c{/usr/local/man/man1}.
381 Alternatively, you can give options such as \c{--prefix} to the
382 configure script (see the file \i\c{INSTALL} for more details), or
383 install the programs yourself.
385 NASM also comes with a set of utilities for handling the \c{RDOFF}
386 custom object-file format, which are in the \i\c{rdoff} subdirectory
387 of the NASM archive. You can build these with \c{make rdf} and
388 install them with \c{make rdf_install}, if you want them.
390 If NASM fails to auto-configure, you may still be able to make it
391 compile by using the fall-back Unix makefile \i\c{Makefile.unx}.
392 Copy or rename that file to \c{Makefile} and try typing \c{make}.
393 There is also a Makefile.unx file in the \c{rdoff} subdirectory.
396 \C{running} Running NASM
398 \H{syntax} NASM \i{Command-Line} Syntax
400 To assemble a file, you issue a command of the form
402 \c nasm -f <format> <filename> [-o <output>]
406 \c nasm -f elf myfile.asm
408 will assemble \c{myfile.asm} into an \c{ELF} object file \c{myfile.o}. And
410 \c nasm -f bin myfile.asm -o myfile.com
412 will assemble \c{myfile.asm} into a raw binary file \c{myfile.com}.
414 To produce a listing file, with the hex codes output from NASM
415 displayed on the left of the original sources, use the \c{-l} option
416 to give a listing file name, for example:
418 \c nasm -f coff myfile.asm -l myfile.lst
420 To get further usage instructions from NASM, try typing
424 This will also list the available output file formats, and what they
427 If you use Linux but aren't sure whether your system is \c{a.out}
432 (in the directory in which you put the NASM binary when you
433 installed it). If it says something like
435 \c nasm: ELF 32-bit LSB executable i386 (386 and up) Version 1
437 then your system is \c{ELF}, and you should use the option \c{-f elf}
438 when you want NASM to produce Linux object files. If it says
440 \c nasm: Linux/i386 demand-paged executable (QMAGIC)
442 or something similar, your system is \c{a.out}, and you should use
443 \c{-f aout} instead (Linux \c{a.out} systems have long been obsolete,
444 and are rare these days.)
446 Like Unix compilers and assemblers, NASM is silent unless it
447 goes wrong: you won't see any output at all, unless it gives error
451 \S{opt-o} The \i\c{-o} Option: Specifying the Output File Name
453 NASM will normally choose the name of your output file for you;
454 precisely how it does this is dependent on the object file format.
455 For Microsoft object file formats (\i\c{obj} and \i\c{win32}), it
456 will remove the \c{.asm} \i{extension} (or whatever extension you
457 like to use - NASM doesn't care) from your source file name and
458 substitute \c{.obj}. For Unix object file formats (\i\c{aout},
459 \i\c{coff}, \i\c{elf} and \i\c{as86}) it will substitute \c{.o}. For
460 \i\c{rdf}, it will use \c{.rdf}, and for the \i\c{bin} format it
461 will simply remove the extension, so that \c{myfile.asm} produces
462 the output file \c{myfile}.
464 If the output file already exists, NASM will overwrite it, unless it
465 has the same name as the input file, in which case it will give a
466 warning and use \i\c{nasm.out} as the output file name instead.
468 For situations in which this behaviour is unacceptable, NASM
469 provides the \c{-o} command-line option, which allows you to specify
470 your desired output file name. You invoke \c{-o} by following it
471 with the name you wish for the output file, either with or without
472 an intervening space. For example:
474 \c nasm -f bin program.asm -o program.com
475 \c nasm -f bin driver.asm -odriver.sys
477 Note that this is a small o, and is different from a capital O , which
478 is used to specify the number of optimisation passes required. See \k{opt-On}.
481 \S{opt-f} The \i\c{-f} Option: Specifying the \i{Output File Format}
483 If you do not supply the \c{-f} option to NASM, it will choose an
484 output file format for you itself. In the distribution versions of
485 NASM, the default is always \i\c{bin}; if you've compiled your own
486 copy of NASM, you can redefine \i\c{OF_DEFAULT} at compile time and
487 choose what you want the default to be.
489 Like \c{-o}, the intervening space between \c{-f} and the output
490 file format is optional; so \c{-f elf} and \c{-felf} are both valid.
492 A complete list of the available output file formats can be given by
493 issuing the command \i\c{nasm -hf}.
496 \S{opt-l} The \i\c{-l} Option: Generating a \i{Listing File}
498 If you supply the \c{-l} option to NASM, followed (with the usual
499 optional space) by a file name, NASM will generate a
500 \i{source-listing file} for you, in which addresses and generated
501 code are listed on the left, and the actual source code, with
502 expansions of multi-line macros (except those which specifically
503 request no expansion in source listings: see \k{nolist}) on the
506 \c nasm -f elf myfile.asm -l myfile.lst
509 \S{opt-M} The \i\c{-M} Option: Generate \i{Makefile Dependencies}.
511 This option can be used to generate makefile dependencies on stdout.
512 This can be redirected to a file for further processing. For example:
514 \c NASM -M myfile.asm > myfile.dep
517 \S{opt-F} The \i\c{-F} Option: Selecting a \i{Debugging Format}
519 This option can be used to select a debugging format for the output file.
520 The syntax is the same as for the -f option, except that it produces
521 output in a debugging format.
523 A complete list of the available debug file formats for an output format
524 can be seen by issuing the command \i\c{nasm -f <format> -y}.
526 This option is not built into NASM by default. For information on how
527 to enable it when building from the sources, see \k{dbgfmt}
530 \S{opt-g} The \i\c{-g} Option: Enabling \i{Debug Information}.
532 This option can be used to generate debugging information in the specified
535 See \k{opt-F} for more information.
538 \S{opt-E} The \i\c{-E} Option: Send Errors to a File
540 Under \I{DOS}\c{MS-DOS} it can be difficult (though there are ways) to
541 redirect the standard-error output of a program to a file. Since
542 NASM usually produces its warning and \i{error messages} on
543 \i\c{stderr}, this can make it hard to capture the errors if (for
544 example) you want to load them into an editor.
546 NASM therefore provides the \c{-E} option, taking a filename argument
547 which causes errors to be sent to the specified files rather than
548 standard error. Therefore you can \I{redirecting errors}redirect
549 the errors into a file by typing
551 \c nasm -E myfile.err -f obj myfile.asm
554 \S{opt-s} The \i\c{-s} Option: Send Errors to \i\c{stdout}
556 The \c{-s} option redirects \i{error messages} to \c{stdout} rather
557 than \c{stderr}, so it can be redirected under \I{DOS}\c{MS-DOS}. To
558 assemble the file \c{myfile.asm} and pipe its output to the \c{more}
559 program, you can type:
561 \c nasm -s -f obj myfile.asm | more
563 See also the \c{-E} option, \k{opt-E}.
566 \S{opt-i} The \i\c{-i}\I\c{-I} Option: Include File Search Directories
568 When NASM sees the \i\c{%include} directive in a source file (see
569 \k{include}), it will search for the given file not only in the
570 current directory, but also in any directories specified on the
571 command line by the use of the \c{-i} option. Therefore you can
572 include files from a \i{macro library}, for example, by typing
574 \c nasm -ic:\macrolib\ -f obj myfile.asm
576 (As usual, a space between \c{-i} and the path name is allowed, and
579 NASM, in the interests of complete source-code portability, does not
580 understand the file naming conventions of the OS it is running on;
581 the string you provide as an argument to the \c{-i} option will be
582 prepended exactly as written to the name of the include file.
583 Therefore the trailing backslash in the above example is necessary.
584 Under Unix, a trailing forward slash is similarly necessary.
586 (You can use this to your advantage, if you're really \i{perverse},
587 by noting that the option \c{-ifoo} will cause \c{%include "bar.i"}
588 to search for the file \c{foobar.i}...)
590 If you want to define a \e{standard} \i{include search path},
591 similar to \c{/usr/include} on Unix systems, you should place one or
592 more \c{-i} directives in the \c{NASMENV} environment variable (see
595 For Makefile compatibility with many C compilers, this option can also
596 be specified as \c{-I}.
599 \S{opt-p} The \i\c{-p}\I\c{-P} Option: \I{pre-including files}Pre-Include a File
601 \I\c{%include}NASM allows you to specify files to be
602 \e{pre-included} into your source file, by the use of the \c{-p}
605 \c nasm myfile.asm -p myinc.inc
607 is equivalent to running \c{nasm myfile.asm} and placing the
608 directive \c{%include "myinc.inc"} at the start of the file.
610 For consistency with the \c{-I}, \c{-D} and \c{-U} options, this
611 option can also be specified as \c{-P}.
614 \S{opt-d} The \i\c{-d}\I\c{-D} Option: \I{pre-defining macros} Pre-Define a Macro
616 \I\c{%define}Just as the \c{-p} option gives an alternative to placing
617 \c{%include} directives at the start of a source file, the \c{-d}
618 option gives an alternative to placing a \c{%define} directive. You
621 \c nasm myfile.asm -dFOO=100
623 as an alternative to placing the directive
627 at the start of the file. You can miss off the macro value, as well:
628 the option \c{-dFOO} is equivalent to coding \c{%define FOO}. This
629 form of the directive may be useful for selecting \i{assembly-time
630 options} which are then tested using \c{%ifdef}, for example
633 For Makefile compatibility with many C compilers, this option can also
634 be specified as \c{-D}.
637 \S{opt-u} The \i\c{-u}\I\c{-U} Option: \I{Undefining macros} Undefine a Macro
639 \I\c{%undef}The \c{-u} option undefines a macro that would otherwise
640 have been pre-defined, either automatically or by a \c{-p} or \c{-d}
641 option specified earlier on the command lines.
643 For example, the following command line:
645 \c nasm myfile.asm -dFOO=100 -uFOO
647 would result in \c{FOO} \e{not} being a predefined macro in the
648 program. This is useful to override options specified at a different
651 For Makefile compatibility with many C compilers, this option can also
652 be specified as \c{-U}.
655 \S{opt-e} The \i\c{-e} Option: Preprocess Only
657 NASM allows the \i{preprocessor} to be run on its own, up to a
658 point. Using the \c{-e} option (which requires no arguments) will
659 cause NASM to preprocess its input file, expand all the macro
660 references, remove all the comments and preprocessor directives, and
661 print the resulting file on standard output (or save it to a file,
662 if the \c{-o} option is also used).
664 This option cannot be applied to programs which require the
665 preprocessor to evaluate \I{preprocessor expressions}\i{expressions}
666 which depend on the values of symbols: so code such as
668 \c %assign tablesize ($-tablestart)
670 will cause an error in \i{preprocess-only mode}.
673 \S{opt-a} The \i\c{-a} Option: Don't Preprocess At All
675 If NASM is being used as the back end to a compiler, it might be
676 desirable to \I{suppressing preprocessing}suppress preprocessing
677 completely and assume the compiler has already done it, to save time
678 and increase compilation speeds. The \c{-a} option, requiring no
679 argument, instructs NASM to replace its powerful \i{preprocessor}
680 with a \i{stub preprocessor} which does nothing.
683 \S{opt-On} The \i\c{-On} Option: Specifying \i{Multipass Optimization}.
685 NASM defaults to being a two pass assembler. This means that if you
686 have a complex source file which needs more than 2 passes to assemble
687 correctly, you have to tell it.
689 Using the \c{-O} option, you can tell NASM to carry out multiple passes.
692 \b \c{-O0} strict two-pass assembly, JMP and Jcc are handled more
693 like v0.98, except that backward JMPs are short, if possible.
694 Immediate operands take their long forms if a short form is
697 \b \c{-O1} strict two-pass assembly, but forward branches are assembled
698 with code guaranteed to reach; may produce larger code than
699 -O0, but will produce successful assembly more often if
700 branch offset sizes are not specified.
701 Additionally, immediate operands which will fit in a signed byte
702 are optimised, unless the long form is specified.
704 \b \c{-On} multi-pass optimization, minimize branch offsets; also will
705 minimize signed immediate bytes, overriding size specification.
706 If 2 <= n <= 3, then there are 5 * n passes, otherwise there
710 Note that this is a capital O, and is different from a small o, which
711 is used to specify the output format. See \k{opt-o}.
714 \S{opt-t} The \i\c{-t} option: Enable TASM Compatibility Mode
716 NASM includes a limited form of compatibility with Borland's \i\c{TASM}.
717 When NASM's \c{-t} option is used, the following changes are made:
719 \b local labels may be prefixed with \c{@@} instead of \c{.}
721 \b TASM-style response files beginning with \c{@} may be specified on
722 the command line. This is different from the \c{-@resp} style that NASM
725 \b size override is supported within brackets. In TASM compatible mode,
726 a size override inside square brackets changes the size of the operand,
727 and not the address type of the operand as it does in NASM syntax. E.g.
728 \c{mov eax,[DWORD val]} is valid syntax in TASM compatibility mode.
729 Note that you lose the ability to override the default address type for
732 \b \c{%arg} preprocessor directive is supported which is similar to
733 TASM's \c{ARG} directive.
735 \b \c{%local} preprocessor directive
737 \b \c{%stacksize} preprocessor directive
739 \b unprefixed forms of some directives supported (\c{arg}, \c{elif},
740 \c{else}, \c{endif}, \c{if}, \c{ifdef}, \c{ifdifi}, \c{ifndef},
741 \c{include}, \c{local})
745 For more information on the directives, see the section on TASM
746 Compatiblity preprocessor directives in \k{tasmcompat}.
749 \S{opt-w} The \i\c{-w} Option: Enable or Disable Assembly \i{Warnings}
751 NASM can observe many conditions during the course of assembly which
752 are worth mentioning to the user, but not a sufficiently severe
753 error to justify NASM refusing to generate an output file. These
754 conditions are reported like errors, but come up with the word
755 `warning' before the message. Warnings do not prevent NASM from
756 generating an output file and returning a success status to the
759 Some conditions are even less severe than that: they are only
760 sometimes worth mentioning to the user. Therefore NASM supports the
761 \c{-w} command-line option, which enables or disables certain
762 classes of assembly warning. Such warning classes are described by a
763 name, for example \c{orphan-labels}; you can enable warnings of
764 this class by the command-line option \c{-w+orphan-labels} and
765 disable it by \c{-w-orphan-labels}.
767 The \i{suppressible warning} classes are:
769 \b \i\c{macro-params} covers warnings about \i{multi-line macros}
770 being invoked with the wrong number of parameters. This warning
771 class is enabled by default; see \k{mlmacover} for an example of why
772 you might want to disable it.
774 \b \i\c{orphan-labels} covers warnings about source lines which
775 contain no instruction but define a label without a trailing colon.
776 NASM does not warn about this somewhat obscure condition by default;
777 see \k{syntax} for an example of why you might want it to.
779 \b \i\c{number-overflow} covers warnings about numeric constants which
780 don't fit in 32 bits (for example, it's easy to type one too many Fs
781 and produce \c{0x7ffffffff} by mistake). This warning class is
785 \S{opt-v} The \i\c{-v} Option: Display \i{Version} Info
787 Typing \c{NASM -v} will display the version of NASM which you are using,
788 and the date on which it was compiled.
790 You will need the version number if you report a bug.
793 \S{nasmenv} The \c{NASMENV} \i{Environment} Variable
795 If you define an environment variable called \c{NASMENV}, the program
796 will interpret it as a list of extra command-line options, which are
797 processed before the real command line. You can use this to define
798 standard search directories for include files, by putting \c{-i}
799 options in the \c{NASMENV} variable.
801 The value of the variable is split up at white space, so that the
802 value \c{-s -ic:\\nasmlib} will be treated as two separate options.
803 However, that means that the value \c{-dNAME="my name"} won't do
804 what you might want, because it will be split at the space and the
805 NASM command-line processing will get confused by the two
806 nonsensical words \c{-dNAME="my} and \c{name"}.
808 To get round this, NASM provides a feature whereby, if you begin the
809 \c{NASMENV} environment variable with some character that isn't a minus
810 sign, then NASM will treat this character as the \i{separator
811 character} for options. So setting the \c{NASMENV} variable to the
812 value \c{!-s!-ic:\\nasmlib} is equivalent to setting it to \c{-s
813 -ic:\\nasmlib}, but \c{!-dNAME="my name"} will work.
815 This environment variable was previously called \c{NASM}. This was
816 changed with version 0.98.31.
819 \H{qstart} \i{Quick Start} for \i{MASM} Users
821 If you're used to writing programs with MASM, or with \i{TASM} in
822 MASM-compatible (non-Ideal) mode, or with \i\c{a86}, this section
823 attempts to outline the major differences between MASM's syntax and
824 NASM's. If you're not already used to MASM, it's probably worth
825 skipping this section.
828 \S{qscs} NASM Is \I{case sensitivity}Case-Sensitive
830 One simple difference is that NASM is case-sensitive. It makes a
831 difference whether you call your label \c{foo}, \c{Foo} or \c{FOO}.
832 If you're assembling to \c{DOS} or \c{OS/2} \c{.OBJ} files, you can
833 invoke the \i\c{UPPERCASE} directive (documented in \k{objfmt}) to
834 ensure that all symbols exported to other code modules are forced
835 to be upper case; but even then, \e{within} a single module, NASM
836 will distinguish between labels differing only in case.
839 \S{qsbrackets} NASM Requires \i{Square Brackets} For \i{Memory References}
841 NASM was designed with simplicity of syntax in mind. One of the
842 \i{design goals} of NASM is that it should be possible, as far as is
843 practical, for the user to look at a single line of NASM code
844 and tell what opcode is generated by it. You can't do this in MASM:
845 if you declare, for example,
850 then the two lines of code
855 generate completely different opcodes, despite having
856 identical-looking syntaxes.
858 NASM avoids this undesirable situation by having a much simpler
859 syntax for memory references. The rule is simply that any access to
860 the \e{contents} of a memory location requires square brackets
861 around the address, and any access to the \e{address} of a variable
862 doesn't. So an instruction of the form \c{mov ax,foo} will
863 \e{always} refer to a compile-time constant, whether it's an \c{EQU}
864 or the address of a variable; and to access the \e{contents} of the
865 variable \c{bar}, you must code \c{mov ax,[bar]}.
867 This also means that NASM has no need for MASM's \i\c{OFFSET}
868 keyword, since the MASM code \c{mov ax,offset bar} means exactly the
869 same thing as NASM's \c{mov ax,bar}. If you're trying to get
870 large amounts of MASM code to assemble sensibly under NASM, you
871 can always code \c{%idefine offset} to make the preprocessor treat
872 the \c{OFFSET} keyword as a no-op.
874 This issue is even more confusing in \i\c{a86}, where declaring a
875 label with a trailing colon defines it to be a `label' as opposed to
876 a `variable' and causes \c{a86} to adopt NASM-style semantics; so in
877 \c{a86}, \c{mov ax,var} has different behaviour depending on whether
878 \c{var} was declared as \c{var: dw 0} (a label) or \c{var dw 0} (a
879 word-size variable). NASM is very simple by comparison:
880 \e{everything} is a label.
882 NASM, in the interests of simplicity, also does not support the
883 \i{hybrid syntaxes} supported by MASM and its clones, such as
884 \c{mov ax,table[bx]}, where a memory reference is denoted by one
885 portion outside square brackets and another portion inside. The
886 correct syntax for the above is \c{mov ax,[table+bx]}. Likewise,
887 \c{mov ax,es:[di]} is wrong and \c{mov ax,[es:di]} is right.
890 \S{qstypes} NASM Doesn't Store \i{Variable Types}
892 NASM, by design, chooses not to remember the types of variables you
893 declare. Whereas MASM will remember, on seeing \c{var dw 0}, that
894 you declared \c{var} as a word-size variable, and will then be able
895 to fill in the \i{ambiguity} in the size of the instruction \c{mov
896 var,2}, NASM will deliberately remember nothing about the symbol
897 \c{var} except where it begins, and so you must explicitly code
898 \c{mov word [var],2}.
900 For this reason, NASM doesn't support the \c{LODS}, \c{MOVS},
901 \c{STOS}, \c{SCAS}, \c{CMPS}, \c{INS}, or \c{OUTS} instructions,
902 but only supports the forms such as \c{LODSB}, \c{MOVSW}, and
903 \c{SCASD}, which explicitly specify the size of the components of
904 the strings being manipulated.
907 \S{qsassume} NASM Doesn't \i\c{ASSUME}
909 As part of NASM's drive for simplicity, it also does not support the
910 \c{ASSUME} directive. NASM will not keep track of what values you
911 choose to put in your segment registers, and will never
912 \e{automatically} generate a \i{segment override} prefix.
915 \S{qsmodel} NASM Doesn't Support \i{Memory Models}
917 NASM also does not have any directives to support different 16-bit
918 memory models. The programmer has to keep track of which functions
919 are supposed to be called with a \i{far call} and which with a
920 \i{near call}, and is responsible for putting the correct form of
921 \c{RET} instruction (\c{RETN} or \c{RETF}; NASM accepts \c{RET}
922 itself as an alternate form for \c{RETN}); in addition, the
923 programmer is responsible for coding CALL FAR instructions where
924 necessary when calling \e{external} functions, and must also keep
925 track of which external variable definitions are far and which are
929 \S{qsfpu} \i{Floating-Point} Differences
931 NASM uses different names to refer to floating-point registers from
932 MASM: where MASM would call them \c{ST(0)}, \c{ST(1)} and so on, and
933 \i\c{a86} would call them simply \c{0}, \c{1} and so on, NASM
934 chooses to call them \c{st0}, \c{st1} etc.
936 As of version 0.96, NASM now treats the instructions with
937 \i{`nowait'} forms in the same way as MASM-compatible assemblers.
938 The idiosyncratic treatment employed by 0.95 and earlier was based
939 on a misunderstanding by the authors.
942 \S{qsother} Other Differences
944 For historical reasons, NASM uses the keyword \i\c{TWORD} where MASM
945 and compatible assemblers use \i\c{TBYTE}.
947 NASM does not declare \i{uninitialised storage} in the same way as
948 MASM: where a MASM programmer might use \c{stack db 64 dup (?)},
949 NASM requires \c{stack resb 64}, intended to be read as `reserve 64
950 bytes'. For a limited amount of compatibility, since NASM treats
951 \c{?} as a valid character in symbol names, you can code \c{? equ 0}
952 and then writing \c{dw ?} will at least do something vaguely useful.
953 \I\c{RESB}\i\c{DUP} is still not a supported syntax, however.
955 In addition to all of this, macros and directives work completely
956 differently to MASM. See \k{preproc} and \k{directive} for further
960 \C{lang} The NASM Language
962 \H{syntax} Layout of a NASM Source Line
964 Like most assemblers, each NASM source line contains (unless it
965 is a macro, a preprocessor directive or an assembler directive: see
966 \k{preproc} and \k{directive}) some combination of the four fields
968 \c label: instruction operands ; comment
970 As usual, most of these fields are optional; the presence or absence
971 of any combination of a label, an instruction and a comment is allowed.
972 Of course, the operand field is either required or forbidden by the
973 presence and nature of the instruction field.
975 NASM uses backslash (\\) as the line continuation character; if a line
976 ends with backslash, the next line is considered to be a part of the
977 backslash-ended line.
979 NASM places no restrictions on white space within a line: labels may
980 have white space before them, or instructions may have no space
981 before them, or anything. The \i{colon} after a label is also
982 optional. (Note that this means that if you intend to code \c{lodsb}
983 alone on a line, and type \c{lodab} by accident, then that's still a
984 valid source line which does nothing but define a label. Running
985 NASM with the command-line option
986 \I{orphan-labels}\c{-w+orphan-labels} will cause it to warn you if
987 you define a label alone on a line without a \i{trailing colon}.)
989 \i{Valid characters} in labels are letters, numbers, \c{_}, \c{$},
990 \c{#}, \c{@}, \c{~}, \c{.}, and \c{?}. The only characters which may
991 be used as the \e{first} character of an identifier are letters,
992 \c{.} (with special meaning: see \k{locallab}), \c{_} and \c{?}.
993 An identifier may also be prefixed with a \I{$, prefix}\c{$} to
994 indicate that it is intended to be read as an identifier and not a
995 reserved word; thus, if some other module you are linking with
996 defines a symbol called \c{eax}, you can refer to \c{$eax} in NASM
997 code to distinguish the symbol from the register.
999 The instruction field may contain any machine instruction: Pentium
1000 and P6 instructions, FPU instructions, MMX instructions and even
1001 undocumented instructions are all supported. The instruction may be
1002 prefixed by \c{LOCK}, \c{REP}, \c{REPE}/\c{REPZ} or
1003 \c{REPNE}/\c{REPNZ}, in the usual way. Explicit \I{address-size
1004 prefixes}address-size and \i{operand-size prefixes} \c{A16},
1005 \c{A32}, \c{O16} and \c{O32} are provided - one example of their use
1006 is given in \k{mixsize}. You can also use the name of a \I{segment
1007 override}segment register as an instruction prefix: coding
1008 \c{es mov [bx],ax} is equivalent to coding \c{mov [es:bx],ax}. We
1009 recommend the latter syntax, since it is consistent with other
1010 syntactic features of the language, but for instructions such as
1011 \c{LODSB}, which has no operands and yet can require a segment
1012 override, there is no clean syntactic way to proceed apart from
1015 An instruction is not required to use a prefix: prefixes such as
1016 \c{CS}, \c{A32}, \c{LOCK} or \c{REPE} can appear on a line by
1017 themselves, and NASM will just generate the prefix bytes.
1019 In addition to actual machine instructions, NASM also supports a
1020 number of pseudo-instructions, described in \k{pseudop}.
1022 Instruction \i{operands} may take a number of forms: they can be
1023 registers, described simply by the register name (e.g. \c{ax},
1024 \c{bp}, \c{ebx}, \c{cr0}: NASM does not use the \c{gas}-style
1025 syntax in which register names must be prefixed by a \c{%} sign), or
1026 they can be \i{effective addresses} (see \k{effaddr}), constants
1027 (\k{const}) or expressions (\k{expr}).
1029 For \i{floating-point} instructions, NASM accepts a wide range of
1030 syntaxes: you can use two-operand forms like MASM supports, or you
1031 can use NASM's native single-operand forms in most cases. Details of
1032 all forms of each supported instruction are given in
1033 \k{iref}. For example, you can code:
1035 \c fadd st1 ; this sets st0 := st0 + st1
1036 \c fadd st0,st1 ; so does this
1038 \c fadd st1,st0 ; this sets st1 := st1 + st0
1039 \c fadd to st1 ; so does this
1041 Almost any floating-point instruction that references memory must
1042 use one of the prefixes \i\c{DWORD}, \i\c{QWORD} or \i\c{TWORD} to
1043 indicate what size of \i{memory operand} it refers to.
1046 \H{pseudop} \i{Pseudo-Instructions}
1048 Pseudo-instructions are things which, though not real x86 machine
1049 instructions, are used in the instruction field anyway because
1050 that's the most convenient place to put them. The current
1051 pseudo-instructions are \i\c{DB}, \i\c{DW}, \i\c{DD}, \i\c{DQ} and
1052 \i\c{DT}, their \i{uninitialised} counterparts \i\c{RESB},
1053 \i\c{RESW}, \i\c{RESD}, \i\c{RESQ} and \i\c{REST}, the \i\c{INCBIN}
1054 command, the \i\c{EQU} command, and the \i\c{TIMES} prefix.
1057 \S{db} \c{DB} and friends: Declaring Initialised Data
1059 \i\c{DB}, \i\c{DW}, \i\c{DD}, \i\c{DQ} and \i\c{DT} are used, much
1060 as in MASM, to declare initialised data in the output file. They can
1061 be invoked in a wide range of ways:
1062 \I{floating-point}\I{character constant}\I{string constant}
1064 \c db 0x55 ; just the byte 0x55
1065 \c db 0x55,0x56,0x57 ; three bytes in succession
1066 \c db 'a',0x55 ; character constants are OK
1067 \c db 'hello',13,10,'$' ; so are string constants
1068 \c dw 0x1234 ; 0x34 0x12
1069 \c dw 'a' ; 0x41 0x00 (it's just a number)
1070 \c dw 'ab' ; 0x41 0x42 (character constant)
1071 \c dw 'abc' ; 0x41 0x42 0x43 0x00 (string)
1072 \c dd 0x12345678 ; 0x78 0x56 0x34 0x12
1073 \c dd 1.234567e20 ; floating-point constant
1074 \c dq 1.234567e20 ; double-precision float
1075 \c dt 1.234567e20 ; extended-precision float
1077 \c{DQ} and \c{DT} do not accept \i{numeric constants} or string
1078 constants as operands.
1081 \S{resb} \c{RESB} and friends: Declaring \i{Uninitialised} Data
1083 \i\c{RESB}, \i\c{RESW}, \i\c{RESD}, \i\c{RESQ} and \i\c{REST} are
1084 designed to be used in the BSS section of a module: they declare
1085 \e{uninitialised} storage space. Each takes a single operand, which
1086 is the number of bytes, words, doublewords or whatever to reserve.
1087 As stated in \k{qsother}, NASM does not support the MASM/TASM syntax
1088 of reserving uninitialised space by writing \I\c{?}\c{DW ?} or
1089 similar things: this is what it does instead. The operand to a
1090 \c{RESB}-type pseudo-instruction is a \i\e{critical expression}: see
1095 \c buffer: resb 64 ; reserve 64 bytes
1096 \c wordvar: resw 1 ; reserve a word
1097 \c realarray resq 10 ; array of ten reals
1100 \S{incbin} \i\c{INCBIN}: Including External \i{Binary Files}
1102 \c{INCBIN} is borrowed from the old Amiga assembler \i{DevPac}: it
1103 includes a binary file verbatim into the output file. This can be
1104 handy for (for example) including \i{graphics} and \i{sound} data
1105 directly into a game executable file. It can be called in one of
1108 \c incbin "file.dat" ; include the whole file
1109 \c incbin "file.dat",1024 ; skip the first 1024 bytes
1110 \c incbin "file.dat",1024,512 ; skip the first 1024, and
1111 \c ; actually include at most 512
1114 \S{equ} \i\c{EQU}: Defining Constants
1116 \c{EQU} defines a symbol to a given constant value: when \c{EQU} is
1117 used, the source line must contain a label. The action of \c{EQU} is
1118 to define the given label name to the value of its (only) operand.
1119 This definition is absolute, and cannot change later. So, for
1122 \c message db 'hello, world'
1123 \c msglen equ $-message
1125 defines \c{msglen} to be the constant 12. \c{msglen} may not then be
1126 redefined later. This is not a \i{preprocessor} definition either:
1127 the value of \c{msglen} is evaluated \e{once}, using the value of
1128 \c{$} (see \k{expr} for an explanation of \c{$}) at the point of
1129 definition, rather than being evaluated wherever it is referenced
1130 and using the value of \c{$} at the point of reference. Note that
1131 the operand to an \c{EQU} is also a \i{critical expression}
1135 \S{times} \i\c{TIMES}: \i{Repeating} Instructions or Data
1137 The \c{TIMES} prefix causes the instruction to be assembled multiple
1138 times. This is partly present as NASM's equivalent of the \i\c{DUP}
1139 syntax supported by \i{MASM}-compatible assemblers, in that you can
1142 \c zerobuf: times 64 db 0
1144 or similar things; but \c{TIMES} is more versatile than that. The
1145 argument to \c{TIMES} is not just a numeric constant, but a numeric
1146 \e{expression}, so you can do things like
1148 \c buffer: db 'hello, world'
1149 \c times 64-$+buffer db ' '
1151 which will store exactly enough spaces to make the total length of
1152 \c{buffer} up to 64. Finally, \c{TIMES} can be applied to ordinary
1153 instructions, so you can code trivial \i{unrolled loops} in it:
1157 Note that there is no effective difference between \c{times 100 resb
1158 1} and \c{resb 100}, except that the latter will be assembled about
1159 100 times faster due to the internal structure of the assembler.
1161 The operand to \c{TIMES}, like that of \c{EQU} and those of \c{RESB}
1162 and friends, is a critical expression (\k{crit}).
1164 Note also that \c{TIMES} can't be applied to \i{macros}: the reason
1165 for this is that \c{TIMES} is processed after the macro phase, which
1166 allows the argument to \c{TIMES} to contain expressions such as
1167 \c{64-$+buffer} as above. To repeat more than one line of code, or a
1168 complex macro, use the preprocessor \i\c{%rep} directive.
1171 \H{effaddr} Effective Addresses
1173 An \i{effective address} is any operand to an instruction which
1174 \I{memory reference}references memory. Effective addresses, in NASM,
1175 have a very simple syntax: they consist of an expression evaluating
1176 to the desired address, enclosed in \i{square brackets}. For
1181 \c mov ax,[wordvar+1]
1182 \c mov ax,[es:wordvar+bx]
1184 Anything not conforming to this simple system is not a valid memory
1185 reference in NASM, for example \c{es:wordvar[bx]}.
1187 More complicated effective addresses, such as those involving more
1188 than one register, work in exactly the same way:
1190 \c mov eax,[ebx*2+ecx+offset]
1193 NASM is capable of doing \i{algebra} on these effective addresses,
1194 so that things which don't necessarily \e{look} legal are perfectly
1197 \c mov eax,[ebx*5] ; assembles as [ebx*4+ebx]
1198 \c mov eax,[label1*2-label2] ; ie [label1+(label1-label2)]
1200 Some forms of effective address have more than one assembled form;
1201 in most such cases NASM will generate the smallest form it can. For
1202 example, there are distinct assembled forms for the 32-bit effective
1203 addresses \c{[eax*2+0]} and \c{[eax+eax]}, and NASM will generally
1204 generate the latter on the grounds that the former requires four
1205 bytes to store a zero offset.
1207 NASM has a hinting mechanism which will cause \c{[eax+ebx]} and
1208 \c{[ebx+eax]} to generate different opcodes; this is occasionally
1209 useful because \c{[esi+ebp]} and \c{[ebp+esi]} have different
1210 default segment registers.
1212 However, you can force NASM to generate an effective address in a
1213 particular form by the use of the keywords \c{BYTE}, \c{WORD},
1214 \c{DWORD} and \c{NOSPLIT}. If you need \c{[eax+3]} to be assembled
1215 using a double-word offset field instead of the one byte NASM will
1216 normally generate, you can code \c{[dword eax+3]}. Similarly, you
1217 can force NASM to use a byte offset for a small value which it
1218 hasn't seen on the first pass (see \k{crit} for an example of such a
1219 code fragment) by using \c{[byte eax+offset]}. As special cases,
1220 \c{[byte eax]} will code \c{[eax+0]} with a byte offset of zero, and
1221 \c{[dword eax]} will code it with a double-word offset of zero. The
1222 normal form, \c{[eax]}, will be coded with no offset field.
1224 Similarly, NASM will split \c{[eax*2]} into \c{[eax+eax]} because
1225 that allows the offset field to be absent and space to be saved; in
1226 fact, it will also split \c{[eax*2+offset]} into
1227 \c{[eax+eax+offset]}. You can combat this behaviour by the use of
1228 the \c{NOSPLIT} keyword: \c{[nosplit eax*2]} will force
1229 \c{[eax*2+0]} to be generated literally.
1232 \H{const} \i{Constants}
1234 NASM understands four different types of constant: numeric,
1235 character, string and floating-point.
1238 \S{numconst} \i{Numeric Constants}
1240 A numeric constant is simply a number. NASM allows you to specify
1241 numbers in a variety of number bases, in a variety of ways: you can
1242 suffix \c{H}, \c{Q} and \c{B} for \i{hex}, \i{octal} and \i{binary},
1243 or you can prefix \c{0x} for hex in the style of C, or you can
1244 prefix \c{$} for hex in the style of Borland Pascal. Note, though,
1245 that the \I{$, prefix}\c{$} prefix does double duty as a prefix on
1246 identifiers (see \k{syntax}), so a hex number prefixed with a \c{$}
1247 sign must have a digit after the \c{$} rather than a letter.
1251 \c mov ax,100 ; decimal
1252 \c mov ax,0a2h ; hex
1253 \c mov ax,$0a2 ; hex again: the 0 is required
1254 \c mov ax,0xa2 ; hex yet again
1255 \c mov ax,777q ; octal
1256 \c mov ax,10010011b ; binary
1259 \S{chrconst} \i{Character Constants}
1261 A character constant consists of up to four characters enclosed in
1262 either single or double quotes. The type of quote makes no
1263 difference to NASM, except of course that surrounding the constant
1264 with single quotes allows double quotes to appear within it and vice
1267 A character constant with more than one character will be arranged
1268 with \i{little-endian} order in mind: if you code
1272 then the constant generated is not \c{0x61626364}, but
1273 \c{0x64636261}, so that if you were then to store the value into
1274 memory, it would read \c{abcd} rather than \c{dcba}. This is also
1275 the sense of character constants understood by the Pentium's
1276 \i\c{CPUID} instruction (see \k{insCPUID}).
1279 \S{strconst} String Constants
1281 String constants are only acceptable to some pseudo-instructions,
1282 namely the \I\c{DW}\I\c{DD}\I\c{DQ}\I\c{DT}\i\c{DB} family and
1285 A string constant looks like a character constant, only longer. It
1286 is treated as a concatenation of maximum-size character constants
1287 for the conditions. So the following are equivalent:
1289 \c db 'hello' ; string constant
1290 \c db 'h','e','l','l','o' ; equivalent character constants
1292 And the following are also equivalent:
1294 \c dd 'ninechars' ; doubleword string constant
1295 \c dd 'nine','char','s' ; becomes three doublewords
1296 \c db 'ninechars',0,0,0 ; and really looks like this
1298 Note that when used as an operand to \c{db}, a constant like
1299 \c{'ab'} is treated as a string constant despite being short enough
1300 to be a character constant, because otherwise \c{db 'ab'} would have
1301 the same effect as \c{db 'a'}, which would be silly. Similarly,
1302 three-character or four-character constants are treated as strings
1303 when they are operands to \c{dw}.
1306 \S{fltconst} \I{floating-point, constants}Floating-Point Constants
1308 \i{Floating-point} constants are acceptable only as arguments to
1309 \i\c{DD}, \i\c{DQ} and \i\c{DT}. They are expressed in the
1310 traditional form: digits, then a period, then optionally more
1311 digits, then optionally an \c{E} followed by an exponent. The period
1312 is mandatory, so that NASM can distinguish between \c{dd 1}, which
1313 declares an integer constant, and \c{dd 1.0} which declares a
1314 floating-point constant.
1318 \c dd 1.2 ; an easy one
1319 \c dq 1.e10 ; 10,000,000,000
1320 \c dq 1.e+10 ; synonymous with 1.e10
1321 \c dq 1.e-10 ; 0.000 000 000 1
1322 \c dt 3.141592653589793238462 ; pi
1324 NASM cannot do compile-time arithmetic on floating-point constants.
1325 This is because NASM is designed to be portable - although it always
1326 generates code to run on x86 processors, the assembler itself can
1327 run on any system with an ANSI C compiler. Therefore, the assembler
1328 cannot guarantee the presence of a floating-point unit capable of
1329 handling the \i{Intel number formats}, and so for NASM to be able to
1330 do floating arithmetic it would have to include its own complete set
1331 of floating-point routines, which would significantly increase the
1332 size of the assembler for very little benefit.
1335 \H{expr} \i{Expressions}
1337 Expressions in NASM are similar in syntax to those in C.
1339 NASM does not guarantee the size of the integers used to evaluate
1340 expressions at compile time: since NASM can compile and run on
1341 64-bit systems quite happily, don't assume that expressions are
1342 evaluated in 32-bit registers and so try to make deliberate use of
1343 \i{integer overflow}. It might not always work. The only thing NASM
1344 will guarantee is what's guaranteed by ANSI C: you always have \e{at
1345 least} 32 bits to work in.
1347 NASM supports two special tokens in expressions, allowing
1348 calculations to involve the current assembly position: the
1349 \I{$, here}\c{$} and \i\c{$$} tokens. \c{$} evaluates to the assembly
1350 position at the beginning of the line containing the expression; so
1351 you can code an \i{infinite loop} using \c{JMP $}. \c{$$} evaluates
1352 to the beginning of the current section; so you can tell how far
1353 into the section you are by using \c{($-$$)}.
1355 The arithmetic \i{operators} provided by NASM are listed here, in
1356 increasing order of \i{precedence}.
1359 \S{expor} \i\c{|}: \i{Bitwise OR} Operator
1361 The \c{|} operator gives a bitwise OR, exactly as performed by the
1362 \c{OR} machine instruction. Bitwise OR is the lowest-priority
1363 arithmetic operator supported by NASM.
1366 \S{expxor} \i\c{^}: \i{Bitwise XOR} Operator
1368 \c{^} provides the bitwise XOR operation.
1371 \S{expand} \i\c{&}: \i{Bitwise AND} Operator
1373 \c{&} provides the bitwise AND operation.
1376 \S{expshift} \i\c{<<} and \i\c{>>}: \i{Bit Shift} Operators
1378 \c{<<} gives a bit-shift to the left, just as it does in C. So \c{5<<3}
1379 evaluates to 5 times 8, or 40. \c{>>} gives a bit-shift to the
1380 right; in NASM, such a shift is \e{always} unsigned, so that
1381 the bits shifted in from the left-hand end are filled with zero
1382 rather than a sign-extension of the previous highest bit.
1385 \S{expplmi} \I{+ opaddition}\c{+} and \I{- opsubtraction}\c{-}:
1386 \i{Addition} and \i{Subtraction} Operators
1388 The \c{+} and \c{-} operators do perfectly ordinary addition and
1392 \S{expmul} \i\c{*}, \i\c{/}, \i\c{//}, \i\c{%} and \i\c{%%}:
1393 \i{Multiplication} and \i{Division}
1395 \c{*} is the multiplication operator. \c{/} and \c{//} are both
1396 division operators: \c{/} is \i{unsigned division} and \c{//} is
1397 \i{signed division}. Similarly, \c{%} and \c{%%} provide \I{unsigned
1398 modulo}\I{modulo operators}unsigned and
1399 \i{signed modulo} operators respectively.
1401 NASM, like ANSI C, provides no guarantees about the sensible
1402 operation of the signed modulo operator.
1404 Since the \c{%} character is used extensively by the macro
1405 \i{preprocessor}, you should ensure that both the signed and unsigned
1406 modulo operators are followed by white space wherever they appear.
1409 \S{expmul} \i{Unary Operators}: \I{+ opunary}\c{+}, \I{- opunary}\c{-},
1410 \i\c{~} and \i\c{SEG}
1412 The highest-priority operators in NASM's expression grammar are
1413 those which only apply to one argument. \c{-} negates its operand,
1414 \c{+} does nothing (it's provided for symmetry with \c{-}), \c{~}
1415 computes the \i{one's complement} of its operand, and \c{SEG}
1416 provides the \i{segment address} of its operand (explained in more
1417 detail in \k{segwrt}).
1420 \H{segwrt} \i\c{SEG} and \i\c{WRT}
1422 When writing large 16-bit programs, which must be split into
1423 multiple \i{segments}, it is often necessary to be able to refer to
1424 the \I{segment address}segment part of the address of a symbol. NASM
1425 supports the \c{SEG} operator to perform this function.
1427 The \c{SEG} operator returns the \i\e{preferred} segment base of a
1428 symbol, defined as the segment base relative to which the offset of
1429 the symbol makes sense. So the code
1431 \c mov ax,seg symbol
1435 will load \c{ES:BX} with a valid pointer to the symbol \c{symbol}.
1437 Things can be more complex than this: since 16-bit segments and
1438 \i{groups} may \I{overlapping segments}overlap, you might occasionally
1439 want to refer to some symbol using a different segment base from the
1440 preferred one. NASM lets you do this, by the use of the \c{WRT}
1441 (With Reference To) keyword. So you can do things like
1443 \c mov ax,weird_seg ; weird_seg is a segment base
1445 \c mov bx,symbol wrt weird_seg
1447 to load \c{ES:BX} with a different, but functionally equivalent,
1448 pointer to the symbol \c{symbol}.
1450 NASM supports far (inter-segment) calls and jumps by means of the
1451 syntax \c{call segment:offset}, where \c{segment} and \c{offset}
1452 both represent immediate values. So to call a far procedure, you
1453 could code either of
1455 \c call (seg procedure):procedure
1456 \c call weird_seg:(procedure wrt weird_seg)
1458 (The parentheses are included for clarity, to show the intended
1459 parsing of the above instructions. They are not necessary in
1462 NASM supports the syntax \I\c{CALL FAR}\c{call far procedure} as a
1463 synonym for the first of the above usages. \c{JMP} works identically
1464 to \c{CALL} in these examples.
1466 To declare a \i{far pointer} to a data item in a data segment, you
1469 \c dw symbol, seg symbol
1471 NASM supports no convenient synonym for this, though you can always
1472 invent one using the macro processor.
1475 \H{crit} \i{Critical Expressions}
1477 A limitation of NASM is that it is a \i{two-pass assembler}; unlike
1478 TASM and others, it will always do exactly two \I{passes}\i{assembly
1479 passes}. Therefore it is unable to cope with source files that are
1480 complex enough to require three or more passes.
1482 The first pass is used to determine the size of all the assembled
1483 code and data, so that the second pass, when generating all the
1484 code, knows all the symbol addresses the code refers to. So one
1485 thing NASM can't handle is code whose size depends on the value of a
1486 symbol declared after the code in question. For example,
1488 \c times (label-$) db 0
1489 \c label: db 'Where am I?'
1491 The argument to \i\c{TIMES} in this case could equally legally
1492 evaluate to anything at all; NASM will reject this example because
1493 it cannot tell the size of the \c{TIMES} line when it first sees it.
1494 It will just as firmly reject the slightly \I{paradox}paradoxical
1497 \c times (label-$+1) db 0
1498 \c label: db 'NOW where am I?'
1500 in which \e{any} value for the \c{TIMES} argument is by definition
1503 NASM rejects these examples by means of a concept called a
1504 \e{critical expression}, which is defined to be an expression whose
1505 value is required to be computable in the first pass, and which must
1506 therefore depend only on symbols defined before it. The argument to
1507 the \c{TIMES} prefix is a critical expression; for the same reason,
1508 the arguments to the \i\c{RESB} family of pseudo-instructions are
1509 also critical expressions.
1511 Critical expressions can crop up in other contexts as well: consider
1515 \c symbol1 equ symbol2
1518 On the first pass, NASM cannot determine the value of \c{symbol1},
1519 because \c{symbol1} is defined to be equal to \c{symbol2} which NASM
1520 hasn't seen yet. On the second pass, therefore, when it encounters
1521 the line \c{mov ax,symbol1}, it is unable to generate the code for
1522 it because it still doesn't know the value of \c{symbol1}. On the
1523 next line, it would see the \i\c{EQU} again and be able to determine
1524 the value of \c{symbol1}, but by then it would be too late.
1526 NASM avoids this problem by defining the right-hand side of an
1527 \c{EQU} statement to be a critical expression, so the definition of
1528 \c{symbol1} would be rejected in the first pass.
1530 There is a related issue involving \i{forward references}: consider
1533 \c mov eax,[ebx+offset]
1536 NASM, on pass one, must calculate the size of the instruction \c{mov
1537 eax,[ebx+offset]} without knowing the value of \c{offset}. It has no
1538 way of knowing that \c{offset} is small enough to fit into a
1539 one-byte offset field and that it could therefore get away with
1540 generating a shorter form of the \i{effective-address} encoding; for
1541 all it knows, in pass one, \c{offset} could be a symbol in the code
1542 segment, and it might need the full four-byte form. So it is forced
1543 to compute the size of the instruction to accommodate a four-byte
1544 address part. In pass two, having made this decision, it is now
1545 forced to honour it and keep the instruction large, so the code
1546 generated in this case is not as small as it could have been. This
1547 problem can be solved by defining \c{offset} before using it, or by
1548 forcing byte size in the effective address by coding \c{[byte
1552 \H{locallab} \i{Local Labels}
1554 NASM gives special treatment to symbols beginning with a \i{period}.
1555 A label beginning with a single period is treated as a \e{local}
1556 label, which means that it is associated with the previous non-local
1557 label. So, for example:
1559 \c label1 ; some code
1567 \c label2 ; some code
1575 In the above code fragment, each \c{JNE} instruction jumps to the
1576 line immediately before it, because the two definitions of \c{.loop}
1577 are kept separate by virtue of each being associated with the
1578 previous non-local label.
1580 This form of local label handling is borrowed from the old Amiga
1581 assembler \i{DevPac}; however, NASM goes one step further, in
1582 allowing access to local labels from other parts of the code. This
1583 is achieved by means of \e{defining} a local label in terms of the
1584 previous non-local label: the first definition of \c{.loop} above is
1585 really defining a symbol called \c{label1.loop}, and the second
1586 defines a symbol called \c{label2.loop}. So, if you really needed
1589 \c label3 ; some more code
1594 Sometimes it is useful - in a macro, for instance - to be able to
1595 define a label which can be referenced from anywhere but which
1596 doesn't interfere with the normal local-label mechanism. Such a
1597 label can't be non-local because it would interfere with subsequent
1598 definitions of, and references to, local labels; and it can't be
1599 local because the macro that defined it wouldn't know the label's
1600 full name. NASM therefore introduces a third type of label, which is
1601 probably only useful in macro definitions: if a label begins with
1602 the \I{label prefix}special prefix \i\c{..@}, then it does nothing
1603 to the local label mechanism. So you could code
1605 \c label1: ; a non-local label
1606 \c .local: ; this is really label1.local
1607 \c ..@foo: ; this is a special symbol
1608 \c label2: ; another non-local label
1609 \c .local: ; this is really label2.local
1611 \c jmp ..@foo ; this will jump three lines up
1613 NASM has the capacity to define other special symbols beginning with
1614 a double period: for example, \c{..start} is used to specify the
1615 entry point in the \c{obj} output format (see \k{dotdotstart}).
1618 \C{preproc} The NASM \i{Preprocessor}
1620 NASM contains a powerful \i{macro processor}, which supports
1621 conditional assembly, multi-level file inclusion, two forms of macro
1622 (single-line and multi-line), and a `context stack' mechanism for
1623 extra macro power. Preprocessor directives all begin with a \c{%}
1626 The preprocessor collapses all lines which end with a backslash (\\)
1627 character into a single line. Thus:
1629 \c %define THIS_VERY_LONG_MACRO_NAME_IS_DEFINED_TO \\
1632 will work like a single-line macro without the backslash-newline
1635 \H{slmacro} \i{Single-Line Macros}
1637 \S{define} The Normal Way: \I\c{%idefine}\i\c{%define}
1639 Single-line macros are defined using the \c{%define} preprocessor
1640 directive. The definitions work in a similar way to C; so you can do
1643 \c %define ctrl 0x1F &
1644 \c %define param(a,b) ((a)+(a)*(b))
1646 \c mov byte [param(2,ebx)], ctrl 'D'
1648 which will expand to
1650 \c mov byte [(2)+(2)*(ebx)], 0x1F & 'D'
1652 When the expansion of a single-line macro contains tokens which
1653 invoke another macro, the expansion is performed at invocation time,
1654 not at definition time. Thus the code
1656 \c %define a(x) 1+b(x)
1661 will evaluate in the expected way to \c{mov ax,1+2*8}, even though
1662 the macro \c{b} wasn't defined at the time of definition of \c{a}.
1664 Macros defined with \c{%define} are \i{case sensitive}: after
1665 \c{%define foo bar}, only \c{foo} will expand to \c{bar}: \c{Foo} or
1666 \c{FOO} will not. By using \c{%idefine} instead of \c{%define} (the
1667 `i' stands for `insensitive') you can define all the case variants
1668 of a macro at once, so that \c{%idefine foo bar} would cause
1669 \c{foo}, \c{Foo}, \c{FOO}, \c{fOO} and so on all to expand to
1672 There is a mechanism which detects when a macro call has occurred as
1673 a result of a previous expansion of the same macro, to guard against
1674 \i{circular references} and infinite loops. If this happens, the
1675 preprocessor will only expand the first occurrence of the macro.
1678 \c %define a(x) 1+a(x)
1682 the macro \c{a(3)} will expand once, becoming \c{1+a(3)}, and will
1683 then expand no further. This behaviour can be useful: see \k{32c}
1684 for an example of its use.
1686 You can \I{overloading, single-line macros}overload single-line
1687 macros: if you write
1689 \c %define foo(x) 1+x
1690 \c %define foo(x,y) 1+x*y
1692 the preprocessor will be able to handle both types of macro call,
1693 by counting the parameters you pass; so \c{foo(3)} will become
1694 \c{1+3} whereas \c{foo(ebx,2)} will become \c{1+ebx*2}. However, if
1699 then no other definition of \c{foo} will be accepted: a macro with
1700 no parameters prohibits the definition of the same name as a macro
1701 \e{with} parameters, and vice versa.
1703 This doesn't prevent single-line macros being \e{redefined}: you can
1704 perfectly well define a macro with
1708 and then re-define it later in the same source file with
1712 Then everywhere the macro \c{foo} is invoked, it will be expanded
1713 according to the most recent definition. This is particularly useful
1714 when defining single-line macros with \c{%assign} (see \k{assign}).
1716 You can \i{pre-define} single-line macros using the `-d' option on
1717 the NASM command line: see \k{opt-d}.
1720 \S{concat%+} Concatenating Single Line Macro Tokens: \i\c{%+}
1722 Individual tokens in single line macros can be concatenated, to produce
1723 longer tokens for later processing. This can be useful if there are
1724 several similar macros that perform similar functions.
1726 As an example, consider the following:
1728 \c %define BDASTART 400h ; Start of BIOS data area
1730 \c struc tBIOSDA ; its structure
1736 Now, if we need to access the elements of tBIOSDA in different places,
1739 \c mov ax,BDASTART + tBIOSDA.COM1addr
1740 \c mov bx,BDASTART + tBIOSDA.COM2addr
1742 This will become pretty ugly (and tedious) if used in many places, and
1743 can be reduced in size significantly by using the following macro:
1745 \c ; Macro to access BIOS variables by their names (from tBDA):
1747 \c %define BDA(x) BDASTART + tBIOSDA. %+ x
1749 Now the above code can be written as:
1751 \c mov ax,BDA(COM1addr)
1752 \c mov bx,BDA(COM2addr)
1754 Using this feature, we can simplify references to a lot of macros (and,
1755 in turn, reduce typing errors).
1758 \S{undef} Undefining macros: \i\c{%undef}
1760 Single-line macros can be removed with the \c{%undef} command. For
1761 example, the following sequence:
1768 will expand to the instruction \c{mov eax, foo}, since after
1769 \c{%undef} the macro \c{foo} is no longer defined.
1771 Macros that would otherwise be pre-defined can be undefined on the
1772 command-line using the `-u' option on the NASM command line: see
1776 \S{assign} \i{Preprocessor Variables}: \i\c{%assign}
1778 An alternative way to define single-line macros is by means of the
1779 \c{%assign} command (and its \i{case sensitive}case-insensitive
1780 counterpart \i\c{%iassign}, which differs from \c{%assign} in
1781 exactly the same way that \c{%idefine} differs from \c{%define}).
1783 \c{%assign} is used to define single-line macros which take no
1784 parameters and have a numeric value. This value can be specified in
1785 the form of an expression, and it will be evaluated once, when the
1786 \c{%assign} directive is processed.
1788 Like \c{%define}, macros defined using \c{%assign} can be re-defined
1789 later, so you can do things like
1793 to increment the numeric value of a macro.
1795 \c{%assign} is useful for controlling the termination of \c{%rep}
1796 preprocessor loops: see \k{rep} for an example of this. Another
1797 use for \c{%assign} is given in \k{16c} and \k{32c}.
1799 The expression passed to \c{%assign} is a \i{critical expression}
1800 (see \k{crit}), and must also evaluate to a pure number (rather than
1801 a relocatable reference such as a code or data address, or anything
1802 involving a register).
1805 \H{strlen} \i{String Handling in Macros}: \i\c{%strlen} and \i\c{%substr}
1807 It's often useful to be able to handle strings in macros. NASM
1808 supports two simple string handling macro operators from which
1809 more complex operations can be constructed.
1812 \S{strlen} \i{String Length}: \i\c{%strlen}
1814 The \c{%strlen} macro is like \c{%assign} macro in that it creates
1815 (or redefines) a numeric value to a macro. The difference is that
1816 with \c{%strlen}, the numeric value is the length of a string. An
1817 example of the use of this would be:
1819 \c %strlen charcnt 'my string'
1821 In this example, \c{charcnt} would receive the value 8, just as
1822 if an \c{%assign} had been used. In this example, \c{'my string'}
1823 was a literal string but it could also have been a single-line
1824 macro that expands to a string, as in the following example:
1826 \c %define sometext 'my string'
1827 \c %strlen charcnt sometext
1829 As in the first case, this would result in \c{charcnt} being
1830 assigned the value of 8.
1833 \S{substr} \i{Sub-strings}: \i\c{%substr}
1835 Individual letters in strings can be extracted using \c{%substr}.
1836 An example of its use is probably more useful than the description:
1838 \c %substr mychar 'xyz' 1 ; equivalent to %define mychar 'x'
1839 \c %substr mychar 'xyz' 2 ; equivalent to %define mychar 'y'
1840 \c %substr mychar 'xyz' 3 ; equivalent to %define mychar 'z'
1842 In this example, mychar gets the value of 'y'. As with \c{%strlen}
1843 (see \k{strlen}), the first parameter is the single-line macro to
1844 be created and the second is the string. The third parameter
1845 specifies which character is to be selected. Note that the first
1846 index is 1, not 0 and the last index is equal to the value that
1847 \c{%strlen} would assign given the same string. Index values out
1848 of range result in an empty string.
1851 \H{mlmacro} \i{Multi-Line Macros}: \I\c{%imacro}\i\c{%macro}
1853 Multi-line macros are much more like the type of macro seen in MASM
1854 and TASM: a multi-line macro definition in NASM looks something like
1857 \c %macro prologue 1
1865 This defines a C-like function prologue as a macro: so you would
1866 invoke the macro with a call such as
1868 \c myfunc: prologue 12
1870 which would expand to the three lines of code
1876 The number \c{1} after the macro name in the \c{%macro} line defines
1877 the number of parameters the macro \c{prologue} expects to receive.
1878 The use of \c{%1} inside the macro definition refers to the first
1879 parameter to the macro call. With a macro taking more than one
1880 parameter, subsequent parameters would be referred to as \c{%2},
1883 Multi-line macros, like single-line macros, are \i{case-sensitive},
1884 unless you define them using the alternative directive \c{%imacro}.
1886 If you need to pass a comma as \e{part} of a parameter to a
1887 multi-line macro, you can do that by enclosing the entire parameter
1888 in \I{braces, around macro parameters}braces. So you could code
1897 \c silly 'a', letter_a ; letter_a: db 'a'
1898 \c silly 'ab', string_ab ; string_ab: db 'ab'
1899 \c silly {13,10}, crlf ; crlf: db 13,10
1902 \S{mlmacover} Overloading Multi-Line Macros\I{overloading, multi-line macros}
1904 As with single-line macros, multi-line macros can be overloaded by
1905 defining the same macro name several times with different numbers of
1906 parameters. This time, no exception is made for macros with no
1907 parameters at all. So you could define
1909 \c %macro prologue 0
1916 to define an alternative form of the function prologue which
1917 allocates no local stack space.
1919 Sometimes, however, you might want to `overload' a machine
1920 instruction; for example, you might want to define
1929 so that you could code
1931 \c push ebx ; this line is not a macro call
1932 \c push eax,ecx ; but this one is
1934 Ordinarily, NASM will give a warning for the first of the above two
1935 lines, since \c{push} is now defined to be a macro, and is being
1936 invoked with a number of parameters for which no definition has been
1937 given. The correct code will still be generated, but the assembler
1938 will give a warning. This warning can be disabled by the use of the
1939 \c{-w-macro-params} command-line option (see \k{opt-w}).
1942 \S{maclocal} \i{Macro-Local Labels}
1944 NASM allows you to define labels within a multi-line macro
1945 definition in such a way as to make them local to the macro call: so
1946 calling the same macro multiple times will use a different label
1947 each time. You do this by prefixing \i\c{%%} to the label name. So
1948 you can invent an instruction which executes a \c{RET} if the \c{Z}
1949 flag is set by doing this:
1959 You can call this macro as many times as you want, and every time
1960 you call it NASM will make up a different `real' name to substitute
1961 for the label \c{%%skip}. The names NASM invents are of the form
1962 \c{..@2345.skip}, where the number 2345 changes with every macro
1963 call. The \i\c{..@} prefix prevents macro-local labels from
1964 interfering with the local label mechanism, as described in
1965 \k{locallab}. You should avoid defining your own labels in this form
1966 (the \c{..@} prefix, then a number, then another period) in case
1967 they interfere with macro-local labels.
1970 \S{mlmacgre} \i{Greedy Macro Parameters}
1972 Occasionally it is useful to define a macro which lumps its entire
1973 command line into one parameter definition, possibly after
1974 extracting one or two smaller parameters from the front. An example
1975 might be a macro to write a text string to a file in MS-DOS, where
1976 you might want to be able to write
1978 \c writefile [filehandle],"hello, world",13,10
1980 NASM allows you to define the last parameter of a macro to be
1981 \e{greedy}, meaning that if you invoke the macro with more
1982 parameters than it expects, all the spare parameters get lumped into
1983 the last defined one along with the separating commas. So if you
1986 \c %macro writefile 2+
1992 \c mov cx,%%endstr-%%str
1999 then the example call to \c{writefile} above will work as expected:
2000 the text before the first comma, \c{[filehandle]}, is used as the
2001 first macro parameter and expanded when \c{%1} is referred to, and
2002 all the subsequent text is lumped into \c{%2} and placed after the
2005 The greedy nature of the macro is indicated to NASM by the use of
2006 the \I{+ modifier}\c{+} sign after the parameter count on the
2009 If you define a greedy macro, you are effectively telling NASM how
2010 it should expand the macro given \e{any} number of parameters from
2011 the actual number specified up to infinity; in this case, for
2012 example, NASM now knows what to do when it sees a call to
2013 \c{writefile} with 2, 3, 4 or more parameters. NASM will take this
2014 into account when overloading macros, and will not allow you to
2015 define another form of \c{writefile} taking 4 parameters (for
2018 Of course, the above macro could have been implemented as a
2019 non-greedy macro, in which case the call to it would have had to
2022 \c writefile [filehandle], {"hello, world",13,10}
2024 NASM provides both mechanisms for putting \i{commas in macro
2025 parameters}, and you choose which one you prefer for each macro
2028 See \k{sectmac} for a better way to write the above macro.
2031 \S{mlmacdef} \i{Default Macro Parameters}
2033 NASM also allows you to define a multi-line macro with a \e{range}
2034 of allowable parameter counts. If you do this, you can specify
2035 defaults for \i{omitted parameters}. So, for example:
2037 \c %macro die 0-1 "Painful program death has occurred."
2045 This macro (which makes use of the \c{writefile} macro defined in
2046 \k{mlmacgre}) can be called with an explicit error message, which it
2047 will display on the error output stream before exiting, or it can be
2048 called with no parameters, in which case it will use the default
2049 error message supplied in the macro definition.
2051 In general, you supply a minimum and maximum number of parameters
2052 for a macro of this type; the minimum number of parameters are then
2053 required in the macro call, and then you provide defaults for the
2054 optional ones. So if a macro definition began with the line
2056 \c %macro foobar 1-3 eax,[ebx+2]
2058 then it could be called with between one and three parameters, and
2059 \c{%1} would always be taken from the macro call. \c{%2}, if not
2060 specified by the macro call, would default to \c{eax}, and \c{%3} if
2061 not specified would default to \c{[ebx+2]}.
2063 You may omit parameter defaults from the macro definition, in which
2064 case the parameter default is taken to be blank. This can be useful
2065 for macros which can take a variable number of parameters, since the
2066 \i\c{%0} token (see \k{percent0}) allows you to determine how many
2067 parameters were really passed to the macro call.
2069 This defaulting mechanism can be combined with the greedy-parameter
2070 mechanism; so the \c{die} macro above could be made more powerful,
2071 and more useful, by changing the first line of the definition to
2073 \c %macro die 0-1+ "Painful program death has occurred.",13,10
2075 The maximum parameter count can be infinite, denoted by \c{*}. In
2076 this case, of course, it is impossible to provide a \e{full} set of
2077 default parameters. Examples of this usage are shown in \k{rotate}.
2080 \S{percent0} \i\c{%0}: \I{counting macro parameters}Macro Parameter Counter
2082 For a macro which can take a variable number of parameters, the
2083 parameter reference \c{%0} will return a numeric constant giving the
2084 number of parameters passed to the macro. This can be used as an
2085 argument to \c{%rep} (see \k{rep}) in order to iterate through all
2086 the parameters of a macro. Examples are given in \k{rotate}.
2089 \S{rotate} \i\c{%rotate}: \i{Rotating Macro Parameters}
2091 Unix shell programmers will be familiar with the \I{shift
2092 command}\c{shift} shell command, which allows the arguments passed
2093 to a shell script (referenced as \c{$1}, \c{$2} and so on) to be
2094 moved left by one place, so that the argument previously referenced
2095 as \c{$2} becomes available as \c{$1}, and the argument previously
2096 referenced as \c{$1} is no longer available at all.
2098 NASM provides a similar mechanism, in the form of \c{%rotate}. As
2099 its name suggests, it differs from the Unix \c{shift} in that no
2100 parameters are lost: parameters rotated off the left end of the
2101 argument list reappear on the right, and vice versa.
2103 \c{%rotate} is invoked with a single numeric argument (which may be
2104 an expression). The macro parameters are rotated to the left by that
2105 many places. If the argument to \c{%rotate} is negative, the macro
2106 parameters are rotated to the right.
2108 \I{iterating over macro parameters}So a pair of macros to save and
2109 restore a set of registers might work as follows:
2111 \c %macro multipush 1-*
2120 This macro invokes the \c{PUSH} instruction on each of its arguments
2121 in turn, from left to right. It begins by pushing its first
2122 argument, \c{%1}, then invokes \c{%rotate} to move all the arguments
2123 one place to the left, so that the original second argument is now
2124 available as \c{%1}. Repeating this procedure as many times as there
2125 were arguments (achieved by supplying \c{%0} as the argument to
2126 \c{%rep}) causes each argument in turn to be pushed.
2128 Note also the use of \c{*} as the maximum parameter count,
2129 indicating that there is no upper limit on the number of parameters
2130 you may supply to the \i\c{multipush} macro.
2132 It would be convenient, when using this macro, to have a \c{POP}
2133 equivalent, which \e{didn't} require the arguments to be given in
2134 reverse order. Ideally, you would write the \c{multipush} macro
2135 call, then cut-and-paste the line to where the pop needed to be
2136 done, and change the name of the called macro to \c{multipop}, and
2137 the macro would take care of popping the registers in the opposite
2138 order from the one in which they were pushed.
2140 This can be done by the following definition:
2142 \c %macro multipop 1-*
2151 This macro begins by rotating its arguments one place to the
2152 \e{right}, so that the original \e{last} argument appears as \c{%1}.
2153 This is then popped, and the arguments are rotated right again, so
2154 the second-to-last argument becomes \c{%1}. Thus the arguments are
2155 iterated through in reverse order.
2158 \S{concat} \i{Concatenating Macro Parameters}
2160 NASM can concatenate macro parameters on to other text surrounding
2161 them. This allows you to declare a family of symbols, for example,
2162 in a macro definition. If, for example, you wanted to generate a
2163 table of key codes along with offsets into the table, you could code
2166 \c %macro keytab_entry 2
2168 \c keypos%1 equ $-keytab
2174 \c keytab_entry F1,128+1
2175 \c keytab_entry F2,128+2
2176 \c keytab_entry Return,13
2178 which would expand to
2181 \c keyposF1 equ $-keytab
2183 \c keyposF2 equ $-keytab
2185 \c keyposReturn equ $-keytab
2188 You can just as easily concatenate text on to the other end of a
2189 macro parameter, by writing \c{%1foo}.
2191 If you need to append a \e{digit} to a macro parameter, for example
2192 defining labels \c{foo1} and \c{foo2} when passed the parameter
2193 \c{foo}, you can't code \c{%11} because that would be taken as the
2194 eleventh macro parameter. Instead, you must code
2195 \I{braces, after % sign}\c{%\{1\}1}, which will separate the first
2196 \c{1} (giving the number of the macro parameter) from the second
2197 (literal text to be concatenated to the parameter).
2199 This concatenation can also be applied to other preprocessor in-line
2200 objects, such as macro-local labels (\k{maclocal}) and context-local
2201 labels (\k{ctxlocal}). In all cases, ambiguities in syntax can be
2202 resolved by enclosing everything after the \c{%} sign and before the
2203 literal text in braces: so \c{%\{%foo\}bar} concatenates the text
2204 \c{bar} to the end of the real name of the macro-local label
2205 \c{%%foo}. (This is unnecessary, since the form NASM uses for the
2206 real names of macro-local labels means that the two usages
2207 \c{%\{%foo\}bar} and \c{%%foobar} would both expand to the same
2208 thing anyway; nevertheless, the capability is there.)
2211 \S{mlmaccc} \i{Condition Codes as Macro Parameters}
2213 NASM can give special treatment to a macro parameter which contains
2214 a condition code. For a start, you can refer to the macro parameter
2215 \c{%1} by means of the alternative syntax \i\c{%+1}, which informs
2216 NASM that this macro parameter is supposed to contain a condition
2217 code, and will cause the preprocessor to report an error message if
2218 the macro is called with a parameter which is \e{not} a valid
2221 Far more usefully, though, you can refer to the macro parameter by
2222 means of \i\c{%-1}, which NASM will expand as the \e{inverse}
2223 condition code. So the \c{retz} macro defined in \k{maclocal} can be
2224 replaced by a general \i{conditional-return macro} like this:
2234 This macro can now be invoked using calls like \c{retc ne}, which
2235 will cause the conditional-jump instruction in the macro expansion
2236 to come out as \c{JE}, or \c{retc po} which will make the jump a
2239 The \c{%+1} macro-parameter reference is quite happy to interpret
2240 the arguments \c{CXZ} and \c{ECXZ} as valid condition codes;
2241 however, \c{%-1} will report an error if passed either of these,
2242 because no inverse condition code exists.
2245 \S{nolist} \i{Disabling Listing Expansion}\I\c{.nolist}
2247 When NASM is generating a listing file from your program, it will
2248 generally expand multi-line macros by means of writing the macro
2249 call and then listing each line of the expansion. This allows you to
2250 see which instructions in the macro expansion are generating what
2251 code; however, for some macros this clutters the listing up
2254 NASM therefore provides the \c{.nolist} qualifier, which you can
2255 include in a macro definition to inhibit the expansion of the macro
2256 in the listing file. The \c{.nolist} qualifier comes directly after
2257 the number of parameters, like this:
2259 \c %macro foo 1.nolist
2263 \c %macro bar 1-5+.nolist a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h
2265 \H{condasm} \i{Conditional Assembly}\I\c{%if}
2267 Similarly to the C preprocessor, NASM allows sections of a source
2268 file to be assembled only if certain conditions are met. The general
2269 syntax of this feature looks like this:
2272 \c ; some code which only appears if <condition> is met
2273 \c %elif<condition2>
2274 \c ; only appears if <condition> is not met but <condition2> is
2276 \c ; this appears if neither <condition> nor <condition2> was met
2279 The \i\c{%else} clause is optional, as is the \i\c{%elif} clause.
2280 You can have more than one \c{%elif} clause as well.
2283 \S{ifdef} \i\c{%ifdef}: Testing Single-Line Macro Existence\I{testing,
2284 single-line macro existence}
2286 Beginning a conditional-assembly block with the line \c{%ifdef
2287 MACRO} will assemble the subsequent code if, and only if, a
2288 single-line macro called \c{MACRO} is defined. If not, then the
2289 \c{%elif} and \c{%else} blocks (if any) will be processed instead.
2291 For example, when debugging a program, you might want to write code
2294 \c ; perform some function
2296 \c writefile 2,"Function performed successfully",13,10
2298 \c ; go and do something else
2300 Then you could use the command-line option \c{-dDEBUG} to create a
2301 version of the program which produced debugging messages, and remove
2302 the option to generate the final release version of the program.
2304 You can test for a macro \e{not} being defined by using
2305 \i\c{%ifndef} instead of \c{%ifdef}. You can also test for macro
2306 definitions in \c{%elif} blocks by using \i\c{%elifdef} and
2310 \S{ifmacro} \i\c{ifmacro}: Testing Multi-Line Macro
2311 Existence\I{testing, multi-line macro existence}
2313 The \c{%ifmacro} directive operates in the same way as the \c{%ifdef}
2314 directive, except that it checks for the existence of a multi-line macro.
2316 For example, you may be working with a large project and not have control
2317 over the macros in a library. You may want to create a macro with one
2318 name if it doesn't already exist, and another name if one with that name
2321 The \c{%ifmacro} is considered true if defining a macro with the given name
2322 and number of arguments would cause a definitions conflict. For example:
2324 \c %ifmacro MyMacro 1-3
2326 \c %error "MyMacro 1-3" causes a conflict with an existing macro.
2330 \c %macro MyMacro 1-3
2332 \c ; insert code to define the macro
2338 This will create the macro "MyMacro 1-3" if no macro already exists which
2339 would conflict with it, and emits a warning if there would be a definition
2342 You can test for the macro not existing by using the \i\c{%ifnmacro} instead
2343 of \c{%ifmacro}. Additional tests can be performed in \c{%elif} blocks by using
2344 \i\c{%elifmacro} and \i\c{%elifnmacro}.
2347 \S{ifctx} \i\c{%ifctx}: Testing the Context Stack\I{testing, context
2350 The conditional-assembly construct \c{%ifctx ctxname} will cause the
2351 subsequent code to be assembled if and only if the top context on
2352 the preprocessor's context stack has the name \c{ctxname}. As with
2353 \c{%ifdef}, the inverse and \c{%elif} forms \i\c{%ifnctx},
2354 \i\c{%elifctx} and \i\c{%elifnctx} are also supported.
2356 For more details of the context stack, see \k{ctxstack}. For a
2357 sample use of \c{%ifctx}, see \k{blockif}.
2360 \S{if} \i\c{%if}: Testing Arbitrary Numeric Expressions\I{testing,
2361 arbitrary numeric expressions}
2363 The conditional-assembly construct \c{%if expr} will cause the
2364 subsequent code to be assembled if and only if the value of the
2365 numeric expression \c{expr} is non-zero. An example of the use of
2366 this feature is in deciding when to break out of a \c{%rep}
2367 preprocessor loop: see \k{rep} for a detailed example.
2369 The expression given to \c{%if}, and its counterpart \i\c{%elif}, is
2370 a critical expression (see \k{crit}).
2372 \c{%if} extends the normal NASM expression syntax, by providing a
2373 set of \i{relational operators} which are not normally available in
2374 expressions. The operators \i\c{=}, \i\c{<}, \i\c{>}, \i\c{<=},
2375 \i\c{>=} and \i\c{<>} test equality, less-than, greater-than,
2376 less-or-equal, greater-or-equal and not-equal respectively. The
2377 C-like forms \i\c{==} and \i\c{!=} are supported as alternative
2378 forms of \c{=} and \c{<>}. In addition, low-priority logical
2379 operators \i\c{&&}, \i\c{^^} and \i\c{||} are provided, supplying
2380 \i{logical AND}, \i{logical XOR} and \i{logical OR}. These work like
2381 the C logical operators (although C has no logical XOR), in that
2382 they always return either 0 or 1, and treat any non-zero input as 1
2383 (so that \c{^^}, for example, returns 1 if exactly one of its inputs
2384 is zero, and 0 otherwise). The relational operators also return 1
2385 for true and 0 for false.
2388 \S{ifidn} \i\c{%ifidn} and \i\c{%ifidni}: Testing Exact Text
2389 Identity\I{testing, exact text identity}
2391 The construct \c{%ifidn text1,text2} will cause the subsequent code
2392 to be assembled if and only if \c{text1} and \c{text2}, after
2393 expanding single-line macros, are identical pieces of text.
2394 Differences in white space are not counted.
2396 \c{%ifidni} is similar to \c{%ifidn}, but is \i{case-insensitive}.
2398 For example, the following macro pushes a register or number on the
2399 stack, and allows you to treat \c{IP} as a real register:
2401 \c %macro pushparam 1
2412 Like most other \c{%if} constructs, \c{%ifidn} has a counterpart
2413 \i\c{%elifidn}, and negative forms \i\c{%ifnidn} and \i\c{%elifnidn}.
2414 Similarly, \c{%ifidni} has counterparts \i\c{%elifidni},
2415 \i\c{%ifnidni} and \i\c{%elifnidni}.
2418 \S{iftyp} \i\c{%ifid}, \i\c{%ifnum}, \i\c{%ifstr}: Testing Token
2419 Types\I{testing, token types}
2421 Some macros will want to perform different tasks depending on
2422 whether they are passed a number, a string, or an identifier. For
2423 example, a string output macro might want to be able to cope with
2424 being passed either a string constant or a pointer to an existing
2427 The conditional assembly construct \c{%ifid}, taking one parameter
2428 (which may be blank), assembles the subsequent code if and only if
2429 the first token in the parameter exists and is an identifier.
2430 \c{%ifnum} works similarly, but tests for the token being a numeric
2431 constant; \c{%ifstr} tests for it being a string.
2433 For example, the \c{writefile} macro defined in \k{mlmacgre} can be
2434 extended to take advantage of \c{%ifstr} in the following fashion:
2436 \c %macro writefile 2-3+
2445 \c %%endstr: mov dx,%%str
2446 \c mov cx,%%endstr-%%str
2457 Then the \c{writefile} macro can cope with being called in either of
2458 the following two ways:
2460 \c writefile [file], strpointer, length
2461 \c writefile [file], "hello", 13, 10
2463 In the first, \c{strpointer} is used as the address of an
2464 already-declared string, and \c{length} is used as its length; in
2465 the second, a string is given to the macro, which therefore declares
2466 it itself and works out the address and length for itself.
2468 Note the use of \c{%if} inside the \c{%ifstr}: this is to detect
2469 whether the macro was passed two arguments (so the string would be a
2470 single string constant, and \c{db %2} would be adequate) or more (in
2471 which case, all but the first two would be lumped together into
2472 \c{%3}, and \c{db %2,%3} would be required).
2474 \I\c{%ifnid}\I\c{%elifid}\I\c{%elifnid}\I\c{%ifnnum}\I\c{%elifnum}
2475 \I\c{%elifnnum}\I\c{%ifnstr}\I\c{%elifstr}\I\c{%elifnstr}
2476 The usual \c{%elifXXX}, \c{%ifnXXX} and \c{%elifnXXX} versions exist
2477 for each of \c{%ifid}, \c{%ifnum} and \c{%ifstr}.
2480 \S{pperror} \i\c{%error}: Reporting \i{User-Defined Errors}
2482 The preprocessor directive \c{%error} will cause NASM to report an
2483 error if it occurs in assembled code. So if other users are going to
2484 try to assemble your source files, you can ensure that they define
2485 the right macros by means of code like this:
2487 \c %ifdef SOME_MACRO
2489 \c %elifdef SOME_OTHER_MACRO
2490 \c ; do some different setup
2492 \c %error Neither SOME_MACRO nor SOME_OTHER_MACRO was defined.
2495 Then any user who fails to understand the way your code is supposed
2496 to be assembled will be quickly warned of their mistake, rather than
2497 having to wait until the program crashes on being run and then not
2498 knowing what went wrong.
2501 \H{rep} \i{Preprocessor Loops}\I{repeating code}: \i\c{%rep}
2503 NASM's \c{TIMES} prefix, though useful, cannot be used to invoke a
2504 multi-line macro multiple times, because it is processed by NASM
2505 after macros have already been expanded. Therefore NASM provides
2506 another form of loop, this time at the preprocessor level: \c{%rep}.
2508 The directives \c{%rep} and \i\c{%endrep} (\c{%rep} takes a numeric
2509 argument, which can be an expression; \c{%endrep} takes no
2510 arguments) can be used to enclose a chunk of code, which is then
2511 replicated as many times as specified by the preprocessor:
2515 \c inc word [table+2*i]
2519 This will generate a sequence of 64 \c{INC} instructions,
2520 incrementing every word of memory from \c{[table]} to
2523 For more complex termination conditions, or to break out of a repeat
2524 loop part way along, you can use the \i\c{%exitrep} directive to
2525 terminate the loop, like this:
2540 \c fib_number equ ($-fibonacci)/2
2542 This produces a list of all the Fibonacci numbers that will fit in
2543 16 bits. Note that a maximum repeat count must still be given to
2544 \c{%rep}. This is to prevent the possibility of NASM getting into an
2545 infinite loop in the preprocessor, which (on multitasking or
2546 multi-user systems) would typically cause all the system memory to
2547 be gradually used up and other applications to start crashing.
2550 \H{include} \i{Including Other Files}
2552 Using, once again, a very similar syntax to the C preprocessor,
2553 NASM's preprocessor lets you include other source files into your
2554 code. This is done by the use of the \i\c{%include} directive:
2556 \c %include "macros.mac"
2558 will include the contents of the file \c{macros.mac} into the source
2559 file containing the \c{%include} directive.
2561 Include files are \I{searching for include files}searched for in the
2562 current directory (the directory you're in when you run NASM, as
2563 opposed to the location of the NASM executable or the location of
2564 the source file), plus any directories specified on the NASM command
2565 line using the \c{-i} option.
2567 The standard C idiom for preventing a file being included more than
2568 once is just as applicable in NASM: if the file \c{macros.mac} has
2571 \c %ifndef MACROS_MAC
2572 \c %define MACROS_MAC
2573 \c ; now define some macros
2576 then including the file more than once will not cause errors,
2577 because the second time the file is included nothing will happen
2578 because the macro \c{MACROS_MAC} will already be defined.
2580 You can force a file to be included even if there is no \c{%include}
2581 directive that explicitly includes it, by using the \i\c{-p} option
2582 on the NASM command line (see \k{opt-p}).
2585 \H{ctxstack} The \i{Context Stack}
2587 Having labels that are local to a macro definition is sometimes not
2588 quite powerful enough: sometimes you want to be able to share labels
2589 between several macro calls. An example might be a \c{REPEAT} ...
2590 \c{UNTIL} loop, in which the expansion of the \c{REPEAT} macro
2591 would need to be able to refer to a label which the \c{UNTIL} macro
2592 had defined. However, for such a macro you would also want to be
2593 able to nest these loops.
2595 NASM provides this level of power by means of a \e{context stack}.
2596 The preprocessor maintains a stack of \e{contexts}, each of which is
2597 characterised by a name. You add a new context to the stack using
2598 the \i\c{%push} directive, and remove one using \i\c{%pop}. You can
2599 define labels that are local to a particular context on the stack.
2602 \S{pushpop} \i\c{%push} and \i\c{%pop}: \I{creating
2603 contexts}\I{removing contexts}Creating and Removing Contexts
2605 The \c{%push} directive is used to create a new context and place it
2606 on the top of the context stack. \c{%push} requires one argument,
2607 which is the name of the context. For example:
2611 This pushes a new context called \c{foobar} on the stack. You can
2612 have several contexts on the stack with the same name: they can
2613 still be distinguished.
2615 The directive \c{%pop}, requiring no arguments, removes the top
2616 context from the context stack and destroys it, along with any
2617 labels associated with it.
2620 \S{ctxlocal} \i{Context-Local Labels}
2622 Just as the usage \c{%%foo} defines a label which is local to the
2623 particular macro call in which it is used, the usage \I{%$}\c{%$foo}
2624 is used to define a label which is local to the context on the top
2625 of the context stack. So the \c{REPEAT} and \c{UNTIL} example given
2626 above could be implemented by means of:
2642 and invoked by means of, for example,
2650 which would scan every fourth byte of a string in search of the byte
2653 If you need to define, or access, labels local to the context
2654 \e{below} the top one on the stack, you can use \I{%$$}\c{%$$foo}, or
2655 \c{%$$$foo} for the context below that, and so on.
2658 \S{ctxdefine} \i{Context-Local Single-Line Macros}
2660 NASM also allows you to define single-line macros which are local to
2661 a particular context, in just the same way:
2663 \c %define %$localmac 3
2665 will define the single-line macro \c{%$localmac} to be local to the
2666 top context on the stack. Of course, after a subsequent \c{%push},
2667 it can then still be accessed by the name \c{%$$localmac}.
2670 \S{ctxrepl} \i\c{%repl}: \I{renaming contexts}Renaming a Context
2672 If you need to change the name of the top context on the stack (in
2673 order, for example, to have it respond differently to \c{%ifctx}),
2674 you can execute a \c{%pop} followed by a \c{%push}; but this will
2675 have the side effect of destroying all context-local labels and
2676 macros associated with the context that was just popped.
2678 NASM provides the directive \c{%repl}, which \e{replaces} a context
2679 with a different name, without touching the associated macros and
2680 labels. So you could replace the destructive code
2685 with the non-destructive version \c{%repl newname}.
2688 \S{blockif} Example Use of the \i{Context Stack}: \i{Block IFs}
2690 This example makes use of almost all the context-stack features,
2691 including the conditional-assembly construct \i\c{%ifctx}, to
2692 implement a block IF statement as a set of macros.
2708 \c %error "expected `if' before `else'"
2722 \c %error "expected `if' or `else' before `endif'"
2727 This code is more robust than the \c{REPEAT} and \c{UNTIL} macros
2728 given in \k{ctxlocal}, because it uses conditional assembly to check
2729 that the macros are issued in the right order (for example, not
2730 calling \c{endif} before \c{if}) and issues a \c{%error} if they're
2733 In addition, the \c{endif} macro has to be able to cope with the two
2734 distinct cases of either directly following an \c{if}, or following
2735 an \c{else}. It achieves this, again, by using conditional assembly
2736 to do different things depending on whether the context on top of
2737 the stack is \c{if} or \c{else}.
2739 The \c{else} macro has to preserve the context on the stack, in
2740 order to have the \c{%$ifnot} referred to by the \c{if} macro be the
2741 same as the one defined by the \c{endif} macro, but has to change
2742 the context's name so that \c{endif} will know there was an
2743 intervening \c{else}. It does this by the use of \c{%repl}.
2745 A sample usage of these macros might look like:
2767 The block-\c{IF} macros handle nesting quite happily, by means of
2768 pushing another context, describing the inner \c{if}, on top of the
2769 one describing the outer \c{if}; thus \c{else} and \c{endif} always
2770 refer to the last unmatched \c{if} or \c{else}.
2773 \H{stdmac} \i{Standard Macros}
2775 NASM defines a set of standard macros, which are already defined
2776 when it starts to process any source file. If you really need a
2777 program to be assembled with no pre-defined macros, you can use the
2778 \i\c{%clear} directive to empty the preprocessor of everything.
2780 Most \i{user-level assembler directives} (see \k{directive}) are
2781 implemented as macros which invoke primitive directives; these are
2782 described in \k{directive}. The rest of the standard macro set is
2786 \S{stdmacver} \i\c{__NASM_MAJOR__}, \i\c{__NASM_MINOR__} and
2787 \i\c{__NASM_SUBMINOR__}: \i{NASM Version}
2789 The single-line macros \c{__NASM_MAJOR__}, \c{__NASM_MINOR__} and
2790 \c{__NASM_SUBMINOR__} expand to the major, minor and subminor parts of
2791 the \i{version number of NASM} being used. So, under NASM 0.98.31 for
2792 example, \c{__NASM_MAJOR__} would be defined to be 0, \c{__NASM_MINOR__}
2793 would be defined as 98 and \c{__NASM_SUBMINOR__} would be defined to 31.
2796 \S{stdmacverstr} \i\c{__NASM_VER__}: \i{NASM Version string}
2798 The single-line macro \c{__NASM_VER__} expands to a string which defines
2799 the version number of nasm being used. So, under NASM 0.98.31 for example,
2808 \S{fileline} \i\c{__FILE__} and \i\c{__LINE__}: File Name and Line Number
2810 Like the C preprocessor, NASM allows the user to find out the file
2811 name and line number containing the current instruction. The macro
2812 \c{__FILE__} expands to a string constant giving the name of the
2813 current input file (which may change through the course of assembly
2814 if \c{%include} directives are used), and \c{__LINE__} expands to a
2815 numeric constant giving the current line number in the input file.
2817 These macros could be used, for example, to communicate debugging
2818 information to a macro, since invoking \c{__LINE__} inside a macro
2819 definition (either single-line or multi-line) will return the line
2820 number of the macro \e{call}, rather than \e{definition}. So to
2821 determine where in a piece of code a crash is occurring, for
2822 example, one could write a routine \c{stillhere}, which is passed a
2823 line number in \c{EAX} and outputs something like `line 155: still
2824 here'. You could then write a macro
2826 \c %macro notdeadyet 0
2835 and then pepper your code with calls to \c{notdeadyet} until you
2836 find the crash point.
2839 \S{struc} \i\c{STRUC} and \i\c{ENDSTRUC}: \i{Declaring Structure} Data Types
2841 The core of NASM contains no intrinsic means of defining data
2842 structures; instead, the preprocessor is sufficiently powerful that
2843 data structures can be implemented as a set of macros. The macros
2844 \c{STRUC} and \c{ENDSTRUC} are used to define a structure data type.
2846 \c{STRUC} takes one parameter, which is the name of the data type.
2847 This name is defined as a symbol with the value zero, and also has
2848 the suffix \c{_size} appended to it and is then defined as an
2849 \c{EQU} giving the size of the structure. Once \c{STRUC} has been
2850 issued, you are defining the structure, and should define fields
2851 using the \c{RESB} family of pseudo-instructions, and then invoke
2852 \c{ENDSTRUC} to finish the definition.
2854 For example, to define a structure called \c{mytype} containing a
2855 longword, a word, a byte and a string of bytes, you might code
2866 The above code defines six symbols: \c{mt_long} as 0 (the offset
2867 from the beginning of a \c{mytype} structure to the longword field),
2868 \c{mt_word} as 4, \c{mt_byte} as 6, \c{mt_str} as 7, \c{mytype_size}
2869 as 39, and \c{mytype} itself as zero.
2871 The reason why the structure type name is defined at zero is a side
2872 effect of allowing structures to work with the local label
2873 mechanism: if your structure members tend to have the same names in
2874 more than one structure, you can define the above structure like this:
2885 This defines the offsets to the structure fields as \c{mytype.long},
2886 \c{mytype.word}, \c{mytype.byte} and \c{mytype.str}.
2888 NASM, since it has no \e{intrinsic} structure support, does not
2889 support any form of period notation to refer to the elements of a
2890 structure once you have one (except the above local-label notation),
2891 so code such as \c{mov ax,[mystruc.mt_word]} is not valid.
2892 \c{mt_word} is a constant just like any other constant, so the
2893 correct syntax is \c{mov ax,[mystruc+mt_word]} or \c{mov
2894 ax,[mystruc+mytype.word]}.
2897 \S{istruc} \i\c{ISTRUC}, \i\c{AT} and \i\c{IEND}: Declaring
2898 \i{Instances of Structures}
2900 Having defined a structure type, the next thing you typically want
2901 to do is to declare instances of that structure in your data
2902 segment. NASM provides an easy way to do this in the \c{ISTRUC}
2903 mechanism. To declare a structure of type \c{mytype} in a program,
2904 you code something like this:
2909 \c at mt_long, dd 123456
2910 \c at mt_word, dw 1024
2911 \c at mt_byte, db 'x'
2912 \c at mt_str, db 'hello, world', 13, 10, 0
2916 The function of the \c{AT} macro is to make use of the \c{TIMES}
2917 prefix to advance the assembly position to the correct point for the
2918 specified structure field, and then to declare the specified data.
2919 Therefore the structure fields must be declared in the same order as
2920 they were specified in the structure definition.
2922 If the data to go in a structure field requires more than one source
2923 line to specify, the remaining source lines can easily come after
2924 the \c{AT} line. For example:
2926 \c at mt_str, db 123,134,145,156,167,178,189
2929 Depending on personal taste, you can also omit the code part of the
2930 \c{AT} line completely, and start the structure field on the next
2934 \c db 'hello, world'
2938 \S{align} \i\c{ALIGN} and \i\c{ALIGNB}: Data Alignment
2940 The \c{ALIGN} and \c{ALIGNB} macros provides a convenient way to
2941 align code or data on a word, longword, paragraph or other boundary.
2942 (Some assemblers call this directive \i\c{EVEN}.) The syntax of the
2943 \c{ALIGN} and \c{ALIGNB} macros is
2945 \c align 4 ; align on 4-byte boundary
2946 \c align 16 ; align on 16-byte boundary
2947 \c align 8,db 0 ; pad with 0s rather than NOPs
2948 \c align 4,resb 1 ; align to 4 in the BSS
2949 \c alignb 4 ; equivalent to previous line
2951 Both macros require their first argument to be a power of two; they
2952 both compute the number of additional bytes required to bring the
2953 length of the current section up to a multiple of that power of two,
2954 and then apply the \c{TIMES} prefix to their second argument to
2955 perform the alignment.
2957 If the second argument is not specified, the default for \c{ALIGN}
2958 is \c{NOP}, and the default for \c{ALIGNB} is \c{RESB 1}. So if the
2959 second argument is specified, the two macros are equivalent.
2960 Normally, you can just use \c{ALIGN} in code and data sections and
2961 \c{ALIGNB} in BSS sections, and never need the second argument
2962 except for special purposes.
2964 \c{ALIGN} and \c{ALIGNB}, being simple macros, perform no error
2965 checking: they cannot warn you if their first argument fails to be a
2966 power of two, or if their second argument generates more than one
2967 byte of code. In each of these cases they will silently do the wrong
2970 \c{ALIGNB} (or \c{ALIGN} with a second argument of \c{RESB 1}) can
2971 be used within structure definitions:
2988 This will ensure that the structure members are sensibly aligned
2989 relative to the base of the structure.
2991 A final caveat: \c{ALIGN} and \c{ALIGNB} work relative to the
2992 beginning of the \e{section}, not the beginning of the address space
2993 in the final executable. Aligning to a 16-byte boundary when the
2994 section you're in is only guaranteed to be aligned to a 4-byte
2995 boundary, for example, is a waste of effort. Again, NASM does not
2996 check that the section's alignment characteristics are sensible for
2997 the use of \c{ALIGN} or \c{ALIGNB}.
3000 \H{tasmcompat} \i{TASM Compatible Preprocessor Directives}
3002 The following preprocessor directives may only be used when TASM
3003 compatibility is turned on using the \c{-t} command line switch
3004 (This switch is described in \k{opt-t}.)
3006 \b\c{%arg} (see \k{arg})
3008 \b\c{%stacksize} (see \k{stacksize})
3010 \b\c{%local} (see \k{local})
3013 \S{arg} \i\c{%arg} Directive
3015 The \c{%arg} directive is used to simplify the handling of
3016 parameters passed on the stack. Stack based parameter passing
3017 is used by many high level languages, including C, C++ and Pascal.
3019 While NASM comes with macros which attempt to duplicate this
3020 functionality (see \k{16cmacro}), the syntax is not particularly
3021 convenient to use and is not TASM compatible. Here is an example
3022 which shows the use of \c{%arg} without any external macros:
3026 \c %push mycontext ; save the current context
3027 \c %stacksize large ; tell NASM to use bp
3028 \c %arg i:word, j_ptr:word
3035 \c %pop ; restore original context
3037 This is similar to the procedure defined in \k{16cmacro} and adds
3038 the value in i to the value pointed to by j_ptr and returns the
3039 sum in the ax register. See \k{pushpop} for an explanation of
3040 \c{push} and \c{pop} and the use of context stacks.
3043 \S{stacksize} \i\c{%stacksize} Directive
3045 The \c{%stacksize} directive is used in conjunction with the
3046 \c{%arg} (see \k{arg}) and the \c{%local} (see \k{local}) directives.
3047 It tells NASM the default size to use for subsequent \c{%arg} and
3048 \c{%local} directives. The \c{%stacksize} directive takes one
3049 required argument which is one of \c{flat}, \c{large} or \c{small}.
3053 This form causes NASM to use stack-based parameter addressing
3054 relative to \c{ebp} and it assumes that a near form of call was used
3055 to get to this label (i.e. that \c{eip} is on the stack).
3059 This form uses \c{bp} to do stack-based parameter addressing and
3060 assumes that a far form of call was used to get to this address
3061 (i.e. that \c{ip} and \c{cs} are on the stack).
3065 This form also uses \c{bp} to address stack parameters, but it is
3066 different from \c{large} because it also assumes that the old value
3067 of bp is pushed onto the stack (i.e. it expects an \c{ENTER}
3068 instruction). In other words, it expects that \c{bp}, \c{ip} and
3069 \c{cs} are on the top of the stack, underneath any local space which
3070 may have been allocated by \c{ENTER}. This form is probably most
3071 useful when used in combination with the \c{%local} directive
3075 \S{local} \i\c{%local} Directive
3077 The \c{%local} directive is used to simplify the use of local
3078 temporary stack variables allocated in a stack frame. Automatic
3079 local variables in C are an example of this kind of variable. The
3080 \c{%local} directive is most useful when used with the \c{%stacksize}
3081 (see \k{stacksize} and is also compatible with the \c{%arg} directive
3082 (see \k{arg}). It allows simplified reference to variables on the
3083 stack which have been allocated typically by using the \c{ENTER}
3084 instruction (see \k{insENTER} for a description of that instruction).
3085 An example of its use is the following:
3089 \c %push mycontext ; save the current context
3090 \c %stacksize small ; tell NASM to use bp
3091 \c %assign %$localsize 0 ; see text for explanation
3092 \c %local old_ax:word, old_dx:word
3094 \c enter %$localsize,0 ; see text for explanation
3095 \c mov [old_ax],ax ; swap ax & bx
3096 \c mov [old_dx],dx ; and swap dx & cx
3101 \c leave ; restore old bp
3104 \c %pop ; restore original context
3106 The \c{%$localsize} variable is used internally by the
3107 \c{%local} directive and \e{must} be defined within the
3108 current context before the \c{%local} directive may be used.
3109 Failure to do so will result in one expression syntax error for
3110 each \c{%local} variable declared. It then may be used in
3111 the construction of an appropriately sized ENTER instruction
3112 as shown in the example.
3114 \H{otherpreproc} \i{Other Preprocessor Directives}
3116 The following preprocessor directive is supported to allow NASM to
3117 correctly handle output of the cpp C language preprocessor.
3119 \b\c{%line} (see \k{line})
3121 \S{line} \i\c{%line} Directive
3123 The \c{%line} directive is used to notify NASM that the input line
3124 corresponds to a specific line number in another file. Typically
3125 this other file would be an original source file, with the current
3126 NASM input being the output of a pre-processor. The \c{%line}
3127 directive allows NASM to output messages which indicate the line
3128 number of the original source file, instead of the file that is being
3131 This preprocessor directive is not generally of use to programmers,
3132 by may be of interest to preprocessor authors. The usage of the
3133 \c{%line} preprocessor directive is as follows:
3135 \c %line nnn[+mmm] [filename]
3137 In this directive, \c{nnn} indentifies the line of the original source
3138 file which this line corresponds to. \c{mmm} is an optional parameter
3139 which specifies a line increment value; each line of the input file
3140 read in is considered to correspond to \c{mmm} lines of the original
3141 source file. Finally, \c{filename} is an optional parameter which
3142 specifies the file name of the original source file.
3144 After reading a \c{%line} preprocessor directive, NASM will report
3145 all file name and line numbers relative to the values specified
3148 \C{directive} \i{Assembler Directives}
3150 NASM, though it attempts to avoid the bureaucracy of assemblers like
3151 MASM and TASM, is nevertheless forced to support a \e{few}
3152 directives. These are described in this chapter.
3154 NASM's directives come in two types: \I{user-level
3155 directives}\e{user-level} directives and \I{primitive
3156 directives}\e{primitive} directives. Typically, each directive has a
3157 user-level form and a primitive form. In almost all cases, we
3158 recommend that users use the user-level forms of the directives,
3159 which are implemented as macros which call the primitive forms.
3161 Primitive directives are enclosed in square brackets; user-level
3164 In addition to the universal directives described in this chapter,
3165 each object file format can optionally supply extra directives in
3166 order to control particular features of that file format. These
3167 \I{format-specific directives}\e{format-specific} directives are
3168 documented along with the formats that implement them, in \k{outfmt}.
3171 \H{bits} \i\c{BITS}: Specifying Target \i{Processor Mode}
3173 The \c{BITS} directive specifies whether NASM should generate code
3174 \I{16-bit mode, versus 32-bit mode}designed to run on a processor
3175 operating in 16-bit mode, or code designed to run on a processor
3176 operating in 32-bit mode. The syntax is \c{BITS 16} or \c{BITS 32}.
3178 In most cases, you should not need to use \c{BITS} explicitly. The
3179 \c{aout}, \c{coff}, \c{elf} and \c{win32} object formats, which are
3180 designed for use in 32-bit operating systems, all cause NASM to
3181 select 32-bit mode by default. The \c{obj} object format allows you
3182 to specify each segment you define as either \c{USE16} or \c{USE32},
3183 and NASM will set its operating mode accordingly, so the use of the
3184 \c{BITS} directive is once again unnecessary.
3186 The most likely reason for using the \c{BITS} directive is to write
3187 32-bit code in a flat binary file; this is because the \c{bin}
3188 output format defaults to 16-bit mode in anticipation of it being
3189 used most frequently to write DOS \c{.COM} programs, DOS \c{.SYS}
3190 device drivers and boot loader software.
3192 You do \e{not} need to specify \c{BITS 32} merely in order to use
3193 32-bit instructions in a 16-bit DOS program; if you do, the
3194 assembler will generate incorrect code because it will be writing
3195 code targeted at a 32-bit platform, to be run on a 16-bit one.
3197 When NASM is in \c{BITS 16} state, instructions which use 32-bit
3198 data are prefixed with an 0x66 byte, and those referring to 32-bit
3199 addresses have an 0x67 prefix. In \c{BITS 32} state, the reverse is
3200 true: 32-bit instructions require no prefixes, whereas instructions
3201 using 16-bit data need an 0x66 and those working on 16-bit addresses
3204 The \c{BITS} directive has an exactly equivalent primitive form,
3205 \c{[BITS 16]} and \c{[BITS 32]}. The user-level form is a macro
3206 which has no function other than to call the primitive form.
3209 \S{USE16 & USE32} \i\c{USE16} & \i\c{USE32}: Aliases for BITS
3211 The `\c{USE16}' and `\c{USE32}' directives can be used in place of
3212 `\c{BIT 16}' and `\c{BITS 32}', for compatibility with other assemblers.
3215 \H{section} \i\c{SECTION} or \i\c{SEGMENT}: Changing and \i{Defining
3218 \I{changing sections}\I{switching between sections}The \c{SECTION}
3219 directive (\c{SEGMENT} is an exactly equivalent synonym) changes
3220 which section of the output file the code you write will be
3221 assembled into. In some object file formats, the number and names of
3222 sections are fixed; in others, the user may make up as many as they
3223 wish. Hence \c{SECTION} may sometimes give an error message, or may
3224 define a new section, if you try to switch to a section that does
3227 The Unix object formats, and the \c{bin} object format, all support
3228 the \i{standardised section names} \c{.text}, \c{.data} and \c{.bss}
3229 for the code, data and uninitialised-data sections. The \c{obj}
3230 format, by contrast, does not recognise these section names as being
3231 special, and indeed will strip off the leading period of any section
3235 \S{sectmac} The \i\c{__SECT__} Macro
3237 The \c{SECTION} directive is unusual in that its user-level form
3238 functions differently from its primitive form. The primitive form,
3239 \c{[SECTION xyz]}, simply switches the current target section to the
3240 one given. The user-level form, \c{SECTION xyz}, however, first
3241 defines the single-line macro \c{__SECT__} to be the primitive
3242 \c{[SECTION]} directive which it is about to issue, and then issues
3243 it. So the user-level directive
3247 expands to the two lines
3249 \c %define __SECT__ [SECTION .text]
3252 Users may find it useful to make use of this in their own macros.
3253 For example, the \c{writefile} macro defined in \k{mlmacgre} can be
3254 usefully rewritten in the following more sophisticated form:
3256 \c %macro writefile 2+
3266 \c mov cx,%%endstr-%%str
3273 This form of the macro, once passed a string to output, first
3274 switches temporarily to the data section of the file, using the
3275 primitive form of the \c{SECTION} directive so as not to modify
3276 \c{__SECT__}. It then declares its string in the data section, and
3277 then invokes \c{__SECT__} to switch back to \e{whichever} section
3278 the user was previously working in. It thus avoids the need, in the
3279 previous version of the macro, to include a \c{JMP} instruction to
3280 jump over the data, and also does not fail if, in a complicated
3281 \c{OBJ} format module, the user could potentially be assembling the
3282 code in any of several separate code sections.
3285 \H{absolute} \i\c{ABSOLUTE}: Defining Absolute Labels
3287 The \c{ABSOLUTE} directive can be thought of as an alternative form
3288 of \c{SECTION}: it causes the subsequent code to be directed at no
3289 physical section, but at the hypothetical section starting at the
3290 given absolute address. The only instructions you can use in this
3291 mode are the \c{RESB} family.
3293 \c{ABSOLUTE} is used as follows:
3301 This example describes a section of the PC BIOS data area, at
3302 segment address 0x40: the above code defines \c{kbuf_chr} to be
3303 0x1A, \c{kbuf_free} to be 0x1C, and \c{kbuf} to be 0x1E.
3305 The user-level form of \c{ABSOLUTE}, like that of \c{SECTION},
3306 redefines the \i\c{__SECT__} macro when it is invoked.
3308 \i\c{STRUC} and \i\c{ENDSTRUC} are defined as macros which use
3309 \c{ABSOLUTE} (and also \c{__SECT__}).
3311 \c{ABSOLUTE} doesn't have to take an absolute constant as an
3312 argument: it can take an expression (actually, a \i{critical
3313 expression}: see \k{crit}) and it can be a value in a segment. For
3314 example, a TSR can re-use its setup code as run-time BSS like this:
3316 \c org 100h ; it's a .COM program
3318 \c jmp setup ; setup code comes last
3320 \c ; the resident part of the TSR goes here
3322 \c ; now write the code that installs the TSR here
3326 \c runtimevar1 resw 1
3327 \c runtimevar2 resd 20
3331 This defines some variables `on top of' the setup code, so that
3332 after the setup has finished running, the space it took up can be
3333 re-used as data storage for the running TSR. The symbol `tsr_end'
3334 can be used to calculate the total size of the part of the TSR that
3335 needs to be made resident.
3338 \H{extern} \i\c{EXTERN}: \i{Importing Symbols} from Other Modules
3340 \c{EXTERN} is similar to the MASM directive \c{EXTRN} and the C
3341 keyword \c{extern}: it is used to declare a symbol which is not
3342 defined anywhere in the module being assembled, but is assumed to be
3343 defined in some other module and needs to be referred to by this
3344 one. Not every object-file format can support external variables:
3345 the \c{bin} format cannot.
3347 The \c{EXTERN} directive takes as many arguments as you like. Each
3348 argument is the name of a symbol:
3351 \c extern _sscanf,_fscanf
3353 Some object-file formats provide extra features to the \c{EXTERN}
3354 directive. In all cases, the extra features are used by suffixing a
3355 colon to the symbol name followed by object-format specific text.
3356 For example, the \c{obj} format allows you to declare that the
3357 default segment base of an external should be the group \c{dgroup}
3358 by means of the directive
3360 \c extern _variable:wrt dgroup
3362 The primitive form of \c{EXTERN} differs from the user-level form
3363 only in that it can take only one argument at a time: the support
3364 for multiple arguments is implemented at the preprocessor level.
3366 You can declare the same variable as \c{EXTERN} more than once: NASM
3367 will quietly ignore the second and later redeclarations. You can't
3368 declare a variable as \c{EXTERN} as well as something else, though.
3371 \H{global} \i\c{GLOBAL}: \i{Exporting Symbols} to Other Modules
3373 \c{GLOBAL} is the other end of \c{EXTERN}: if one module declares a
3374 symbol as \c{EXTERN} and refers to it, then in order to prevent
3375 linker errors, some other module must actually \e{define} the
3376 symbol and declare it as \c{GLOBAL}. Some assemblers use the name
3377 \i\c{PUBLIC} for this purpose.
3379 The \c{GLOBAL} directive applying to a symbol must appear \e{before}
3380 the definition of the symbol.
3382 \c{GLOBAL} uses the same syntax as \c{EXTERN}, except that it must
3383 refer to symbols which \e{are} defined in the same module as the
3384 \c{GLOBAL} directive. For example:
3390 \c{GLOBAL}, like \c{EXTERN}, allows object formats to define private
3391 extensions by means of a colon. The \c{elf} object format, for
3392 example, lets you specify whether global data items are functions or
3395 \c global hashlookup:function, hashtable:data
3397 Like \c{EXTERN}, the primitive form of \c{GLOBAL} differs from the
3398 user-level form only in that it can take only one argument at a
3402 \H{common} \i\c{COMMON}: Defining Common Data Areas
3404 The \c{COMMON} directive is used to declare \i\e{common variables}.
3405 A common variable is much like a global variable declared in the
3406 uninitialised data section, so that
3410 is similar in function to
3417 The difference is that if more than one module defines the same
3418 common variable, then at link time those variables will be
3419 \e{merged}, and references to \c{intvar} in all modules will point
3420 at the same piece of memory.
3422 Like \c{GLOBAL} and \c{EXTERN}, \c{COMMON} supports object-format
3423 specific extensions. For example, the \c{obj} format allows common
3424 variables to be NEAR or FAR, and the \c{elf} format allows you to
3425 specify the alignment requirements of a common variable:
3427 \c common commvar 4:near ; works in OBJ
3428 \c common intarray 100:4 ; works in ELF: 4 byte aligned
3430 Once again, like \c{EXTERN} and \c{GLOBAL}, the primitive form of
3431 \c{COMMON} differs from the user-level form only in that it can take
3432 only one argument at a time.
3435 \H{CPU} \i\c{CPU XXX}: Defining CPU Dependencies
3437 The \i\c{CPU} directive restricts assembly to those instructions which
3438 are available on the specified CPU.
3442 \b\c{CPU 8086} Assemble only 8086 instruction set
3444 \b\c{CPU 186} Assemble instructions up to the 80186 instruction set
3446 \b\c{CPU 286} Assemble instructions up to the 286 instruction set
3448 \b\c{CPU 386} Assemble instructions up to the 386 instruction set
3450 \b\c{CPU 486} 486 instruction set
3452 \b\c{CPU 586} Pentium instruction set
3454 \b\c{CPU PENTIUM} Same as 586
3456 \b\c{CPU 686} P6 instruction set
3458 \b\c{CPU PPRO} Same as 686
3460 \b\c{CPU P2} Same as 686
3462 \b\c{CPU P3} Pentium III and Katmai instruction sets
3464 \b\c{CPU KATMAI} Same as P3
3466 \b\c{CPU P4} Pentium 4 (Willamette) instruction set
3468 \b\c{CPU WILLAMETTE} Same as P4
3470 All options are case insensitive. All instructions will
3471 be selected only if they apply to the selected cpu or lower.
3474 \C{outfmt} \i{Output Formats}
3476 NASM is a portable assembler, designed to be able to compile on any
3477 ANSI C-supporting platform and produce output to run on a variety of
3478 Intel x86 operating systems. For this reason, it has a large number
3479 of available output formats, selected using the \i\c{-f} option on
3480 the NASM \i{command line}. Each of these formats, along with its
3481 extensions to the base NASM syntax, is detailed in this chapter.
3483 As stated in \k{opt-o}, NASM chooses a \i{default name} for your
3484 output file based on the input file name and the chosen output
3485 format. This will be generated by removing the \i{extension}
3486 (\c{.asm}, \c{.s}, or whatever you like to use) from the input file
3487 name, and substituting an extension defined by the output format.
3488 The extensions are given with each format below.
3491 \H{binfmt} \i\c{bin}: \i{Flat-Form Binary}\I{pure binary} Output
3493 The \c{bin} format does not produce object files: it generates
3494 nothing in the output file except the code you wrote. Such `pure
3495 binary' files are used by \i{MS-DOS}: \i\c{.COM} executables and
3496 \i\c{.SYS} device drivers are pure binary files. Pure binary output
3497 is also useful for \i{operating system} and \i{boot loader}
3500 \c{bin} supports the three \i{standardised section names} \i\c{.text},
3501 \i\c{.data} and \i\c{.bss} only. The file NASM outputs will contain the
3502 contents of the \c{.text} section first, followed by the contents of
3503 the \c{.data} section, aligned on a four-byte boundary. The \c{.bss}
3504 section is not stored in the output file at all, but is assumed to
3505 appear directly after the end of the \c{.data} section, again
3506 aligned on a four-byte boundary.
3508 If you specify no explicit \c{SECTION} directive, the code you write
3509 will be directed by default into the \c{.text} section.
3511 Using the \c{bin} format puts NASM by default into 16-bit mode (see
3512 \k{bits}). In order to use \c{bin} to write 32-bit code such as an
3513 OS kernel, you need to explicitly issue the \I\c{BITS}\c{BITS 32}
3516 \c{bin} has no default output file name extension: instead, it
3517 leaves your file name as it is once the original extension has been
3518 removed. Thus, the default is for NASM to assemble \c{binprog.asm}
3519 into a binary file called \c{binprog}.
3522 \S{org} \i\c{ORG}: Binary File \i{Program Origin}
3524 The \c{bin} format provides an additional directive to the list
3525 given in \k{directive}: \c{ORG}. The function of the \c{ORG}
3526 directive is to specify the origin address which NASM will assume
3527 the program begins at when it is loaded into memory.
3529 For example, the following code will generate the longword
3536 Unlike the \c{ORG} directive provided by MASM-compatible assemblers,
3537 which allows you to jump around in the object file and overwrite
3538 code you have already generated, NASM's \c{ORG} does exactly what
3539 the directive says: \e{origin}. Its sole function is to specify one
3540 offset which is added to all internal address references within the
3541 file; it does not permit any of the trickery that MASM's version
3542 does. See \k{proborg} for further comments.
3545 \S{binseg} \c{bin} Extensions to the \c{SECTION}
3546 Directive\I{SECTION, bin extensions to}
3548 The \c{bin} output format extends the \c{SECTION} (or \c{SEGMENT})
3549 directive to allow you to specify the alignment requirements of
3550 segments. This is done by appending the \i\c{ALIGN} qualifier to the
3551 end of the section-definition line. For example,
3553 \c section .data align=16
3555 switches to the section \c{.data} and also specifies that it must be
3556 aligned on a 16-byte boundary.
3558 The parameter to \c{ALIGN} specifies how many low bits of the
3559 section start address must be forced to zero. The alignment value
3560 given may be any power of two.\I{section alignment, in
3561 bin}\I{segment alignment, in bin}\I{alignment, in bin sections}
3564 \H{objfmt} \i\c{obj}: \i{Microsoft OMF}\I{OMF} Object Files
3566 The \c{obj} file format (NASM calls it \c{obj} rather than \c{omf}
3567 for historical reasons) is the one produced by \i{MASM} and
3568 \i{TASM}, which is typically fed to 16-bit DOS linkers to produce
3569 \i\c{.EXE} files. It is also the format used by \i{OS/2}.
3571 \c{obj} provides a default output file-name extension of \c{.obj}.
3573 \c{obj} is not exclusively a 16-bit format, though: NASM has full
3574 support for the 32-bit extensions to the format. In particular,
3575 32-bit \c{obj} format files are used by \i{Borland's Win32
3576 compilers}, instead of using Microsoft's newer \i\c{win32} object
3579 The \c{obj} format does not define any special segment names: you
3580 can call your segments anything you like. Typical names for segments
3581 in \c{obj} format files are \c{CODE}, \c{DATA} and \c{BSS}.
3583 If your source file contains code before specifying an explicit
3584 \c{SEGMENT} directive, then NASM will invent its own segment called
3585 \i\c{__NASMDEFSEG} for you.
3587 When you define a segment in an \c{obj} file, NASM defines the
3588 segment name as a symbol as well, so that you can access the segment
3589 address of the segment. So, for example:
3598 \c mov ax,data ; get segment address of data
3599 \c mov ds,ax ; and move it into DS
3600 \c inc word [dvar] ; now this reference will work
3603 The \c{obj} format also enables the use of the \i\c{SEG} and
3604 \i\c{WRT} operators, so that you can write code which does things
3609 \c mov ax,seg foo ; get preferred segment of foo
3611 \c mov ax,data ; a different segment
3613 \c mov ax,[ds:foo] ; this accesses `foo'
3614 \c mov [es:foo wrt data],bx ; so does this
3617 \S{objseg} \c{obj} Extensions to the \c{SEGMENT}
3618 Directive\I{SEGMENT, obj extensions to}
3620 The \c{obj} output format extends the \c{SEGMENT} (or \c{SECTION})
3621 directive to allow you to specify various properties of the segment
3622 you are defining. This is done by appending extra qualifiers to the
3623 end of the segment-definition line. For example,
3625 \c segment code private align=16
3627 defines the segment \c{code}, but also declares it to be a private
3628 segment, and requires that the portion of it described in this code
3629 module must be aligned on a 16-byte boundary.
3631 The available qualifiers are:
3633 \b \i\c{PRIVATE}, \i\c{PUBLIC}, \i\c{COMMON} and \i\c{STACK} specify
3634 the combination characteristics of the segment. \c{PRIVATE} segments
3635 do not get combined with any others by the linker; \c{PUBLIC} and
3636 \c{STACK} segments get concatenated together at link time; and
3637 \c{COMMON} segments all get overlaid on top of each other rather
3638 than stuck end-to-end.
3640 \b \i\c{ALIGN} is used, as shown above, to specify how many low bits
3641 of the segment start address must be forced to zero. The alignment
3642 value given may be any power of two from 1 to 4096; in reality, the
3643 only values supported are 1, 2, 4, 16, 256 and 4096, so if 8 is
3644 specified it will be rounded up to 16, and 32, 64 and 128 will all
3645 be rounded up to 256, and so on. Note that alignment to 4096-byte
3646 boundaries is a \i{PharLap} extension to the format and may not be
3647 supported by all linkers.\I{section alignment, in OBJ}\I{segment
3648 alignment, in OBJ}\I{alignment, in OBJ sections}
3650 \b \i\c{CLASS} can be used to specify the segment class; this feature
3651 indicates to the linker that segments of the same class should be
3652 placed near each other in the output file. The class name can be any
3653 word, e.g. \c{CLASS=CODE}.
3655 \b \i\c{OVERLAY}, like \c{CLASS}, is specified with an arbitrary word
3656 as an argument, and provides overlay information to an
3657 overlay-capable linker.
3659 \b Segments can be declared as \i\c{USE16} or \i\c{USE32}, which has
3660 the effect of recording the choice in the object file and also
3661 ensuring that NASM's default assembly mode when assembling in that
3662 segment is 16-bit or 32-bit respectively.
3664 \b When writing \i{OS/2} object files, you should declare 32-bit
3665 segments as \i\c{FLAT}, which causes the default segment base for
3666 anything in the segment to be the special group \c{FLAT}, and also
3667 defines the group if it is not already defined.
3669 \b The \c{obj} file format also allows segments to be declared as
3670 having a pre-defined absolute segment address, although no linkers
3671 are currently known to make sensible use of this feature;
3672 nevertheless, NASM allows you to declare a segment such as
3673 \c{SEGMENT SCREEN ABSOLUTE=0xB800} if you need to. The \i\c{ABSOLUTE}
3674 and \c{ALIGN} keywords are mutually exclusive.
3676 NASM's default segment attributes are \c{PUBLIC}, \c{ALIGN=1}, no
3677 class, no overlay, and \c{USE16}.
3680 \S{group} \i\c{GROUP}: Defining Groups of Segments\I{segments, groups of}
3682 The \c{obj} format also allows segments to be grouped, so that a
3683 single segment register can be used to refer to all the segments in
3684 a group. NASM therefore supplies the \c{GROUP} directive, whereby
3693 \c ; some uninitialised data
3695 \c group dgroup data bss
3697 which will define a group called \c{dgroup} to contain the segments
3698 \c{data} and \c{bss}. Like \c{SEGMENT}, \c{GROUP} causes the group
3699 name to be defined as a symbol, so that you can refer to a variable
3700 \c{var} in the \c{data} segment as \c{var wrt data} or as \c{var wrt
3701 dgroup}, depending on which segment value is currently in your
3704 If you just refer to \c{var}, however, and \c{var} is declared in a
3705 segment which is part of a group, then NASM will default to giving
3706 you the offset of \c{var} from the beginning of the \e{group}, not
3707 the \e{segment}. Therefore \c{SEG var}, also, will return the group
3708 base rather than the segment base.
3710 NASM will allow a segment to be part of more than one group, but
3711 will generate a warning if you do this. Variables declared in a
3712 segment which is part of more than one group will default to being
3713 relative to the first group that was defined to contain the segment.
3715 A group does not have to contain any segments; you can still make
3716 \c{WRT} references to a group which does not contain the variable
3717 you are referring to. OS/2, for example, defines the special group
3718 \c{FLAT} with no segments in it.
3721 \S{uppercase} \i\c{UPPERCASE}: Disabling Case Sensitivity in Output
3723 Although NASM itself is \i{case sensitive}, some OMF linkers are
3724 not; therefore it can be useful for NASM to output single-case
3725 object files. The \c{UPPERCASE} format-specific directive causes all
3726 segment, group and symbol names that are written to the object file
3727 to be forced to upper case just before being written. Within a
3728 source file, NASM is still case-sensitive; but the object file can
3729 be written entirely in upper case if desired.
3731 \c{UPPERCASE} is used alone on a line; it requires no parameters.
3734 \S{import} \i\c{IMPORT}: Importing DLL Symbols\I{DLL symbols,
3735 importing}\I{symbols, importing from DLLs}
3737 The \c{IMPORT} format-specific directive defines a symbol to be
3738 imported from a DLL, for use if you are writing a DLL's \i{import
3739 library} in NASM. You still need to declare the symbol as \c{EXTERN}
3740 as well as using the \c{IMPORT} directive.
3742 The \c{IMPORT} directive takes two required parameters, separated by
3743 white space, which are (respectively) the name of the symbol you
3744 wish to import and the name of the library you wish to import it
3747 \c import WSAStartup wsock32.dll
3749 A third optional parameter gives the name by which the symbol is
3750 known in the library you are importing it from, in case this is not
3751 the same as the name you wish the symbol to be known by to your code
3752 once you have imported it. For example:
3754 \c import asyncsel wsock32.dll WSAAsyncSelect
3757 \S{export} \i\c{EXPORT}: Exporting DLL Symbols\I{DLL symbols,
3758 exporting}\I{symbols, exporting from DLLs}
3760 The \c{EXPORT} format-specific directive defines a global symbol to
3761 be exported as a DLL symbol, for use if you are writing a DLL in
3762 NASM. You still need to declare the symbol as \c{GLOBAL} as well as
3763 using the \c{EXPORT} directive.
3765 \c{EXPORT} takes one required parameter, which is the name of the
3766 symbol you wish to export, as it was defined in your source file. An
3767 optional second parameter (separated by white space from the first)
3768 gives the \e{external} name of the symbol: the name by which you
3769 wish the symbol to be known to programs using the DLL. If this name
3770 is the same as the internal name, you may leave the second parameter
3773 Further parameters can be given to define attributes of the exported
3774 symbol. These parameters, like the second, are separated by white
3775 space. If further parameters are given, the external name must also
3776 be specified, even if it is the same as the internal name. The
3777 available attributes are:
3779 \b \c{resident} indicates that the exported name is to be kept
3780 resident by the system loader. This is an optimisation for
3781 frequently used symbols imported by name.
3783 \b \c{nodata} indicates that the exported symbol is a function which
3784 does not make use of any initialised data.
3786 \b \c{parm=NNN}, where \c{NNN} is an integer, sets the number of
3787 parameter words for the case in which the symbol is a call gate
3788 between 32-bit and 16-bit segments.
3790 \b An attribute which is just a number indicates that the symbol
3791 should be exported with an identifying number (ordinal), and gives
3797 \c export myfunc TheRealMoreFormalLookingFunctionName
3798 \c export myfunc myfunc 1234 ; export by ordinal
3799 \c export myfunc myfunc resident parm=23 nodata
3802 \S{dotdotstart} \i\c{..start}: Defining the \i{Program Entry
3805 \c{OMF} linkers require exactly one of the object files being linked to
3806 define the program entry point, where execution will begin when the
3807 program is run. If the object file that defines the entry point is
3808 assembled using NASM, you specify the entry point by declaring the
3809 special symbol \c{..start} at the point where you wish execution to
3813 \S{objextern} \c{obj} Extensions to the \c{EXTERN}
3814 Directive\I{EXTERN, obj extensions to}
3816 If you declare an external symbol with the directive
3820 then references such as \c{mov ax,foo} will give you the offset of
3821 \c{foo} from its preferred segment base (as specified in whichever
3822 module \c{foo} is actually defined in). So to access the contents of
3823 \c{foo} you will usually need to do something like
3825 \c mov ax,seg foo ; get preferred segment base
3826 \c mov es,ax ; move it into ES
3827 \c mov ax,[es:foo] ; and use offset `foo' from it
3829 This is a little unwieldy, particularly if you know that an external
3830 is going to be accessible from a given segment or group, say
3831 \c{dgroup}. So if \c{DS} already contained \c{dgroup}, you could
3834 \c mov ax,[foo wrt dgroup]
3836 However, having to type this every time you want to access \c{foo}
3837 can be a pain; so NASM allows you to declare \c{foo} in the
3840 \c extern foo:wrt dgroup
3842 This form causes NASM to pretend that the preferred segment base of
3843 \c{foo} is in fact \c{dgroup}; so the expression \c{seg foo} will
3844 now return \c{dgroup}, and the expression \c{foo} is equivalent to
3847 This \I{default-WRT mechanism}default-\c{WRT} mechanism can be used
3848 to make externals appear to be relative to any group or segment in
3849 your program. It can also be applied to common variables: see
3853 \S{objcommon} \c{obj} Extensions to the \c{COMMON}
3854 Directive\I{COMMON, obj extensions to}
3856 The \c{obj} format allows common variables to be either near\I{near
3857 common variables} or far\I{far common variables}; NASM allows you to
3858 specify which your variables should be by the use of the syntax
3860 \c common nearvar 2:near ; `nearvar' is a near common
3861 \c common farvar 10:far ; and `farvar' is far
3863 Far common variables may be greater in size than 64Kb, and so the
3864 OMF specification says that they are declared as a number of
3865 \e{elements} of a given size. So a 10-byte far common variable could
3866 be declared as ten one-byte elements, five two-byte elements, two
3867 five-byte elements or one ten-byte element.
3869 Some \c{OMF} linkers require the \I{element size, in common
3870 variables}\I{common variables, element size}element size, as well as
3871 the variable size, to match when resolving common variables declared
3872 in more than one module. Therefore NASM must allow you to specify
3873 the element size on your far common variables. This is done by the
3876 \c common c_5by2 10:far 5 ; two five-byte elements
3877 \c common c_2by5 10:far 2 ; five two-byte elements
3879 If no element size is specified, the default is 1. Also, the \c{FAR}
3880 keyword is not required when an element size is specified, since
3881 only far commons may have element sizes at all. So the above
3882 declarations could equivalently be
3884 \c common c_5by2 10:5 ; two five-byte elements
3885 \c common c_2by5 10:2 ; five two-byte elements
3887 In addition to these extensions, the \c{COMMON} directive in \c{obj}
3888 also supports default-\c{WRT} specification like \c{EXTERN} does
3889 (explained in \k{objextern}). So you can also declare things like
3891 \c common foo 10:wrt dgroup
3892 \c common bar 16:far 2:wrt data
3893 \c common baz 24:wrt data:6
3896 \H{win32fmt} \i\c{win32}: Microsoft Win32 Object Files
3898 The \c{win32} output format generates Microsoft Win32 object files,
3899 suitable for passing to Microsoft linkers such as \i{Visual C++}.
3900 Note that Borland Win32 compilers do not use this format, but use
3901 \c{obj} instead (see \k{objfmt}).
3903 \c{win32} provides a default output file-name extension of \c{.obj}.
3905 Note that although Microsoft say that Win32 object files follow the
3906 \c{COFF} (Common Object File Format) standard, the object files produced
3907 by Microsoft Win32 compilers are not compatible with COFF linkers
3908 such as DJGPP's, and vice versa. This is due to a difference of
3909 opinion over the precise semantics of PC-relative relocations. To
3910 produce COFF files suitable for DJGPP, use NASM's \c{coff} output
3911 format; conversely, the \c{coff} format does not produce object
3912 files that Win32 linkers can generate correct output from.
3915 \S{win32sect} \c{win32} Extensions to the \c{SECTION}
3916 Directive\I{SECTION, win32 extensions to}
3918 Like the \c{obj} format, \c{win32} allows you to specify additional
3919 information on the \c{SECTION} directive line, to control the type
3920 and properties of sections you declare. Section types and properties
3921 are generated automatically by NASM for the \i{standard section names}
3922 \c{.text}, \c{.data} and \c{.bss}, but may still be overridden by
3925 The available qualifiers are:
3927 \b \c{code}, or equivalently \c{text}, defines the section to be a
3928 code section. This marks the section as readable and executable, but
3929 not writable, and also indicates to the linker that the type of the
3932 \b \c{data} and \c{bss} define the section to be a data section,
3933 analogously to \c{code}. Data sections are marked as readable and
3934 writable, but not executable. \c{data} declares an initialised data
3935 section, whereas \c{bss} declares an uninitialised data section.
3937 \b \c{rdata} declares an initialised data section that is readable
3938 but not writable. Microsoft compilers use this section to place
3941 \b \c{info} defines the section to be an \i{informational section},
3942 which is not included in the executable file by the linker, but may
3943 (for example) pass information \e{to} the linker. For example,
3944 declaring an \c{info}-type section called \i\c{.drectve} causes the
3945 linker to interpret the contents of the section as command-line
3948 \b \c{align=}, used with a trailing number as in \c{obj}, gives the
3949 \I{section alignment, in win32}\I{alignment, in win32
3950 sections}alignment requirements of the section. The maximum you may
3951 specify is 64: the Win32 object file format contains no means to
3952 request a greater section alignment than this. If alignment is not
3953 explicitly specified, the defaults are 16-byte alignment for code
3954 sections, 8-byte alignment for rdata sections and 4-byte alignment
3955 for data (and BSS) sections.
3956 Informational sections get a default alignment of 1 byte (no
3957 alignment), though the value does not matter.
3959 The defaults assumed by NASM if you do not specify the above
3962 \c section .text code align=16
3963 \c section .data data align=4
3964 \c section .rdata rdata align=8
3965 \c section .bss bss align=4
3967 Any other section name is treated by default like \c{.text}.
3970 \H{cofffmt} \i\c{coff}: \i{Common Object File Format}
3972 The \c{coff} output type produces \c{COFF} object files suitable for
3973 linking with the \i{DJGPP} linker.
3975 \c{coff} provides a default output file-name extension of \c{.o}.
3977 The \c{coff} format supports the same extensions to the \c{SECTION}
3978 directive as \c{win32} does, except that the \c{align} qualifier and
3979 the \c{info} section type are not supported.
3982 \H{elffmt} \i\c{elf}: \I{ELF}\I{linux, elf}\i{Executable and Linkable
3983 Format} Object Files
3985 The \c{elf} output format generates \c{ELF32} (Executable and Linkable
3986 Format) object files, as used by Linux as well as \i{Unix System V},
3987 including \i{Solaris x86}, \i{UnixWare} and \i{SCO Unix}. \c{elf}
3988 provides a default output file-name extension of \c{.o}.
3991 \S{elfsect} \c{elf} Extensions to the \c{SECTION}
3992 Directive\I{SECTION, elf extensions to}
3994 Like the \c{obj} format, \c{elf} allows you to specify additional
3995 information on the \c{SECTION} directive line, to control the type
3996 and properties of sections you declare. Section types and properties
3997 are generated automatically by NASM for the \i{standard section
3998 names} \i\c{.text}, \i\c{.data} and \i\c{.bss}, but may still be
3999 overridden by these qualifiers.
4001 The available qualifiers are:
4003 \b \i\c{alloc} defines the section to be one which is loaded into
4004 memory when the program is run. \i\c{noalloc} defines it to be one
4005 which is not, such as an informational or comment section.
4007 \b \i\c{exec} defines the section to be one which should have execute
4008 permission when the program is run. \i\c{noexec} defines it as one
4011 \b \i\c{write} defines the section to be one which should be writable
4012 when the program is run. \i\c{nowrite} defines it as one which should
4015 \b \i\c{progbits} defines the section to be one with explicit contents
4016 stored in the object file: an ordinary code or data section, for
4017 example, \i\c{nobits} defines the section to be one with no explicit
4018 contents given, such as a BSS section.
4020 \b \c{align=}, used with a trailing number as in \c{obj}, gives the
4021 \I{section alignment, in elf}\I{alignment, in elf sections}alignment
4022 requirements of the section.
4024 The defaults assumed by NASM if you do not specify the above
4027 \c section .text progbits alloc exec nowrite align=16
4028 \c section .rodata progbits alloc noexec nowrite align=4
4029 \c section .data progbits alloc noexec write align=4
4030 \c section .bss nobits alloc noexec write align=4
4031 \c section other progbits alloc noexec nowrite align=1
4033 (Any section name other than \c{.text}, \c{.rodata}, \c{.data} and
4034 \c{.bss} is treated by default like \c{other} in the above code.)
4037 \S{elfwrt} \i{Position-Independent Code}\I{PIC}: \c{elf} Special
4038 Symbols and \i\c{WRT}
4040 The \c{ELF} specification contains enough features to allow
4041 position-independent code (PIC) to be written, which makes \i{ELF
4042 shared libraries} very flexible. However, it also means NASM has to
4043 be able to generate a variety of strange relocation types in ELF
4044 object files, if it is to be an assembler which can write PIC.
4046 Since \c{ELF} does not support segment-base references, the \c{WRT}
4047 operator is not used for its normal purpose; therefore NASM's
4048 \c{elf} output format makes use of \c{WRT} for a different purpose,
4049 namely the PIC-specific \I{relocations, PIC-specific}relocation
4052 \c{elf} defines five special symbols which you can use as the
4053 right-hand side of the \c{WRT} operator to obtain PIC relocation
4054 types. They are \i\c{..gotpc}, \i\c{..gotoff}, \i\c{..got},
4055 \i\c{..plt} and \i\c{..sym}. Their functions are summarised here:
4057 \b Referring to the symbol marking the global offset table base
4058 using \c{wrt ..gotpc} will end up giving the distance from the
4059 beginning of the current section to the global offset table.
4060 (\i\c{_GLOBAL_OFFSET_TABLE_} is the standard symbol name used to
4061 refer to the \i{GOT}.) So you would then need to add \i\c{$$} to the
4062 result to get the real address of the GOT.
4064 \b Referring to a location in one of your own sections using \c{wrt
4065 ..gotoff} will give the distance from the beginning of the GOT to
4066 the specified location, so that adding on the address of the GOT
4067 would give the real address of the location you wanted.
4069 \b Referring to an external or global symbol using \c{wrt ..got}
4070 causes the linker to build an entry \e{in} the GOT containing the
4071 address of the symbol, and the reference gives the distance from the
4072 beginning of the GOT to the entry; so you can add on the address of
4073 the GOT, load from the resulting address, and end up with the
4074 address of the symbol.
4076 \b Referring to a procedure name using \c{wrt ..plt} causes the
4077 linker to build a \i{procedure linkage table} entry for the symbol,
4078 and the reference gives the address of the \i{PLT} entry. You can
4079 only use this in contexts which would generate a PC-relative
4080 relocation normally (i.e. as the destination for \c{CALL} or
4081 \c{JMP}), since ELF contains no relocation type to refer to PLT
4084 \b Referring to a symbol name using \c{wrt ..sym} causes NASM to
4085 write an ordinary relocation, but instead of making the relocation
4086 relative to the start of the section and then adding on the offset
4087 to the symbol, it will write a relocation record aimed directly at
4088 the symbol in question. The distinction is a necessary one due to a
4089 peculiarity of the dynamic linker.
4091 A fuller explanation of how to use these relocation types to write
4092 shared libraries entirely in NASM is given in \k{picdll}.
4095 \S{elfglob} \c{elf} Extensions to the \c{GLOBAL} Directive\I{GLOBAL,
4096 elf extensions to}\I{GLOBAL, aoutb extensions to}
4098 \c{ELF} object files can contain more information about a global symbol
4099 than just its address: they can contain the \I{symbol sizes,
4100 specifying}\I{size, of symbols}size of the symbol and its \I{symbol
4101 types, specifying}\I{type, of symbols}type as well. These are not
4102 merely debugger conveniences, but are actually necessary when the
4103 program being written is a \i{shared library}. NASM therefore
4104 supports some extensions to the \c{GLOBAL} directive, allowing you
4105 to specify these features.
4107 You can specify whether a global variable is a function or a data
4108 object by suffixing the name with a colon and the word
4109 \i\c{function} or \i\c{data}. (\i\c{object} is a synonym for
4110 \c{data}.) For example:
4112 \c global hashlookup:function, hashtable:data
4114 exports the global symbol \c{hashlookup} as a function and
4115 \c{hashtable} as a data object.
4117 You can also specify the size of the data associated with the
4118 symbol, as a numeric expression (which may involve labels, and even
4119 forward references) after the type specifier. Like this:
4121 \c global hashtable:data (hashtable.end - hashtable)
4124 \c db this,that,theother ; some data here
4127 This makes NASM automatically calculate the length of the table and
4128 place that information into the \c{ELF} symbol table.
4130 Declaring the type and size of global symbols is necessary when
4131 writing shared library code. For more information, see
4135 \S{elfcomm} \c{elf} Extensions to the \c{COMMON} Directive
4136 \I{COMMON, elf extensions to}
4138 \c{ELF} also allows you to specify alignment requirements \I{common
4139 variables, alignment in elf}\I{alignment, of elf common variables}on
4140 common variables. This is done by putting a number (which must be a
4141 power of two) after the name and size of the common variable,
4142 separated (as usual) by a colon. For example, an array of
4143 doublewords would benefit from 4-byte alignment:
4145 \c common dwordarray 128:4
4147 This declares the total size of the array to be 128 bytes, and
4148 requires that it be aligned on a 4-byte boundary.
4151 \S{elf16} 16-bit code and ELF
4152 \I{ELF, 16-bit code and}
4154 The \c{ELF32} specification doesn't provide relocations for 8- and
4155 16-bit values, but the GNU \c{ld} linker adds these as an extension.
4156 NASM can generate GNU-compatible relocations, to allow 16-bit code to
4157 be linked as ELF using GNU \c{ld}. If NASM is used with the
4158 \c{-w+gnu-elf-extensions} option, a warning is issued when one of
4159 these relocations is generated.
4161 \H{aoutfmt} \i\c{aout}: Linux \I{a.out, Linux version}\I{linux, a.out}\c{a.out} Object Files
4163 The \c{aout} format generates \c{a.out} object files, in the form used
4164 by early Linux systems (current Linux systems use ELF, see
4165 \k{elffmt}.) These differ from other \c{a.out} object files in that
4166 the magic number in the first four bytes of the file is
4167 different; also, some implementations of \c{a.out}, for example
4168 NetBSD's, support position-independent code, which Linux's
4169 implementation does not.
4171 \c{a.out} provides a default output file-name extension of \c{.o}.
4173 \c{a.out} is a very simple object format. It supports no special
4174 directives, no special symbols, no use of \c{SEG} or \c{WRT}, and no
4175 extensions to any standard directives. It supports only the three
4176 \i{standard section names} \i\c{.text}, \i\c{.data} and \i\c{.bss}.
4179 \H{aoutfmt} \i\c{aoutb}: \i{NetBSD}/\i{FreeBSD}/\i{OpenBSD}
4180 \I{a.out, BSD version}\c{a.out} Object Files
4182 The \c{aoutb} format generates \c{a.out} object files, in the form
4183 used by the various free \c{BSD Unix} clones, \c{NetBSD}, \c{FreeBSD}
4184 and \c{OpenBSD}. For simple object files, this object format is exactly
4185 the same as \c{aout} except for the magic number in the first four bytes
4186 of the file. However, the \c{aoutb} format supports
4187 \I{PIC}\i{position-independent code} in the same way as the \c{elf}
4188 format, so you can use it to write \c{BSD} \i{shared libraries}.
4190 \c{aoutb} provides a default output file-name extension of \c{.o}.
4192 \c{aoutb} supports no special directives, no special symbols, and
4193 only the three \i{standard section names} \i\c{.text}, \i\c{.data}
4194 and \i\c{.bss}. However, it also supports the same use of \i\c{WRT} as
4195 \c{elf} does, to provide position-independent code relocation types.
4196 See \k{elfwrt} for full documentation of this feature.
4198 \c{aoutb} also supports the same extensions to the \c{GLOBAL}
4199 directive as \c{elf} does: see \k{elfglob} for documentation of
4203 \H{as86fmt} \c{as86}: \i{Minix}/Linux\I{linux, as86} \i\c{as86} Object Files
4205 The Minix/Linux 16-bit assembler \c{as86} has its own non-standard
4206 object file format. Although its companion linker \i\c{ld86} produces
4207 something close to ordinary \c{a.out} binaries as output, the object
4208 file format used to communicate between \c{as86} and \c{ld86} is not
4211 NASM supports this format, just in case it is useful, as \c{as86}.
4212 \c{as86} provides a default output file-name extension of \c{.o}.
4214 \c{as86} is a very simple object format (from the NASM user's point
4215 of view). It supports no special directives, no special symbols, no
4216 use of \c{SEG} or \c{WRT}, and no extensions to any standard
4217 directives. It supports only the three \i{standard section names}
4218 \i\c{.text}, \i\c{.data} and \i\c{.bss}.
4221 \H{rdffmt} \I{RDOFF}\i\c{rdf}: \i{Relocatable Dynamic Object File
4224 The \c{rdf} output format produces \c{RDOFF} object files. \c{RDOFF}
4225 (Relocatable Dynamic Object File Format) is a home-grown object-file
4226 format, designed alongside NASM itself and reflecting in its file
4227 format the internal structure of the assembler.
4229 \c{RDOFF} is not used by any well-known operating systems. Those
4230 writing their own systems, however, may well wish to use \c{RDOFF}
4231 as their object format, on the grounds that it is designed primarily
4232 for simplicity and contains very little file-header bureaucracy.
4234 The Unix NASM archive, and the DOS archive which includes sources,
4235 both contain an \I{rdoff subdirectory}\c{rdoff} subdirectory holding
4236 a set of RDOFF utilities: an RDF linker, an \c{RDF} static-library
4237 manager, an RDF file dump utility, and a program which will load and
4238 execute an RDF executable under Linux.
4240 \c{rdf} supports only the \i{standard section names} \i\c{.text},
4241 \i\c{.data} and \i\c{.bss}.
4244 \S{rdflib} Requiring a Library: The \i\c{LIBRARY} Directive
4246 \c{RDOFF} contains a mechanism for an object file to demand a given
4247 library to be linked to the module, either at load time or run time.
4248 This is done by the \c{LIBRARY} directive, which takes one argument
4249 which is the name of the module:
4251 \c library mylib.rdl
4254 \S{rdfmod} Specifying a Module Name: The \i\c{MODULE} Directive
4256 Special \c{RDOFF} header record is used to store the name of the module.
4257 It can be used, for example, by run-time loader to perform dynamic
4258 linking. \c{MODULE} directive takes one argument which is the name
4263 Note that when you statically link modules and tell linker to strip
4264 the symbols from output file, all module names will be stripped too.
4265 To avoid it, you should start module names with \I{$, prefix}\c{$}, like:
4267 \c module $kernel.core
4270 \S{rdfglob} \c{rdf} Extensions to the \c{GLOBAL} directive\I{GLOBAL,
4273 \c{RDOFF} global symbols can contain additional information needed by
4274 the static linker. You can mark a global symbol as exported, thus
4275 telling the linker do not strip it from target executable or library
4276 file. Like in \c{ELF}, you can also specify whether an exported symbol
4277 is a procedure (function) or data object.
4279 Suffixing the name with a colon and the word \i\c{export} you make the
4282 \c global sys_open:export
4284 To specify that exported symbol is a procedure (function), you add the
4285 word \i\c{proc} or \i\c{function} after declaration:
4287 \c global sys_open:export proc
4289 Similarly, to specify exported data object, add the word \i\c{data}
4290 or \i\c{object} to the directive:
4292 \c global kernel_ticks:export data
4295 \H{dbgfmt} \i\c{dbg}: Debugging Format
4297 The \c{dbg} output format is not built into NASM in the default
4298 configuration. If you are building your own NASM executable from the
4299 sources, you can define \i\c{OF_DBG} in \c{outform.h} or on the
4300 compiler command line, and obtain the \c{dbg} output format.
4302 The \c{dbg} format does not output an object file as such; instead,
4303 it outputs a text file which contains a complete list of all the
4304 transactions between the main body of NASM and the output-format
4305 back end module. It is primarily intended to aid people who want to
4306 write their own output drivers, so that they can get a clearer idea
4307 of the various requests the main program makes of the output driver,
4308 and in what order they happen.
4310 For simple files, one can easily use the \c{dbg} format like this:
4312 \c nasm -f dbg filename.asm
4314 which will generate a diagnostic file called \c{filename.dbg}.
4315 However, this will not work well on files which were designed for a
4316 different object format, because each object format defines its own
4317 macros (usually user-level forms of directives), and those macros
4318 will not be defined in the \c{dbg} format. Therefore it can be
4319 useful to run NASM twice, in order to do the preprocessing with the
4320 native object format selected:
4322 \c nasm -e -f rdf -o rdfprog.i rdfprog.asm
4323 \c nasm -a -f dbg rdfprog.i
4325 This preprocesses \c{rdfprog.asm} into \c{rdfprog.i}, keeping the
4326 \c{rdf} object format selected in order to make sure RDF special
4327 directives are converted into primitive form correctly. Then the
4328 preprocessed source is fed through the \c{dbg} format to generate
4329 the final diagnostic output.
4331 This workaround will still typically not work for programs intended
4332 for \c{obj} format, because the \c{obj} \c{SEGMENT} and \c{GROUP}
4333 directives have side effects of defining the segment and group names
4334 as symbols; \c{dbg} will not do this, so the program will not
4335 assemble. You will have to work around that by defining the symbols
4336 yourself (using \c{EXTERN}, for example) if you really need to get a
4337 \c{dbg} trace of an \c{obj}-specific source file.
4339 \c{dbg} accepts any section name and any directives at all, and logs
4340 them all to its output file.
4343 \C{16bit} Writing 16-bit Code (DOS, Windows 3/3.1)
4345 This chapter attempts to cover some of the common issues encountered
4346 when writing 16-bit code to run under \c{MS-DOS} or \c{Windows 3.x}. It
4347 covers how to link programs to produce \c{.EXE} or \c{.COM} files,
4348 how to write \c{.SYS} device drivers, and how to interface assembly
4349 language code with 16-bit C compilers and with Borland Pascal.
4352 \H{exefiles} Producing \i\c{.EXE} Files
4354 Any large program written under DOS needs to be built as a \c{.EXE}
4355 file: only \c{.EXE} files have the necessary internal structure
4356 required to span more than one 64K segment. \i{Windows} programs,
4357 also, have to be built as \c{.EXE} files, since Windows does not
4358 support the \c{.COM} format.
4360 In general, you generate \c{.EXE} files by using the \c{obj} output
4361 format to produce one or more \i\c{.OBJ} files, and then linking
4362 them together using a linker. However, NASM also supports the direct
4363 generation of simple DOS \c{.EXE} files using the \c{bin} output
4364 format (by using \c{DB} and \c{DW} to construct the \c{.EXE} file
4365 header), and a macro package is supplied to do this. Thanks to
4366 Yann Guidon for contributing the code for this.
4368 NASM may also support \c{.EXE} natively as another output format in
4372 \S{objexe} Using the \c{obj} Format To Generate \c{.EXE} Files
4374 This section describes the usual method of generating \c{.EXE} files
4375 by linking \c{.OBJ} files together.
4377 Most 16-bit programming language packages come with a suitable
4378 linker; if you have none of these, there is a free linker called
4379 \i{VAL}\I{linker, free}, available in \c{LZH} archive format from
4380 \W{ftp://x2ftp.oulu.fi/pub/msdos/programming/lang/}\i\c{x2ftp.oulu.fi}.
4381 An LZH archiver can be found at
4382 \W{ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/arcers}\i\c{ftp.simtel.net}.
4383 There is another `free' linker (though this one doesn't come with
4384 sources) called \i{FREELINK}, available from
4385 \W{http://www.pcorner.com/tpc/old/3-101.html}\i\c{www.pcorner.com}.
4386 A third, \i\c{djlink}, written by DJ Delorie, is available at
4387 \W{http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/16bit/djlink/}\i\c{www.delorie.com}.
4388 A fourth linker, \i\c{ALINK}, written by Anthony A.J. Williams, is
4389 available at \W{http://alink.sourceforge.net}\i\c{alink.sourceforge.net}.
4391 When linking several \c{.OBJ} files into a \c{.EXE} file, you should
4392 ensure that exactly one of them has a start point defined (using the
4393 \I{program entry point}\i\c{..start} special symbol defined by the
4394 \c{obj} format: see \k{dotdotstart}). If no module defines a start
4395 point, the linker will not know what value to give the entry-point
4396 field in the output file header; if more than one defines a start
4397 point, the linker will not know \e{which} value to use.
4399 An example of a NASM source file which can be assembled to a
4400 \c{.OBJ} file and linked on its own to a \c{.EXE} is given here. It
4401 demonstrates the basic principles of defining a stack, initialising
4402 the segment registers, and declaring a start point. This file is
4403 also provided in the \I{test subdirectory}\c{test} subdirectory of
4404 the NASM archives, under the name \c{objexe.asm}.
4415 This initial piece of code sets up \c{DS} to point to the data
4416 segment, and initialises \c{SS} and \c{SP} to point to the top of
4417 the provided stack. Notice that interrupts are implicitly disabled
4418 for one instruction after a move into \c{SS}, precisely for this
4419 situation, so that there's no chance of an interrupt occurring
4420 between the loads of \c{SS} and \c{SP} and not having a stack to
4423 Note also that the special symbol \c{..start} is defined at the
4424 beginning of this code, which means that will be the entry point
4425 into the resulting executable file.
4431 The above is the main program: load \c{DS:DX} with a pointer to the
4432 greeting message (\c{hello} is implicitly relative to the segment
4433 \c{data}, which was loaded into \c{DS} in the setup code, so the
4434 full pointer is valid), and call the DOS print-string function.
4439 This terminates the program using another DOS system call.
4443 \c hello: db 'hello, world', 13, 10, '$'
4445 The data segment contains the string we want to display.
4447 \c segment stack stack
4451 The above code declares a stack segment containing 64 bytes of
4452 uninitialised stack space, and points \c{stacktop} at the top of it.
4453 The directive \c{segment stack stack} defines a segment \e{called}
4454 \c{stack}, and also of \e{type} \c{STACK}. The latter is not
4455 necessary to the correct running of the program, but linkers are
4456 likely to issue warnings or errors if your program has no segment of
4459 The above file, when assembled into a \c{.OBJ} file, will link on
4460 its own to a valid \c{.EXE} file, which when run will print `hello,
4461 world' and then exit.
4464 \S{binexe} Using the \c{bin} Format To Generate \c{.EXE} Files
4466 The \c{.EXE} file format is simple enough that it's possible to
4467 build a \c{.EXE} file by writing a pure-binary program and sticking
4468 a 32-byte header on the front. This header is simple enough that it
4469 can be generated using \c{DB} and \c{DW} commands by NASM itself, so
4470 that you can use the \c{bin} output format to directly generate
4473 Included in the NASM archives, in the \I{misc subdirectory}\c{misc}
4474 subdirectory, is a file \i\c{exebin.mac} of macros. It defines three
4475 macros: \i\c{EXE_begin}, \i\c{EXE_stack} and \i\c{EXE_end}.
4477 To produce a \c{.EXE} file using this method, you should start by
4478 using \c{%include} to load the \c{exebin.mac} macro package into
4479 your source file. You should then issue the \c{EXE_begin} macro call
4480 (which takes no arguments) to generate the file header data. Then
4481 write code as normal for the \c{bin} format - you can use all three
4482 standard sections \c{.text}, \c{.data} and \c{.bss}. At the end of
4483 the file you should call the \c{EXE_end} macro (again, no arguments),
4484 which defines some symbols to mark section sizes, and these symbols
4485 are referred to in the header code generated by \c{EXE_begin}.
4487 In this model, the code you end up writing starts at \c{0x100}, just
4488 like a \c{.COM} file - in fact, if you strip off the 32-byte header
4489 from the resulting \c{.EXE} file, you will have a valid \c{.COM}
4490 program. All the segment bases are the same, so you are limited to a
4491 64K program, again just like a \c{.COM} file. Note that an \c{ORG}
4492 directive is issued by the \c{EXE_begin} macro, so you should not
4493 explicitly issue one of your own.
4495 You can't directly refer to your segment base value, unfortunately,
4496 since this would require a relocation in the header, and things
4497 would get a lot more complicated. So you should get your segment
4498 base by copying it out of \c{CS} instead.
4500 On entry to your \c{.EXE} file, \c{SS:SP} are already set up to
4501 point to the top of a 2Kb stack. You can adjust the default stack
4502 size of 2Kb by calling the \c{EXE_stack} macro. For example, to
4503 change the stack size of your program to 64 bytes, you would call
4506 A sample program which generates a \c{.EXE} file in this way is
4507 given in the \c{test} subdirectory of the NASM archive, as
4511 \H{comfiles} Producing \i\c{.COM} Files
4513 While large DOS programs must be written as \c{.EXE} files, small
4514 ones are often better written as \c{.COM} files. \c{.COM} files are
4515 pure binary, and therefore most easily produced using the \c{bin}
4519 \S{combinfmt} Using the \c{bin} Format To Generate \c{.COM} Files
4521 \c{.COM} files expect to be loaded at offset \c{100h} into their
4522 segment (though the segment may change). Execution then begins at
4523 \I\c{ORG}\c{100h}, i.e. right at the start of the program. So to
4524 write a \c{.COM} program, you would create a source file looking
4532 \c ; put your code here
4536 \c ; put data items here
4540 \c ; put uninitialised data here
4542 The \c{bin} format puts the \c{.text} section first in the file, so
4543 you can declare data or BSS items before beginning to write code if
4544 you want to and the code will still end up at the front of the file
4547 The BSS (uninitialised data) section does not take up space in the
4548 \c{.COM} file itself: instead, addresses of BSS items are resolved
4549 to point at space beyond the end of the file, on the grounds that
4550 this will be free memory when the program is run. Therefore you
4551 should not rely on your BSS being initialised to all zeros when you
4554 To assemble the above program, you should use a command line like
4556 \c nasm myprog.asm -fbin -o myprog.com
4558 The \c{bin} format would produce a file called \c{myprog} if no
4559 explicit output file name were specified, so you have to override it
4560 and give the desired file name.
4563 \S{comobjfmt} Using the \c{obj} Format To Generate \c{.COM} Files
4565 If you are writing a \c{.COM} program as more than one module, you
4566 may wish to assemble several \c{.OBJ} files and link them together
4567 into a \c{.COM} program. You can do this, provided you have a linker
4568 capable of outputting \c{.COM} files directly (\i{TLINK} does this),
4569 or alternatively a converter program such as \i\c{EXE2BIN} to
4570 transform the \c{.EXE} file output from the linker into a \c{.COM}
4573 If you do this, you need to take care of several things:
4575 \b The first object file containing code should start its code
4576 segment with a line like \c{RESB 100h}. This is to ensure that the
4577 code begins at offset \c{100h} relative to the beginning of the code
4578 segment, so that the linker or converter program does not have to
4579 adjust address references within the file when generating the
4580 \c{.COM} file. Other assemblers use an \i\c{ORG} directive for this
4581 purpose, but \c{ORG} in NASM is a format-specific directive to the
4582 \c{bin} output format, and does not mean the same thing as it does
4583 in MASM-compatible assemblers.
4585 \b You don't need to define a stack segment.
4587 \b All your segments should be in the same group, so that every time
4588 your code or data references a symbol offset, all offsets are
4589 relative to the same segment base. This is because, when a \c{.COM}
4590 file is loaded, all the segment registers contain the same value.
4593 \H{sysfiles} Producing \i\c{.SYS} Files
4595 \i{MS-DOS device drivers} - \c{.SYS} files - are pure binary files,
4596 similar to \c{.COM} files, except that they start at origin zero
4597 rather than \c{100h}. Therefore, if you are writing a device driver
4598 using the \c{bin} format, you do not need the \c{ORG} directive,
4599 since the default origin for \c{bin} is zero. Similarly, if you are
4600 using \c{obj}, you do not need the \c{RESB 100h} at the start of
4603 \c{.SYS} files start with a header structure, containing pointers to
4604 the various routines inside the driver which do the work. This
4605 structure should be defined at the start of the code segment, even
4606 though it is not actually code.
4608 For more information on the format of \c{.SYS} files, and the data
4609 which has to go in the header structure, a list of books is given in
4610 the Frequently Asked Questions list for the newsgroup
4611 \W{news:comp.os.msdos.programmer}\i\c{comp.os.msdos.programmer}.
4614 \H{16c} Interfacing to 16-bit C Programs
4616 This section covers the basics of writing assembly routines that
4617 call, or are called from, C programs. To do this, you would
4618 typically write an assembly module as a \c{.OBJ} file, and link it
4619 with your C modules to produce a \i{mixed-language program}.
4622 \S{16cunder} External Symbol Names
4624 \I{C symbol names}\I{underscore, in C symbols}C compilers have the
4625 convention that the names of all global symbols (functions or data)
4626 they define are formed by prefixing an underscore to the name as it
4627 appears in the C program. So, for example, the function a C
4628 programmer thinks of as \c{printf} appears to an assembly language
4629 programmer as \c{_printf}. This means that in your assembly
4630 programs, you can define symbols without a leading underscore, and
4631 not have to worry about name clashes with C symbols.
4633 If you find the underscores inconvenient, you can define macros to
4634 replace the \c{GLOBAL} and \c{EXTERN} directives as follows:
4650 (These forms of the macros only take one argument at a time; a
4651 \c{%rep} construct could solve this.)
4653 If you then declare an external like this:
4657 then the macro will expand it as
4660 \c %define printf _printf
4662 Thereafter, you can reference \c{printf} as if it was a symbol, and
4663 the preprocessor will put the leading underscore on where necessary.
4665 The \c{cglobal} macro works similarly. You must use \c{cglobal}
4666 before defining the symbol in question, but you would have had to do
4667 that anyway if you used \c{GLOBAL}.
4670 \S{16cmodels} \i{Memory Models}
4672 NASM contains no mechanism to support the various C memory models
4673 directly; you have to keep track yourself of which one you are
4674 writing for. This means you have to keep track of the following
4677 \b In models using a single code segment (tiny, small and compact),
4678 functions are near. This means that function pointers, when stored
4679 in data segments or pushed on the stack as function arguments, are
4680 16 bits long and contain only an offset field (the \c{CS} register
4681 never changes its value, and always gives the segment part of the
4682 full function address), and that functions are called using ordinary
4683 near \c{CALL} instructions and return using \c{RETN} (which, in
4684 NASM, is synonymous with \c{RET} anyway). This means both that you
4685 should write your own routines to return with \c{RETN}, and that you
4686 should call external C routines with near \c{CALL} instructions.
4688 \b In models using more than one code segment (medium, large and
4689 huge), functions are far. This means that function pointers are 32
4690 bits long (consisting of a 16-bit offset followed by a 16-bit
4691 segment), and that functions are called using \c{CALL FAR} (or
4692 \c{CALL seg:offset}) and return using \c{RETF}. Again, you should
4693 therefore write your own routines to return with \c{RETF} and use
4694 \c{CALL FAR} to call external routines.
4696 \b In models using a single data segment (tiny, small and medium),
4697 data pointers are 16 bits long, containing only an offset field (the
4698 \c{DS} register doesn't change its value, and always gives the
4699 segment part of the full data item address).
4701 \b In models using more than one data segment (compact, large and
4702 huge), data pointers are 32 bits long, consisting of a 16-bit offset
4703 followed by a 16-bit segment. You should still be careful not to
4704 modify \c{DS} in your routines without restoring it afterwards, but
4705 \c{ES} is free for you to use to access the contents of 32-bit data
4706 pointers you are passed.
4708 \b The huge memory model allows single data items to exceed 64K in
4709 size. In all other memory models, you can access the whole of a data
4710 item just by doing arithmetic on the offset field of the pointer you
4711 are given, whether a segment field is present or not; in huge model,
4712 you have to be more careful of your pointer arithmetic.
4714 \b In most memory models, there is a \e{default} data segment, whose
4715 segment address is kept in \c{DS} throughout the program. This data
4716 segment is typically the same segment as the stack, kept in \c{SS},
4717 so that functions' local variables (which are stored on the stack)
4718 and global data items can both be accessed easily without changing
4719 \c{DS}. Particularly large data items are typically stored in other
4720 segments. However, some memory models (though not the standard
4721 ones, usually) allow the assumption that \c{SS} and \c{DS} hold the
4722 same value to be removed. Be careful about functions' local
4723 variables in this latter case.
4725 In models with a single code segment, the segment is called
4726 \i\c{_TEXT}, so your code segment must also go by this name in order
4727 to be linked into the same place as the main code segment. In models
4728 with a single data segment, or with a default data segment, it is
4732 \S{16cfunc} Function Definitions and Function Calls
4734 \I{functions, C calling convention}The \i{C calling convention} in
4735 16-bit programs is as follows. In the following description, the
4736 words \e{caller} and \e{callee} are used to denote the function
4737 doing the calling and the function which gets called.
4739 \b The caller pushes the function's parameters on the stack, one
4740 after another, in reverse order (right to left, so that the first
4741 argument specified to the function is pushed last).
4743 \b The caller then executes a \c{CALL} instruction to pass control
4744 to the callee. This \c{CALL} is either near or far depending on the
4747 \b The callee receives control, and typically (although this is not
4748 actually necessary, in functions which do not need to access their
4749 parameters) starts by saving the value of \c{SP} in \c{BP} so as to
4750 be able to use \c{BP} as a base pointer to find its parameters on
4751 the stack. However, the caller was probably doing this too, so part
4752 of the calling convention states that \c{BP} must be preserved by
4753 any C function. Hence the callee, if it is going to set up \c{BP} as
4754 a \i\e{frame pointer}, must push the previous value first.
4756 \b The callee may then access its parameters relative to \c{BP}.
4757 The word at \c{[BP]} holds the previous value of \c{BP} as it was
4758 pushed; the next word, at \c{[BP+2]}, holds the offset part of the
4759 return address, pushed implicitly by \c{CALL}. In a small-model
4760 (near) function, the parameters start after that, at \c{[BP+4]}; in
4761 a large-model (far) function, the segment part of the return address
4762 lives at \c{[BP+4]}, and the parameters begin at \c{[BP+6]}. The
4763 leftmost parameter of the function, since it was pushed last, is
4764 accessible at this offset from \c{BP}; the others follow, at
4765 successively greater offsets. Thus, in a function such as \c{printf}
4766 which takes a variable number of parameters, the pushing of the
4767 parameters in reverse order means that the function knows where to
4768 find its first parameter, which tells it the number and type of the
4771 \b The callee may also wish to decrease \c{SP} further, so as to
4772 allocate space on the stack for local variables, which will then be
4773 accessible at negative offsets from \c{BP}.
4775 \b The callee, if it wishes to return a value to the caller, should
4776 leave the value in \c{AL}, \c{AX} or \c{DX:AX} depending on the size
4777 of the value. Floating-point results are sometimes (depending on the
4778 compiler) returned in \c{ST0}.
4780 \b Once the callee has finished processing, it restores \c{SP} from
4781 \c{BP} if it had allocated local stack space, then pops the previous
4782 value of \c{BP}, and returns via \c{RETN} or \c{RETF} depending on
4785 \b When the caller regains control from the callee, the function
4786 parameters are still on the stack, so it typically adds an immediate
4787 constant to \c{SP} to remove them (instead of executing a number of
4788 slow \c{POP} instructions). Thus, if a function is accidentally
4789 called with the wrong number of parameters due to a prototype
4790 mismatch, the stack will still be returned to a sensible state since
4791 the caller, which \e{knows} how many parameters it pushed, does the
4794 It is instructive to compare this calling convention with that for
4795 Pascal programs (described in \k{16bpfunc}). Pascal has a simpler
4796 convention, since no functions have variable numbers of parameters.
4797 Therefore the callee knows how many parameters it should have been
4798 passed, and is able to deallocate them from the stack itself by
4799 passing an immediate argument to the \c{RET} or \c{RETF}
4800 instruction, so the caller does not have to do it. Also, the
4801 parameters are pushed in left-to-right order, not right-to-left,
4802 which means that a compiler can give better guarantees about
4803 sequence points without performance suffering.
4805 Thus, you would define a function in C style in the following way.
4806 The following example is for small model:
4813 \c sub sp,0x40 ; 64 bytes of local stack space
4814 \c mov bx,[bp+4] ; first parameter to function
4818 \c mov sp,bp ; undo "sub sp,0x40" above
4822 For a large-model function, you would replace \c{RET} by \c{RETF},
4823 and look for the first parameter at \c{[BP+6]} instead of
4824 \c{[BP+4]}. Of course, if one of the parameters is a pointer, then
4825 the offsets of \e{subsequent} parameters will change depending on
4826 the memory model as well: far pointers take up four bytes on the
4827 stack when passed as a parameter, whereas near pointers take up two.
4829 At the other end of the process, to call a C function from your
4830 assembly code, you would do something like this:
4834 \c ; and then, further down...
4836 \c push word [myint] ; one of my integer variables
4837 \c push word mystring ; pointer into my data segment
4839 \c add sp,byte 4 ; `byte' saves space
4841 \c ; then those data items...
4846 \c mystring db 'This number -> %d <- should be 1234',10,0
4848 This piece of code is the small-model assembly equivalent of the C
4851 \c int myint = 1234;
4852 \c printf("This number -> %d <- should be 1234\n", myint);
4854 In large model, the function-call code might look more like this. In
4855 this example, it is assumed that \c{DS} already holds the segment
4856 base of the segment \c{_DATA}. If not, you would have to initialise
4859 \c push word [myint]
4860 \c push word seg mystring ; Now push the segment, and...
4861 \c push word mystring ; ... offset of "mystring"
4865 The integer value still takes up one word on the stack, since large
4866 model does not affect the size of the \c{int} data type. The first
4867 argument (pushed last) to \c{printf}, however, is a data pointer,
4868 and therefore has to contain a segment and offset part. The segment
4869 should be stored second in memory, and therefore must be pushed
4870 first. (Of course, \c{PUSH DS} would have been a shorter instruction
4871 than \c{PUSH WORD SEG mystring}, if \c{DS} was set up as the above
4872 example assumed.) Then the actual call becomes a far call, since
4873 functions expect far calls in large model; and \c{SP} has to be
4874 increased by 6 rather than 4 afterwards to make up for the extra
4878 \S{16cdata} Accessing Data Items
4880 To get at the contents of C variables, or to declare variables which
4881 C can access, you need only declare the names as \c{GLOBAL} or
4882 \c{EXTERN}. (Again, the names require leading underscores, as stated
4883 in \k{16cunder}.) Thus, a C variable declared as \c{int i} can be
4884 accessed from assembler as
4890 And to declare your own integer variable which C programs can access
4891 as \c{extern int j}, you do this (making sure you are assembling in
4892 the \c{_DATA} segment, if necessary):
4898 To access a C array, you need to know the size of the components of
4899 the array. For example, \c{int} variables are two bytes long, so if
4900 a C program declares an array as \c{int a[10]}, you can access
4901 \c{a[3]} by coding \c{mov ax,[_a+6]}. (The byte offset 6 is obtained
4902 by multiplying the desired array index, 3, by the size of the array
4903 element, 2.) The sizes of the C base types in 16-bit compilers are:
4904 1 for \c{char}, 2 for \c{short} and \c{int}, 4 for \c{long} and
4905 \c{float}, and 8 for \c{double}.
4907 To access a C \i{data structure}, you need to know the offset from
4908 the base of the structure to the field you are interested in. You
4909 can either do this by converting the C structure definition into a
4910 NASM structure definition (using \i\c{STRUC}), or by calculating the
4911 one offset and using just that.
4913 To do either of these, you should read your C compiler's manual to
4914 find out how it organises data structures. NASM gives no special
4915 alignment to structure members in its own \c{STRUC} macro, so you
4916 have to specify alignment yourself if the C compiler generates it.
4917 Typically, you might find that a structure like
4924 might be four bytes long rather than three, since the \c{int} field
4925 would be aligned to a two-byte boundary. However, this sort of
4926 feature tends to be a configurable option in the C compiler, either
4927 using command-line options or \c{#pragma} lines, so you have to find
4928 out how your own compiler does it.
4931 \S{16cmacro} \i\c{c16.mac}: Helper Macros for the 16-bit C Interface
4933 Included in the NASM archives, in the \I{misc subdirectory}\c{misc}
4934 directory, is a file \c{c16.mac} of macros. It defines three macros:
4935 \i\c{proc}, \i\c{arg} and \i\c{endproc}. These are intended to be
4936 used for C-style procedure definitions, and they automate a lot of
4937 the work involved in keeping track of the calling convention.
4939 (An alternative, TASM compatible form of \c{arg} is also now built
4940 into NASM's preprocessor. See \k{tasmcompat} for details.)
4942 An example of an assembly function using the macro set is given
4949 \c mov ax,[bp + %$i]
4950 \c mov bx,[bp + %$j]
4955 This defines \c{_nearproc} to be a procedure taking two arguments,
4956 the first (\c{i}) an integer and the second (\c{j}) a pointer to an
4957 integer. It returns \c{i + *j}.
4959 Note that the \c{arg} macro has an \c{EQU} as the first line of its
4960 expansion, and since the label before the macro call gets prepended
4961 to the first line of the expanded macro, the \c{EQU} works, defining
4962 \c{%$i} to be an offset from \c{BP}. A context-local variable is
4963 used, local to the context pushed by the \c{proc} macro and popped
4964 by the \c{endproc} macro, so that the same argument name can be used
4965 in later procedures. Of course, you don't \e{have} to do that.
4967 The macro set produces code for near functions (tiny, small and
4968 compact-model code) by default. You can have it generate far
4969 functions (medium, large and huge-model code) by means of coding
4970 \I\c{FARCODE}\c{%define FARCODE}. This changes the kind of return
4971 instruction generated by \c{endproc}, and also changes the starting
4972 point for the argument offsets. The macro set contains no intrinsic
4973 dependency on whether data pointers are far or not.
4975 \c{arg} can take an optional parameter, giving the size of the
4976 argument. If no size is given, 2 is assumed, since it is likely that
4977 many function parameters will be of type \c{int}.
4979 The large-model equivalent of the above function would look like this:
4987 \c mov ax,[bp + %$i]
4988 \c mov bx,[bp + %$j]
4989 \c mov es,[bp + %$j + 2]
4994 This makes use of the argument to the \c{arg} macro to define a
4995 parameter of size 4, because \c{j} is now a far pointer. When we
4996 load from \c{j}, we must load a segment and an offset.
4999 \H{16bp} Interfacing to \i{Borland Pascal} Programs
5001 Interfacing to Borland Pascal programs is similar in concept to
5002 interfacing to 16-bit C programs. The differences are:
5004 \b The leading underscore required for interfacing to C programs is
5005 not required for Pascal.
5007 \b The memory model is always large: functions are far, data
5008 pointers are far, and no data item can be more than 64K long.
5009 (Actually, some functions are near, but only those functions that
5010 are local to a Pascal unit and never called from outside it. All
5011 assembly functions that Pascal calls, and all Pascal functions that
5012 assembly routines are able to call, are far.) However, all static
5013 data declared in a Pascal program goes into the default data
5014 segment, which is the one whose segment address will be in \c{DS}
5015 when control is passed to your assembly code. The only things that
5016 do not live in the default data segment are local variables (they
5017 live in the stack segment) and dynamically allocated variables. All
5018 data \e{pointers}, however, are far.
5020 \b The function calling convention is different - described below.
5022 \b Some data types, such as strings, are stored differently.
5024 \b There are restrictions on the segment names you are allowed to
5025 use - Borland Pascal will ignore code or data declared in a segment
5026 it doesn't like the name of. The restrictions are described below.
5029 \S{16bpfunc} The Pascal Calling Convention
5031 \I{functions, Pascal calling convention}\I{Pascal calling
5032 convention}The 16-bit Pascal calling convention is as follows. In
5033 the following description, the words \e{caller} and \e{callee} are
5034 used to denote the function doing the calling and the function which
5037 \b The caller pushes the function's parameters on the stack, one
5038 after another, in normal order (left to right, so that the first
5039 argument specified to the function is pushed first).
5041 \b The caller then executes a far \c{CALL} instruction to pass
5042 control to the callee.
5044 \b The callee receives control, and typically (although this is not
5045 actually necessary, in functions which do not need to access their
5046 parameters) starts by saving the value of \c{SP} in \c{BP} so as to
5047 be able to use \c{BP} as a base pointer to find its parameters on
5048 the stack. However, the caller was probably doing this too, so part
5049 of the calling convention states that \c{BP} must be preserved by
5050 any function. Hence the callee, if it is going to set up \c{BP} as a
5051 \i{frame pointer}, must push the previous value first.
5053 \b The callee may then access its parameters relative to \c{BP}.
5054 The word at \c{[BP]} holds the previous value of \c{BP} as it was
5055 pushed. The next word, at \c{[BP+2]}, holds the offset part of the
5056 return address, and the next one at \c{[BP+4]} the segment part. The
5057 parameters begin at \c{[BP+6]}. The rightmost parameter of the
5058 function, since it was pushed last, is accessible at this offset
5059 from \c{BP}; the others follow, at successively greater offsets.
5061 \b The callee may also wish to decrease \c{SP} further, so as to
5062 allocate space on the stack for local variables, which will then be
5063 accessible at negative offsets from \c{BP}.
5065 \b The callee, if it wishes to return a value to the caller, should
5066 leave the value in \c{AL}, \c{AX} or \c{DX:AX} depending on the size
5067 of the value. Floating-point results are returned in \c{ST0}.
5068 Results of type \c{Real} (Borland's own custom floating-point data
5069 type, not handled directly by the FPU) are returned in \c{DX:BX:AX}.
5070 To return a result of type \c{String}, the caller pushes a pointer
5071 to a temporary string before pushing the parameters, and the callee
5072 places the returned string value at that location. The pointer is
5073 not a parameter, and should not be removed from the stack by the
5074 \c{RETF} instruction.
5076 \b Once the callee has finished processing, it restores \c{SP} from
5077 \c{BP} if it had allocated local stack space, then pops the previous
5078 value of \c{BP}, and returns via \c{RETF}. It uses the form of
5079 \c{RETF} with an immediate parameter, giving the number of bytes
5080 taken up by the parameters on the stack. This causes the parameters
5081 to be removed from the stack as a side effect of the return
5084 \b When the caller regains control from the callee, the function
5085 parameters have already been removed from the stack, so it needs to
5088 Thus, you would define a function in Pascal style, taking two
5089 \c{Integer}-type parameters, in the following way:
5095 \c sub sp,0x40 ; 64 bytes of local stack space
5096 \c mov bx,[bp+8] ; first parameter to function
5097 \c mov bx,[bp+6] ; second parameter to function
5101 \c mov sp,bp ; undo "sub sp,0x40" above
5103 \c retf 4 ; total size of params is 4
5105 At the other end of the process, to call a Pascal function from your
5106 assembly code, you would do something like this:
5110 \c ; and then, further down...
5112 \c push word seg mystring ; Now push the segment, and...
5113 \c push word mystring ; ... offset of "mystring"
5114 \c push word [myint] ; one of my variables
5115 \c call far SomeFunc
5117 This is equivalent to the Pascal code
5119 \c procedure SomeFunc(String: PChar; Int: Integer);
5120 \c SomeFunc(@mystring, myint);
5123 \S{16bpseg} Borland Pascal \I{segment names, Borland Pascal}Segment
5126 Since Borland Pascal's internal unit file format is completely
5127 different from \c{OBJ}, it only makes a very sketchy job of actually
5128 reading and understanding the various information contained in a
5129 real \c{OBJ} file when it links that in. Therefore an object file
5130 intended to be linked to a Pascal program must obey a number of
5133 \b Procedures and functions must be in a segment whose name is
5134 either \c{CODE}, \c{CSEG}, or something ending in \c{_TEXT}.
5136 \b Initialised data must be in a segment whose name is either
5137 \c{CONST} or something ending in \c{_DATA}.
5139 \b Uninitialised data must be in a segment whose name is either
5140 \c{DATA}, \c{DSEG}, or something ending in \c{_BSS}.
5142 \b Any other segments in the object file are completely ignored.
5143 \c{GROUP} directives and segment attributes are also ignored.
5146 \S{16bpmacro} Using \i\c{c16.mac} With Pascal Programs
5148 The \c{c16.mac} macro package, described in \k{16cmacro}, can also
5149 be used to simplify writing functions to be called from Pascal
5150 programs, if you code \I\c{PASCAL}\c{%define PASCAL}. This
5151 definition ensures that functions are far (it implies
5152 \i\c{FARCODE}), and also causes procedure return instructions to be
5153 generated with an operand.
5155 Defining \c{PASCAL} does not change the code which calculates the
5156 argument offsets; you must declare your function's arguments in
5157 reverse order. For example:
5165 \c mov ax,[bp + %$i]
5166 \c mov bx,[bp + %$j]
5167 \c mov es,[bp + %$j + 2]
5172 This defines the same routine, conceptually, as the example in
5173 \k{16cmacro}: it defines a function taking two arguments, an integer
5174 and a pointer to an integer, which returns the sum of the integer
5175 and the contents of the pointer. The only difference between this
5176 code and the large-model C version is that \c{PASCAL} is defined
5177 instead of \c{FARCODE}, and that the arguments are declared in
5181 \C{32bit} Writing 32-bit Code (Unix, Win32, DJGPP)
5183 This chapter attempts to cover some of the common issues involved
5184 when writing 32-bit code, to run under \i{Win32} or Unix, or to be
5185 linked with C code generated by a Unix-style C compiler such as
5186 \i{DJGPP}. It covers how to write assembly code to interface with
5187 32-bit C routines, and how to write position-independent code for
5190 Almost all 32-bit code, and in particular all code running under
5191 \c{Win32}, \c{DJGPP} or any of the PC Unix variants, runs in \I{flat
5192 memory model}\e{flat} memory model. This means that the segment registers
5193 and paging have already been set up to give you the same 32-bit 4Gb
5194 address space no matter what segment you work relative to, and that
5195 you should ignore all segment registers completely. When writing
5196 flat-model application code, you never need to use a segment
5197 override or modify any segment register, and the code-section
5198 addresses you pass to \c{CALL} and \c{JMP} live in the same address
5199 space as the data-section addresses you access your variables by and
5200 the stack-section addresses you access local variables and procedure
5201 parameters by. Every address is 32 bits long and contains only an
5205 \H{32c} Interfacing to 32-bit C Programs
5207 A lot of the discussion in \k{16c}, about interfacing to 16-bit C
5208 programs, still applies when working in 32 bits. The absence of
5209 memory models or segmentation worries simplifies things a lot.
5212 \S{32cunder} External Symbol Names
5214 Most 32-bit C compilers share the convention used by 16-bit
5215 compilers, that the names of all global symbols (functions or data)
5216 they define are formed by prefixing an underscore to the name as it
5217 appears in the C program. However, not all of them do: the \c{ELF}
5218 specification states that C symbols do \e{not} have a leading
5219 underscore on their assembly-language names.
5221 The older Linux \c{a.out} C compiler, all \c{Win32} compilers,
5222 \c{DJGPP}, and \c{NetBSD} and \c{FreeBSD}, all use the leading
5223 underscore; for these compilers, the macros \c{cextern} and
5224 \c{cglobal}, as given in \k{16cunder}, will still work. For \c{ELF},
5225 though, the leading underscore should not be used.
5228 \S{32cfunc} Function Definitions and Function Calls
5230 \I{functions, C calling convention}The \i{C calling convention}The C
5231 calling convention in 32-bit programs is as follows. In the
5232 following description, the words \e{caller} and \e{callee} are used
5233 to denote the function doing the calling and the function which gets
5236 \b The caller pushes the function's parameters on the stack, one
5237 after another, in reverse order (right to left, so that the first
5238 argument specified to the function is pushed last).
5240 \b The caller then executes a near \c{CALL} instruction to pass
5241 control to the callee.
5243 \b The callee receives control, and typically (although this is not
5244 actually necessary, in functions which do not need to access their
5245 parameters) starts by saving the value of \c{ESP} in \c{EBP} so as
5246 to be able to use \c{EBP} as a base pointer to find its parameters
5247 on the stack. However, the caller was probably doing this too, so
5248 part of the calling convention states that \c{EBP} must be preserved
5249 by any C function. Hence the callee, if it is going to set up
5250 \c{EBP} as a \i{frame pointer}, must push the previous value first.
5252 \b The callee may then access its parameters relative to \c{EBP}.
5253 The doubleword at \c{[EBP]} holds the previous value of \c{EBP} as
5254 it was pushed; the next doubleword, at \c{[EBP+4]}, holds the return
5255 address, pushed implicitly by \c{CALL}. The parameters start after
5256 that, at \c{[EBP+8]}. The leftmost parameter of the function, since
5257 it was pushed last, is accessible at this offset from \c{EBP}; the
5258 others follow, at successively greater offsets. Thus, in a function
5259 such as \c{printf} which takes a variable number of parameters, the
5260 pushing of the parameters in reverse order means that the function
5261 knows where to find its first parameter, which tells it the number
5262 and type of the remaining ones.
5264 \b The callee may also wish to decrease \c{ESP} further, so as to
5265 allocate space on the stack for local variables, which will then be
5266 accessible at negative offsets from \c{EBP}.
5268 \b The callee, if it wishes to return a value to the caller, should
5269 leave the value in \c{AL}, \c{AX} or \c{EAX} depending on the size
5270 of the value. Floating-point results are typically returned in
5273 \b Once the callee has finished processing, it restores \c{ESP} from
5274 \c{EBP} if it had allocated local stack space, then pops the previous
5275 value of \c{EBP}, and returns via \c{RET} (equivalently, \c{RETN}).
5277 \b When the caller regains control from the callee, the function
5278 parameters are still on the stack, so it typically adds an immediate
5279 constant to \c{ESP} to remove them (instead of executing a number of
5280 slow \c{POP} instructions). Thus, if a function is accidentally
5281 called with the wrong number of parameters due to a prototype
5282 mismatch, the stack will still be returned to a sensible state since
5283 the caller, which \e{knows} how many parameters it pushed, does the
5286 There is an alternative calling convention used by Win32 programs
5287 for Windows API calls, and also for functions called \e{by} the
5288 Windows API such as window procedures: they follow what Microsoft
5289 calls the \c{__stdcall} convention. This is slightly closer to the
5290 Pascal convention, in that the callee clears the stack by passing a
5291 parameter to the \c{RET} instruction. However, the parameters are
5292 still pushed in right-to-left order.
5294 Thus, you would define a function in C style in the following way:
5301 \c sub esp,0x40 ; 64 bytes of local stack space
5302 \c mov ebx,[ebp+8] ; first parameter to function
5306 \c leave ; mov esp,ebp / pop ebp
5309 At the other end of the process, to call a C function from your
5310 assembly code, you would do something like this:
5314 \c ; and then, further down...
5316 \c push dword [myint] ; one of my integer variables
5317 \c push dword mystring ; pointer into my data segment
5319 \c add esp,byte 8 ; `byte' saves space
5321 \c ; then those data items...
5326 \c mystring db 'This number -> %d <- should be 1234',10,0
5328 This piece of code is the assembly equivalent of the C code
5330 \c int myint = 1234;
5331 \c printf("This number -> %d <- should be 1234\n", myint);
5334 \S{32cdata} Accessing Data Items
5336 To get at the contents of C variables, or to declare variables which
5337 C can access, you need only declare the names as \c{GLOBAL} or
5338 \c{EXTERN}. (Again, the names require leading underscores, as stated
5339 in \k{32cunder}.) Thus, a C variable declared as \c{int i} can be
5340 accessed from assembler as
5345 And to declare your own integer variable which C programs can access
5346 as \c{extern int j}, you do this (making sure you are assembling in
5347 the \c{_DATA} segment, if necessary):
5352 To access a C array, you need to know the size of the components of
5353 the array. For example, \c{int} variables are four bytes long, so if
5354 a C program declares an array as \c{int a[10]}, you can access
5355 \c{a[3]} by coding \c{mov ax,[_a+12]}. (The byte offset 12 is obtained
5356 by multiplying the desired array index, 3, by the size of the array
5357 element, 4.) The sizes of the C base types in 32-bit compilers are:
5358 1 for \c{char}, 2 for \c{short}, 4 for \c{int}, \c{long} and
5359 \c{float}, and 8 for \c{double}. Pointers, being 32-bit addresses,
5360 are also 4 bytes long.
5362 To access a C \i{data structure}, you need to know the offset from
5363 the base of the structure to the field you are interested in. You
5364 can either do this by converting the C structure definition into a
5365 NASM structure definition (using \c{STRUC}), or by calculating the
5366 one offset and using just that.
5368 To do either of these, you should read your C compiler's manual to
5369 find out how it organises data structures. NASM gives no special
5370 alignment to structure members in its own \i\c{STRUC} macro, so you
5371 have to specify alignment yourself if the C compiler generates it.
5372 Typically, you might find that a structure like
5379 might be eight bytes long rather than five, since the \c{int} field
5380 would be aligned to a four-byte boundary. However, this sort of
5381 feature is sometimes a configurable option in the C compiler, either
5382 using command-line options or \c{#pragma} lines, so you have to find
5383 out how your own compiler does it.
5386 \S{32cmacro} \i\c{c32.mac}: Helper Macros for the 32-bit C Interface
5388 Included in the NASM archives, in the \I{misc directory}\c{misc}
5389 directory, is a file \c{c32.mac} of macros. It defines three macros:
5390 \i\c{proc}, \i\c{arg} and \i\c{endproc}. These are intended to be
5391 used for C-style procedure definitions, and they automate a lot of
5392 the work involved in keeping track of the calling convention.
5394 An example of an assembly function using the macro set is given
5401 \c mov eax,[ebp + %$i]
5402 \c mov ebx,[ebp + %$j]
5407 This defines \c{_proc32} to be a procedure taking two arguments, the
5408 first (\c{i}) an integer and the second (\c{j}) a pointer to an
5409 integer. It returns \c{i + *j}.
5411 Note that the \c{arg} macro has an \c{EQU} as the first line of its
5412 expansion, and since the label before the macro call gets prepended
5413 to the first line of the expanded macro, the \c{EQU} works, defining
5414 \c{%$i} to be an offset from \c{BP}. A context-local variable is
5415 used, local to the context pushed by the \c{proc} macro and popped
5416 by the \c{endproc} macro, so that the same argument name can be used
5417 in later procedures. Of course, you don't \e{have} to do that.
5419 \c{arg} can take an optional parameter, giving the size of the
5420 argument. If no size is given, 4 is assumed, since it is likely that
5421 many function parameters will be of type \c{int} or pointers.
5424 \H{picdll} Writing NetBSD/FreeBSD/OpenBSD and Linux/ELF \i{Shared
5427 \c{ELF} replaced the older \c{a.out} object file format under Linux
5428 because it contains support for \i{position-independent code}
5429 (\i{PIC}), which makes writing shared libraries much easier. NASM
5430 supports the \c{ELF} position-independent code features, so you can
5431 write Linux \c{ELF} shared libraries in NASM.
5433 \i{NetBSD}, and its close cousins \i{FreeBSD} and \i{OpenBSD}, take
5434 a different approach by hacking PIC support into the \c{a.out}
5435 format. NASM supports this as the \i\c{aoutb} output format, so you
5436 can write \i{BSD} shared libraries in NASM too.
5438 The operating system loads a PIC shared library by memory-mapping
5439 the library file at an arbitrarily chosen point in the address space
5440 of the running process. The contents of the library's code section
5441 must therefore not depend on where it is loaded in memory.
5443 Therefore, you cannot get at your variables by writing code like
5446 \c mov eax,[myvar] ; WRONG
5448 Instead, the linker provides an area of memory called the
5449 \i\e{global offset table}, or \i{GOT}; the GOT is situated at a
5450 constant distance from your library's code, so if you can find out
5451 where your library is loaded (which is typically done using a
5452 \c{CALL} and \c{POP} combination), you can obtain the address of the
5453 GOT, and you can then load the addresses of your variables out of
5454 linker-generated entries in the GOT.
5456 The \e{data} section of a PIC shared library does not have these
5457 restrictions: since the data section is writable, it has to be
5458 copied into memory anyway rather than just paged in from the library
5459 file, so as long as it's being copied it can be relocated too. So
5460 you can put ordinary types of relocation in the data section without
5461 too much worry (but see \k{picglobal} for a caveat).
5464 \S{picgot} Obtaining the Address of the GOT
5466 Each code module in your shared library should define the GOT as an
5469 \c extern _GLOBAL_OFFSET_TABLE_ ; in ELF
5470 \c extern __GLOBAL_OFFSET_TABLE_ ; in BSD a.out
5472 At the beginning of any function in your shared library which plans
5473 to access your data or BSS sections, you must first calculate the
5474 address of the GOT. This is typically done by writing the function
5483 \c add ebx,_GLOBAL_OFFSET_TABLE_+$$-.get_GOT wrt ..gotpc
5485 \c ; the function body comes here
5492 (For BSD, again, the symbol \c{_GLOBAL_OFFSET_TABLE} requires a
5493 second leading underscore.)
5495 The first two lines of this function are simply the standard C
5496 prologue to set up a stack frame, and the last three lines are
5497 standard C function epilogue. The third line, and the fourth to last
5498 line, save and restore the \c{EBX} register, because PIC shared
5499 libraries use this register to store the address of the GOT.
5501 The interesting bit is the \c{CALL} instruction and the following
5502 two lines. The \c{CALL} and \c{POP} combination obtains the address
5503 of the label \c{.get_GOT}, without having to know in advance where
5504 the program was loaded (since the \c{CALL} instruction is encoded
5505 relative to the current position). The \c{ADD} instruction makes use
5506 of one of the special PIC relocation types: \i{GOTPC relocation}.
5507 With the \i\c{WRT ..gotpc} qualifier specified, the symbol
5508 referenced (here \c{_GLOBAL_OFFSET_TABLE_}, the special symbol
5509 assigned to the GOT) is given as an offset from the beginning of the
5510 section. (Actually, \c{ELF} encodes it as the offset from the operand
5511 field of the \c{ADD} instruction, but NASM simplifies this
5512 deliberately, so you do things the same way for both \c{ELF} and
5513 \c{BSD}.) So the instruction then \e{adds} the beginning of the section,
5514 to get the real address of the GOT, and subtracts the value of
5515 \c{.get_GOT} which it knows is in \c{EBX}. Therefore, by the time
5516 that instruction has finished, \c{EBX} contains the address of the GOT.
5518 If you didn't follow that, don't worry: it's never necessary to
5519 obtain the address of the GOT by any other means, so you can put
5520 those three instructions into a macro and safely ignore them:
5527 \c add ebx,_GLOBAL_OFFSET_TABLE_+$$-%%getgot wrt ..gotpc
5531 \S{piclocal} Finding Your Local Data Items
5533 Having got the GOT, you can then use it to obtain the addresses of
5534 your data items. Most variables will reside in the sections you have
5535 declared; they can be accessed using the \I{GOTOFF
5536 relocation}\c{..gotoff} special \I\c{WRT ..gotoff}\c{WRT} type. The
5537 way this works is like this:
5539 \c lea eax,[ebx+myvar wrt ..gotoff]
5541 The expression \c{myvar wrt ..gotoff} is calculated, when the shared
5542 library is linked, to be the offset to the local variable \c{myvar}
5543 from the beginning of the GOT. Therefore, adding it to \c{EBX} as
5544 above will place the real address of \c{myvar} in \c{EAX}.
5546 If you declare variables as \c{GLOBAL} without specifying a size for
5547 them, they are shared between code modules in the library, but do
5548 not get exported from the library to the program that loaded it.
5549 They will still be in your ordinary data and BSS sections, so you
5550 can access them in the same way as local variables, using the above
5551 \c{..gotoff} mechanism.
5553 Note that due to a peculiarity of the way BSD \c{a.out} format
5554 handles this relocation type, there must be at least one non-local
5555 symbol in the same section as the address you're trying to access.
5558 \S{picextern} Finding External and Common Data Items
5560 If your library needs to get at an external variable (external to
5561 the \e{library}, not just to one of the modules within it), you must
5562 use the \I{GOT relocations}\I\c{WRT ..got}\c{..got} type to get at
5563 it. The \c{..got} type, instead of giving you the offset from the
5564 GOT base to the variable, gives you the offset from the GOT base to
5565 a GOT \e{entry} containing the address of the variable. The linker
5566 will set up this GOT entry when it builds the library, and the
5567 dynamic linker will place the correct address in it at load time. So
5568 to obtain the address of an external variable \c{extvar} in \c{EAX},
5571 \c mov eax,[ebx+extvar wrt ..got]
5573 This loads the address of \c{extvar} out of an entry in the GOT. The
5574 linker, when it builds the shared library, collects together every
5575 relocation of type \c{..got}, and builds the GOT so as to ensure it
5576 has every necessary entry present.
5578 Common variables must also be accessed in this way.
5581 \S{picglobal} Exporting Symbols to the Library User
5583 If you want to export symbols to the user of the library, you have
5584 to declare whether they are functions or data, and if they are data,
5585 you have to give the size of the data item. This is because the
5586 dynamic linker has to build \I{PLT}\i{procedure linkage table}
5587 entries for any exported functions, and also moves exported data
5588 items away from the library's data section in which they were
5591 So to export a function to users of the library, you must use
5593 \c global func:function ; declare it as a function
5599 And to export a data item such as an array, you would have to code
5601 \c global array:data array.end-array ; give the size too
5606 Be careful: If you export a variable to the library user, by
5607 declaring it as \c{GLOBAL} and supplying a size, the variable will
5608 end up living in the data section of the main program, rather than
5609 in your library's data section, where you declared it. So you will
5610 have to access your own global variable with the \c{..got} mechanism
5611 rather than \c{..gotoff}, as if it were external (which,
5612 effectively, it has become).
5614 Equally, if you need to store the address of an exported global in
5615 one of your data sections, you can't do it by means of the standard
5618 \c dataptr: dd global_data_item ; WRONG
5620 NASM will interpret this code as an ordinary relocation, in which
5621 \c{global_data_item} is merely an offset from the beginning of the
5622 \c{.data} section (or whatever); so this reference will end up
5623 pointing at your data section instead of at the exported global
5624 which resides elsewhere.
5626 Instead of the above code, then, you must write
5628 \c dataptr: dd global_data_item wrt ..sym
5630 which makes use of the special \c{WRT} type \I\c{WRT ..sym}\c{..sym}
5631 to instruct NASM to search the symbol table for a particular symbol
5632 at that address, rather than just relocating by section base.
5634 Either method will work for functions: referring to one of your
5635 functions by means of
5637 \c funcptr: dd my_function
5639 will give the user the address of the code you wrote, whereas
5641 \c funcptr: dd my_function wrt .sym
5643 will give the address of the procedure linkage table for the
5644 function, which is where the calling program will \e{believe} the
5645 function lives. Either address is a valid way to call the function.
5648 \S{picproc} Calling Procedures Outside the Library
5650 Calling procedures outside your shared library has to be done by
5651 means of a \i\e{procedure linkage table}, or \i{PLT}. The PLT is
5652 placed at a known offset from where the library is loaded, so the
5653 library code can make calls to the PLT in a position-independent
5654 way. Within the PLT there is code to jump to offsets contained in
5655 the GOT, so function calls to other shared libraries or to routines
5656 in the main program can be transparently passed off to their real
5659 To call an external routine, you must use another special PIC
5660 relocation type, \I{PLT relocations}\i\c{WRT ..plt}. This is much
5661 easier than the GOT-based ones: you simply replace calls such as
5662 \c{CALL printf} with the PLT-relative version \c{CALL printf WRT
5666 \S{link} Generating the Library File
5668 Having written some code modules and assembled them to \c{.o} files,
5669 you then generate your shared library with a command such as
5671 \c ld -shared -o library.so module1.o module2.o # for ELF
5672 \c ld -Bshareable -o library.so module1.o module2.o # for BSD
5674 For ELF, if your shared library is going to reside in system
5675 directories such as \c{/usr/lib} or \c{/lib}, it is usually worth
5676 using the \i\c{-soname} flag to the linker, to store the final
5677 library file name, with a version number, into the library:
5679 \c ld -shared -soname library.so.1 -o library.so.1.2 *.o
5681 You would then copy \c{library.so.1.2} into the library directory,
5682 and create \c{library.so.1} as a symbolic link to it.
5685 \C{mixsize} Mixing 16 and 32 Bit Code
5687 This chapter tries to cover some of the issues, largely related to
5688 unusual forms of addressing and jump instructions, encountered when
5689 writing operating system code such as protected-mode initialisation
5690 routines, which require code that operates in mixed segment sizes,
5691 such as code in a 16-bit segment trying to modify data in a 32-bit
5692 one, or jumps between different-size segments.
5695 \H{mixjump} Mixed-Size Jumps\I{jumps, mixed-size}
5697 \I{operating system, writing}\I{writing operating systems}The most
5698 common form of \i{mixed-size instruction} is the one used when
5699 writing a 32-bit OS: having done your setup in 16-bit mode, such as
5700 loading the kernel, you then have to boot it by switching into
5701 protected mode and jumping to the 32-bit kernel start address. In a
5702 fully 32-bit OS, this tends to be the \e{only} mixed-size
5703 instruction you need, since everything before it can be done in pure
5704 16-bit code, and everything after it can be pure 32-bit.
5706 This jump must specify a 48-bit far address, since the target
5707 segment is a 32-bit one. However, it must be assembled in a 16-bit
5708 segment, so just coding, for example,
5710 \c jmp 0x1234:0x56789ABC ; wrong!
5712 will not work, since the offset part of the address will be
5713 truncated to \c{0x9ABC} and the jump will be an ordinary 16-bit far
5716 The Linux kernel setup code gets round the inability of \c{as86} to
5717 generate the required instruction by coding it manually, using
5718 \c{DB} instructions. NASM can go one better than that, by actually
5719 generating the right instruction itself. Here's how to do it right:
5721 \c jmp dword 0x1234:0x56789ABC ; right
5723 \I\c{JMP DWORD}The \c{DWORD} prefix (strictly speaking, it should
5724 come \e{after} the colon, since it is declaring the \e{offset} field
5725 to be a doubleword; but NASM will accept either form, since both are
5726 unambiguous) forces the offset part to be treated as far, in the
5727 assumption that you are deliberately writing a jump from a 16-bit
5728 segment to a 32-bit one.
5730 You can do the reverse operation, jumping from a 32-bit segment to a
5731 16-bit one, by means of the \c{WORD} prefix:
5733 \c jmp word 0x8765:0x4321 ; 32 to 16 bit
5735 If the \c{WORD} prefix is specified in 16-bit mode, or the \c{DWORD}
5736 prefix in 32-bit mode, they will be ignored, since each is
5737 explicitly forcing NASM into a mode it was in anyway.
5740 \H{mixaddr} Addressing Between Different-Size Segments\I{addressing,
5741 mixed-size}\I{mixed-size addressing}
5743 If your OS is mixed 16 and 32-bit, or if you are writing a DOS
5744 extender, you are likely to have to deal with some 16-bit segments
5745 and some 32-bit ones. At some point, you will probably end up
5746 writing code in a 16-bit segment which has to access data in a
5747 32-bit segment, or vice versa.
5749 If the data you are trying to access in a 32-bit segment lies within
5750 the first 64K of the segment, you may be able to get away with using
5751 an ordinary 16-bit addressing operation for the purpose; but sooner
5752 or later, you will want to do 32-bit addressing from 16-bit mode.
5754 The easiest way to do this is to make sure you use a register for
5755 the address, since any effective address containing a 32-bit
5756 register is forced to be a 32-bit address. So you can do
5758 \c mov eax,offset_into_32_bit_segment_specified_by_fs
5759 \c mov dword [fs:eax],0x11223344
5761 This is fine, but slightly cumbersome (since it wastes an
5762 instruction and a register) if you already know the precise offset
5763 you are aiming at. The x86 architecture does allow 32-bit effective
5764 addresses to specify nothing but a 4-byte offset, so why shouldn't
5765 NASM be able to generate the best instruction for the purpose?
5767 It can. As in \k{mixjump}, you need only prefix the address with the
5768 \c{DWORD} keyword, and it will be forced to be a 32-bit address:
5770 \c mov dword [fs:dword my_offset],0x11223344
5772 Also as in \k{mixjump}, NASM is not fussy about whether the
5773 \c{DWORD} prefix comes before or after the segment override, so
5774 arguably a nicer-looking way to code the above instruction is
5776 \c mov dword [dword fs:my_offset],0x11223344
5778 Don't confuse the \c{DWORD} prefix \e{outside} the square brackets,
5779 which controls the size of the data stored at the address, with the
5780 one \c{inside} the square brackets which controls the length of the
5781 address itself. The two can quite easily be different:
5783 \c mov word [dword 0x12345678],0x9ABC
5785 This moves 16 bits of data to an address specified by a 32-bit
5788 You can also specify \c{WORD} or \c{DWORD} prefixes along with the
5789 \c{FAR} prefix to indirect far jumps or calls. For example:
5791 \c call dword far [fs:word 0x4321]
5793 This instruction contains an address specified by a 16-bit offset;
5794 it loads a 48-bit far pointer from that (16-bit segment and 32-bit
5795 offset), and calls that address.
5798 \H{mixother} Other Mixed-Size Instructions
5800 The other way you might want to access data might be using the
5801 string instructions (\c{LODSx}, \c{STOSx} and so on) or the
5802 \c{XLATB} instruction. These instructions, since they take no
5803 parameters, might seem to have no easy way to make them perform
5804 32-bit addressing when assembled in a 16-bit segment.
5806 This is the purpose of NASM's \i\c{a16} and \i\c{a32} prefixes. If
5807 you are coding \c{LODSB} in a 16-bit segment but it is supposed to
5808 be accessing a string in a 32-bit segment, you should load the
5809 desired address into \c{ESI} and then code
5813 The prefix forces the addressing size to 32 bits, meaning that
5814 \c{LODSB} loads from \c{[DS:ESI]} instead of \c{[DS:SI]}. To access
5815 a string in a 16-bit segment when coding in a 32-bit one, the
5816 corresponding \c{a16} prefix can be used.
5818 The \c{a16} and \c{a32} prefixes can be applied to any instruction
5819 in NASM's instruction table, but most of them can generate all the
5820 useful forms without them. The prefixes are necessary only for
5821 instructions with implicit addressing: \c{CMPSx} (\k{insCMPSB}),
5822 \c{SCASx} (\k{insSCASB}), \c{LODSx} (\k{insLODSB}), \c{STOSx}
5823 (\k{insSTOSB}), \c{MOVSx} (\k{insMOVSB}), \c{INSx} (\k{insINSB}),
5824 \c{OUTSx} (\k{insOUTSB}), and \c{XLATB} (\k{insXLATB}). Also, the
5825 various push and pop instructions (\c{PUSHA} and \c{POPF} as well as
5826 the more usual \c{PUSH} and \c{POP}) can accept \c{a16} or \c{a32}
5827 prefixes to force a particular one of \c{SP} or \c{ESP} to be used
5828 as a stack pointer, in case the stack segment in use is a different
5829 size from the code segment.
5831 \c{PUSH} and \c{POP}, when applied to segment registers in 32-bit
5832 mode, also have the slightly odd behaviour that they push and pop 4
5833 bytes at a time, of which the top two are ignored and the bottom two
5834 give the value of the segment register being manipulated. To force
5835 the 16-bit behaviour of segment-register push and pop instructions,
5836 you can use the operand-size prefix \i\c{o16}:
5841 This code saves a doubleword of stack space by fitting two segment
5842 registers into the space which would normally be consumed by pushing
5845 (You can also use the \i\c{o32} prefix to force the 32-bit behaviour
5846 when in 16-bit mode, but this seems less useful.)
5849 \C{trouble} Troubleshooting
5851 This chapter describes some of the common problems that users have
5852 been known to encounter with NASM, and answers them. It also gives
5853 instructions for reporting bugs in NASM if you find a difficulty
5854 that isn't listed here.
5857 \H{problems} Common Problems
5859 \S{inefficient} NASM Generates \i{Inefficient Code}
5861 I get a lot of `bug' reports about NASM generating inefficient, or
5862 even `wrong', code on instructions such as \c{ADD ESP,8}. This is a
5863 deliberate design feature, connected to predictability of output:
5864 NASM, on seeing \c{ADD ESP,8}, will generate the form of the
5865 instruction which leaves room for a 32-bit offset. You need to code
5866 \I\c{BYTE}\c{ADD ESP,BYTE 8} if you want the space-efficient
5867 form of the instruction. This isn't a bug: at worst it's a
5868 misfeature, and that's a matter of opinion only.
5871 \S{jmprange} My Jumps are Out of Range\I{out of range, jumps}
5873 Similarly, people complain that when they issue \i{conditional
5874 jumps} (which are \c{SHORT} by default) that try to jump too far,
5875 NASM reports `short jump out of range' instead of making the jumps
5878 This, again, is partly a predictability issue, but in fact has a
5879 more practical reason as well. NASM has no means of being told what
5880 type of processor the code it is generating will be run on; so it
5881 cannot decide for itself that it should generate \i\c{Jcc NEAR} type
5882 instructions, because it doesn't know that it's working for a 386 or
5883 above. Alternatively, it could replace the out-of-range short
5884 \c{JNE} instruction with a very short \c{JE} instruction that jumps
5885 over a \c{JMP NEAR}; this is a sensible solution for processors
5886 below a 386, but hardly efficient on processors which have good
5887 branch prediction \e{and} could have used \c{JNE NEAR} instead. So,
5888 once again, it's up to the user, not the assembler, to decide what
5889 instructions should be generated.
5892 \S{proborg} \i\c{ORG} Doesn't Work
5894 People writing \i{boot sector} programs in the \c{bin} format often
5895 complain that \c{ORG} doesn't work the way they'd like: in order to
5896 place the \c{0xAA55} signature word at the end of a 512-byte boot
5897 sector, people who are used to MASM tend to code
5901 \c ; some boot sector code
5906 This is not the intended use of the \c{ORG} directive in NASM, and
5907 will not work. The correct way to solve this problem in NASM is to
5908 use the \i\c{TIMES} directive, like this:
5912 \c ; some boot sector code
5914 \c TIMES 510-($-$$) DB 0
5917 The \c{TIMES} directive will insert exactly enough zero bytes into
5918 the output to move the assembly point up to 510. This method also
5919 has the advantage that if you accidentally fill your boot sector too
5920 full, NASM will catch the problem at assembly time and report it, so
5921 you won't end up with a boot sector that you have to disassemble to
5922 find out what's wrong with it.
5925 \S{probtimes} \i\c{TIMES} Doesn't Work
5927 The other common problem with the above code is people who write the
5932 by reasoning that \c{$} should be a pure number, just like 510, so
5933 the difference between them is also a pure number and can happily be
5936 NASM is a \e{modular} assembler: the various component parts are
5937 designed to be easily separable for re-use, so they don't exchange
5938 information unnecessarily. In consequence, the \c{bin} output
5939 format, even though it has been told by the \c{ORG} directive that
5940 the \c{.text} section should start at 0, does not pass that
5941 information back to the expression evaluator. So from the
5942 evaluator's point of view, \c{$} isn't a pure number: it's an offset
5943 from a section base. Therefore the difference between \c{$} and 510
5944 is also not a pure number, but involves a section base. Values
5945 involving section bases cannot be passed as arguments to \c{TIMES}.
5947 The solution, as in the previous section, is to code the \c{TIMES}
5950 \c TIMES 510-($-$$) DB 0
5952 in which \c{$} and \c{$$} are offsets from the same section base,
5953 and so their difference is a pure number. This will solve the
5954 problem and generate sensible code.
5957 \H{bugs} \i{Bugs}\I{reporting bugs}
5959 We have never yet released a version of NASM with any \e{known}
5960 bugs. That doesn't usually stop there being plenty we didn't know
5961 about, though. Any that you find should be reported firstly via the
5963 \W{https://sourceforge.net/projects/nasm/}\c{https://sourceforge.net/projects/nasm/}
5964 (click on "Bugs"), or if that fails then through one of the
5965 contacts in \k{contact}.
5967 Please read \k{qstart} first, and don't report the bug if it's
5968 listed in there as a deliberate feature. (If you think the feature
5969 is badly thought out, feel free to send us reasons why you think it
5970 should be changed, but don't just send us mail saying `This is a
5971 bug' if the documentation says we did it on purpose.) Then read
5972 \k{problems}, and don't bother reporting the bug if it's listed
5975 If you do report a bug, \e{please} give us all of the following
5978 \b What operating system you're running NASM under. DOS, Linux,
5979 NetBSD, Win16, Win32, VMS (I'd be impressed), whatever.
5981 \b If you're running NASM under DOS or Win32, tell us whether you've
5982 compiled your own executable from the DOS source archive, or whether
5983 you were using the standard distribution binaries out of the
5984 archive. If you were using a locally built executable, try to
5985 reproduce the problem using one of the standard binaries, as this
5986 will make it easier for us to reproduce your problem prior to fixing
5989 \b Which version of NASM you're using, and exactly how you invoked
5990 it. Give us the precise command line, and the contents of the
5991 \c{NASMENV} environment variable if any.
5993 \b Which versions of any supplementary programs you're using, and
5994 how you invoked them. If the problem only becomes visible at link
5995 time, tell us what linker you're using, what version of it you've
5996 got, and the exact linker command line. If the problem involves
5997 linking against object files generated by a compiler, tell us what
5998 compiler, what version, and what command line or options you used.
5999 (If you're compiling in an IDE, please try to reproduce the problem
6000 with the command-line version of the compiler.)
6002 \b If at all possible, send us a NASM source file which exhibits the
6003 problem. If this causes copyright problems (e.g. you can only
6004 reproduce the bug in restricted-distribution code) then bear in mind
6005 the following two points: firstly, we guarantee that any source code
6006 sent to us for the purposes of debugging NASM will be used \e{only}
6007 for the purposes of debugging NASM, and that we will delete all our
6008 copies of it as soon as we have found and fixed the bug or bugs in
6009 question; and secondly, we would prefer \e{not} to be mailed large
6010 chunks of code anyway. The smaller the file, the better. A
6011 three-line sample file that does nothing useful \e{except}
6012 demonstrate the problem is much easier to work with than a
6013 fully fledged ten-thousand-line program. (Of course, some errors
6014 \e{do} only crop up in large files, so this may not be possible.)
6016 \b A description of what the problem actually \e{is}. `It doesn't
6017 work' is \e{not} a helpful description! Please describe exactly what
6018 is happening that shouldn't be, or what isn't happening that should.
6019 Examples might be: `NASM generates an error message saying Line 3
6020 for an error that's actually on Line 5'; `NASM generates an error
6021 message that I believe it shouldn't be generating at all'; `NASM
6022 fails to generate an error message that I believe it \e{should} be
6023 generating'; `the object file produced from this source code crashes
6024 my linker'; `the ninth byte of the output file is 66 and I think it
6025 should be 77 instead'.
6027 \b If you believe the output file from NASM to be faulty, send it to
6028 us. That allows us to determine whether our own copy of NASM
6029 generates the same file, or whether the problem is related to
6030 portability issues between our development platforms and yours. We
6031 can handle binary files mailed to us as MIME attachments, uuencoded,
6032 and even BinHex. Alternatively, we may be able to provide an FTP
6033 site you can upload the suspect files to; but mailing them is easier
6036 \b Any other information or data files that might be helpful. If,
6037 for example, the problem involves NASM failing to generate an object
6038 file while TASM can generate an equivalent file without trouble,
6039 then send us \e{both} object files, so we can see what TASM is doing
6040 differently from us.
6043 \A{ndisasm} \i{Ndisasm}
6045 The Netwide Disassembler, NDISASM
6047 \H{ndisintro} Introduction
6050 The Netwide Disassembler is a small companion program to the Netwide
6051 Assembler, NASM. It seemed a shame to have an x86 assembler,
6052 complete with a full instruction table, and not make as much use of
6053 it as possible, so here's a disassembler which shares the
6054 instruction table (and some other bits of code) with NASM.
6056 The Netwide Disassembler does nothing except to produce
6057 disassemblies of \e{binary} source files. NDISASM does not have any
6058 understanding of object file formats, like \c{objdump}, and it will
6059 not understand \c{DOS .EXE} files like \c{debug} will. It just
6063 \H{ndisstart} Getting Started: Installation
6065 See \k{install} for installation instructions. NDISASM, like NASM,
6066 has a \c{man page} which you may want to put somewhere useful, if you
6067 are on a Unix system.
6070 \H{ndisrun} Running NDISASM
6072 To disassemble a file, you will typically use a command of the form
6074 \c ndisasm [-b16 | -b32] filename
6076 NDISASM can disassemble 16-bit code or 32-bit code equally easily,
6077 provided of course that you remember to specify which it is to work
6078 with. If no \i\c{-b} switch is present, NDISASM works in 16-bit mode by
6079 default. The \i\c{-u} switch (for USE32) also invokes 32-bit mode.
6081 Two more command line options are \i\c{-r} which reports the version
6082 number of NDISASM you are running, and \i\c{-h} which gives a short
6083 summary of command line options.
6086 \S{ndiscom} COM Files: Specifying an Origin
6088 To disassemble a \c{DOS .COM} file correctly, a disassembler must assume
6089 that the first instruction in the file is loaded at address \c{0x100},
6090 rather than at zero. NDISASM, which assumes by default that any file
6091 you give it is loaded at zero, will therefore need to be informed of
6094 The \i\c{-o} option allows you to declare a different origin for the
6095 file you are disassembling. Its argument may be expressed in any of
6096 the NASM numeric formats: decimal by default, if it begins with `\c{$}'
6097 or `\c{0x}' or ends in `\c{H}' it's \c{hex}, if it ends in `\c{Q}' it's
6098 \c{octal}, and if it ends in `\c{B}' it's \c{binary}.
6100 Hence, to disassemble a \c{.COM} file:
6102 \c ndisasm -o100h filename.com
6107 \S{ndissync} Code Following Data: Synchronisation
6109 Suppose you are disassembling a file which contains some data which
6110 isn't machine code, and \e{then} contains some machine code. NDISASM
6111 will faithfully plough through the data section, producing machine
6112 instructions wherever it can (although most of them will look
6113 bizarre, and some may have unusual prefixes, e.g. `\c{FS OR AX,0x240A}'),
6114 and generating `DB' instructions ever so often if it's totally stumped.
6115 Then it will reach the code section.
6117 Supposing NDISASM has just finished generating a strange machine
6118 instruction from part of the data section, and its file position is
6119 now one byte \e{before} the beginning of the code section. It's
6120 entirely possible that another spurious instruction will get
6121 generated, starting with the final byte of the data section, and
6122 then the correct first instruction in the code section will not be
6123 seen because the starting point skipped over it. This isn't really
6126 To avoid this, you can specify a `\i\c{synchronisation}' point, or indeed
6127 as many synchronisation points as you like (although NDISASM can
6128 only handle 8192 sync points internally). The definition of a sync
6129 point is this: NDISASM guarantees to hit sync points exactly during
6130 disassembly. If it is thinking about generating an instruction which
6131 would cause it to jump over a sync point, it will discard that
6132 instruction and output a `\c{db}' instead. So it \e{will} start
6133 disassembly exactly from the sync point, and so you \e{will} see all
6134 the instructions in your code section.
6136 Sync points are specified using the \i\c{-s} option: they are measured
6137 in terms of the program origin, not the file position. So if you
6138 want to synchronise after 32 bytes of a \c{.COM} file, you would have to
6141 \c ndisasm -o100h -s120h file.com
6145 \c ndisasm -o100h -s20h file.com
6147 As stated above, you can specify multiple sync markers if you need
6148 to, just by repeating the \c{-s} option.
6151 \S{ndisisync} Mixed Code and Data: Automatic (Intelligent) Synchronisation
6154 Suppose you are disassembling the boot sector of a \c{DOS} floppy (maybe
6155 it has a virus, and you need to understand the virus so that you
6156 know what kinds of damage it might have done you). Typically, this
6157 will contain a \c{JMP} instruction, then some data, then the rest of the
6158 code. So there is a very good chance of NDISASM being \e{misaligned}
6159 when the data ends and the code begins. Hence a sync point is
6162 On the other hand, why should you have to specify the sync point
6163 manually? What you'd do in order to find where the sync point would
6164 be, surely, would be to read the \c{JMP} instruction, and then to use
6165 its target address as a sync point. So can NDISASM do that for you?
6167 The answer, of course, is yes: using either of the synonymous
6168 switches \i\c{-a} (for automatic sync) or \i\c{-i} (for intelligent
6169 sync) will enable \c{auto-sync} mode. Auto-sync mode automatically
6170 generates a sync point for any forward-referring PC-relative jump or
6171 call instruction that NDISASM encounters. (Since NDISASM is one-pass,
6172 if it encounters a PC-relative jump whose target has already been
6173 processed, there isn't much it can do about it...)
6175 Only PC-relative jumps are processed, since an absolute jump is
6176 either through a register (in which case NDISASM doesn't know what
6177 the register contains) or involves a segment address (in which case
6178 the target code isn't in the same segment that NDISASM is working
6179 in, and so the sync point can't be placed anywhere useful).
6181 For some kinds of file, this mechanism will automatically put sync
6182 points in all the right places, and save you from having to place
6183 any sync points manually. However, it should be stressed that
6184 auto-sync mode is \e{not} guaranteed to catch all the sync points, and
6185 you may still have to place some manually.
6187 Auto-sync mode doesn't prevent you from declaring manual sync
6188 points: it just adds automatically generated ones to the ones you
6189 provide. It's perfectly feasible to specify \c{-i} \e{and} some \c{-s}
6192 Another caveat with auto-sync mode is that if, by some unpleasant
6193 fluke, something in your data section should disassemble to a
6194 PC-relative call or jump instruction, NDISASM may obediently place a
6195 sync point in a totally random place, for example in the middle of
6196 one of the instructions in your code section. So you may end up with
6197 a wrong disassembly even if you use auto-sync. Again, there isn't
6198 much I can do about this. If you have problems, you'll have to use
6199 manual sync points, or use the \c{-k} option (documented below) to
6200 suppress disassembly of the data area.
6203 \S{ndisother} Other Options
6205 The \i\c{-e} option skips a header on the file, by ignoring the first N
6206 bytes. This means that the header is \e{not} counted towards the
6207 disassembly offset: if you give \c{-e10 -o10}, disassembly will start
6208 at byte 10 in the file, and this will be given offset 10, not 20.
6210 The \i\c{-k} option is provided with two comma-separated numeric
6211 arguments, the first of which is an assembly offset and the second
6212 is a number of bytes to skip. This \e{will} count the skipped bytes
6213 towards the assembly offset: its use is to suppress disassembly of a
6214 data section which wouldn't contain anything you wanted to see
6218 \H{ndisbugs} Bugs and Improvements
6220 There are no known bugs. However, any you find, with patches if
6221 possible, should be sent to \W{mailto:jules@dsf.org.uk}\c{jules@dsf.org.uk}
6222 or \W{mailto:anakin@pobox.com}\c{anakin@pobox.com}, or to the
6224 \W{https://sourceforge.net/projects/nasm/}\c{https://sourceforge.net/projects/nasm/}
6225 and we'll try to fix them. Feel free to send contributions and
6226 new features as well.
6228 Future plans include awareness of which processors certain
6229 instructions will run on, and marking of instructions that are too
6230 advanced for some processor (or are \c{FPU} instructions, or are
6231 undocumented opcodes, or are privileged protected-mode instructions,
6236 I hope NDISASM is of some use to somebody. Including me. :-)
6238 I don't recommend taking NDISASM apart to see how an efficient
6239 disassembler works, because as far as I know, it isn't an efficient
6240 one anyway. You have been warned.
6243 \A{iref} x86 Instruction Reference
6245 This appendix provides a complete list of the machine instructions
6246 which NASM will assemble, and a short description of the function of
6249 It is not intended to be exhaustive documentation on the fine
6250 details of the instructions' function, such as which exceptions they
6251 can trigger: for such documentation, you should go to Intel's Web
6252 site, \W{http://developer.intel.com/design/Pentium4/manuals/}\c{http://developer.intel.com/design/Pentium4/manuals/}.
6254 Instead, this appendix is intended primarily to provide
6255 documentation on the way the instructions may be used within NASM.
6256 For example, looking up \c{LOOP} will tell you that NASM allows
6257 \c{CX} or \c{ECX} to be specified as an optional second argument to
6258 the \c{LOOP} instruction, to enforce which of the two possible
6259 counter registers should be used if the default is not the one
6262 The instructions are not quite listed in alphabetical order, since
6263 groups of instructions with similar functions are lumped together in
6264 the same entry. Most of them don't move very far from their
6265 alphabetic position because of this.
6268 \H{iref-opr} Key to Operand Specifications
6270 The instruction descriptions in this appendix specify their operands
6271 using the following notation:
6273 \b Registers: \c{reg8} denotes an 8-bit \i{general purpose
6274 register}, \c{reg16} denotes a 16-bit general purpose register, and
6275 \c{reg32} a 32-bit one. \c{fpureg} denotes one of the eight FPU
6276 stack registers, \c{mmxreg} denotes one of the eight 64-bit MMX
6277 registers, and \c{segreg} denotes a segment register. In addition,
6278 some registers (such as \c{AL}, \c{DX} or
6279 \c{ECX}) may be specified explicitly.
6281 \b Immediate operands: \c{imm} denotes a generic \i{immediate operand}.
6282 \c{imm8}, \c{imm16} and \c{imm32} are used when the operand is
6283 intended to be a specific size. For some of these instructions, NASM
6284 needs an explicit specifier: for example, \c{ADD ESP,16} could be
6285 interpreted as either \c{ADD r/m32,imm32} or \c{ADD r/m32,imm8}.
6286 NASM chooses the former by default, and so you must specify \c{ADD
6287 ESP,BYTE 16} for the latter.
6289 \b Memory references: \c{mem} denotes a generic \i{memory reference};
6290 \c{mem8}, \c{mem16}, \c{mem32}, \c{mem64} and \c{mem80} are used
6291 when the operand needs to be a specific size. Again, a specifier is
6292 needed in some cases: \c{DEC [address]} is ambiguous and will be
6293 rejected by NASM. You must specify \c{DEC BYTE [address]}, \c{DEC
6294 WORD [address]} or \c{DEC DWORD [address]} instead.
6296 \b \i{Restricted memory references}: one form of the \c{MOV}
6297 instruction allows a memory address to be specified \e{without}
6298 allowing the normal range of register combinations and effective
6299 address processing. This is denoted by \c{memoffs8}, \c{memoffs16}
6302 \b Register or memory choices: many instructions can accept either a
6303 register \e{or} a memory reference as an operand. \c{r/m8} is a
6304 shorthand for \c{reg8/mem8}; similarly \c{r/m16} and \c{r/m32}.
6305 \c{r/m64} is MMX-related, and is a shorthand for \c{mmxreg/mem64}.
6308 \H{iref-opc} Key to Opcode Descriptions
6310 This appendix also provides the opcodes which NASM will generate for
6311 each form of each instruction. The opcodes are listed in the
6314 \b A hex number, such as \c{3F}, indicates a fixed byte containing
6317 \b A hex number followed by \c{+r}, such as \c{C8+r}, indicates that
6318 one of the operands to the instruction is a register, and the
6319 `register value' of that register should be added to the hex number
6320 to produce the generated byte. For example, EDX has register value
6321 2, so the code \c{C8+r}, when the register operand is EDX, generates
6322 the hex byte \c{CA}. Register values for specific registers are
6323 given in \k{iref-rv}.
6325 \b A hex number followed by \c{+cc}, such as \c{40+cc}, indicates
6326 that the instruction name has a condition code suffix, and the
6327 numeric representation of the condition code should be added to the
6328 hex number to produce the generated byte. For example, the code
6329 \c{40+cc}, when the instruction contains the \c{NE} condition,
6330 generates the hex byte \c{45}. Condition codes and their numeric
6331 representations are given in \k{iref-cc}.
6333 \b A slash followed by a digit, such as \c{/2}, indicates that one
6334 of the operands to the instruction is a memory address or register
6335 (denoted \c{mem} or \c{r/m}, with an optional size). This is to be
6336 encoded as an effective address, with a \i{ModR/M byte}, an optional
6337 \i{SIB byte}, and an optional displacement, and the spare (register)
6338 field of the ModR/M byte should be the digit given (which will be
6339 from 0 to 7, so it fits in three bits). The encoding of effective
6340 addresses is given in \k{iref-ea}.
6342 \b The code \c{/r} combines the above two: it indicates that one of
6343 the operands is a memory address or \c{r/m}, and another is a
6344 register, and that an effective address should be generated with the
6345 spare (register) field in the ModR/M byte being equal to the
6346 `register value' of the register operand. The encoding of effective
6347 addresses is given in \k{iref-ea}; register values are given in
6350 \b The codes \c{ib}, \c{iw} and \c{id} indicate that one of the
6351 operands to the instruction is an immediate value, and that this is
6352 to be encoded as a byte, little-endian word or little-endian
6353 doubleword respectively.
6355 \b The codes \c{rb}, \c{rw} and \c{rd} indicate that one of the
6356 operands to the instruction is an immediate value, and that the
6357 \e{difference} between this value and the address of the end of the
6358 instruction is to be encoded as a byte, word or doubleword
6359 respectively. Where the form \c{rw/rd} appears, it indicates that
6360 either \c{rw} or \c{rd} should be used according to whether assembly
6361 is being performed in \c{BITS 16} or \c{BITS 32} state respectively.
6363 \b The codes \c{ow} and \c{od} indicate that one of the operands to
6364 the instruction is a reference to the contents of a memory address
6365 specified as an immediate value: this encoding is used in some forms
6366 of the \c{MOV} instruction in place of the standard
6367 effective-address mechanism. The displacement is encoded as a word
6368 or doubleword. Again, \c{ow/od} denotes that \c{ow} or \c{od} should
6369 be chosen according to the \c{BITS} setting.
6371 \b The codes \c{o16} and \c{o32} indicate that the given form of the
6372 instruction should be assembled with operand size 16 or 32 bits. In
6373 other words, \c{o16} indicates a \c{66} prefix in \c{BITS 32} state,
6374 but generates no code in \c{BITS 16} state; and \c{o32} indicates a
6375 \c{66} prefix in \c{BITS 16} state but generates nothing in \c{BITS
6378 \b The codes \c{a16} and \c{a32}, similarly to \c{o16} and \c{o32},
6379 indicate the address size of the given form of the instruction.
6380 Where this does not match the \c{BITS} setting, a \c{67} prefix is
6384 \S{iref-rv} Register Values
6386 Where an instruction requires a register value, it is already
6387 implicit in the encoding of the rest of the instruction what type of
6388 register is intended: an 8-bit general-purpose register, a segment
6389 register, a debug register, an MMX register, or whatever. Therefore
6390 there is no problem with registers of different types sharing an
6393 The encodings for the various classes of register are:
6395 \b 8-bit general registers: \c{AL} is 0, \c{CL} is 1, \c{DL} is 2,
6396 \c{BL} is 3, \c{AH} is 4, \c{CH} is 5, \c{DH} is 6, and \c{BH} is
6399 \b 16-bit general registers: \c{AX} is 0, \c{CX} is 1, \c{DX} is 2,
6400 \c{BX} is 3, \c{SP} is 4, \c{BP} is 5, \c{SI} is 6, and \c{DI} is 7.
6402 \b 32-bit general registers: \c{EAX} is 0, \c{ECX} is 1, \c{EDX} is
6403 2, \c{EBX} is 3, \c{ESP} is 4, \c{EBP} is 5, \c{ESI} is 6, and
6406 \b \i{Segment registers}: \c{ES} is 0, \c{CS} is 1, \c{SS} is 2, \c{DS}
6407 is 3, \c{FS} is 4, and \c{GS} is 5.
6409 \b \I{floating-point, registers}Floating-point registers: \c{ST0}
6410 is 0, \c{ST1} is 1, \c{ST2} is 2, \c{ST3} is 3, \c{ST4} is 4,
6411 \c{ST5} is 5, \c{ST6} is 6, and \c{ST7} is 7.
6413 \b 64-bit \i{MMX registers}: \c{MM0} is 0, \c{MM1} is 1, \c{MM2} is 2,
6414 \c{MM3} is 3, \c{MM4} is 4, \c{MM5} is 5, \c{MM6} is 6, and \c{MM7}
6417 \b \i{Control registers}: \c{CR0} is 0, \c{CR2} is 2, \c{CR3} is 3,
6420 \b \i{Debug registers}: \c{DR0} is 0, \c{DR1} is 1, \c{DR2} is 2,
6421 \c{DR3} is 3, \c{DR6} is 6, and \c{DR7} is 7.
6423 \b \i{Test registers}: \c{TR3} is 3, \c{TR4} is 4, \c{TR5} is 5,
6424 \c{TR6} is 6, and \c{TR7} is 7.
6426 (Note that wherever a register name contains a number, that number
6427 is also the register value for that register.)
6430 \S{iref-cc} \i{Condition Codes}
6432 The available condition codes are given here, along with their
6433 numeric representations as part of opcodes. Many of these condition
6434 codes have synonyms, so several will be listed at a time.
6436 In the following descriptions, the word `either', when applied to two
6437 possible trigger conditions, is used to mean `either or both'. If
6438 `either but not both' is meant, the phrase `exactly one of' is used.
6440 \b \c{O} is 0 (trigger if the overflow flag is set); \c{NO} is 1.
6442 \b \c{B}, \c{C} and \c{NAE} are 2 (trigger if the carry flag is
6443 set); \c{AE}, \c{NB} and \c{NC} are 3.
6445 \b \c{E} and \c{Z} are 4 (trigger if the zero flag is set); \c{NE}
6448 \b \c{BE} and \c{NA} are 6 (trigger if either of the carry or zero
6449 flags is set); \c{A} and \c{NBE} are 7.
6451 \b \c{S} is 8 (trigger if the sign flag is set); \c{NS} is 9.
6453 \b \c{P} and \c{PE} are 10 (trigger if the parity flag is set);
6454 \c{NP} and \c{PO} are 11.
6456 \b \c{L} and \c{NGE} are 12 (trigger if exactly one of the sign and
6457 overflow flags is set); \c{GE} and \c{NL} are 13.
6459 \b \c{LE} and \c{NG} are 14 (trigger if either the zero flag is set,
6460 or exactly one of the sign and overflow flags is set); \c{G} and
6463 Note that in all cases, the sense of a condition code may be
6464 reversed by changing the low bit of the numeric representation.
6466 For details of when an instruction sets each of the status flags,
6467 see the individual instruction, plus the Status Flags reference
6471 \S{iref-SSE-cc} \i{SSE Condition Predicates}
6473 The condition predicates for SSE comparison instructions are the
6474 codes used as part of the opcode, to determine what form of
6475 comparison is being carried out. In each case, the imm8 value is
6476 the final byte of the opcode encoding, and the predicate is the
6477 code used as part of the mnemonic for the instruction (equivalent
6478 to the "cc" in an integer instruction that used a condition code).
6479 The instructions that use this will give details of what the various
6480 mnemonics are, this table is used to help you work out details of what
6483 \c Predi- imm8 Description Relation where: Emula- Result QNaN
6484 \c cate Encod- A Is 1st Operand tion if NaN Signal
6485 \c ing B Is 2nd Operand Operand Invalid
6487 \c EQ 000B equal A = B False No
6489 \c LT 001B less-than A < B False Yes
6491 \c LE 010B less-than- A <= B False Yes
6494 \c --- ---- greater A > B Swap False Yes
6498 \c --- ---- greater- A >= B Swap False Yes
6499 \c than-or-equal Operands,
6502 \c UNORD 011B unordered A, B = Unordered True No
6504 \c NEQ 100B not-equal A != B True No
6506 \c NLT 101B not-less- NOT(A < B) True Yes
6509 \c NLE 110B not-less- NOT(A <= B) True Yes
6513 \c --- ---- not-greater NOT(A > B) Swap True Yes
6517 \c --- ---- not-greater NOT(A >= B) Swap True Yes
6521 \c ORD 111B ordered A , B = Ordered False No
6523 The unordered relationship is true when at least one of the two
6524 values being compared is a NaN or in an unsupported format.
6526 Note that the comparisons which are listed as not having a predicate
6527 or encoding can only be achieved through software emulation, as
6528 described in the "emulation" column. Note in particular that an
6529 instruction such as \c{greater-than} is not the same as \c{NLE}, as,
6530 unlike with the \c{CMP} instruction, it has to take into account the
6531 possibility of one operand containing a NaN or an unsupported numeric
6535 \S{iref-Flags} \i{Status Flags}
6537 The status flags provide some information about the result of the
6538 arithmetic instructions. This information can be used by conditional
6539 instructions (such a \c{Jcc} and \c{CMOVcc}) as well as by some of
6540 the other instructions (such as \c{ADC} and \c{INTO}).
6542 There are 6 status flags:
6546 Set if an arithmetic operation generates a
6547 carry or a borrow out of the most-significant bit of the result;
6548 cleared otherwise. This flag indicates an overflow condition for
6549 unsigned-integer arithmetic. It is also used in multiple-precision
6552 \c PF - Parity flag.
6554 Set if the least-significant byte of the result contains an even
6555 number of 1 bits; cleared otherwise.
6557 \c AF - Adjust flag.
6559 Set if an arithmetic operation generates a carry or a borrow
6560 out of bit 3 of the result; cleared otherwise. This flag is used
6561 in binary-coded decimal (BCD) arithmetic.
6565 Set if the result is zero; cleared otherwise.
6569 Set equal to the most-significant bit of the result, which is the
6570 sign bit of a signed integer. (0 indicates a positive value and 1
6571 indicates a negative value.)
6573 \c OF - Overflow flag.
6575 Set if the integer result is too large a positive number or too
6576 small a negative number (excluding the sign-bit) to fit in the
6577 destination operand; cleared otherwise. This flag indicates an
6578 overflow condition for signed-integer (two's complement) arithmetic.
6581 \S{iref-ea} Effective Address Encoding: \i{ModR/M} and \i{SIB}
6583 An \i{effective address} is encoded in up to three parts: a ModR/M
6584 byte, an optional SIB byte, and an optional byte, word or doubleword
6587 The ModR/M byte consists of three fields: the \c{mod} field, ranging
6588 from 0 to 3, in the upper two bits of the byte, the \c{r/m} field,
6589 ranging from 0 to 7, in the lower three bits, and the spare
6590 (register) field in the middle (bit 3 to bit 5). The spare field is
6591 not relevant to the effective address being encoded, and either
6592 contains an extension to the instruction opcode or the register
6593 value of another operand.
6595 The ModR/M system can be used to encode a direct register reference
6596 rather than a memory access. This is always done by setting the
6597 \c{mod} field to 3 and the \c{r/m} field to the register value of
6598 the register in question (it must be a general-purpose register, and
6599 the size of the register must already be implicit in the encoding of
6600 the rest of the instruction). In this case, the SIB byte and
6601 displacement field are both absent.
6603 In 16-bit addressing mode (either \c{BITS 16} with no \c{67} prefix,
6604 or \c{BITS 32} with a \c{67} prefix), the SIB byte is never used.
6605 The general rules for \c{mod} and \c{r/m} (there is an exception,
6608 \b The \c{mod} field gives the length of the displacement field: 0
6609 means no displacement, 1 means one byte, and 2 means two bytes.
6611 \b The \c{r/m} field encodes the combination of registers to be
6612 added to the displacement to give the accessed address: 0 means
6613 \c{BX+SI}, 1 means \c{BX+DI}, 2 means \c{BP+SI}, 3 means \c{BP+DI},
6614 4 means \c{SI} only, 5 means \c{DI} only, 6 means \c{BP} only, and 7
6617 However, there is a special case:
6619 \b If \c{mod} is 0 and \c{r/m} is 6, the effective address encoded
6620 is not \c{[BP]} as the above rules would suggest, but instead
6621 \c{[disp16]}: the displacement field is present and is two bytes
6622 long, and no registers are added to the displacement.
6624 Therefore the effective address \c{[BP]} cannot be encoded as
6625 efficiently as \c{[BX]}; so if you code \c{[BP]} in a program, NASM
6626 adds a notional 8-bit zero displacement, and sets \c{mod} to 1,
6627 \c{r/m} to 6, and the one-byte displacement field to 0.
6629 In 32-bit addressing mode (either \c{BITS 16} with a \c{67} prefix,
6630 or \c{BITS 32} with no \c{67} prefix) the general rules (again,
6631 there are exceptions) for \c{mod} and \c{r/m} are:
6633 \b The \c{mod} field gives the length of the displacement field: 0
6634 means no displacement, 1 means one byte, and 2 means four bytes.
6636 \b If only one register is to be added to the displacement, and it
6637 is not \c{ESP}, the \c{r/m} field gives its register value, and the
6638 SIB byte is absent. If the \c{r/m} field is 4 (which would encode
6639 \c{ESP}), the SIB byte is present and gives the combination and
6640 scaling of registers to be added to the displacement.
6642 If the SIB byte is present, it describes the combination of
6643 registers (an optional base register, and an optional index register
6644 scaled by multiplication by 1, 2, 4 or 8) to be added to the
6645 displacement. The SIB byte is divided into the \c{scale} field, in
6646 the top two bits, the \c{index} field in the next three, and the
6647 \c{base} field in the bottom three. The general rules are:
6649 \b The \c{base} field encodes the register value of the base
6652 \b The \c{index} field encodes the register value of the index
6653 register, unless it is 4, in which case no index register is used
6654 (so \c{ESP} cannot be used as an index register).
6656 \b The \c{scale} field encodes the multiplier by which the index
6657 register is scaled before adding it to the base and displacement: 0
6658 encodes a multiplier of 1, 1 encodes 2, 2 encodes 4 and 3 encodes 8.
6660 The exceptions to the 32-bit encoding rules are:
6662 \b If \c{mod} is 0 and \c{r/m} is 5, the effective address encoded
6663 is not \c{[EBP]} as the above rules would suggest, but instead
6664 \c{[disp32]}: the displacement field is present and is four bytes
6665 long, and no registers are added to the displacement.
6667 \b If \c{mod} is 0, \c{r/m} is 4 (meaning the SIB byte is present)
6668 and \c{base} is 4, the effective address encoded is not
6669 \c{[EBP+index]} as the above rules would suggest, but instead
6670 \c{[disp32+index]}: the displacement field is present and is four
6671 bytes long, and there is no base register (but the index register is
6672 still processed in the normal way).
6675 \H{iref-flg} Key to Instruction Flags
6677 Given along with each instruction in this appendix is a set of
6678 flags, denoting the type of the instruction. The types are as follows:
6680 \b \c{8086}, \c{186}, \c{286}, \c{386}, \c{486}, \c{PENT} and \c{P6}
6681 denote the lowest processor type that supports the instruction. Most
6682 instructions run on all processors above the given type; those that
6683 do not are documented. The Pentium II contains no additional
6684 instructions beyond the P6 (Pentium Pro); from the point of view of
6685 its instruction set, it can be thought of as a P6 with MMX
6688 \b \c{3DNOW} indicates that the instruction is a 3DNow! one, and will
6689 run on the AMD K6-2 and later processors. ATHLON extensions to the
6690 3DNow! instruction set are documented as such.
6692 \b \c{CYRIX} indicates that the instruction is specific to Cyrix
6693 processors, for example the extra MMX instructions in the Cyrix
6694 extended MMX instruction set.
6696 \b \c{FPU} indicates that the instruction is a floating-point one,
6697 and will only run on machines with a coprocessor (automatically
6698 including 486DX, Pentium and above).
6700 \b \c{KATMAI} indicates that the instruction was introduced as part
6701 of the Katmai New Instruction set. These instructions are available
6702 on the Pentium III and later processors. Those which are not
6703 specifically SSE instructions are also available on the AMD Athlon.
6705 \b \c{MMX} indicates that the instruction is an MMX one, and will
6706 run on MMX-capable Pentium processors and the Pentium II.
6708 \b \c{PRIV} indicates that the instruction is a protected-mode
6709 management instruction. Many of these may only be used in protected
6710 mode, or only at privilege level zero.
6712 \b \c{SSE} and \c{SSE2} indicate that the instruction is a Streaming
6713 SIMD Extension instruction. These instructions operate on multiple
6714 values in a single operation. SSE was introduced with the Pentium III
6715 and SSE2 was introduced with the Pentium 4.
6717 \b \c{UNDOC} indicates that the instruction is an undocumented one,
6718 and not part of the official Intel Architecture; it may or may not
6719 be supported on any given machine.
6721 \b \c{WILLAMETTE} indicates that the instruction was introduced as
6722 part of the new instruction set in the Pentium 4 and Intel Xeon
6723 processors. These instructions are also known as SSE2 instructions.
6726 \H{iref-inst} x86 Instruction Set
6729 \S{insAAA} \i\c{AAA}, \i\c{AAS}, \i\c{AAM}, \i\c{AAD}: ASCII
6736 \c AAD ; D5 0A [8086]
6737 \c AAD imm ; D5 ib [8086]
6739 \c AAM ; D4 0A [8086]
6740 \c AAM imm ; D4 ib [8086]
6742 These instructions are used in conjunction with the add, subtract,
6743 multiply and divide instructions to perform binary-coded decimal
6744 arithmetic in \e{unpacked} (one BCD digit per byte - easy to
6745 translate to and from \c{ASCII}, hence the instruction names) form.
6746 There are also packed BCD instructions \c{DAA} and \c{DAS}: see
6749 \b \c{AAA} (ASCII Adjust After Addition) should be used after a
6750 one-byte \c{ADD} instruction whose destination was the \c{AL}
6751 register: by means of examining the value in the low nibble of
6752 \c{AL} and also the auxiliary carry flag \c{AF}, it determines
6753 whether the addition has overflowed, and adjusts it (and sets
6754 the carry flag) if so. You can add long BCD strings together
6755 by doing \c{ADD}/\c{AAA} on the low digits, then doing
6756 \c{ADC}/\c{AAA} on each subsequent digit.
6758 \b \c{AAS} (ASCII Adjust AL After Subtraction) works similarly to
6759 \c{AAA}, but is for use after \c{SUB} instructions rather than
6762 \b \c{AAM} (ASCII Adjust AX After Multiply) is for use after you
6763 have multiplied two decimal digits together and left the result
6764 in \c{AL}: it divides \c{AL} by ten and stores the quotient in
6765 \c{AH}, leaving the remainder in \c{AL}. The divisor 10 can be
6766 changed by specifying an operand to the instruction: a particularly
6767 handy use of this is \c{AAM 16}, causing the two nibbles in \c{AL}
6768 to be separated into \c{AH} and \c{AL}.
6770 \b \c{AAD} (ASCII Adjust AX Before Division) performs the inverse
6771 operation to \c{AAM}: it multiplies \c{AH} by ten, adds it to
6772 \c{AL}, and sets \c{AH} to zero. Again, the multiplier 10 can
6776 \S{insADC} \i\c{ADC}: Add with Carry
6778 \c ADC r/m8,reg8 ; 10 /r [8086]
6779 \c ADC r/m16,reg16 ; o16 11 /r [8086]
6780 \c ADC r/m32,reg32 ; o32 11 /r [386]
6782 \c ADC reg8,r/m8 ; 12 /r [8086]
6783 \c ADC reg16,r/m16 ; o16 13 /r [8086]
6784 \c ADC reg32,r/m32 ; o32 13 /r [386]
6786 \c ADC r/m8,imm8 ; 80 /2 ib [8086]
6787 \c ADC r/m16,imm16 ; o16 81 /2 iw [8086]
6788 \c ADC r/m32,imm32 ; o32 81 /2 id [386]
6790 \c ADC r/m16,imm8 ; o16 83 /2 ib [8086]
6791 \c ADC r/m32,imm8 ; o32 83 /2 ib [386]
6793 \c ADC AL,imm8 ; 14 ib [8086]
6794 \c ADC AX,imm16 ; o16 15 iw [8086]
6795 \c ADC EAX,imm32 ; o32 15 id [386]
6797 \c{ADC} performs integer addition: it adds its two operands
6798 together, plus the value of the carry flag, and leaves the result in
6799 its destination (first) operand. The destination operand can be a
6800 register or a memory location. The source operand can be a register,
6801 a memory location or an immediate value.
6803 The flags are set according to the result of the operation: in
6804 particular, the carry flag is affected and can be used by a
6805 subsequent \c{ADC} instruction.
6807 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate second operand and a longer
6808 first operand, the second operand is considered to be signed, and is
6809 sign-extended to the length of the first operand. In these cases,
6810 the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force NASM to generate this
6811 form of the instruction.
6813 To add two numbers without also adding the contents of the carry
6814 flag, use \c{ADD} (\k{insADD}).
6817 \S{insADD} \i\c{ADD}: Add Integers
6819 \c ADD r/m8,reg8 ; 00 /r [8086]
6820 \c ADD r/m16,reg16 ; o16 01 /r [8086]
6821 \c ADD r/m32,reg32 ; o32 01 /r [386]
6823 \c ADD reg8,r/m8 ; 02 /r [8086]
6824 \c ADD reg16,r/m16 ; o16 03 /r [8086]
6825 \c ADD reg32,r/m32 ; o32 03 /r [386]
6827 \c ADD r/m8,imm8 ; 80 /0 ib [8086]
6828 \c ADD r/m16,imm16 ; o16 81 /0 iw [8086]
6829 \c ADD r/m32,imm32 ; o32 81 /0 id [386]
6831 \c ADD r/m16,imm8 ; o16 83 /0 ib [8086]
6832 \c ADD r/m32,imm8 ; o32 83 /0 ib [386]
6834 \c ADD AL,imm8 ; 04 ib [8086]
6835 \c ADD AX,imm16 ; o16 05 iw [8086]
6836 \c ADD EAX,imm32 ; o32 05 id [386]
6838 \c{ADD} performs integer addition: it adds its two operands
6839 together, and leaves the result in its destination (first) operand.
6840 The destination operand can be a register or a memory location.
6841 The source operand can be a register, a memory location or an
6844 The flags are set according to the result of the operation: in
6845 particular, the carry flag is affected and can be used by a
6846 subsequent \c{ADC} instruction.
6848 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate second operand and a longer
6849 first operand, the second operand is considered to be signed, and is
6850 sign-extended to the length of the first operand. In these cases,
6851 the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force NASM to generate this
6852 form of the instruction.
6855 \S{insADDPD} \i\c{ADDPD}: ADD Packed Double-Precision FP Values
6857 \c ADDPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 58 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
6859 \c{ADDPD} performs addition on each of two packed double-precision
6862 \c dst[0-63] := dst[0-63] + src[0-63],
6863 \c dst[64-127] := dst[64-127] + src[64-127].
6865 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
6866 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
6869 \S{insADDPS} \i\c{ADDPS}: ADD Packed Single-Precision FP Values
6871 \c ADDPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F 58 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
6873 \c{ADDPS} performs addition on each of four packed single-precision
6876 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] + src[0-31],
6877 \c dst[32-63] := dst[32-63] + src[32-63],
6878 \c dst[64-95] := dst[64-95] + src[64-95],
6879 \c dst[96-127] := dst[96-127] + src[96-127].
6881 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
6882 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
6885 \S{insADDSD} \i\c{ADDSD}: ADD Scalar Double-Precision FP Values
6887 \c ADDSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F 58 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
6889 \c{ADDSD} adds the low double-precision FP values from the source
6890 and destination operands and stores the double-precision FP result
6891 in the destination operand.
6893 \c dst[0-63] := dst[0-63] + src[0-63],
6894 \c dst[64-127) remains unchanged.
6896 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
6897 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location.
6900 \S{insADDSS} \i\c{ADDSS}: ADD Scalar Single-Precision FP Values
6902 \c ADDSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F 58 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
6904 \c{ADDSS} adds the low single-precision FP values from the source
6905 and destination operands and stores the single-precision FP result
6906 in the destination operand.
6908 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] + src[0-31],
6909 \c dst[32-127] remains unchanged.
6911 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
6912 either an \c{XMM} register or a 32-bit memory location.
6915 \S{insAND} \i\c{AND}: Bitwise AND
6917 \c AND r/m8,reg8 ; 20 /r [8086]
6918 \c AND r/m16,reg16 ; o16 21 /r [8086]
6919 \c AND r/m32,reg32 ; o32 21 /r [386]
6921 \c AND reg8,r/m8 ; 22 /r [8086]
6922 \c AND reg16,r/m16 ; o16 23 /r [8086]
6923 \c AND reg32,r/m32 ; o32 23 /r [386]
6925 \c AND r/m8,imm8 ; 80 /4 ib [8086]
6926 \c AND r/m16,imm16 ; o16 81 /4 iw [8086]
6927 \c AND r/m32,imm32 ; o32 81 /4 id [386]
6929 \c AND r/m16,imm8 ; o16 83 /4 ib [8086]
6930 \c AND r/m32,imm8 ; o32 83 /4 ib [386]
6932 \c AND AL,imm8 ; 24 ib [8086]
6933 \c AND AX,imm16 ; o16 25 iw [8086]
6934 \c AND EAX,imm32 ; o32 25 id [386]
6936 \c{AND} performs a bitwise AND operation between its two operands
6937 (i.e. each bit of the result is 1 if and only if the corresponding
6938 bits of the two inputs were both 1), and stores the result in the
6939 destination (first) operand. The destination operand can be a
6940 register or a memory location. The source operand can be a register,
6941 a memory location or an immediate value.
6943 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate second operand and a longer
6944 first operand, the second operand is considered to be signed, and is
6945 sign-extended to the length of the first operand. In these cases,
6946 the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force NASM to generate this
6947 form of the instruction.
6949 The \c{MMX} instruction \c{PAND} (see \k{insPAND}) performs the same
6950 operation on the 64-bit \c{MMX} registers.
6953 \S{insANDNPD} \i\c{ANDNPD}: Bitwise Logical AND NOT of
6954 Packed Double-Precision FP Values
6956 \c ANDNPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 55 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
6958 \c{ANDNPD} inverts the bits of the two double-precision
6959 floating-point values in the destination register, and then
6960 performs a logical AND between the two double-precision
6961 floating-point values in the source operand and the temporary
6962 inverted result, storing the result in the destination register.
6964 \c dst[0-63] := src[0-63] AND NOT dst[0-63],
6965 \c dst[64-127] := src[64-127] AND NOT dst[64-127].
6967 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
6968 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
6971 \S{insANDNPS} \i\c{ANDNPS}: Bitwise Logical AND NOT of
6972 Packed Single-Precision FP Values
6974 \c ANDNPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F 55 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
6976 \c{ANDNPS} inverts the bits of the four single-precision
6977 floating-point values in the destination register, and then
6978 performs a logical AND between the four single-precision
6979 floating-point values in the source operand and the temporary
6980 inverted result, storing the result in the destination register.
6982 \c dst[0-31] := src[0-31] AND NOT dst[0-31],
6983 \c dst[32-63] := src[32-63] AND NOT dst[32-63],
6984 \c dst[64-95] := src[64-95] AND NOT dst[64-95],
6985 \c dst[96-127] := src[96-127] AND NOT dst[96-127].
6987 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
6988 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
6991 \S{insANDPD} \i\c{ANDPD}: Bitwise Logical AND For Single FP
6993 \c ANDPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 54 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
6995 \c{ANDPD} performs a bitwise logical AND of the two double-precision
6996 floating point values in the source and destination operand, and
6997 stores the result in the destination register.
6999 \c dst[0-63] := src[0-63] AND dst[0-63],
7000 \c dst[64-127] := src[64-127] AND dst[64-127].
7002 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
7003 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7006 \S{insANDPS} \i\c{ANDPS}: Bitwise Logical AND For Single FP
7008 \c ANDPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F 54 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7010 \c{ANDPS} performs a bitwise logical AND of the four single-precision
7011 floating point values in the source and destination operand, and
7012 stores the result in the destination register.
7014 \c dst[0-31] := src[0-31] AND dst[0-31],
7015 \c dst[32-63] := src[32-63] AND dst[32-63],
7016 \c dst[64-95] := src[64-95] AND dst[64-95],
7017 \c dst[96-127] := src[96-127] AND dst[96-127].
7019 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
7020 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7023 \S{insARPL} \i\c{ARPL}: Adjust RPL Field of Selector
7025 \c ARPL r/m16,reg16 ; 63 /r [286,PRIV]
7027 \c{ARPL} expects its two word operands to be segment selectors. It
7028 adjusts the \i\c{RPL} (requested privilege level - stored in the bottom
7029 two bits of the selector) field of the destination (first) operand
7030 to ensure that it is no less (i.e. no more privileged than) the \c{RPL}
7031 field of the source operand. The zero flag is set if and only if a
7032 change had to be made.
7035 \S{insBOUND} \i\c{BOUND}: Check Array Index against Bounds
7037 \c BOUND reg16,mem ; o16 62 /r [186]
7038 \c BOUND reg32,mem ; o32 62 /r [386]
7040 \c{BOUND} expects its second operand to point to an area of memory
7041 containing two signed values of the same size as its first operand
7042 (i.e. two words for the 16-bit form; two doublewords for the 32-bit
7043 form). It performs two signed comparisons: if the value in the
7044 register passed as its first operand is less than the first of the
7045 in-memory values, or is greater than or equal to the second, it
7046 throws a \c{BR} exception. Otherwise, it does nothing.
7049 \S{insBSF} \i\c{BSF}, \i\c{BSR}: Bit Scan
7051 \c BSF reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0F BC /r [386]
7052 \c BSF reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0F BC /r [386]
7054 \c BSR reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0F BD /r [386]
7055 \c BSR reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0F BD /r [386]
7057 \b \c{BSF} searches for the least significant set bit in its source
7058 (second) operand, and if it finds one, stores the index in
7059 its destination (first) operand. If no set bit is found, the
7060 contents of the destination operand are undefined. If the source
7061 operand is zero, the zero flag is set.
7063 \b \c{BSR} performs the same function, but searches from the top
7064 instead, so it finds the most significant set bit.
7066 Bit indices are from 0 (least significant) to 15 or 31 (most
7067 significant). The destination operand can only be a register.
7068 The source operand can be a register or a memory location.
7071 \S{insBSWAP} \i\c{BSWAP}: Byte Swap
7073 \c BSWAP reg32 ; o32 0F C8+r [486]
7075 \c{BSWAP} swaps the order of the four bytes of a 32-bit register:
7076 bits 0-7 exchange places with bits 24-31, and bits 8-15 swap with
7077 bits 16-23. There is no explicit 16-bit equivalent: to byte-swap
7078 \c{AX}, \c{BX}, \c{CX} or \c{DX}, \c{XCHG} can be used. When \c{BSWAP}
7079 is used with a 16-bit register, the result is undefined.
7082 \S{insBT} \i\c{BT}, \i\c{BTC}, \i\c{BTR}, \i\c{BTS}: Bit Test
7084 \c BT r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F A3 /r [386]
7085 \c BT r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F A3 /r [386]
7086 \c BT r/m16,imm8 ; o16 0F BA /4 ib [386]
7087 \c BT r/m32,imm8 ; o32 0F BA /4 ib [386]
7089 \c BTC r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F BB /r [386]
7090 \c BTC r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F BB /r [386]
7091 \c BTC r/m16,imm8 ; o16 0F BA /7 ib [386]
7092 \c BTC r/m32,imm8 ; o32 0F BA /7 ib [386]
7094 \c BTR r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F B3 /r [386]
7095 \c BTR r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F B3 /r [386]
7096 \c BTR r/m16,imm8 ; o16 0F BA /6 ib [386]
7097 \c BTR r/m32,imm8 ; o32 0F BA /6 ib [386]
7099 \c BTS r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F AB /r [386]
7100 \c BTS r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F AB /r [386]
7101 \c BTS r/m16,imm ; o16 0F BA /5 ib [386]
7102 \c BTS r/m32,imm ; o32 0F BA /5 ib [386]
7104 These instructions all test one bit of their first operand, whose
7105 index is given by the second operand, and store the value of that
7106 bit into the carry flag. Bit indices are from 0 (least significant)
7107 to 15 or 31 (most significant).
7109 In addition to storing the original value of the bit into the carry
7110 flag, \c{BTR} also resets (clears) the bit in the operand itself.
7111 \c{BTS} sets the bit, and \c{BTC} complements the bit. \c{BT} does
7112 not modify its operands.
7114 The destination can be a register or a memory location. The source can
7115 be a register or an immediate value.
7117 If the destination operand is a register, the bit offset should be
7118 in the range 0-15 (for 16-bit operands) or 0-31 (for 32-bit operands).
7119 An immediate value outside these ranges will be taken modulo 16/32
7122 If the destination operand is a memory location, then an immediate
7123 bit offset follows the same rules as for a register. If the bit offset
7124 is in a register, then it can be anything within the signed range of
7125 the register used (ie, for a 32-bit operand, it can be (-2^31) to (2^31 - 1)
7128 \S{insCALL} \i\c{CALL}: Call Subroutine
7130 \c CALL imm ; E8 rw/rd [8086]
7131 \c CALL imm:imm16 ; o16 9A iw iw [8086]
7132 \c CALL imm:imm32 ; o32 9A id iw [386]
7133 \c CALL FAR mem16 ; o16 FF /3 [8086]
7134 \c CALL FAR mem32 ; o32 FF /3 [386]
7135 \c CALL r/m16 ; o16 FF /2 [8086]
7136 \c CALL r/m32 ; o32 FF /2 [386]
7138 \c{CALL} calls a subroutine, by means of pushing the current
7139 instruction pointer (\c{IP}) and optionally \c{CS} as well on the
7140 stack, and then jumping to a given address.
7142 \c{CS} is pushed as well as \c{IP} if and only if the call is a far
7143 call, i.e. a destination segment address is specified in the
7144 instruction. The forms involving two colon-separated arguments are
7145 far calls; so are the \c{CALL FAR mem} forms.
7147 The immediate \i{near call} takes one of two forms (\c{call imm16/imm32},
7148 determined by the current segment size limit. For 16-bit operands,
7149 you would use \c{CALL 0x1234}, and for 32-bit operands you would use
7150 \c{CALL 0x12345678}. The value passed as an operand is a relative offset.
7152 You can choose between the two immediate \i{far call} forms
7153 (\c{CALL imm:imm}) by the use of the \c{WORD} and \c{DWORD} keywords:
7154 \c{CALL WORD 0x1234:0x5678}) or \c{CALL DWORD 0x1234:0x56789abc}.
7156 The \c{CALL FAR mem} forms execute a far call by loading the
7157 destination address out of memory. The address loaded consists of 16
7158 or 32 bits of offset (depending on the operand size), and 16 bits of
7159 segment. The operand size may be overridden using \c{CALL WORD FAR
7160 mem} or \c{CALL DWORD FAR mem}.
7162 The \c{CALL r/m} forms execute a \i{near call} (within the same
7163 segment), loading the destination address out of memory or out of a
7164 register. The keyword \c{NEAR} may be specified, for clarity, in
7165 these forms, but is not necessary. Again, operand size can be
7166 overridden using \c{CALL WORD mem} or \c{CALL DWORD mem}.
7168 As a convenience, NASM does not require you to call a far procedure
7169 symbol by coding the cumbersome \c{CALL SEG routine:routine}, but
7170 instead allows the easier synonym \c{CALL FAR routine}.
7172 The \c{CALL r/m} forms given above are near calls; NASM will accept
7173 the \c{NEAR} keyword (e.g. \c{CALL NEAR [address]}), even though it
7174 is not strictly necessary.
7177 \S{insCBW} \i\c{CBW}, \i\c{CWD}, \i\c{CDQ}, \i\c{CWDE}: Sign Extensions
7179 \c CBW ; o16 98 [8086]
7180 \c CWDE ; o32 98 [386]
7182 \c CWD ; o16 99 [8086]
7183 \c CDQ ; o32 99 [386]
7185 All these instructions sign-extend a short value into a longer one,
7186 by replicating the top bit of the original value to fill the
7189 \c{CBW} extends \c{AL} into \c{AX} by repeating the top bit of
7190 \c{AL} in every bit of \c{AH}. \c{CWDE} extends \c{AX} into
7191 \c{EAX}. \c{CWD} extends \c{AX} into \c{DX:AX} by repeating
7192 the top bit of \c{AX} throughout \c{DX}, and \c{CDQ} extends
7193 \c{EAX} into \c{EDX:EAX}.
7196 \S{insCLC} \i\c{CLC}, \i\c{CLD}, \i\c{CLI}, \i\c{CLTS}: Clear Flags
7201 \c CLTS ; 0F 06 [286,PRIV]
7203 These instructions clear various flags. \c{CLC} clears the carry
7204 flag; \c{CLD} clears the direction flag; \c{CLI} clears the
7205 interrupt flag (thus disabling interrupts); and \c{CLTS} clears the
7206 task-switched (\c{TS}) flag in \c{CR0}.
7208 To set the carry, direction, or interrupt flags, use the \c{STC},
7209 \c{STD} and \c{STI} instructions (\k{insSTC}). To invert the carry
7210 flag, use \c{CMC} (\k{insCMC}).
7213 \S{insCLFLUSH} \i\c{CLFLUSH}: Flush Cache Line
7215 \c CLFLUSH mem ; 0F AE /7 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7217 \c{CLFLUSH} invalidates the cache line that contains the linear address
7218 specified by the source operand from all levels of the processor cache
7219 hierarchy (data and instruction). If, at any level of the cache
7220 hierarchy, the line is inconsistent with memory (dirty) it is written
7221 to memory before invalidation. The source operand points to a
7222 byte-sized memory location.
7224 Although \c{CLFLUSH} is flagged \c{SSE2} and above, it may not be
7225 present on all processors which have \c{SSE2} support, and it may be
7226 supported on other processors; the \c{CPUID} instruction (\k{insCPUID})
7227 will return a bit which indicates support for the \c{CLFLUSH} instruction.
7230 \S{insCMC} \i\c{CMC}: Complement Carry Flag
7234 \c{CMC} changes the value of the carry flag: if it was 0, it sets it
7235 to 1, and vice versa.
7238 \S{insCMOVcc} \i\c{CMOVcc}: Conditional Move
7240 \c CMOVcc reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0F 40+cc /r [P6]
7241 \c CMOVcc reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0F 40+cc /r [P6]
7243 \c{CMOV} moves its source (second) operand into its destination
7244 (first) operand if the given condition code is satisfied; otherwise
7247 For a list of condition codes, see \k{iref-cc}.
7249 Although the \c{CMOV} instructions are flagged \c{P6} and above, they
7250 may not be supported by all Pentium Pro processors; the \c{CPUID}
7251 instruction (\k{insCPUID}) will return a bit which indicates whether
7252 conditional moves are supported.
7255 \S{insCMP} \i\c{CMP}: Compare Integers
7257 \c CMP r/m8,reg8 ; 38 /r [8086]
7258 \c CMP r/m16,reg16 ; o16 39 /r [8086]
7259 \c CMP r/m32,reg32 ; o32 39 /r [386]
7261 \c CMP reg8,r/m8 ; 3A /r [8086]
7262 \c CMP reg16,r/m16 ; o16 3B /r [8086]
7263 \c CMP reg32,r/m32 ; o32 3B /r [386]
7265 \c CMP r/m8,imm8 ; 80 /0 ib [8086]
7266 \c CMP r/m16,imm16 ; o16 81 /0 iw [8086]
7267 \c CMP r/m32,imm32 ; o32 81 /0 id [386]
7269 \c CMP r/m16,imm8 ; o16 83 /0 ib [8086]
7270 \c CMP r/m32,imm8 ; o32 83 /0 ib [386]
7272 \c CMP AL,imm8 ; 3C ib [8086]
7273 \c CMP AX,imm16 ; o16 3D iw [8086]
7274 \c CMP EAX,imm32 ; o32 3D id [386]
7276 \c{CMP} performs a `mental' subtraction of its second operand from
7277 its first operand, and affects the flags as if the subtraction had
7278 taken place, but does not store the result of the subtraction
7281 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate second operand and a longer
7282 first operand, the second operand is considered to be signed, and is
7283 sign-extended to the length of the first operand. In these cases,
7284 the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force NASM to generate this
7285 form of the instruction.
7287 The destination operand can be a register or a memory location. The
7288 source can be a register, memory location or an immediate value of
7289 the same size as the destination.
7292 \S{insCMPccPD} \i\c{CMPccPD}: Packed Double-Precision FP Compare
7293 \I\c{CMPEQPD} \I\c{CMPLTPD} \I\c{CMPLEPD} \I\c{CMPUNORDPD}
7294 \I\c{CMPNEQPD} \I\c{CMPNLTPD} \I\c{CMPNLEPD} \I\c{CMPORDPD}
7296 \c CMPPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128,imm8 ; 66 0F C2 /r ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7298 \c CMPEQPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F C2 /r 00 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7299 \c CMPLTPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F C2 /r 01 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7300 \c CMPLEPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F C2 /r 02 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7301 \c CMPUNORDPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F C2 /r 03 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7302 \c CMPNEQPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F C2 /r 04 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7303 \c CMPNLTPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F C2 /r 05 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7304 \c CMPNLEPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F C2 /r 06 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7305 \c CMPORDPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F C2 /r 07 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7307 The \c{CMPccPD} instructions compare the two packed double-precision
7308 FP values in the source and destination operands, and returns the
7309 result of the comparison in the destination register. The result of
7310 each comparison is a quadword mask of all 1s (comparison true) or
7311 all 0s (comparison false).
7313 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either an
7314 \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7316 The third operand is an 8-bit immediate value, of which the low 3
7317 bits define the type of comparison. For ease of programming, the
7318 8 two-operand pseudo-instructions are provided, with the third
7319 operand already filled in. The \I{Condition Predicates}
7320 \c{Condition Predicates} are:
7324 \c LE 2 Less-than-or-equal
7325 \c UNORD 3 Unordered
7327 \c NLT 5 Not-less-than
7328 \c NLE 6 Not-less-than-or-equal
7331 For more details of the comparison predicates, and details of how
7332 to emulate the "greater-than" equivalents, see \k{iref-SSE-cc}
7335 \S{insCMPccPS} \i\c{CMPccPS}: Packed Single-Precision FP Compare
7336 \I\c{CMPEQPS} \I\c{CMPLTPS} \I\c{CMPLEPS} \I\c{CMPUNORDPS}
7337 \I\c{CMPNEQPS} \I\c{CMPNLTPS} \I\c{CMPNLEPS} \I\c{CMPORDPS}
7339 \c CMPPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128,imm8 ; 0F C2 /r ib [KATMAI,SSE]
7341 \c CMPEQPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F C2 /r 00 [KATMAI,SSE]
7342 \c CMPLTPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F C2 /r 01 [KATMAI,SSE]
7343 \c CMPLEPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F C2 /r 02 [KATMAI,SSE]
7344 \c CMPUNORDPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F C2 /r 03 [KATMAI,SSE]
7345 \c CMPNEQPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F C2 /r 04 [KATMAI,SSE]
7346 \c CMPNLTPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F C2 /r 05 [KATMAI,SSE]
7347 \c CMPNLEPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F C2 /r 06 [KATMAI,SSE]
7348 \c CMPORDPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F C2 /r 07 [KATMAI,SSE]
7350 The \c{CMPccPS} instructions compare the two packed single-precision
7351 FP values in the source and destination operands, and returns the
7352 result of the comparison in the destination register. The result of
7353 each comparison is a doubleword mask of all 1s (comparison true) or
7354 all 0s (comparison false).
7356 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either an
7357 \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7359 The third operand is an 8-bit immediate value, of which the low 3
7360 bits define the type of comparison. For ease of programming, the
7361 8 two-operand pseudo-instructions are provided, with the third
7362 operand already filled in. The \I{Condition Predicates}
7363 \c{Condition Predicates} are:
7367 \c LE 2 Less-than-or-equal
7368 \c UNORD 3 Unordered
7370 \c NLT 5 Not-less-than
7371 \c NLE 6 Not-less-than-or-equal
7374 For more details of the comparison predicates, and details of how
7375 to emulate the "greater-than" equivalents, see \k{iref-SSE-cc}
7378 \S{insCMPSB} \i\c{CMPSB}, \i\c{CMPSW}, \i\c{CMPSD}: Compare Strings
7380 \c CMPSB ; A6 [8086]
7381 \c CMPSW ; o16 A7 [8086]
7382 \c CMPSD ; o32 A7 [386]
7384 \c{CMPSB} compares the byte at \c{[DS:SI]} or \c{[DS:ESI]} with the
7385 byte at \c{[ES:DI]} or \c{[ES:EDI]}, and sets the flags accordingly.
7386 It then increments or decrements (depending on the direction flag:
7387 increments if the flag is clear, decrements if it is set) \c{SI} and
7388 \c{DI} (or \c{ESI} and \c{EDI}).
7390 The registers used are \c{SI} and \c{DI} if the address size is 16
7391 bits, and \c{ESI} and \c{EDI} if it is 32 bits. If you need to use
7392 an address size not equal to the current \c{BITS} setting, you can
7393 use an explicit \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
7395 The segment register used to load from \c{[SI]} or \c{[ESI]} can be
7396 overridden by using a segment register name as a prefix (for
7397 example, \c{ES CMPSB}). The use of \c{ES} for the load from \c{[DI]}
7398 or \c{[EDI]} cannot be overridden.
7400 \c{CMPSW} and \c{CMPSD} work in the same way, but they compare a
7401 word or a doubleword instead of a byte, and increment or decrement
7402 the addressing registers by 2 or 4 instead of 1.
7404 The \c{REPE} and \c{REPNE} prefixes (equivalently, \c{REPZ} and
7405 \c{REPNZ}) may be used to repeat the instruction up to \c{CX} (or
7406 \c{ECX} - again, the address size chooses which) times until the
7407 first unequal or equal byte is found.
7410 \S{insCMPccSD} \i\c{CMPccSD}: Scalar Double-Precision FP Compare
7411 \I\c{CMPEQSD} \I\c{CMPLTSD} \I\c{CMPLESD} \I\c{CMPUNORDSD}
7412 \I\c{CMPNEQSD} \I\c{CMPNLTSD} \I\c{CMPNLESD} \I\c{CMPORDSD}
7414 \c CMPSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64,imm8 ; F2 0F C2 /r ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7416 \c CMPEQSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F C2 /r 00 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7417 \c CMPLTSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F C2 /r 01 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7418 \c CMPLESD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F C2 /r 02 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7419 \c CMPUNORDSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F C2 /r 03 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7420 \c CMPNEQSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F C2 /r 04 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7421 \c CMPNLTSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F C2 /r 05 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7422 \c CMPNLESD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F C2 /r 06 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7423 \c CMPORDSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F C2 /r 07 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7425 The \c{CMPccSD} instructions compare the low-order double-precision
7426 FP values in the source and destination operands, and returns the
7427 result of the comparison in the destination register. The result of
7428 each comparison is a quadword mask of all 1s (comparison true) or
7429 all 0s (comparison false).
7431 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either an
7432 \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7434 The third operand is an 8-bit immediate value, of which the low 3
7435 bits define the type of comparison. For ease of programming, the
7436 8 two-operand pseudo-instructions are provided, with the third
7437 operand already filled in. The \I{Condition Predicates}
7438 \c{Condition Predicates} are:
7442 \c LE 2 Less-than-or-equal
7443 \c UNORD 3 Unordered
7445 \c NLT 5 Not-less-than
7446 \c NLE 6 Not-less-than-or-equal
7449 For more details of the comparison predicates, and details of how
7450 to emulate the "greater-than" equivalents, see \k{iref-SSE-cc}
7453 \S{insCMPccSS} \i\c{CMPccSS}: Scalar Single-Precision FP Compare
7454 \I\c{CMPEQSS} \I\c{CMPLTSS} \I\c{CMPLESS} \I\c{CMPUNORDSS}
7455 \I\c{CMPNEQSS} \I\c{CMPNLTSS} \I\c{CMPNLESS} \I\c{CMPORDSS}
7457 \c CMPSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32,imm8 ; F3 0F C2 /r ib [KATMAI,SSE]
7459 \c CMPEQSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F C2 /r 00 [KATMAI,SSE]
7460 \c CMPLTSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F C2 /r 01 [KATMAI,SSE]
7461 \c CMPLESS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F C2 /r 02 [KATMAI,SSE]
7462 \c CMPUNORDSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F C2 /r 03 [KATMAI,SSE]
7463 \c CMPNEQSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F C2 /r 04 [KATMAI,SSE]
7464 \c CMPNLTSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F C2 /r 05 [KATMAI,SSE]
7465 \c CMPNLESS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F C2 /r 06 [KATMAI,SSE]
7466 \c CMPORDSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F C2 /r 07 [KATMAI,SSE]
7468 The \c{CMPccSS} instructions compare the low-order single-precision
7469 FP values in the source and destination operands, and returns the
7470 result of the comparison in the destination register. The result of
7471 each comparison is a doubleword mask of all 1s (comparison true) or
7472 all 0s (comparison false).
7474 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either an
7475 \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7477 The third operand is an 8-bit immediate value, of which the low 3
7478 bits define the type of comparison. For ease of programming, the
7479 8 two-operand pseudo-instructions are provided, with the third
7480 operand already filled in. The \I{Condition Predicates}
7481 \c{Condition Predicates} are:
7485 \c LE 2 Less-than-or-equal
7486 \c UNORD 3 Unordered
7488 \c NLT 5 Not-less-than
7489 \c NLE 6 Not-less-than-or-equal
7492 For more details of the comparison predicates, and details of how
7493 to emulate the "greater-than" equivalents, see \k{iref-SSE-cc}
7496 \S{insCMPXCHG} \i\c{CMPXCHG}, \i\c{CMPXCHG486}: Compare and Exchange
7498 \c CMPXCHG r/m8,reg8 ; 0F B0 /r [PENT]
7499 \c CMPXCHG r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F B1 /r [PENT]
7500 \c CMPXCHG r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F B1 /r [PENT]
7502 \c CMPXCHG486 r/m8,reg8 ; 0F A6 /r [486,UNDOC]
7503 \c CMPXCHG486 r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F A7 /r [486,UNDOC]
7504 \c CMPXCHG486 r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F A7 /r [486,UNDOC]
7506 These two instructions perform exactly the same operation; however,
7507 apparently some (not all) 486 processors support it under a
7508 non-standard opcode, so NASM provides the undocumented
7509 \c{CMPXCHG486} form to generate the non-standard opcode.
7511 \c{CMPXCHG} compares its destination (first) operand to the value in
7512 \c{AL}, \c{AX} or \c{EAX} (depending on the operand size of the
7513 instruction). If they are equal, it copies its source (second)
7514 operand into the destination and sets the zero flag. Otherwise, it
7515 clears the zero flag and copies the destination register to AL, AX or EAX.
7517 The destination can be either a register or a memory location. The
7518 source is a register.
7520 \c{CMPXCHG} is intended to be used for atomic operations in
7521 multitasking or multiprocessor environments. To safely update a
7522 value in shared memory, for example, you might load the value into
7523 \c{EAX}, load the updated value into \c{EBX}, and then execute the
7524 instruction \c{LOCK CMPXCHG [value],EBX}. If \c{value} has not
7525 changed since being loaded, it is updated with your desired new
7526 value, and the zero flag is set to let you know it has worked. (The
7527 \c{LOCK} prefix prevents another processor doing anything in the
7528 middle of this operation: it guarantees atomicity.) However, if
7529 another processor has modified the value in between your load and
7530 your attempted store, the store does not happen, and you are
7531 notified of the failure by a cleared zero flag, so you can go round
7535 \S{insCMPXCHG8B} \i\c{CMPXCHG8B}: Compare and Exchange Eight Bytes
7537 \c CMPXCHG8B mem ; 0F C7 /1 [PENT]
7539 This is a larger and more unwieldy version of \c{CMPXCHG}: it
7540 compares the 64-bit (eight-byte) value stored at \c{[mem]} with the
7541 value in \c{EDX:EAX}. If they are equal, it sets the zero flag and
7542 stores \c{ECX:EBX} into the memory area. If they are unequal, it
7543 clears the zero flag and stores the memory contents into \c{EDX:EAX}.
7545 \c{CMPXCHG8B} can be used with the \c{LOCK} prefix, to allow atomic
7546 execution. This is useful in multi-processor and multi-tasking
7550 \S{insCOMISD} \i\c{COMISD}: Scalar Ordered Double-Precision FP Compare and Set EFLAGS
7552 \c COMISD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; 66 0F 2F /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7554 \c{COMISD} compares the low-order double-precision FP value in the
7555 two source operands. ZF, PF and CF are set according to the result.
7556 OF, AF and AF are cleared. The unordered result is returned if either
7557 source is a NaN (QNaN or SNaN).
7559 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either
7560 an \c{XMM} register or a memory location.
7562 The flags are set according to the following rules:
7564 \c Result Flags Values
7566 \c UNORDERED: ZF,PF,CF <-- 111;
7567 \c GREATER_THAN: ZF,PF,CF <-- 000;
7568 \c LESS_THAN: ZF,PF,CF <-- 001;
7569 \c EQUAL: ZF,PF,CF <-- 100;
7572 \S{insCOMISS} \i\c{COMISS}: Scalar Ordered Single-Precision FP Compare and Set EFLAGS
7574 \c COMISS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; 66 0F 2F /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7576 \c{COMISS} compares the low-order single-precision FP value in the
7577 two source operands. ZF, PF and CF are set according to the result.
7578 OF, AF and AF are cleared. The unordered result is returned if either
7579 source is a NaN (QNaN or SNaN).
7581 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either
7582 an \c{XMM} register or a memory location.
7584 The flags are set according to the following rules:
7586 \c Result Flags Values
7588 \c UNORDERED: ZF,PF,CF <-- 111;
7589 \c GREATER_THAN: ZF,PF,CF <-- 000;
7590 \c LESS_THAN: ZF,PF,CF <-- 001;
7591 \c EQUAL: ZF,PF,CF <-- 100;
7594 \S{insCPUID} \i\c{CPUID}: Get CPU Identification Code
7596 \c CPUID ; 0F A2 [PENT]
7598 \c{CPUID} returns various information about the processor it is
7599 being executed on. It fills the four registers \c{EAX}, \c{EBX},
7600 \c{ECX} and \c{EDX} with information, which varies depending on the
7601 input contents of \c{EAX}.
7603 \c{CPUID} also acts as a barrier to serialise instruction execution:
7604 executing the \c{CPUID} instruction guarantees that all the effects
7605 (memory modification, flag modification, register modification) of
7606 previous instructions have been completed before the next
7607 instruction gets fetched.
7609 The information returned is as follows:
7611 \b If \c{EAX} is zero on input, \c{EAX} on output holds the maximum
7612 acceptable input value of \c{EAX}, and \c{EBX:EDX:ECX} contain the
7613 string \c{"GenuineIntel"} (or not, if you have a clone processor).
7614 That is to say, \c{EBX} contains \c{"Genu"} (in NASM's own sense of
7615 character constants, described in \k{chrconst}), \c{EDX} contains
7616 \c{"ineI"} and \c{ECX} contains \c{"ntel"}.
7618 \b If \c{EAX} is one on input, \c{EAX} on output contains version
7619 information about the processor, and \c{EDX} contains a set of
7620 feature flags, showing the presence and absence of various features.
7621 For example, bit 8 is set if the \c{CMPXCHG8B} instruction
7622 (\k{insCMPXCHG8B}) is supported, bit 15 is set if the conditional
7623 move instructions (\k{insCMOVcc} and \k{insFCMOVB}) are supported,
7624 and bit 23 is set if \c{MMX} instructions are supported.
7626 \b If \c{EAX} is two on input, \c{EAX}, \c{EBX}, \c{ECX} and \c{EDX}
7627 all contain information about caches and TLBs (Translation Lookahead
7630 For more information on the data returned from \c{CPUID}, see the
7631 documentation from Intel and other processor manufacturers.
7634 \S{insCVTDQ2PD} \i\c{CVTDQ2PD}:
7635 Packed Signed INT32 to Packed Double-Precision FP Conversion
7637 \c CVTDQ2PD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F3 0F E6 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7639 \c{CVTDQ2PD} converts two packed signed doublewords from the source
7640 operand to two packed double-precision FP values in the destination
7643 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7644 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location. If the
7645 source is a register, the packed integers are in the low quadword.
7648 \S{insCVTDQ2PS} \i\c{CVTDQ2PS}:
7649 Packed Signed INT32 to Packed Single-Precision FP Conversion
7651 \c CVTDQ2PS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F 5B /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7653 \c{CVTDQ2PS} converts four packed signed doublewords from the source
7654 operand to four packed single-precision FP values in the destination
7657 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7658 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7660 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7663 \S{insCVTPD2DQ} \i\c{CVTPD2DQ}:
7664 Packed Double-Precision FP to Packed Signed INT32 Conversion
7666 \c CVTPD2DQ xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; F2 0F E6 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7668 \c{CVTPD2DQ} converts two packed double-precision FP values from the
7669 source operand to two packed signed doublewords in the low quadword
7670 of the destination operand. The high quadword of the destination is
7673 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7674 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7676 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7679 \S{insCVTPD2PI} \i\c{CVTPD2PI}:
7680 Packed Double-Precision FP to Packed Signed INT32 Conversion
7682 \c CVTPD2PI mm,xmm/mem128 ; 66 0F 2D /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7684 \c{CVTPD2PI} converts two packed double-precision FP values from the
7685 source operand to two packed signed doublewords in the destination
7688 The destination operand is an \c{MMX} register. The source can be
7689 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7691 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7694 \S{insCVTPD2PS} \i\c{CVTPD2PS}:
7695 Packed Double-Precision FP to Packed Single-Precision FP Conversion
7697 \c CVTPD2PS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 5A /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7699 \c{CVTPD2PS} converts two packed double-precision FP values from the
7700 source operand to two packed single-precision FP values in the low
7701 quadword of the destination operand. The high quadword of the
7702 destination is set to all 0s.
7704 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7705 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7707 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7710 \S{insCVTPI2PD} \i\c{CVTPI2PD}:
7711 Packed Signed INT32 to Packed Double-Precision FP Conversion
7713 \c CVTPI2PD xmm,mm/mem64 ; 66 0F 2A /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7715 \c{CVTPI2PD} converts two packed signed doublewords from the source
7716 operand to two packed double-precision FP values in the destination
7719 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7720 either an \c{MMX} register or a 64-bit memory location.
7722 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7725 \S{insCVTPI2PS} \i\c{CVTPI2PS}:
7726 Packed Signed INT32 to Packed Single-FP Conversion
7728 \c CVTPI2PS xmm,mm/mem64 ; 0F 2A /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7730 \c{CVTPI2PS} converts two packed signed doublewords from the source
7731 operand to two packed single-precision FP values in the low quadword
7732 of the destination operand. The high quadword of the destination
7735 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7736 either an \c{MMX} register or a 64-bit memory location.
7738 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7741 \S{insCVTPS2DQ} \i\c{CVTPS2DQ}:
7742 Packed Single-Precision FP to Packed Signed INT32 Conversion
7744 \c CVTPS2DQ xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 5B /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7746 \c{CVTPS2DQ} converts four packed single-precision FP values from the
7747 source operand to four packed signed doublewords in the destination operand.
7749 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7750 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7752 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7755 \S{insCVTPS2PD} \i\c{CVTPS2PD}:
7756 Packed Single-Precision FP to Packed Double-Precision FP Conversion
7758 \c CVTPS2PD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; 0F 5A /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7760 \c{CVTPS2PD} converts two packed single-precision FP values from the
7761 source operand to two packed double-precision FP values in the destination
7764 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7765 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location. If the source
7766 is a register, the input values are in the low quadword.
7768 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7771 \S{insCVTPS2PI} \i\c{CVTPS2PI}:
7772 Packed Single-Precision FP to Packed Signed INT32 Conversion
7774 \c CVTPS2PI mm,xmm/mem64 ; 0F 2D /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7776 \c{CVTPS2PI} converts two packed single-precision FP values from
7777 the source operand to two packed signed doublewords in the destination
7780 The destination operand is an \c{MMX} register. The source can be
7781 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location. If the
7782 source is a register, the input values are in the low quadword.
7784 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7787 \S{insCVTSD2SI} \i\c{CVTSD2SI}:
7788 Scalar Double-Precision FP to Signed INT32 Conversion
7790 \c CVTSD2SI reg32,xmm/mem64 ; F2 0F 2D /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7792 \c{CVTSD2SI} converts a double-precision FP value from the source
7793 operand to a signed doubleword in the destination operand.
7795 The destination operand is a general purpose register. The source can be
7796 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location. If the
7797 source is a register, the input value is in the low quadword.
7799 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7802 \S{insCVTSD2SS} \i\c{CVTSD2SS}:
7803 Scalar Double-Precision FP to Scalar Single-Precision FP Conversion
7805 \c CVTSD2SS xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F 5A /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7807 \c{CVTSD2SS} converts a double-precision FP value from the source
7808 operand to a single-precision FP value in the low doubleword of the
7809 destination operand. The upper 3 doublewords are left unchanged.
7811 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7812 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location. If the
7813 source is a register, the input value is in the low quadword.
7815 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7818 \S{insCVTSI2SD} \i\c{CVTSI2SD}:
7819 Signed INT32 to Scalar Double-Precision FP Conversion
7821 \c CVTSI2SD xmm,r/m32 ; F2 0F 2A /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7823 \c{CVTSI2SD} converts a signed doubleword from the source operand to
7824 a double-precision FP value in the low quadword of the destination
7825 operand. The high quadword is left unchanged.
7827 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either
7828 a general purpose register or a 32-bit memory location.
7830 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7833 \S{insCVTSI2SS} \i\c{CVTSI2SS}:
7834 Signed INT32 to Scalar Single-Precision FP Conversion
7836 \c CVTSI2SS xmm,r/m32 ; F3 0F 2A /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7838 \c{CVTSI2SS} converts a signed doubleword from the source operand to a
7839 single-precision FP value in the low doubleword of the destination operand.
7840 The upper 3 doublewords are left unchanged.
7842 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either
7843 a general purpose register or a 32-bit memory location.
7845 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7848 \S{insCVTSS2SD} \i\c{CVTSS2SD}:
7849 Scalar Single-Precision FP to Scalar Double-Precision FP Conversion
7851 \c CVTSS2SD xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F 5A /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7853 \c{CVTSS2SD} converts a single-precision FP value from the source operand
7854 to a double-precision FP value in the low quadword of the destination
7855 operand. The upper quadword is left unchanged.
7857 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be either
7858 an \c{XMM} register or a 32-bit memory location. If the source is a
7859 register, the input value is contained in the low doubleword.
7861 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7864 \S{insCVTSS2SI} \i\c{CVTSS2SI}:
7865 Scalar Single-Precision FP to Signed INT32 Conversion
7867 \c CVTSS2SI reg32,xmm/mem32 ; F3 0F 2D /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7869 \c{CVTSS2SI} converts a single-precision FP value from the source
7870 operand to a signed doubleword in the destination operand.
7872 The destination operand is a general purpose register. The source can be
7873 either an \c{XMM} register or a 32-bit memory location. If the
7874 source is a register, the input value is in the low doubleword.
7876 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7879 \S{insCVTTPD2DQ} \i\c{CVTTPD2DQ}:
7880 Packed Double-Precision FP to Packed Signed INT32 Conversion with Truncation
7882 \c CVTTPD2DQ xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F E6 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7884 \c{CVTTPD2DQ} converts two packed double-precision FP values in the source
7885 operand to two packed single-precision FP values in the destination operand.
7886 If the result is inexact, it is truncated (rounded toward zero). The high
7887 quadword is set to all 0s.
7889 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7890 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7892 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7895 \S{insCVTTPD2PI} \i\c{CVTTPD2PI}:
7896 Packed Double-Precision FP to Packed Signed INT32 Conversion with Truncation
7898 \c CVTTPD2PI mm,xmm/mem128 ; 66 0F 2C /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7900 \c{CVTTPD2PI} converts two packed double-precision FP values in the source
7901 operand to two packed single-precision FP values in the destination operand.
7902 If the result is inexact, it is truncated (rounded toward zero).
7904 The destination operand is an \c{MMX} register. The source can be
7905 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7907 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7910 \S{insCVTTPS2DQ} \i\c{CVTTPS2DQ}:
7911 Packed Single-Precision FP to Packed Signed INT32 Conversion with Truncation
7913 \c CVTTPS2DQ xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; F3 0F 5B /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7915 \c{CVTTPS2DQ} converts four packed single-precision FP values in the source
7916 operand to four packed signed doublewords in the destination operand.
7917 If the result is inexact, it is truncated (rounded toward zero).
7919 The destination operand is an \c{XMM} register. The source can be
7920 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
7922 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7925 \S{insCVTTPS2PI} \i\c{CVTTPS2PI}:
7926 Packed Single-Precision FP to Packed Signed INT32 Conversion with Truncation
7928 \c CVTTPS2PI mm,xmm/mem64 ; 0F 2C /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7930 \c{CVTTPS2PI} converts two packed single-precision FP values in the source
7931 operand to two packed signed doublewords in the destination operand.
7932 If the result is inexact, it is truncated (rounded toward zero). If
7933 the source is a register, the input values are in the low quadword.
7935 The destination operand is an \c{MMX} register. The source can be
7936 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location. If the source
7937 is a register, the input value is in the low quadword.
7939 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7942 \S{insCVTTSD2SI} \i\c{CVTTSD2SI}:
7943 Scalar Double-Precision FP to Signed INT32 Conversion with Truncation
7945 \c CVTTSD2SI reg32,xmm/mem64 ; F2 0F 2C /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
7947 \c{CVTTSD2SI} converts a double-precision FP value in the source operand
7948 to a signed doubleword in the destination operand. If the result is
7949 inexact, it is truncated (rounded toward zero).
7951 The destination operand is a general purpose register. The source can be
7952 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location. If the source is a
7953 register, the input value is in the low quadword.
7955 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7958 \S{insCVTTSS2SI} \i\c{CVTTSS2SI}:
7959 Scalar Single-Precision FP to Signed INT32 Conversion with Truncation
7961 \c CVTTSD2SI reg32,xmm/mem32 ; F3 0F 2C /r [KATMAI,SSE]
7963 \c{CVTTSS2SI} converts a single-precision FP value in the source operand
7964 to a signed doubleword in the destination operand. If the result is
7965 inexact, it is truncated (rounded toward zero).
7967 The destination operand is a general purpose register. The source can be
7968 either an \c{XMM} register or a 32-bit memory location. If the source is a
7969 register, the input value is in the low doubleword.
7971 For more details of this instruction, see the Intel Processor manuals.
7974 \S{insDAA} \i\c{DAA}, \i\c{DAS}: Decimal Adjustments
7979 These instructions are used in conjunction with the add and subtract
7980 instructions to perform binary-coded decimal arithmetic in
7981 \e{packed} (one BCD digit per nibble) form. For the unpacked
7982 equivalents, see \k{insAAA}.
7984 \c{DAA} should be used after a one-byte \c{ADD} instruction whose
7985 destination was the \c{AL} register: by means of examining the value
7986 in the \c{AL} and also the auxiliary carry flag \c{AF}, it
7987 determines whether either digit of the addition has overflowed, and
7988 adjusts it (and sets the carry and auxiliary-carry flags) if so. You
7989 can add long BCD strings together by doing \c{ADD}/\c{DAA} on the
7990 low two digits, then doing \c{ADC}/\c{DAA} on each subsequent pair
7993 \c{DAS} works similarly to \c{DAA}, but is for use after \c{SUB}
7994 instructions rather than \c{ADD}.
7997 \S{insDEC} \i\c{DEC}: Decrement Integer
7999 \c DEC reg16 ; o16 48+r [8086]
8000 \c DEC reg32 ; o32 48+r [386]
8001 \c DEC r/m8 ; FE /1 [8086]
8002 \c DEC r/m16 ; o16 FF /1 [8086]
8003 \c DEC r/m32 ; o32 FF /1 [386]
8005 \c{DEC} subtracts 1 from its operand. It does \e{not} affect the
8006 carry flag: to affect the carry flag, use \c{SUB something,1} (see
8007 \k{insSUB}). \c{DEC} affects all the other flags according to the result.
8009 This instruction can be used with a \c{LOCK} prefix to allow atomic
8012 See also \c{INC} (\k{insINC}).
8015 \S{insDIV} \i\c{DIV}: Unsigned Integer Divide
8017 \c DIV r/m8 ; F6 /6 [8086]
8018 \c DIV r/m16 ; o16 F7 /6 [8086]
8019 \c DIV r/m32 ; o32 F7 /6 [386]
8021 \c{DIV} performs unsigned integer division. The explicit operand
8022 provided is the divisor; the dividend and destination operands are
8023 implicit, in the following way:
8025 \b For \c{DIV r/m8}, \c{AX} is divided by the given operand; the
8026 quotient is stored in \c{AL} and the remainder in \c{AH}.
8028 \b For \c{DIV r/m16}, \c{DX:AX} is divided by the given operand; the
8029 quotient is stored in \c{AX} and the remainder in \c{DX}.
8031 \b For \c{DIV r/m32}, \c{EDX:EAX} is divided by the given operand;
8032 the quotient is stored in \c{EAX} and the remainder in \c{EDX}.
8034 Signed integer division is performed by the \c{IDIV} instruction:
8038 \S{insDIVPD} \i\c{DIVPD}: Packed Double-Precision FP Divide
8040 \c DIVPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 5E /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
8042 \c{DIVPD} divides the two packed double-precision FP values in
8043 the destination operand by the two packed double-precision FP
8044 values in the source operand, and stores the packed double-precision
8045 results in the destination register.
8047 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
8048 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
8050 \c dst[0-63] := dst[0-63] / src[0-63],
8051 \c dst[64-127] := dst[64-127] / src[64-127].
8054 \S{insDIVPS} \i\c{DIVPS}: Packed Single-Precision FP Divide
8056 \c DIVPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F 5E /r [KATMAI,SSE]
8058 \c{DIVPS} divides the four packed single-precision FP values in
8059 the destination operand by the four packed single-precision FP
8060 values in the source operand, and stores the packed single-precision
8061 results in the destination register.
8063 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
8064 either an \c{XMM} register or a 128-bit memory location.
8066 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] / src[0-31],
8067 \c dst[32-63] := dst[32-63] / src[32-63],
8068 \c dst[64-95] := dst[64-95] / src[64-95],
8069 \c dst[96-127] := dst[96-127] / src[96-127].
8072 \S{insDIVSD} \i\c{DIVSD}: Scalar Double-Precision FP Divide
8074 \c DIVSD xmm1,xmm2/mem64 ; F2 0F 5E /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
8076 \c{DIVSD} divides the low-order double-precision FP value in the
8077 destination operand by the low-order double-precision FP value in
8078 the source operand, and stores the double-precision result in the
8079 destination register.
8081 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
8082 either an \c{XMM} register or a 64-bit memory location.
8084 \c dst[0-63] := dst[0-63] / src[0-63],
8085 \c dst[64-127] remains unchanged.
8088 \S{insDIVSS} \i\c{DIVSS}: Scalar Single-Precision FP Divide
8090 \c DIVSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F 5E /r [KATMAI,SSE]
8092 \c{DIVSS} divides the low-order single-precision FP value in the
8093 destination operand by the low-order single-precision FP value in
8094 the source operand, and stores the single-precision result in the
8095 destination register.
8097 The destination is an \c{XMM} register. The source operand can be
8098 either an \c{XMM} register or a 32-bit memory location.
8100 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] / src[0-31],
8101 \c dst[32-127] remains unchanged.
8104 \S{insEMMS} \i\c{EMMS}: Empty MMX State
8106 \c EMMS ; 0F 77 [PENT,MMX]
8108 \c{EMMS} sets the FPU tag word (marking which floating-point registers
8109 are available) to all ones, meaning all registers are available for
8110 the FPU to use. It should be used after executing \c{MMX} instructions
8111 and before executing any subsequent floating-point operations.
8114 \S{insENTER} \i\c{ENTER}: Create Stack Frame
8116 \c ENTER imm,imm ; C8 iw ib [186]
8118 \c{ENTER} constructs a \i\c{stack frame} for a high-level language
8119 procedure call. The first operand (the \c{iw} in the opcode
8120 definition above refers to the first operand) gives the amount of
8121 stack space to allocate for local variables; the second (the \c{ib}
8122 above) gives the nesting level of the procedure (for languages like
8123 Pascal, with nested procedures).
8125 The function of \c{ENTER}, with a nesting level of zero, is
8128 \c PUSH EBP ; or PUSH BP in 16 bits
8129 \c MOV EBP,ESP ; or MOV BP,SP in 16 bits
8130 \c SUB ESP,operand1 ; or SUB SP,operand1 in 16 bits
8132 This creates a stack frame with the procedure parameters accessible
8133 upwards from \c{EBP}, and local variables accessible downwards from
8136 With a nesting level of one, the stack frame created is 4 (or 2)
8137 bytes bigger, and the value of the final frame pointer \c{EBP} is
8138 accessible in memory at \c{[EBP-4]}.
8140 This allows \c{ENTER}, when called with a nesting level of two, to
8141 look at the stack frame described by the \e{previous} value of
8142 \c{EBP}, find the frame pointer at offset -4 from that, and push it
8143 along with its new frame pointer, so that when a level-two procedure
8144 is called from within a level-one procedure, \c{[EBP-4]} holds the
8145 frame pointer of the most recent level-one procedure call and
8146 \c{[EBP-8]} holds that of the most recent level-two call. And so on,
8147 for nesting levels up to 31.
8149 Stack frames created by \c{ENTER} can be destroyed by the \c{LEAVE}
8150 instruction: see \k{insLEAVE}.
8153 \S{insF2XM1} \i\c{F2XM1}: Calculate 2**X-1
8155 \c F2XM1 ; D9 F0 [8086,FPU]
8157 \c{F2XM1} raises 2 to the power of \c{ST0}, subtracts one, and
8158 stores the result back into \c{ST0}. The initial contents of \c{ST0}
8159 must be a number in the range -1.0 to +1.0.
8162 \S{insFABS} \i\c{FABS}: Floating-Point Absolute Value
8164 \c FABS ; D9 E1 [8086,FPU]
8166 \c{FABS} computes the absolute value of \c{ST0},by clearing the sign
8167 bit, and stores the result back in \c{ST0}.
8170 \S{insFADD} \i\c{FADD}, \i\c{FADDP}: Floating-Point Addition
8172 \c FADD mem32 ; D8 /0 [8086,FPU]
8173 \c FADD mem64 ; DC /0 [8086,FPU]
8175 \c FADD fpureg ; D8 C0+r [8086,FPU]
8176 \c FADD ST0,fpureg ; D8 C0+r [8086,FPU]
8178 \c FADD TO fpureg ; DC C0+r [8086,FPU]
8179 \c FADD fpureg,ST0 ; DC C0+r [8086,FPU]
8181 \c FADDP fpureg ; DE C0+r [8086,FPU]
8182 \c FADDP fpureg,ST0 ; DE C0+r [8086,FPU]
8184 \b \c{FADD}, given one operand, adds the operand to \c{ST0} and stores
8185 the result back in \c{ST0}. If the operand has the \c{TO} modifier,
8186 the result is stored in the register given rather than in \c{ST0}.
8188 \b \c{FADDP} performs the same function as \c{FADD TO}, but pops the
8189 register stack after storing the result.
8191 The given two-operand forms are synonyms for the one-operand forms.
8193 To add an integer value to \c{ST0}, use the c{FIADD} instruction
8197 \S{insFBLD} \i\c{FBLD}, \i\c{FBSTP}: BCD Floating-Point Load and Store
8199 \c FBLD mem80 ; DF /4 [8086,FPU]
8200 \c FBSTP mem80 ; DF /6 [8086,FPU]
8202 \c{FBLD} loads an 80-bit (ten-byte) packed binary-coded decimal
8203 number from the given memory address, converts it to a real, and
8204 pushes it on the register stack. \c{FBSTP} stores the value of
8205 \c{ST0}, in packed BCD, at the given address and then pops the
8209 \S{insFCHS} \i\c{FCHS}: Floating-Point Change Sign
8211 \c FCHS ; D9 E0 [8086,FPU]
8213 \c{FCHS} negates the number in \c{ST0}, by inverting the sign bit:
8214 negative numbers become positive, and vice versa.
8217 \S{insFCLEX} \i\c{FCLEX}, \c{FNCLEX}: Clear Floating-Point Exceptions
8219 \c FCLEX ; 9B DB E2 [8086,FPU]
8220 \c FNCLEX ; DB E2 [8086,FPU]
8222 \c{FCLEX} clears any floating-point exceptions which may be pending.
8223 \c{FNCLEX} does the same thing but doesn't wait for previous
8224 floating-point operations (including the \e{handling} of pending
8225 exceptions) to finish first.
8228 \S{insFCMOVB} \i\c{FCMOVcc}: Floating-Point Conditional Move
8230 \c FCMOVB fpureg ; DA C0+r [P6,FPU]
8231 \c FCMOVB ST0,fpureg ; DA C0+r [P6,FPU]
8233 \c FCMOVE fpureg ; DA C8+r [P6,FPU]
8234 \c FCMOVE ST0,fpureg ; DA C8+r [P6,FPU]
8236 \c FCMOVBE fpureg ; DA D0+r [P6,FPU]
8237 \c FCMOVBE ST0,fpureg ; DA D0+r [P6,FPU]
8239 \c FCMOVU fpureg ; DA D8+r [P6,FPU]
8240 \c FCMOVU ST0,fpureg ; DA D8+r [P6,FPU]
8242 \c FCMOVNB fpureg ; DB C0+r [P6,FPU]
8243 \c FCMOVNB ST0,fpureg ; DB C0+r [P6,FPU]
8245 \c FCMOVNE fpureg ; DB C8+r [P6,FPU]
8246 \c FCMOVNE ST0,fpureg ; DB C8+r [P6,FPU]
8248 \c FCMOVNBE fpureg ; DB D0+r [P6,FPU]
8249 \c FCMOVNBE ST0,fpureg ; DB D0+r [P6,FPU]
8251 \c FCMOVNU fpureg ; DB D8+r [P6,FPU]
8252 \c FCMOVNU ST0,fpureg ; DB D8+r [P6,FPU]
8254 The \c{FCMOV} instructions perform conditional move operations: each
8255 of them moves the contents of the given register into \c{ST0} if its
8256 condition is satisfied, and does nothing if not.
8258 The conditions are not the same as the standard condition codes used
8259 with conditional jump instructions. The conditions \c{B}, \c{BE},
8260 \c{NB}, \c{NBE}, \c{E} and \c{NE} are exactly as normal, but none of
8261 the other standard ones are supported. Instead, the condition \c{U}
8262 and its counterpart \c{NU} are provided; the \c{U} condition is
8263 satisfied if the last two floating-point numbers compared were
8264 \e{unordered}, i.e. they were not equal but neither one could be
8265 said to be greater than the other, for example if they were NaNs.
8266 (The flag state which signals this is the setting of the parity
8267 flag: so the \c{U} condition is notionally equivalent to \c{PE}, and
8268 \c{NU} is equivalent to \c{PO}.)
8270 The \c{FCMOV} conditions test the main processor's status flags, not
8271 the FPU status flags, so using \c{FCMOV} directly after \c{FCOM}
8272 will not work. Instead, you should either use \c{FCOMI} which writes
8273 directly to the main CPU flags word, or use \c{FSTSW} to extract the
8276 Although the \c{FCMOV} instructions are flagged \c{P6} above, they
8277 may not be supported by all Pentium Pro processors; the \c{CPUID}
8278 instruction (\k{insCPUID}) will return a bit which indicates whether
8279 conditional moves are supported.
8282 \S{insFCOM} \i\c{FCOM}, \i\c{FCOMP}, \i\c{FCOMPP}, \i\c{FCOMI},
8283 \i\c{FCOMIP}: Floating-Point Compare
8285 \c FCOM mem32 ; D8 /2 [8086,FPU]
8286 \c FCOM mem64 ; DC /2 [8086,FPU]
8287 \c FCOM fpureg ; D8 D0+r [8086,FPU]
8288 \c FCOM ST0,fpureg ; D8 D0+r [8086,FPU]
8290 \c FCOMP mem32 ; D8 /3 [8086,FPU]
8291 \c FCOMP mem64 ; DC /3 [8086,FPU]
8292 \c FCOMP fpureg ; D8 D8+r [8086,FPU]
8293 \c FCOMP ST0,fpureg ; D8 D8+r [8086,FPU]
8295 \c FCOMPP ; DE D9 [8086,FPU]
8297 \c FCOMI fpureg ; DB F0+r [P6,FPU]
8298 \c FCOMI ST0,fpureg ; DB F0+r [P6,FPU]
8300 \c FCOMIP fpureg ; DF F0+r [P6,FPU]
8301 \c FCOMIP ST0,fpureg ; DF F0+r [P6,FPU]
8303 \c{FCOM} compares \c{ST0} with the given operand, and sets the FPU
8304 flags accordingly. \c{ST0} is treated as the left-hand side of the
8305 comparison, so that the carry flag is set (for a `less-than' result)
8306 if \c{ST0} is less than the given operand.
8308 \c{FCOMP} does the same as \c{FCOM}, but pops the register stack
8309 afterwards. \c{FCOMPP} compares \c{ST0} with \c{ST1} and then pops
8310 the register stack twice.
8312 \c{FCOMI} and \c{FCOMIP} work like the corresponding forms of
8313 \c{FCOM} and \c{FCOMP}, but write their results directly to the CPU
8314 flags register rather than the FPU status word, so they can be
8315 immediately followed by conditional jump or conditional move
8318 The \c{FCOM} instructions differ from the \c{FUCOM} instructions
8319 (\k{insFUCOM}) only in the way they handle quiet NaNs: \c{FUCOM}
8320 will handle them silently and set the condition code flags to an
8321 `unordered' result, whereas \c{FCOM} will generate an exception.
8324 \S{insFCOS} \i\c{FCOS}: Cosine
8326 \c FCOS ; D9 FF [386,FPU]
8328 \c{FCOS} computes the cosine of \c{ST0} (in radians), and stores the
8329 result in \c{ST0}. The absolute value of \c{ST0} must be less than 2**63.
8331 See also \c{FSINCOS} (\k{insFSIN}).
8334 \S{insFDECSTP} \i\c{FDECSTP}: Decrement Floating-Point Stack Pointer
8336 \c FDECSTP ; D9 F6 [8086,FPU]
8338 \c{FDECSTP} decrements the `top' field in the floating-point status
8339 word. This has the effect of rotating the FPU register stack by one,
8340 as if the contents of \c{ST7} had been pushed on the stack. See also
8341 \c{FINCSTP} (\k{insFINCSTP}).
8344 \S{insFDISI} \i\c{FxDISI}, \i\c{FxENI}: Disable and Enable Floating-Point Interrupts
8346 \c FDISI ; 9B DB E1 [8086,FPU]
8347 \c FNDISI ; DB E1 [8086,FPU]
8349 \c FENI ; 9B DB E0 [8086,FPU]
8350 \c FNENI ; DB E0 [8086,FPU]
8352 \c{FDISI} and \c{FENI} disable and enable floating-point interrupts.
8353 These instructions are only meaningful on original 8087 processors:
8354 the 287 and above treat them as no-operation instructions.
8356 \c{FNDISI} and \c{FNENI} do the same thing as \c{FDISI} and \c{FENI}
8357 respectively, but without waiting for the floating-point processor
8358 to finish what it was doing first.
8361 \S{insFDIV} \i\c{FDIV}, \i\c{FDIVP}, \i\c{FDIVR}, \i\c{FDIVRP}: Floating-Point Division
8363 \c FDIV mem32 ; D8 /6 [8086,FPU]
8364 \c FDIV mem64 ; DC /6 [8086,FPU]
8366 \c FDIV fpureg ; D8 F0+r [8086,FPU]
8367 \c FDIV ST0,fpureg ; D8 F0+r [8086,FPU]
8369 \c FDIV TO fpureg ; DC F8+r [8086,FPU]
8370 \c FDIV fpureg,ST0 ; DC F8+r [8086,FPU]
8372 \c FDIVR mem32 ; D8 /0 [8086,FPU]
8373 \c FDIVR mem64 ; DC /0 [8086,FPU]
8375 \c FDIVR fpureg ; D8 F8+r [8086,FPU]
8376 \c FDIVR ST0,fpureg ; D8 F8+r [8086,FPU]
8378 \c FDIVR TO fpureg ; DC F0+r [8086,FPU]
8379 \c FDIVR fpureg,ST0 ; DC F0+r [8086,FPU]
8381 \c FDIVP fpureg ; DE F8+r [8086,FPU]
8382 \c FDIVP fpureg,ST0 ; DE F8+r [8086,FPU]
8384 \c FDIVRP fpureg ; DE F0+r [8086,FPU]
8385 \c FDIVRP fpureg,ST0 ; DE F0+r [8086,FPU]
8387 \b \c{FDIV} divides \c{ST0} by the given operand and stores the result
8388 back in \c{ST0}, unless the \c{TO} qualifier is given, in which case
8389 it divides the given operand by \c{ST0} and stores the result in the
8392 \b \c{FDIVR} does the same thing, but does the division the other way
8393 up: so if \c{TO} is not given, it divides the given operand by
8394 \c{ST0} and stores the result in \c{ST0}, whereas if \c{TO} is given
8395 it divides \c{ST0} by its operand and stores the result in the
8398 \b \c{FDIVP} operates like \c{FDIV TO}, but pops the register stack
8399 once it has finished.
8401 \b \c{FDIVRP} operates like \c{FDIVR TO}, but pops the register stack
8402 once it has finished.
8404 For FP/Integer divisions, see \c{FIDIV} (\k{insFIDIV}).
8407 \S{insFEMMS} \i\c{FEMMS}: Faster Enter/Exit of the MMX or floating-point state
8409 \c FEMMS ; 0F 0E [PENT,3DNOW]
8411 \c{FEMMS} can be used in place of the \c{EMMS} instruction on
8412 processors which support the 3DNow! instruction set. Following
8413 execution of \c{FEMMS}, the state of the \c{MMX/FP} registers
8414 is undefined, and this allows a faster context switch between
8415 \c{FP} and \c{MMX} instructions. The \c{FEMMS} instruction can
8416 also be used \e{before} executing \c{MMX} instructions
8419 \S{insFFREE} \i\c{FFREE}: Flag Floating-Point Register as Unused
8421 \c FFREE fpureg ; DD C0+r [8086,FPU]
8422 \c FFREEP fpureg ; DF C0+r [286,FPU,UNDOC]
8424 \c{FFREE} marks the given register as being empty.
8426 \c{FFREEP} marks the given register as being empty, and then
8427 pops the register stack.
8430 \S{insFIADD} \i\c{FIADD}: Floating-Point/Integer Addition
8432 \c FIADD mem16 ; DE /0 [8086,FPU]
8433 \c FIADD mem32 ; DA /0 [8086,FPU]
8435 \c{FIADD} adds the 16-bit or 32-bit integer stored in the given
8436 memory location to \c{ST0}, storing the result in \c{ST0}.
8439 \S{insFICOM} \i\c{FICOM}, \i\c{FICOMP}: Floating-Point/Integer Compare
8441 \c FICOM mem16 ; DE /2 [8086,FPU]
8442 \c FICOM mem32 ; DA /2 [8086,FPU]
8444 \c FICOMP mem16 ; DE /3 [8086,FPU]
8445 \c FICOMP mem32 ; DA /3 [8086,FPU]
8447 \c{FICOM} compares \c{ST0} with the 16-bit or 32-bit integer stored
8448 in the given memory location, and sets the FPU flags accordingly.
8449 \c{FICOMP} does the same, but pops the register stack afterwards.
8452 \S{insFIDIV} \i\c{FIDIV}, \i\c{FIDIVR}: Floating-Point/Integer Division
8454 \c FIDIV mem16 ; DE /6 [8086,FPU]
8455 \c FIDIV mem32 ; DA /6 [8086,FPU]
8457 \c FIDIVR mem16 ; DE /7 [8086,FPU]
8458 \c FIDIVR mem32 ; DA /7 [8086,FPU]
8460 \c{FIDIV} divides \c{ST0} by the 16-bit or 32-bit integer stored in
8461 the given memory location, and stores the result in \c{ST0}.
8462 \c{FIDIVR} does the division the other way up: it divides the
8463 integer by \c{ST0}, but still stores the result in \c{ST0}.
8466 \S{insFILD} \i\c{FILD}, \i\c{FIST}, \i\c{FISTP}: Floating-Point/Integer Conversion
8468 \c FILD mem16 ; DF /0 [8086,FPU]
8469 \c FILD mem32 ; DB /0 [8086,FPU]
8470 \c FILD mem64 ; DF /5 [8086,FPU]
8472 \c FIST mem16 ; DF /2 [8086,FPU]
8473 \c FIST mem32 ; DB /2 [8086,FPU]
8475 \c FISTP mem16 ; DF /3 [8086,FPU]
8476 \c FISTP mem32 ; DB /3 [8086,FPU]
8477 \c FISTP mem64 ; DF /7 [8086,FPU]
8479 \c{FILD} loads an integer out of a memory location, converts it to a
8480 real, and pushes it on the FPU register stack. \c{FIST} converts
8481 \c{ST0} to an integer and stores that in memory; \c{FISTP} does the
8482 same as \c{FIST}, but pops the register stack afterwards.
8485 \S{insFIMUL} \i\c{FIMUL}: Floating-Point/Integer Multiplication
8487 \c FIMUL mem16 ; DE /1 [8086,FPU]
8488 \c FIMUL mem32 ; DA /1 [8086,FPU]
8490 \c{FIMUL} multiplies \c{ST0} by the 16-bit or 32-bit integer stored
8491 in the given memory location, and stores the result in \c{ST0}.
8494 \S{insFINCSTP} \i\c{FINCSTP}: Increment Floating-Point Stack Pointer
8496 \c FINCSTP ; D9 F7 [8086,FPU]
8498 \c{FINCSTP} increments the `top' field in the floating-point status
8499 word. This has the effect of rotating the FPU register stack by one,
8500 as if the register stack had been popped; however, unlike the
8501 popping of the stack performed by many FPU instructions, it does not
8502 flag the new \c{ST7} (previously \c{ST0}) as empty. See also
8503 \c{FDECSTP} (\k{insFDECSTP}).
8506 \S{insFINIT} \i\c{FINIT}, \i\c{FNINIT}: Initialise Floating-Point Unit
8508 \c FINIT ; 9B DB E3 [8086,FPU]
8509 \c FNINIT ; DB E3 [8086,FPU]
8511 \c{FINIT} initialises the FPU to its default state. It flags all
8512 registers as empty, without actually change their values, clears
8513 the top of stack pointer. \c{FNINIT} does the same, without first
8514 waiting for pending exceptions to clear.
8517 \S{insFISUB} \i\c{FISUB}: Floating-Point/Integer Subtraction
8519 \c FISUB mem16 ; DE /4 [8086,FPU]
8520 \c FISUB mem32 ; DA /4 [8086,FPU]
8522 \c FISUBR mem16 ; DE /5 [8086,FPU]
8523 \c FISUBR mem32 ; DA /5 [8086,FPU]
8525 \c{FISUB} subtracts the 16-bit or 32-bit integer stored in the given
8526 memory location from \c{ST0}, and stores the result in \c{ST0}.
8527 \c{FISUBR} does the subtraction the other way round, i.e. it
8528 subtracts \c{ST0} from the given integer, but still stores the
8532 \S{insFLD} \i\c{FLD}: Floating-Point Load
8534 \c FLD mem32 ; D9 /0 [8086,FPU]
8535 \c FLD mem64 ; DD /0 [8086,FPU]
8536 \c FLD mem80 ; DB /5 [8086,FPU]
8537 \c FLD fpureg ; D9 C0+r [8086,FPU]
8539 \c{FLD} loads a floating-point value out of the given register or
8540 memory location, and pushes it on the FPU register stack.
8543 \S{insFLD1} \i\c{FLDxx}: Floating-Point Load Constants
8545 \c FLD1 ; D9 E8 [8086,FPU]
8546 \c FLDL2E ; D9 EA [8086,FPU]
8547 \c FLDL2T ; D9 E9 [8086,FPU]
8548 \c FLDLG2 ; D9 EC [8086,FPU]
8549 \c FLDLN2 ; D9 ED [8086,FPU]
8550 \c FLDPI ; D9 EB [8086,FPU]
8551 \c FLDZ ; D9 EE [8086,FPU]
8553 These instructions push specific standard constants on the FPU
8556 \c Instruction Constant pushed
8559 \c FLDL2E base-2 logarithm of e
8560 \c FLDL2T base-2 log of 10
8561 \c FLDLG2 base-10 log of 2
8562 \c FLDLN2 base-e log of 2
8567 \S{insFLDCW} \i\c{FLDCW}: Load Floating-Point Control Word
8569 \c FLDCW mem16 ; D9 /5 [8086,FPU]
8571 \c{FLDCW} loads a 16-bit value out of memory and stores it into the
8572 FPU control word (governing things like the rounding mode, the
8573 precision, and the exception masks). See also \c{FSTCW}
8574 (\k{insFSTCW}). If exceptions are enabled and you don't want to
8575 generate one, use \c{FCLEX} or \c{FNCLEX} (\k{insFCLEX}) before
8576 loading the new control word.
8579 \S{insFLDENV} \i\c{FLDENV}: Load Floating-Point Environment
8581 \c FLDENV mem ; D9 /4 [8086,FPU]
8583 \c{FLDENV} loads the FPU operating environment (control word, status
8584 word, tag word, instruction pointer, data pointer and last opcode)
8585 from memory. The memory area is 14 or 28 bytes long, depending on
8586 the CPU mode at the time. See also \c{FSTENV} (\k{insFSTENV}).
8589 \S{insFMUL} \i\c{FMUL}, \i\c{FMULP}: Floating-Point Multiply
8591 \c FMUL mem32 ; D8 /1 [8086,FPU]
8592 \c FMUL mem64 ; DC /1 [8086,FPU]
8594 \c FMUL fpureg ; D8 C8+r [8086,FPU]
8595 \c FMUL ST0,fpureg ; D8 C8+r [8086,FPU]
8597 \c FMUL TO fpureg ; DC C8+r [8086,FPU]
8598 \c FMUL fpureg,ST0 ; DC C8+r [8086,FPU]
8600 \c FMULP fpureg ; DE C8+r [8086,FPU]
8601 \c FMULP fpureg,ST0 ; DE C8+r [8086,FPU]
8603 \c{FMUL} multiplies \c{ST0} by the given operand, and stores the
8604 result in \c{ST0}, unless the \c{TO} qualifier is used in which case
8605 it stores the result in the operand. \c{FMULP} performs the same
8606 operation as \c{FMUL TO}, and then pops the register stack.
8609 \S{insFNOP} \i\c{FNOP}: Floating-Point No Operation
8611 \c FNOP ; D9 D0 [8086,FPU]
8613 \c{FNOP} does nothing.
8616 \S{insFPATAN} \i\c{FPATAN}, \i\c{FPTAN}: Arctangent and Tangent
8618 \c FPATAN ; D9 F3 [8086,FPU]
8619 \c FPTAN ; D9 F2 [8086,FPU]
8621 \c{FPATAN} computes the arctangent, in radians, of the result of
8622 dividing \c{ST1} by \c{ST0}, stores the result in \c{ST1}, and pops
8623 the register stack. It works like the C \c{atan2} function, in that
8624 changing the sign of both \c{ST0} and \c{ST1} changes the output
8625 value by pi (so it performs true rectangular-to-polar coordinate
8626 conversion, with \c{ST1} being the Y coordinate and \c{ST0} being
8627 the X coordinate, not merely an arctangent).
8629 \c{FPTAN} computes the tangent of the value in \c{ST0} (in radians),
8630 and stores the result back into \c{ST0}.
8632 The absolute value of \c{ST0} must be less than 2**63.
8635 \S{insFPREM} \i\c{FPREM}, \i\c{FPREM1}: Floating-Point Partial Remainder
8637 \c FPREM ; D9 F8 [8086,FPU]
8638 \c FPREM1 ; D9 F5 [386,FPU]
8640 These instructions both produce the remainder obtained by dividing
8641 \c{ST0} by \c{ST1}. This is calculated, notionally, by dividing
8642 \c{ST0} by \c{ST1}, rounding the result to an integer, multiplying
8643 by \c{ST1} again, and computing the value which would need to be
8644 added back on to the result to get back to the original value in
8647 The two instructions differ in the way the notional round-to-integer
8648 operation is performed. \c{FPREM} does it by rounding towards zero,
8649 so that the remainder it returns always has the same sign as the
8650 original value in \c{ST0}; \c{FPREM1} does it by rounding to the
8651 nearest integer, so that the remainder always has at most half the
8652 magnitude of \c{ST1}.
8654 Both instructions calculate \e{partial} remainders, meaning that
8655 they may not manage to provide the final result, but might leave
8656 intermediate results in \c{ST0} instead. If this happens, they will
8657 set the C2 flag in the FPU status word; therefore, to calculate a
8658 remainder, you should repeatedly execute \c{FPREM} or \c{FPREM1}
8659 until C2 becomes clear.
8662 \S{insFRNDINT} \i\c{FRNDINT}: Floating-Point Round to Integer
8664 \c FRNDINT ; D9 FC [8086,FPU]
8666 \c{FRNDINT} rounds the contents of \c{ST0} to an integer, according
8667 to the current rounding mode set in the FPU control word, and stores
8668 the result back in \c{ST0}.
8671 \S{insFRSTOR} \i\c{FSAVE}, \i\c{FRSTOR}: Save/Restore Floating-Point State
8673 \c FSAVE mem ; 9B DD /6 [8086,FPU]
8674 \c FNSAVE mem ; DD /6 [8086,FPU]
8676 \c FRSTOR mem ; DD /4 [8086,FPU]
8678 \c{FSAVE} saves the entire floating-point unit state, including all
8679 the information saved by \c{FSTENV} (\k{insFSTENV}) plus the
8680 contents of all the registers, to a 94 or 108 byte area of memory
8681 (depending on the CPU mode). \c{FRSTOR} restores the floating-point
8682 state from the same area of memory.
8684 \c{FNSAVE} does the same as \c{FSAVE}, without first waiting for
8685 pending floating-point exceptions to clear.
8688 \S{insFSCALE} \i\c{FSCALE}: Scale Floating-Point Value by Power of Two
8690 \c FSCALE ; D9 FD [8086,FPU]
8692 \c{FSCALE} scales a number by a power of two: it rounds \c{ST1}
8693 towards zero to obtain an integer, then multiplies \c{ST0} by two to
8694 the power of that integer, and stores the result in \c{ST0}.
8697 \S{insFSETPM} \i\c{FSETPM}: Set Protected Mode
8699 \c FSETPM ; DB E4 [286,FPU]
8701 This instruction initialises protected mode on the 287 floating-point
8702 coprocessor. It is only meaningful on that processor: the 387 and
8703 above treat the instruction as a no-operation.
8706 \S{insFSIN} \i\c{FSIN}, \i\c{FSINCOS}: Sine and Cosine
8708 \c FSIN ; D9 FE [386,FPU]
8709 \c FSINCOS ; D9 FB [386,FPU]
8711 \c{FSIN} calculates the sine of \c{ST0} (in radians) and stores the
8712 result in \c{ST0}. \c{FSINCOS} does the same, but then pushes the
8713 cosine of the same value on the register stack, so that the sine
8714 ends up in \c{ST1} and the cosine in \c{ST0}. \c{FSINCOS} is faster
8715 than executing \c{FSIN} and \c{FCOS} (see \k{insFCOS}) in succession.
8717 The absolute value of \c{ST0} must be less than 2**63.
8720 \S{insFSQRT} \i\c{FSQRT}: Floating-Point Square Root
8722 \c FSQRT ; D9 FA [8086,FPU]
8724 \c{FSQRT} calculates the square root of \c{ST0} and stores the
8728 \S{insFST} \i\c{FST}, \i\c{FSTP}: Floating-Point Store
8730 \c FST mem32 ; D9 /2 [8086,FPU]
8731 \c FST mem64 ; DD /2 [8086,FPU]
8732 \c FST fpureg ; DD D0+r [8086,FPU]
8734 \c FSTP mem32 ; D9 /3 [8086,FPU]
8735 \c FSTP mem64 ; DD /3 [8086,FPU]
8736 \c FSTP mem80 ; DB /7 [8086,FPU]
8737 \c FSTP fpureg ; DD D8+r [8086,FPU]
8739 \c{FST} stores the value in \c{ST0} into the given memory location
8740 or other FPU register. \c{FSTP} does the same, but then pops the
8744 \S{insFSTCW} \i\c{FSTCW}: Store Floating-Point Control Word
8746 \c FSTCW mem16 ; 9B D9 /7 [8086,FPU]
8747 \c FNSTCW mem16 ; D9 /7 [8086,FPU]
8749 \c{FSTCW} stores the \c{FPU} control word (governing things like the
8750 rounding mode, the precision, and the exception masks) into a 2-byte
8751 memory area. See also \c{FLDCW} (\k{insFLDCW}).
8753 \c{FNSTCW} does the same thing as \c{FSTCW}, without first waiting
8754 for pending floating-point exceptions to clear.
8757 \S{insFSTENV} \i\c{FSTENV}: Store Floating-Point Environment
8759 \c FSTENV mem ; 9B D9 /6 [8086,FPU]
8760 \c FNSTENV mem ; D9 /6 [8086,FPU]
8762 \c{FSTENV} stores the \c{FPU} operating environment (control word,
8763 status word, tag word, instruction pointer, data pointer and last
8764 opcode) into memory. The memory area is 14 or 28 bytes long,
8765 depending on the CPU mode at the time. See also \c{FLDENV}
8768 \c{FNSTENV} does the same thing as \c{FSTENV}, without first waiting
8769 for pending floating-point exceptions to clear.
8772 \S{insFSTSW} \i\c{FSTSW}: Store Floating-Point Status Word
8774 \c FSTSW mem16 ; 9B DD /7 [8086,FPU]
8775 \c FSTSW AX ; 9B DF E0 [286,FPU]
8777 \c FNSTSW mem16 ; DD /7 [8086,FPU]
8778 \c FNSTSW AX ; DF E0 [286,FPU]
8780 \c{FSTSW} stores the \c{FPU} status word into \c{AX} or into a 2-byte
8783 \c{FNSTSW} does the same thing as \c{FSTSW}, without first waiting
8784 for pending floating-point exceptions to clear.
8787 \S{insFSUB} \i\c{FSUB}, \i\c{FSUBP}, \i\c{FSUBR}, \i\c{FSUBRP}: Floating-Point Subtract
8789 \c FSUB mem32 ; D8 /4 [8086,FPU]
8790 \c FSUB mem64 ; DC /4 [8086,FPU]
8792 \c FSUB fpureg ; D8 E0+r [8086,FPU]
8793 \c FSUB ST0,fpureg ; D8 E0+r [8086,FPU]
8795 \c FSUB TO fpureg ; DC E8+r [8086,FPU]
8796 \c FSUB fpureg,ST0 ; DC E8+r [8086,FPU]
8798 \c FSUBR mem32 ; D8 /5 [8086,FPU]
8799 \c FSUBR mem64 ; DC /5 [8086,FPU]
8801 \c FSUBR fpureg ; D8 E8+r [8086,FPU]
8802 \c FSUBR ST0,fpureg ; D8 E8+r [8086,FPU]
8804 \c FSUBR TO fpureg ; DC E0+r [8086,FPU]
8805 \c FSUBR fpureg,ST0 ; DC E0+r [8086,FPU]
8807 \c FSUBP fpureg ; DE E8+r [8086,FPU]
8808 \c FSUBP fpureg,ST0 ; DE E8+r [8086,FPU]
8810 \c FSUBRP fpureg ; DE E0+r [8086,FPU]
8811 \c FSUBRP fpureg,ST0 ; DE E0+r [8086,FPU]
8813 \b \c{FSUB} subtracts the given operand from \c{ST0} and stores the
8814 result back in \c{ST0}, unless the \c{TO} qualifier is given, in
8815 which case it subtracts \c{ST0} from the given operand and stores
8816 the result in the operand.
8818 \b \c{FSUBR} does the same thing, but does the subtraction the other
8819 way up: so if \c{TO} is not given, it subtracts \c{ST0} from the given
8820 operand and stores the result in \c{ST0}, whereas if \c{TO} is given
8821 it subtracts its operand from \c{ST0} and stores the result in the
8824 \b \c{FSUBP} operates like \c{FSUB TO}, but pops the register stack
8825 once it has finished.
8827 \b \c{FSUBRP} operates like \c{FSUBR TO}, but pops the register stack
8828 once it has finished.
8831 \S{insFTST} \i\c{FTST}: Test \c{ST0} Against Zero
8833 \c FTST ; D9 E4 [8086,FPU]
8835 \c{FTST} compares \c{ST0} with zero and sets the FPU flags
8836 accordingly. \c{ST0} is treated as the left-hand side of the
8837 comparison, so that a `less-than' result is generated if \c{ST0} is
8841 \S{insFUCOM} \i\c{FUCOMxx}: Floating-Point Unordered Compare
8843 \c FUCOM fpureg ; DD E0+r [386,FPU]
8844 \c FUCOM ST0,fpureg ; DD E0+r [386,FPU]
8846 \c FUCOMP fpureg ; DD E8+r [386,FPU]
8847 \c FUCOMP ST0,fpureg ; DD E8+r [386,FPU]
8849 \c FUCOMPP ; DA E9 [386,FPU]
8851 \c FUCOMI fpureg ; DB E8+r [P6,FPU]
8852 \c FUCOMI ST0,fpureg ; DB E8+r [P6,FPU]
8854 \c FUCOMIP fpureg ; DF E8+r [P6,FPU]
8855 \c FUCOMIP ST0,fpureg ; DF E8+r [P6,FPU]
8857 \b \c{FUCOM} compares \c{ST0} with the given operand, and sets the
8858 FPU flags accordingly. \c{ST0} is treated as the left-hand side of
8859 the comparison, so that the carry flag is set (for a `less-than'
8860 result) if \c{ST0} is less than the given operand.
8862 \b \c{FUCOMP} does the same as \c{FUCOM}, but pops the register stack
8863 afterwards. \c{FUCOMPP} compares \c{ST0} with \c{ST1} and then pops
8864 the register stack twice.
8866 \b \c{FUCOMI} and \c{FUCOMIP} work like the corresponding forms of
8867 \c{FUCOM} and \c{FUCOMP}, but write their results directly to the CPU
8868 flags register rather than the FPU status word, so they can be
8869 immediately followed by conditional jump or conditional move
8872 The \c{FUCOM} instructions differ from the \c{FCOM} instructions
8873 (\k{insFCOM}) only in the way they handle quiet NaNs: \c{FUCOM} will
8874 handle them silently and set the condition code flags to an
8875 `unordered' result, whereas \c{FCOM} will generate an exception.
8878 \S{insFXAM} \i\c{FXAM}: Examine Class of Value in \c{ST0}
8880 \c FXAM ; D9 E5 [8086,FPU]
8882 \c{FXAM} sets the FPU flags \c{C3}, \c{C2} and \c{C0} depending on
8883 the type of value stored in \c{ST0}:
8885 \c Register contents Flags
8887 \c Unsupported format 000
8889 \c Finite number 010
8892 \c Empty register 101
8895 Additionally, the \c{C1} flag is set to the sign of the number.
8898 \S{insFXCH} \i\c{FXCH}: Floating-Point Exchange
8900 \c FXCH ; D9 C9 [8086,FPU]
8901 \c FXCH fpureg ; D9 C8+r [8086,FPU]
8902 \c FXCH fpureg,ST0 ; D9 C8+r [8086,FPU]
8903 \c FXCH ST0,fpureg ; D9 C8+r [8086,FPU]
8905 \c{FXCH} exchanges \c{ST0} with a given FPU register. The no-operand
8906 form exchanges \c{ST0} with \c{ST1}.
8909 \S{insFXRSTOR} \i\c{FXRSTOR}: Restore \c{FP}, \c{MMX} and \c{SSE} State
8911 \c FXRSTOR memory ; 0F AE /1 [P6,SSE,FPU]
8913 The \c{FXRSTOR} instruction reloads the \c{FPU}, \c{MMX} and \c{SSE}
8914 state (environment and registers), from the 512 byte memory area defined
8915 by the source operand. This data should have been written by a previous
8919 \S{insFXSAVE} \i\c{FXSAVE}: Store \c{FP}, \c{MMX} and \c{SSE} State
8921 \c FXSAVE memory ; 0F AE /0 [P6,SSE,FPU]
8923 \c{FXSAVE}The FXSAVE instruction writes the current \c{FPU}, \c{MMX}
8924 and \c{SSE} technology states (environment and registers), to the
8925 512 byte memory area defined by the destination operand. It does this
8926 without checking for pending unmasked floating-point exceptions
8927 (similar to the operation of \c{FNSAVE}).
8929 Unlike the \c{FSAVE/FNSAVE} instructions, the processor retains the
8930 contents of the \c{FPU}, \c{MMX} and \c{SSE} state in the processor
8931 after the state has been saved. This instruction has been optimised
8932 to maximize floating-point save performance.
8935 \S{insFXTRACT} \i\c{FXTRACT}: Extract Exponent and Significand
8937 \c FXTRACT ; D9 F4 [8086,FPU]
8939 \c{FXTRACT} separates the number in \c{ST0} into its exponent and
8940 significand (mantissa), stores the exponent back into \c{ST0}, and
8941 then pushes the significand on the register stack (so that the
8942 significand ends up in \c{ST0}, and the exponent in \c{ST1}).
8945 \S{insFYL2X} \i\c{FYL2X}, \i\c{FYL2XP1}: Compute Y times Log2(X) or Log2(X+1)
8947 \c FYL2X ; D9 F1 [8086,FPU]
8948 \c FYL2XP1 ; D9 F9 [8086,FPU]
8950 \c{FYL2X} multiplies \c{ST1} by the base-2 logarithm of \c{ST0},
8951 stores the result in \c{ST1}, and pops the register stack (so that
8952 the result ends up in \c{ST0}). \c{ST0} must be non-zero and
8955 \c{FYL2XP1} works the same way, but replacing the base-2 log of
8956 \c{ST0} with that of \c{ST0} plus one. This time, \c{ST0} must have
8957 magnitude no greater than 1 minus half the square root of two.
8960 \S{insHLT} \i\c{HLT}: Halt Processor
8962 \c HLT ; F4 [8086,PRIV]
8964 \c{HLT} puts the processor into a halted state, where it will
8965 perform no more operations until restarted by an interrupt or a
8968 On the 286 and later processors, this is a privileged instruction.
8971 \S{insIBTS} \i\c{IBTS}: Insert Bit String
8973 \c IBTS r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F A7 /r [386,UNDOC]
8974 \c IBTS r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F A7 /r [386,UNDOC]
8976 The implied operation of this instruction is:
8978 \c IBTS r/m16,AX,CL,reg16
8979 \c IBTS r/m32,EAX,CL,reg32
8981 Writes a bit string from the source operand to the destination.
8982 \c{CL} indicates the number of bits to be copied, from the low bits
8983 of the source. \c{(E)AX} indicates the low order bit offset in the
8984 destination that is written to. For example, if \c{CL} is set to 4
8985 and \c{AX} (for 16-bit code) is set to 5, bits 0-3 of \c{src} will
8986 be copied to bits 5-8 of \c{dst}. This instruction is very poorly
8987 documented, and I have been unable to find any official source of
8988 documentation on it.
8990 \c{IBTS} is supported only on the early Intel 386s, and conflicts
8991 with the opcodes for \c{CMPXCHG486} (on early Intel 486s). NASM
8992 supports it only for completeness. Its counterpart is \c{XBTS}
8996 \S{insIDIV} \i\c{IDIV}: Signed Integer Divide
8998 \c IDIV r/m8 ; F6 /7 [8086]
8999 \c IDIV r/m16 ; o16 F7 /7 [8086]
9000 \c IDIV r/m32 ; o32 F7 /7 [386]
9002 \c{IDIV} performs signed integer division. The explicit operand
9003 provided is the divisor; the dividend and destination operands
9004 are implicit, in the following way:
9006 \b For \c{IDIV r/m8}, \c{AX} is divided by the given operand;
9007 the quotient is stored in \c{AL} and the remainder in \c{AH}.
9009 \b For \c{IDIV r/m16}, \c{DX:AX} is divided by the given operand;
9010 the quotient is stored in \c{AX} and the remainder in \c{DX}.
9012 \b For \c{IDIV r/m32}, \c{EDX:EAX} is divided by the given operand;
9013 the quotient is stored in \c{EAX} and the remainder in \c{EDX}.
9015 Unsigned integer division is performed by the \c{DIV} instruction:
9019 \S{insIMUL} \i\c{IMUL}: Signed Integer Multiply
9021 \c IMUL r/m8 ; F6 /5 [8086]
9022 \c IMUL r/m16 ; o16 F7 /5 [8086]
9023 \c IMUL r/m32 ; o32 F7 /5 [386]
9025 \c IMUL reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0F AF /r [386]
9026 \c IMUL reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0F AF /r [386]
9028 \c IMUL reg16,imm8 ; o16 6B /r ib [186]
9029 \c IMUL reg16,imm16 ; o16 69 /r iw [186]
9030 \c IMUL reg32,imm8 ; o32 6B /r ib [386]
9031 \c IMUL reg32,imm32 ; o32 69 /r id [386]
9033 \c IMUL reg16,r/m16,imm8 ; o16 6B /r ib [186]
9034 \c IMUL reg16,r/m16,imm16 ; o16 69 /r iw [186]
9035 \c IMUL reg32,r/m32,imm8 ; o32 6B /r ib [386]
9036 \c IMUL reg32,r/m32,imm32 ; o32 69 /r id [386]
9038 \c{IMUL} performs signed integer multiplication. For the
9039 single-operand form, the other operand and destination are
9040 implicit, in the following way:
9042 \b For \c{IMUL r/m8}, \c{AL} is multiplied by the given operand;
9043 the product is stored in \c{AX}.
9045 \b For \c{IMUL r/m16}, \c{AX} is multiplied by the given operand;
9046 the product is stored in \c{DX:AX}.
9048 \b For \c{IMUL r/m32}, \c{EAX} is multiplied by the given operand;
9049 the product is stored in \c{EDX:EAX}.
9051 The two-operand form multiplies its two operands and stores the
9052 result in the destination (first) operand. The three-operand
9053 form multiplies its last two operands and stores the result in
9056 The two-operand form with an immediate second operand is in
9057 fact a shorthand for the three-operand form, as can be seen by
9058 examining the opcode descriptions: in the two-operand form, the
9059 code \c{/r} takes both its register and \c{r/m} parts from the
9060 same operand (the first one).
9062 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate operand and another longer
9063 source operand, the immediate operand is considered to be signed,
9064 and is sign-extended to the length of the other source operand.
9065 In these cases, the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force
9066 NASM to generate this form of the instruction.
9068 Unsigned integer multiplication is performed by the \c{MUL}
9069 instruction: see \k{insMUL}.
9072 \S{insIN} \i\c{IN}: Input from I/O Port
9074 \c IN AL,imm8 ; E4 ib [8086]
9075 \c IN AX,imm8 ; o16 E5 ib [8086]
9076 \c IN EAX,imm8 ; o32 E5 ib [386]
9077 \c IN AL,DX ; EC [8086]
9078 \c IN AX,DX ; o16 ED [8086]
9079 \c IN EAX,DX ; o32 ED [386]
9081 \c{IN} reads a byte, word or doubleword from the specified I/O port,
9082 and stores it in the given destination register. The port number may
9083 be specified as an immediate value if it is between 0 and 255, and
9084 otherwise must be stored in \c{DX}. See also \c{OUT} (\k{insOUT}).
9087 \S{insINC} \i\c{INC}: Increment Integer
9089 \c INC reg16 ; o16 40+r [8086]
9090 \c INC reg32 ; o32 40+r [386]
9091 \c INC r/m8 ; FE /0 [8086]
9092 \c INC r/m16 ; o16 FF /0 [8086]
9093 \c INC r/m32 ; o32 FF /0 [386]
9095 \c{INC} adds 1 to its operand. It does \e{not} affect the carry
9096 flag: to affect the carry flag, use \c{ADD something,1} (see
9097 \k{insADD}). \c{INC} affects all the other flags according to the result.
9099 This instruction can be used with a \c{LOCK} prefix to allow atomic execution.
9101 See also \c{DEC} (\k{insDEC}).
9104 \S{insINSB} \i\c{INSB}, \i\c{INSW}, \i\c{INSD}: Input String from I/O Port
9107 \c INSW ; o16 6D [186]
9108 \c INSD ; o32 6D [386]
9110 \c{INSB} inputs a byte from the I/O port specified in \c{DX} and
9111 stores it at \c{[ES:DI]} or \c{[ES:EDI]}. It then increments or
9112 decrements (depending on the direction flag: increments if the flag
9113 is clear, decrements if it is set) \c{DI} or \c{EDI}.
9115 The register used is \c{DI} if the address size is 16 bits, and
9116 \c{EDI} if it is 32 bits. If you need to use an address size not
9117 equal to the current \c{BITS} setting, you can use an explicit
9118 \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
9120 Segment override prefixes have no effect for this instruction: the
9121 use of \c{ES} for the load from \c{[DI]} or \c{[EDI]} cannot be
9124 \c{INSW} and \c{INSD} work in the same way, but they input a word or
9125 a doubleword instead of a byte, and increment or decrement the
9126 addressing register by 2 or 4 instead of 1.
9128 The \c{REP} prefix may be used to repeat the instruction \c{CX} (or
9129 \c{ECX} - again, the address size chooses which) times.
9131 See also \c{OUTSB}, \c{OUTSW} and \c{OUTSD} (\k{insOUTSB}).
9134 \S{insINT} \i\c{INT}: Software Interrupt
9136 \c INT imm8 ; CD ib [8086]
9138 \c{INT} causes a software interrupt through a specified vector
9139 number from 0 to 255.
9141 The code generated by the \c{INT} instruction is always two bytes
9142 long: although there are short forms for some \c{INT} instructions,
9143 NASM does not generate them when it sees the \c{INT} mnemonic. In
9144 order to generate single-byte breakpoint instructions, use the
9145 \c{INT3} or \c{INT1} instructions (see \k{insINT1}) instead.
9148 \S{insINT1} \i\c{INT3}, \i\c{INT1}, \i\c{ICEBP}, \i\c{INT01}: Breakpoints
9155 \c INT03 ; CC [8086]
9157 \c{INT1} and \c{INT3} are short one-byte forms of the instructions
9158 \c{INT 1} and \c{INT 3} (see \k{insINT}). They perform a similar
9159 function to their longer counterparts, but take up less code space.
9160 They are used as breakpoints by debuggers.
9162 \b \c{INT1}, and its alternative synonyms \c{INT01} and \c{ICEBP}, is
9163 an instruction used by in-circuit emulators (ICEs). It is present,
9164 though not documented, on some processors down to the 286, but is
9165 only documented for the Pentium Pro. \c{INT3} is the instruction
9166 normally used as a breakpoint by debuggers.
9168 \b \c{INT3}, and its synonym \c{INT03}, is not precisely equivalent to
9169 \c{INT 3}: the short form, since it is designed to be used as a
9170 breakpoint, bypasses the normal \c{IOPL} checks in virtual-8086 mode,
9171 and also does not go through interrupt redirection.
9174 \S{insINTO} \i\c{INTO}: Interrupt if Overflow
9178 \c{INTO} performs an \c{INT 4} software interrupt (see \k{insINT})
9179 if and only if the overflow flag is set.
9182 \S{insINVD} \i\c{INVD}: Invalidate Internal Caches
9184 \c INVD ; 0F 08 [486]
9186 \c{INVD} invalidates and empties the processor's internal caches,
9187 and causes the processor to instruct external caches to do the same.
9188 It does not write the contents of the caches back to memory first:
9189 any modified data held in the caches will be lost. To write the data
9190 back first, use \c{WBINVD} (\k{insWBINVD}).
9193 \S{insINVLPG} \i\c{INVLPG}: Invalidate TLB Entry
9195 \c INVLPG mem ; 0F 01 /7 [486]
9197 \c{INVLPG} invalidates the translation lookahead buffer (TLB) entry
9198 associated with the supplied memory address.
9201 \S{insIRET} \i\c{IRET}, \i\c{IRETW}, \i\c{IRETD}: Return from Interrupt
9204 \c IRETW ; o16 CF [8086]
9205 \c IRETD ; o32 CF [386]
9207 \c{IRET} returns from an interrupt (hardware or software) by means
9208 of popping \c{IP} (or \c{EIP}), \c{CS} and the flags off the stack
9209 and then continuing execution from the new \c{CS:IP}.
9211 \c{IRETW} pops \c{IP}, \c{CS} and the flags as 2 bytes each, taking
9212 6 bytes off the stack in total. \c{IRETD} pops \c{EIP} as 4 bytes,
9213 pops a further 4 bytes of which the top two are discarded and the
9214 bottom two go into \c{CS}, and pops the flags as 4 bytes as well,
9215 taking 12 bytes off the stack.
9217 \c{IRET} is a shorthand for either \c{IRETW} or \c{IRETD}, depending
9218 on the default \c{BITS} setting at the time.
9221 \S{insJcc} \i\c{Jcc}: Conditional Branch
9223 \c Jcc imm ; 70+cc rb [8086]
9224 \c Jcc NEAR imm ; 0F 80+cc rw/rd [386]
9226 The \i{conditional jump} instructions execute a near (same segment)
9227 jump if and only if their conditions are satisfied. For example,
9228 \c{JNZ} jumps only if the zero flag is not set.
9230 The ordinary form of the instructions has only a 128-byte range; the
9231 \c{NEAR} form is a 386 extension to the instruction set, and can
9232 span the full size of a segment. NASM will not override your choice
9233 of jump instruction: if you want \c{Jcc NEAR}, you have to use the
9236 The \c{SHORT} keyword is allowed on the first form of the
9237 instruction, for clarity, but is not necessary.
9239 For details of the condition codes, see \k{iref-cc}.
9242 \S{insJCXZ} \i\c{JCXZ}, \i\c{JECXZ}: Jump if CX/ECX Zero
9244 \c JCXZ imm ; a16 E3 rb [8086]
9245 \c JECXZ imm ; a32 E3 rb [386]
9247 \c{JCXZ} performs a short jump (with maximum range 128 bytes) if and
9248 only if the contents of the \c{CX} register is 0. \c{JECXZ} does the
9249 same thing, but with \c{ECX}.
9252 \S{insJMP} \i\c{JMP}: Jump
9254 \c JMP imm ; E9 rw/rd [8086]
9255 \c JMP SHORT imm ; EB rb [8086]
9256 \c JMP imm:imm16 ; o16 EA iw iw [8086]
9257 \c JMP imm:imm32 ; o32 EA id iw [386]
9258 \c JMP FAR mem ; o16 FF /5 [8086]
9259 \c JMP FAR mem32 ; o32 FF /5 [386]
9260 \c JMP r/m16 ; o16 FF /4 [8086]
9261 \c JMP r/m32 ; o32 FF /4 [386]
9263 \c{JMP} jumps to a given address. The address may be specified as an
9264 absolute segment and offset, or as a relative jump within the
9267 \c{JMP SHORT imm} has a maximum range of 128 bytes, since the
9268 displacement is specified as only 8 bits, but takes up less code
9269 space. NASM does not choose when to generate \c{JMP SHORT} for you:
9270 you must explicitly code \c{SHORT} every time you want a short jump.
9272 You can choose between the two immediate \i{far jump} forms (\c{JMP
9273 imm:imm}) by the use of the \c{WORD} and \c{DWORD} keywords: \c{JMP
9274 WORD 0x1234:0x5678}) or \c{JMP DWORD 0x1234:0x56789abc}.
9276 The \c{JMP FAR mem} forms execute a far jump by loading the
9277 destination address out of memory. The address loaded consists of 16
9278 or 32 bits of offset (depending on the operand size), and 16 bits of
9279 segment. The operand size may be overridden using \c{JMP WORD FAR
9280 mem} or \c{JMP DWORD FAR mem}.
9282 The \c{JMP r/m} forms execute a \i{near jump} (within the same
9283 segment), loading the destination address out of memory or out of a
9284 register. The keyword \c{NEAR} may be specified, for clarity, in
9285 these forms, but is not necessary. Again, operand size can be
9286 overridden using \c{JMP WORD mem} or \c{JMP DWORD mem}.
9288 As a convenience, NASM does not require you to jump to a far symbol
9289 by coding the cumbersome \c{JMP SEG routine:routine}, but instead
9290 allows the easier synonym \c{JMP FAR routine}.
9292 The \c{CALL r/m} forms given above are near calls; NASM will accept
9293 the \c{NEAR} keyword (e.g. \c{CALL NEAR [address]}), even though it
9294 is not strictly necessary.
9297 \S{insLAHF} \i\c{LAHF}: Load AH from Flags
9301 \c{LAHF} sets the \c{AH} register according to the contents of the
9302 low byte of the flags word.
9304 The operation of \c{LAHF} is:
9306 \c AH <-- SF:ZF:0:AF:0:PF:1:CF
9308 See also \c{SAHF} (\k{insSAHF}).
9311 \S{insLAR} \i\c{LAR}: Load Access Rights
9313 \c LAR reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0F 02 /r [286,PRIV]
9314 \c LAR reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0F 02 /r [286,PRIV]
9316 \c{LAR} takes the segment selector specified by its source (second)
9317 operand, finds the corresponding segment descriptor in the GDT or
9318 LDT, and loads the access-rights byte of the descriptor into its
9319 destination (first) operand.
9322 \S{insLDMXCSR} \i\c{LDMXCSR}: Load Streaming SIMD Extension
9325 \c LDMXCSR mem32 ; 0F AE /2 [KATMAI,SSE]
9327 \c{LDMXCSR} loads 32-bits of data from the specified memory location
9328 into the \c{MXCSR} control/status register. \c{MXCSR} is used to
9329 enable masked/unmasked exception handling, to set rounding modes,
9330 to set flush-to-zero mode, and to view exception status flags.
9332 For details of the \c{MXCSR} register, see the Intel processor docs.
9334 See also \c{STMXCSR} (\k{insSTMXCSR}
9337 \S{insLDS} \i\c{LDS}, \i\c{LES}, \i\c{LFS}, \i\c{LGS}, \i\c{LSS}: Load Far Pointer
9339 \c LDS reg16,mem ; o16 C5 /r [8086]
9340 \c LDS reg32,mem ; o32 C5 /r [386]
9342 \c LES reg16,mem ; o16 C4 /r [8086]
9343 \c LES reg32,mem ; o32 C4 /r [386]
9345 \c LFS reg16,mem ; o16 0F B4 /r [386]
9346 \c LFS reg32,mem ; o32 0F B4 /r [386]
9348 \c LGS reg16,mem ; o16 0F B5 /r [386]
9349 \c LGS reg32,mem ; o32 0F B5 /r [386]
9351 \c LSS reg16,mem ; o16 0F B2 /r [386]
9352 \c LSS reg32,mem ; o32 0F B2 /r [386]
9354 These instructions load an entire far pointer (16 or 32 bits of
9355 offset, plus 16 bits of segment) out of memory in one go. \c{LDS},
9356 for example, loads 16 or 32 bits from the given memory address into
9357 the given register (depending on the size of the register), then
9358 loads the \e{next} 16 bits from memory into \c{DS}. \c{LES},
9359 \c{LFS}, \c{LGS} and \c{LSS} work in the same way but use the other
9363 \S{insLEA} \i\c{LEA}: Load Effective Address
9365 \c LEA reg16,mem ; o16 8D /r [8086]
9366 \c LEA reg32,mem ; o32 8D /r [386]
9368 \c{LEA}, despite its syntax, does not access memory. It calculates
9369 the effective address specified by its second operand as if it were
9370 going to load or store data from it, but instead it stores the
9371 calculated address into the register specified by its first operand.
9372 This can be used to perform quite complex calculations (e.g. \c{LEA
9373 EAX,[EBX+ECX*4+100]}) in one instruction.
9375 \c{LEA}, despite being a purely arithmetic instruction which
9376 accesses no memory, still requires square brackets around its second
9377 operand, as if it were a memory reference.
9379 The size of the calculation is the current \e{address} size, and the
9380 size that the result is stored as is the current \e{operand} size.
9381 If the address and operand size are not the same, then if the
9382 addressing mode was 32-bits, the low 16-bits are stored, and if the
9383 address was 16-bits, it is zero-extended to 32-bits before storing.
9386 \S{insLEAVE} \i\c{LEAVE}: Destroy Stack Frame
9390 \c{LEAVE} destroys a stack frame of the form created by the
9391 \c{ENTER} instruction (see \k{insENTER}). It is functionally
9392 equivalent to \c{MOV ESP,EBP} followed by \c{POP EBP} (or \c{MOV
9393 SP,BP} followed by \c{POP BP} in 16-bit mode).
9396 \S{insLFENCE} \i\c{LFENCE}: Load Fence
9398 \c LFENCE ; 0F AE /5 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9400 \c{LFENCE} performs a serialising operation on all loads from memory
9401 that were issued before the \c{LFENCE} instruction. This guarantees that
9402 all memory reads before the \c{LFENCE} instruction are visible before any
9403 reads after the \c{LFENCE} instruction.
9405 \c{LFENCE} is ordered respective to other \c{LFENCE} instruction, \c{MFENCE},
9406 any memory read and any other serialising instruction (such as \c{CPUID}).
9408 Weakly ordered memory types can be used to achieve higher processor
9409 performance through such techniques as out-of-order issue and
9410 speculative reads. The degree to which a consumer of data recognizes
9411 or knows that the data is weakly ordered varies among applications
9412 and may be unknown to the producer of this data. The \c{LFENCE}
9413 instruction provides a performance-efficient way of ensuring load
9414 ordering between routines that produce weakly-ordered results and
9415 routines that consume that data.
9417 \c{LFENCE} uses the following ModRM encoding:
9420 \c Reg/Opcode (5:3) = 101B
9423 All other ModRM encodings are defined to be reserved, and use
9424 of these encodings risks incompatibility with future processors.
9426 See also \c{SFENCE} (\k{insSFENCE}) and \c{MFENCE} (\k{insMFENCE}).
9429 \S{insLGDT} \i\c{LGDT}, \i\c{LIDT}, \i\c{LLDT}: Load Descriptor Tables
9431 \c LGDT mem ; 0F 01 /2 [286,PRIV]
9432 \c LIDT mem ; 0F 01 /3 [286,PRIV]
9433 \c LLDT r/m16 ; 0F 00 /2 [286,PRIV]
9435 \c{LGDT} and \c{LIDT} both take a 6-byte memory area as an operand:
9436 they load a 32-bit linear address and a 16-bit size limit from that
9437 area (in the opposite order) into the \c{GDTR} (global descriptor table
9438 register) or \c{IDTR} (interrupt descriptor table register). These are
9439 the only instructions which directly use \e{linear} addresses, rather
9440 than segment/offset pairs.
9442 \c{LLDT} takes a segment selector as an operand. The processor looks
9443 up that selector in the GDT and stores the limit and base address
9444 given there into the \c{LDTR} (local descriptor table register).
9446 See also \c{SGDT}, \c{SIDT} and \c{SLDT} (\k{insSGDT}).
9449 \S{insLMSW} \i\c{LMSW}: Load/Store Machine Status Word
9451 \c LMSW r/m16 ; 0F 01 /6 [286,PRIV]
9453 \c{LMSW} loads the bottom four bits of the source operand into the
9454 bottom four bits of the \c{CR0} control register (or the Machine
9455 Status Word, on 286 processors). See also \c{SMSW} (\k{insSMSW}).
9458 \S{insLOADALL} \i\c{LOADALL}, \i\c{LOADALL286}: Load Processor State
9460 \c LOADALL ; 0F 07 [386,UNDOC]
9461 \c LOADALL286 ; 0F 05 [286,UNDOC]
9463 This instruction, in its two different-opcode forms, is apparently
9464 supported on most 286 processors, some 386 and possibly some 486.
9465 The opcode differs between the 286 and the 386.
9467 The function of the instruction is to load all information relating
9468 to the state of the processor out of a block of memory: on the 286,
9469 this block is located implicitly at absolute address \c{0x800}, and
9470 on the 386 and 486 it is at \c{[ES:EDI]}.
9473 \S{insLODSB} \i\c{LODSB}, \i\c{LODSW}, \i\c{LODSD}: Load from String
9475 \c LODSB ; AC [8086]
9476 \c LODSW ; o16 AD [8086]
9477 \c LODSD ; o32 AD [386]
9479 \c{LODSB} loads a byte from \c{[DS:SI]} or \c{[DS:ESI]} into \c{AL}.
9480 It then increments or decrements (depending on the direction flag:
9481 increments if the flag is clear, decrements if it is set) \c{SI} or
9484 The register used is \c{SI} if the address size is 16 bits, and
9485 \c{ESI} if it is 32 bits. If you need to use an address size not
9486 equal to the current \c{BITS} setting, you can use an explicit
9487 \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
9489 The segment register used to load from \c{[SI]} or \c{[ESI]} can be
9490 overridden by using a segment register name as a prefix (for
9491 example, \c{ES LODSB}).
9493 \c{LODSW} and \c{LODSD} work in the same way, but they load a
9494 word or a doubleword instead of a byte, and increment or decrement
9495 the addressing registers by 2 or 4 instead of 1.
9498 \S{insLOOP} \i\c{LOOP}, \i\c{LOOPE}, \i\c{LOOPZ}, \i\c{LOOPNE}, \i\c{LOOPNZ}: Loop with Counter
9500 \c LOOP imm ; E2 rb [8086]
9501 \c LOOP imm,CX ; a16 E2 rb [8086]
9502 \c LOOP imm,ECX ; a32 E2 rb [386]
9504 \c LOOPE imm ; E1 rb [8086]
9505 \c LOOPE imm,CX ; a16 E1 rb [8086]
9506 \c LOOPE imm,ECX ; a32 E1 rb [386]
9507 \c LOOPZ imm ; E1 rb [8086]
9508 \c LOOPZ imm,CX ; a16 E1 rb [8086]
9509 \c LOOPZ imm,ECX ; a32 E1 rb [386]
9511 \c LOOPNE imm ; E0 rb [8086]
9512 \c LOOPNE imm,CX ; a16 E0 rb [8086]
9513 \c LOOPNE imm,ECX ; a32 E0 rb [386]
9514 \c LOOPNZ imm ; E0 rb [8086]
9515 \c LOOPNZ imm,CX ; a16 E0 rb [8086]
9516 \c LOOPNZ imm,ECX ; a32 E0 rb [386]
9518 \c{LOOP} decrements its counter register (either \c{CX} or \c{ECX} -
9519 if one is not specified explicitly, the \c{BITS} setting dictates
9520 which is used) by one, and if the counter does not become zero as a
9521 result of this operation, it jumps to the given label. The jump has
9522 a range of 128 bytes.
9524 \c{LOOPE} (or its synonym \c{LOOPZ}) adds the additional condition
9525 that it only jumps if the counter is nonzero \e{and} the zero flag
9526 is set. Similarly, \c{LOOPNE} (and \c{LOOPNZ}) jumps only if the
9527 counter is nonzero and the zero flag is clear.
9530 \S{insLSL} \i\c{LSL}: Load Segment Limit
9532 \c LSL reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0F 03 /r [286,PRIV]
9533 \c LSL reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0F 03 /r [286,PRIV]
9535 \c{LSL} is given a segment selector in its source (second) operand;
9536 it computes the segment limit value by loading the segment limit
9537 field from the associated segment descriptor in the \c{GDT} or \c{LDT}.
9538 (This involves shifting left by 12 bits if the segment limit is
9539 page-granular, and not if it is byte-granular; so you end up with a
9540 byte limit in either case.) The segment limit obtained is then
9541 loaded into the destination (first) operand.
9544 \S{insLTR} \i\c{LTR}: Load Task Register
9546 \c LTR r/m16 ; 0F 00 /3 [286,PRIV]
9548 \c{LTR} looks up the segment base and limit in the GDT or LDT
9549 descriptor specified by the segment selector given as its operand,
9550 and loads them into the Task Register.
9553 \S{insMASKMOVDQU} \i\c{MASKMOVDQU}: Byte Mask Write
9555 \c MASKMOVDQU xmm1,xmm2 ; 66 0F F7 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9557 \c{MASKMOVDQU} stores data from xmm1 to the location specified by
9558 \c{ES:(E)DI}. The size of the store depends on the address-size
9559 attribute. The most significant bit in each byte of the mask
9560 register xmm2 is used to selectively write the data (0 = no write,
9561 1 = write) on a per-byte basis.
9564 \S{insMASKMOVQ} \i\c{MASKMOVQ}: Byte Mask Write
9566 \c MASKMOVQ mm1,mm2 ; 0F F7 /r [KATMAI,MMX]
9568 \c{MASKMOVQ} stores data from mm1 to the location specified by
9569 \c{ES:(E)DI}. The size of the store depends on the address-size
9570 attribute. The most significant bit in each byte of the mask
9571 register mm2 is used to selectively write the data (0 = no write,
9572 1 = write) on a per-byte basis.
9575 \S{insMAXPD} \i\c{MAXPD}: Return Packed Double-Precision FP Maximum
9577 \c MAXPD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 5F /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9579 \c{MAXPD} performs a SIMD compare of the packed double-precision
9580 FP numbers from xmm1 and xmm2/mem, and stores the maximum values
9581 of each pair of values in xmm1. If the values being compared are
9582 both zeroes, source2 (xmm2/m128) would be returned. If source2
9583 (xmm2/m128) is an SNaN, this SNaN is forwarded unchanged to the
9584 destination (i.e., a QNaN version of the SNaN is not returned).
9587 \S{insMAXPS} \i\c{MAXPS}: Return Packed Single-Precision FP Maximum
9589 \c MAXPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 5F /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9591 \c{MAXPS} performs a SIMD compare of the packed single-precision
9592 FP numbers from xmm1 and xmm2/mem, and stores the maximum values
9593 of each pair of values in xmm1. If the values being compared are
9594 both zeroes, source2 (xmm2/m128) would be returned. If source2
9595 (xmm2/m128) is an SNaN, this SNaN is forwarded unchanged to the
9596 destination (i.e., a QNaN version of the SNaN is not returned).
9599 \S{insMAXSD} \i\c{MAXSD}: Return Scalar Double-Precision FP Maximum
9601 \c MAXSD xmm1,xmm2/m64 ; F2 0F 5F /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9603 \c{MAXSD} compares the low-order double-precision FP numbers from
9604 xmm1 and xmm2/mem, and stores the maximum value in xmm1. If the
9605 values being compared are both zeroes, source2 (xmm2/m64) would
9606 be returned. If source2 (xmm2/m64) is an SNaN, this SNaN is
9607 forwarded unchanged to the destination (i.e., a QNaN version of
9608 the SNaN is not returned). The high quadword of the destination
9612 \S{insMAXSS} \i\c{MAXSS}: Return Scalar Single-Precision FP Maximum
9614 \c MAXSS xmm1,xmm2/m32 ; F3 0F 5F /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9616 \c{MAXSS} compares the low-order single-precision FP numbers from
9617 xmm1 and xmm2/mem, and stores the maximum value in xmm1. If the
9618 values being compared are both zeroes, source2 (xmm2/m32) would
9619 be returned. If source2 (xmm2/m32) is an SNaN, this SNaN is
9620 forwarded unchanged to the destination (i.e., a QNaN version of
9621 the SNaN is not returned). The high three doublewords of the
9622 destination are left unchanged.
9625 \S{insMFENCE} \i\c{MFENCE}: Memory Fence
9627 \c MFENCE ; 0F AE /6 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9629 \c{MFENCE} performs a serialising operation on all loads from memory
9630 and writes to memory that were issued before the \c{MFENCE} instruction.
9631 This guarantees that all memory reads and writes before the \c{MFENCE}
9632 instruction are completed before any reads and writes after the
9633 \c{MFENCE} instruction.
9635 \c{MFENCE} is ordered respective to other \c{MFENCE} instructions,
9636 \c{LFENCE}, \c{SFENCE}, any memory read and any other serialising
9637 instruction (such as \c{CPUID}).
9639 Weakly ordered memory types can be used to achieve higher processor
9640 performance through such techniques as out-of-order issue, speculative
9641 reads, write-combining, and write-collapsing. The degree to which a
9642 consumer of data recognizes or knows that the data is weakly ordered
9643 varies among applications and may be unknown to the producer of this
9644 data. The \c{MFENCE} instruction provides a performance-efficient way
9645 of ensuring load and store ordering between routines that produce
9646 weakly-ordered results and routines that consume that data.
9648 \c{MFENCE} uses the following ModRM encoding:
9651 \c Reg/Opcode (5:3) = 110B
9654 All other ModRM encodings are defined to be reserved, and use
9655 of these encodings risks incompatibility with future processors.
9657 See also \c{LFENCE} (\k{insLFENCE}) and \c{SFENCE} (\k{insSFENCE}).
9660 \S{insMINPD} \i\c{MINPD}: Return Packed Double-Precision FP Minimum
9662 \c MINPD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 5D /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9664 \c{MINPD} performs a SIMD compare of the packed double-precision
9665 FP numbers from xmm1 and xmm2/mem, and stores the minimum values
9666 of each pair of values in xmm1. If the values being compared are
9667 both zeroes, source2 (xmm2/m128) would be returned. If source2
9668 (xmm2/m128) is an SNaN, this SNaN is forwarded unchanged to the
9669 destination (i.e., a QNaN version of the SNaN is not returned).
9672 \S{insMINPS} \i\c{MINPS}: Return Packed Single-Precision FP Minimum
9674 \c MINPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 5D /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9676 \c{MINPS} performs a SIMD compare of the packed single-precision
9677 FP numbers from xmm1 and xmm2/mem, and stores the minimum values
9678 of each pair of values in xmm1. If the values being compared are
9679 both zeroes, source2 (xmm2/m128) would be returned. If source2
9680 (xmm2/m128) is an SNaN, this SNaN is forwarded unchanged to the
9681 destination (i.e., a QNaN version of the SNaN is not returned).
9684 \S{insMINSD} \i\c{MINSD}: Return Scalar Double-Precision FP Minimum
9686 \c MINSD xmm1,xmm2/m64 ; F2 0F 5D /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9688 \c{MINSD} compares the low-order double-precision FP numbers from
9689 xmm1 and xmm2/mem, and stores the minimum value in xmm1. If the
9690 values being compared are both zeroes, source2 (xmm2/m64) would
9691 be returned. If source2 (xmm2/m64) is an SNaN, this SNaN is
9692 forwarded unchanged to the destination (i.e., a QNaN version of
9693 the SNaN is not returned). The high quadword of the destination
9697 \S{insMINSS} \i\c{MINSS}: Return Scalar Single-Precision FP Minimum
9699 \c MINSS xmm1,xmm2/m32 ; F3 0F 5D /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9701 \c{MINSS} compares the low-order single-precision FP numbers from
9702 xmm1 and xmm2/mem, and stores the minimum value in xmm1. If the
9703 values being compared are both zeroes, source2 (xmm2/m32) would
9704 be returned. If source2 (xmm2/m32) is an SNaN, this SNaN is
9705 forwarded unchanged to the destination (i.e., a QNaN version of
9706 the SNaN is not returned). The high three doublewords of the
9707 destination are left unchanged.
9710 \S{insMOV} \i\c{MOV}: Move Data
9712 \c MOV r/m8,reg8 ; 88 /r [8086]
9713 \c MOV r/m16,reg16 ; o16 89 /r [8086]
9714 \c MOV r/m32,reg32 ; o32 89 /r [386]
9715 \c MOV reg8,r/m8 ; 8A /r [8086]
9716 \c MOV reg16,r/m16 ; o16 8B /r [8086]
9717 \c MOV reg32,r/m32 ; o32 8B /r [386]
9719 \c MOV reg8,imm8 ; B0+r ib [8086]
9720 \c MOV reg16,imm16 ; o16 B8+r iw [8086]
9721 \c MOV reg32,imm32 ; o32 B8+r id [386]
9722 \c MOV r/m8,imm8 ; C6 /0 ib [8086]
9723 \c MOV r/m16,imm16 ; o16 C7 /0 iw [8086]
9724 \c MOV r/m32,imm32 ; o32 C7 /0 id [386]
9726 \c MOV AL,memoffs8 ; A0 ow/od [8086]
9727 \c MOV AX,memoffs16 ; o16 A1 ow/od [8086]
9728 \c MOV EAX,memoffs32 ; o32 A1 ow/od [386]
9729 \c MOV memoffs8,AL ; A2 ow/od [8086]
9730 \c MOV memoffs16,AX ; o16 A3 ow/od [8086]
9731 \c MOV memoffs32,EAX ; o32 A3 ow/od [386]
9733 \c MOV r/m16,segreg ; o16 8C /r [8086]
9734 \c MOV r/m32,segreg ; o32 8C /r [386]
9735 \c MOV segreg,r/m16 ; o16 8E /r [8086]
9736 \c MOV segreg,r/m32 ; o32 8E /r [386]
9738 \c MOV reg32,CR0/2/3/4 ; 0F 20 /r [386]
9739 \c MOV reg32,DR0/1/2/3/6/7 ; 0F 21 /r [386]
9740 \c MOV reg32,TR3/4/5/6/7 ; 0F 24 /r [386]
9741 \c MOV CR0/2/3/4,reg32 ; 0F 22 /r [386]
9742 \c MOV DR0/1/2/3/6/7,reg32 ; 0F 23 /r [386]
9743 \c MOV TR3/4/5/6/7,reg32 ; 0F 26 /r [386]
9745 \c{MOV} copies the contents of its source (second) operand into its
9746 destination (first) operand.
9748 In all forms of the \c{MOV} instruction, the two operands are the
9749 same size, except for moving between a segment register and an
9750 \c{r/m32} operand. These instructions are treated exactly like the
9751 corresponding 16-bit equivalent (so that, for example, \c{MOV
9752 DS,EAX} functions identically to \c{MOV DS,AX} but saves a prefix
9753 when in 32-bit mode), except that when a segment register is moved
9754 into a 32-bit destination, the top two bytes of the result are
9757 \c{MOV} may not use \c{CS} as a destination.
9759 \c{CR4} is only a supported register on the Pentium and above.
9761 Test registers are supported on 386/486 processors and on some
9762 non-Intel Pentium class processors.
9765 \S{insMOVAPD} \i\c{MOVAPD}: Move Aligned Packed Double-Precision FP Values
9767 \c MOVAPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 28 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9768 \c MOVAPD xmm1/mem128,xmm2 ; 66 0F 29 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9770 \c{MOVAPD} moves a double quadword containing 2 packed double-precision
9771 FP values from the source operand to the destination. When the source
9772 or destination operand is a memory location, it must be aligned on a
9775 To move data in and out of memory locations that are not known to be on
9776 16-byte boundaries, use the \c{MOVUPD} instruction (\k{insMOVUPD}).
9779 \S{insMOVAPS} \i\c{MOVAPS}: Move Aligned Packed Single-Precision FP Values
9781 \c MOVAPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F 28 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9782 \c MOVAPS xmm1/mem128,xmm2 ; 0F 29 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9784 \c{MOVAPS} moves a double quadword containing 4 packed single-precision
9785 FP values from the source operand to the destination. When the source
9786 or destination operand is a memory location, it must be aligned on a
9789 To move data in and out of memory locations that are not known to be on
9790 16-byte boundaries, use the \c{MOVUPS} instruction (\k{insMOVUPS}).
9793 \S{insMOVD} \i\c{MOVD}: Move Doubleword to/from MMX Register
9795 \c MOVD mm,r/m32 ; 0F 6E /r [PENT,MMX]
9796 \c MOVD r/m32,mm ; 0F 7E /r [PENT,MMX]
9797 \c MOVD xmm,r/m32 ; 66 0F 6E /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9798 \c MOVD r/m32,xmm ; 66 0F 7E /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9800 \c{MOVD} copies 32 bits from its source (second) operand into its
9801 destination (first) operand. When the destination is a 64-bit \c{MMX}
9802 register or a 128-bit \c{XMM} register, the input value is zero-extended
9803 to fill the destination register.
9806 \S{insMOVDQ2Q} \i\c{MOVDQ2Q}: Move Quadword from XMM to MMX register.
9808 \c MOVDQ2Q mm,xmm ; F2 OF D6 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9810 \c{MOVDQ2Q} moves the low quadword from the source operand to the
9811 destination operand.
9814 \S{insMOVDQA} \i\c{MOVDQA}: Move Aligned Double Quadword
9816 \c MOVDQA xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 OF 6F /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9817 \c MOVDQA xmm1/m128,xmm2 ; 66 OF 7F /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9819 \c{MOVDQA} moves a double quadword from the source operand to the
9820 destination operand. When the source or destination operand is a
9821 memory location, it must be aligned to a 16-byte boundary.
9823 To move a double quadword to or from unaligned memory locations,
9824 use the \c{MOVDQU} instruction (\k{insMOVDQU}).
9827 \S{insMOVDQU} \i\c{MOVDQU}: Move Unaligned Double Quadword
9829 \c MOVDQU xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; F3 OF 6F /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9830 \c MOVDQU xmm1/m128,xmm2 ; F3 OF 7F /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9832 \c{MOVDQU} moves a double quadword from the source operand to the
9833 destination operand. When the source or destination operand is a
9834 memory location, the memory may be unaligned.
9836 To move a double quadword to or from known aligned memory locations,
9837 use the \c{MOVDQA} instruction (\k{insMOVDQA}).
9840 \S{insMOVHLPS} \i\c{MOVHLPS}: Move Packed Single-Precision FP High to Low
9842 \c MOVHLPS xmm1,xmm2 ; OF 12 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9844 \c{MOVHLPS} moves the two packed single-precision FP values from the
9845 high quadword of the source register xmm2 to the low quadword of the
9846 destination register, xmm2. The upper quadword of xmm1 is left unchanged.
9848 The operation of this instruction is:
9850 \c dst[0-63] := src[64-127],
9851 \c dst[64-127] remains unchanged.
9854 \S{insMOVHPD} \i\c{MOVHPD}: Move High Packed Double-Precision FP
9856 \c MOVHPD xmm,m64 ; 66 OF 16 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9857 \c MOVHPD m64,xmm ; 66 OF 17 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9859 \c{MOVHPD} moves a double-precision FP value between the source and
9860 destination operands. One of the operands is a 64-bit memory location,
9861 the other is the high quadword of an \c{XMM} register.
9863 The operation of this instruction is:
9865 \c mem[0-63] := xmm[64-127];
9869 \c xmm[0-63] remains unchanged;
9870 \c xmm[64-127] := mem[0-63].
9873 \S{insMOVHPS} \i\c{MOVHPS}: Move High Packed Single-Precision FP
9875 \c MOVHPS xmm,m64 ; 0F 16 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9876 \c MOVHPS m64,xmm ; 0F 17 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9878 \c{MOVHPS} moves two packed single-precision FP values between the source
9879 and destination operands. One of the operands is a 64-bit memory location,
9880 the other is the high quadword of an \c{XMM} register.
9882 The operation of this instruction is:
9884 \c mem[0-63] := xmm[64-127];
9888 \c xmm[0-63] remains unchanged;
9889 \c xmm[64-127] := mem[0-63].
9892 \S{insMOVLHPS} \i\c{MOVLHPS}: Move Packed Single-Precision FP Low to High
9894 \c MOVLHPS xmm1,xmm2 ; OF 16 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9896 \c{MOVLHPS} moves the two packed single-precision FP values from the
9897 low quadword of the source register xmm2 to the high quadword of the
9898 destination register, xmm2. The low quadword of xmm1 is left unchanged.
9900 The operation of this instruction is:
9902 \c dst[0-63] remains unchanged;
9903 \c dst[64-127] := src[0-63].
9905 \S{insMOVLPD} \i\c{MOVLPD}: Move Low Packed Double-Precision FP
9907 \c MOVLPD xmm,m64 ; 66 OF 12 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9908 \c MOVLPD m64,xmm ; 66 OF 13 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9910 \c{MOVLPD} moves a double-precision FP value between the source and
9911 destination operands. One of the operands is a 64-bit memory location,
9912 the other is the low quadword of an \c{XMM} register.
9914 The operation of this instruction is:
9916 \c mem(0-63) := xmm(0-63);
9920 \c xmm(0-63) := mem(0-63);
9921 \c xmm(64-127) remains unchanged.
9923 \S{insMOVLPS} \i\c{MOVLPS}: Move Low Packed Single-Precision FP
9925 \c MOVLPS xmm,m64 ; OF 12 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9926 \c MOVLPS m64,xmm ; OF 13 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9928 \c{MOVLPS} moves two packed single-precision FP values between the source
9929 and destination operands. One of the operands is a 64-bit memory location,
9930 the other is the low quadword of an \c{XMM} register.
9932 The operation of this instruction is:
9934 \c mem(0-63) := xmm(0-63);
9938 \c xmm(0-63) := mem(0-63);
9939 \c xmm(64-127) remains unchanged.
9942 \S{insMOVMSKPD} \i\c{MOVMSKPD}: Extract Packed Double-Precision FP Sign Mask
9944 \c MOVMSKPD reg32,xmm ; 66 0F 50 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9946 \c{MOVMSKPD} inserts a 2-bit mask in r32, formed of the most significant
9947 bits of each double-precision FP number of the source operand.
9950 \S{insMOVMSKPS} \i\c{MOVMSKPS}: Extract Packed Single-Precision FP Sign Mask
9952 \c MOVMSKPS reg32,xmm ; 0F 50 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9954 \c{MOVMSKPS} inserts a 4-bit mask in r32, formed of the most significant
9955 bits of each single-precision FP number of the source operand.
9958 \S{insMOVNTDQ} \i\c{MOVNTDQ}: Move Double Quadword Non Temporal
9960 \c MOVNTDQ m128,xmm ; 66 0F E7 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9962 \c{MOVNTDQ} moves the double quadword from the \c{XMM} source
9963 register to the destination memory location, using a non-temporal
9964 hint. This store instruction minimizes cache pollution.
9967 \S{insMOVNTI} \i\c{MOVNTI}: Move Doubleword Non Temporal
9969 \c MOVNTI m32,reg32 ; 0F C3 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9971 \c{MOVNTI} moves the doubleword in the source register
9972 to the destination memory location, using a non-temporal
9973 hint. This store instruction minimizes cache pollution.
9976 \S{insMOVNTPD} \i\c{MOVNTPD}: Move Aligned Four Packed Single-Precision
9977 FP Values Non Temporal
9979 \c MOVNTPD m128,xmm ; 66 0F 2B /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
9981 \c{MOVNTPD} moves the double quadword from the \c{XMM} source
9982 register to the destination memory location, using a non-temporal
9983 hint. This store instruction minimizes cache pollution. The memory
9984 location must be aligned to a 16-byte boundary.
9987 \S{insMOVNTPS} \i\c{MOVNTPS}: Move Aligned Four Packed Single-Precision
9988 FP Values Non Temporal
9990 \c MOVNTPS m128,xmm ; 0F 2B /r [KATMAI,SSE]
9992 \c{MOVNTPS} moves the double quadword from the \c{XMM} source
9993 register to the destination memory location, using a non-temporal
9994 hint. This store instruction minimizes cache pollution. The memory
9995 location must be aligned to a 16-byte boundary.
9998 \S{insMOVNTQ} \i\c{MOVNTQ}: Move Quadword Non Temporal
10000 \c MOVNTQ m64,mm ; 0F E7 /r [KATMAI,MMX]
10002 \c{MOVNTQ} moves the quadword in the \c{MMX} source register
10003 to the destination memory location, using a non-temporal
10004 hint. This store instruction minimizes cache pollution.
10007 \S{insMOVQ} \i\c{MOVQ}: Move Quadword to/from MMX Register
10009 \c MOVQ mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 6F /r [PENT,MMX]
10010 \c MOVQ mm1/m64,mm2 ; 0F 7F /r [PENT,MMX]
10012 \c MOVQ xmm1,xmm2/m64 ; F3 0F 7E /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10013 \c MOVQ xmm1/m64,xmm2 ; 66 0F D6 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10015 \c{MOVQ} copies 64 bits from its source (second) operand into its
10016 destination (first) operand. When the source is an \c{XMM} register,
10017 the low quadword is moved. When the destination is an \c{XMM} register,
10018 the destination is the low quadword, and the high quadword is cleared.
10021 \S{insMOVQ2DQ} \i\c{MOVQ2DQ}: Move Quadword from MMX to XMM register.
10023 \c MOVQ2DQ xmm,mm ; F3 OF D6 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10025 \c{MOVQ2DQ} moves the quadword from the source operand to the low
10026 quadword of the destination operand, and clears the high quadword.
10029 \S{insMOVSB} \i\c{MOVSB}, \i\c{MOVSW}, \i\c{MOVSD}: Move String
10031 \c MOVSB ; A4 [8086]
10032 \c MOVSW ; o16 A5 [8086]
10033 \c MOVSD ; o32 A5 [386]
10035 \c{MOVSB} copies the byte at \c{[DS:SI]} or \c{[DS:ESI]} to
10036 \c{[ES:DI]} or \c{[ES:EDI]}. It then increments or decrements
10037 (depending on the direction flag: increments if the flag is clear,
10038 decrements if it is set) \c{SI} and \c{DI} (or \c{ESI} and \c{EDI}).
10040 The registers used are \c{SI} and \c{DI} if the address size is 16
10041 bits, and \c{ESI} and \c{EDI} if it is 32 bits. If you need to use
10042 an address size not equal to the current \c{BITS} setting, you can
10043 use an explicit \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
10045 The segment register used to load from \c{[SI]} or \c{[ESI]} can be
10046 overridden by using a segment register name as a prefix (for
10047 example, \c{es movsb}). The use of \c{ES} for the store to \c{[DI]}
10048 or \c{[EDI]} cannot be overridden.
10050 \c{MOVSW} and \c{MOVSD} work in the same way, but they copy a word
10051 or a doubleword instead of a byte, and increment or decrement the
10052 addressing registers by 2 or 4 instead of 1.
10054 The \c{REP} prefix may be used to repeat the instruction \c{CX} (or
10055 \c{ECX} - again, the address size chooses which) times.
10058 \S{insMOVSD} \i\c{MOVSD}: Move Scalar Double-Precision FP Value
10060 \c MOVSD xmm1,xmm2/m64 ; F2 0F 10 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10061 \c MOVSD xmm1/m64,xmm2 ; F2 0F 11 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10063 \c{MOVSD} moves a double-precision FP value from the source operand
10064 to the destination operand. When the source or destination is a
10065 register, the low-order FP value is read or written.
10068 \S{insMOVSS} \i\c{MOVSS}: Move Scalar Single-Precision FP Value
10070 \c MOVSS xmm1,xmm2/m32 ; F3 0F 10 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
10071 \c MOVSS xmm1/m32,xmm2 ; F3 0F 11 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
10073 \c{MOVSS} moves a single-precision FP value from the source operand
10074 to the destination operand. When the source or destination is a
10075 register, the low-order FP value is read or written.
10078 \S{insMOVSX} \i\c{MOVSX}, \i\c{MOVZX}: Move Data with Sign or Zero Extend
10080 \c MOVSX reg16,r/m8 ; o16 0F BE /r [386]
10081 \c MOVSX reg32,r/m8 ; o32 0F BE /r [386]
10082 \c MOVSX reg32,r/m16 ; o32 0F BF /r [386]
10084 \c MOVZX reg16,r/m8 ; o16 0F B6 /r [386]
10085 \c MOVZX reg32,r/m8 ; o32 0F B6 /r [386]
10086 \c MOVZX reg32,r/m16 ; o32 0F B7 /r [386]
10088 \c{MOVSX} sign-extends its source (second) operand to the length of
10089 its destination (first) operand, and copies the result into the
10090 destination operand. \c{MOVZX} does the same, but zero-extends
10091 rather than sign-extending.
10094 \S{insMOVUPD} \i\c{MOVUPD}: Move Unaligned Packed Double-Precision FP Values
10096 \c MOVUPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 10 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10097 \c MOVUPD xmm1/mem128,xmm2 ; 66 0F 11 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10099 \c{MOVUPD} moves a double quadword containing 2 packed double-precision
10100 FP values from the source operand to the destination. This instruction
10101 makes no assumptions about alignment of memory operands.
10103 To move data in and out of memory locations that are known to be on 16-byte
10104 boundaries, use the \c{MOVAPD} instruction (\k{insMOVAPD}).
10107 \S{insMOVUPS} \i\c{MOVUPS}: Move Unaligned Packed Single-Precision FP Values
10109 \c MOVUPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F 10 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
10110 \c MOVUPS xmm1/mem128,xmm2 ; 0F 11 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
10112 \c{MOVUPS} moves a double quadword containing 4 packed single-precision
10113 FP values from the source operand to the destination. This instruction
10114 makes no assumptions about alignment of memory operands.
10116 To move data in and out of memory locations that are known to be on 16-byte
10117 boundaries, use the \c{MOVAPS} instruction (\k{insMOVAPS}).
10120 \S{insMUL} \i\c{MUL}: Unsigned Integer Multiply
10122 \c MUL r/m8 ; F6 /4 [8086]
10123 \c MUL r/m16 ; o16 F7 /4 [8086]
10124 \c MUL r/m32 ; o32 F7 /4 [386]
10126 \c{MUL} performs unsigned integer multiplication. The other operand
10127 to the multiplication, and the destination operand, are implicit, in
10130 \b For \c{MUL r/m8}, \c{AL} is multiplied by the given operand; the
10131 product is stored in \c{AX}.
10133 \b For \c{MUL r/m16}, \c{AX} is multiplied by the given operand;
10134 the product is stored in \c{DX:AX}.
10136 \b For \c{MUL r/m32}, \c{EAX} is multiplied by the given operand;
10137 the product is stored in \c{EDX:EAX}.
10139 Signed integer multiplication is performed by the \c{IMUL}
10140 instruction: see \k{insIMUL}.
10143 \S{insMULPD} \i\c{MULPD}: Packed Single-FP Multiply
10145 \c MULPD xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 66 0F 59 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10147 \c{MULPD} performs a SIMD multiply of the packed double-precision FP
10148 values in both operands, and stores the results in the destination register.
10151 \S{insMULPS} \i\c{MULPS}: Packed Single-FP Multiply
10153 \c MULPS xmm1,xmm2/mem128 ; 0F 59 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
10155 \c{MULPS} performs a SIMD multiply of the packed single-precision FP
10156 values in both operands, and stores the results in the destination register.
10159 \S{insMULSD} \i\c{MULSD}: Scalar Single-FP Multiply
10161 \c MULSD xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F2 0F 59 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10163 \c{MULSD} multiplies the lowest double-precision FP values of both
10164 operands, and stores the result in the low quadword of xmm1.
10167 \S{insMULSS} \i\c{MULSS}: Scalar Single-FP Multiply
10169 \c MULSS xmm1,xmm2/mem32 ; F3 0F 59 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
10171 \c{MULSS} multiplies the lowest single-precision FP values of both
10172 operands, and stores the result in the low doubleword of xmm1.
10175 \S{insNEG} \i\c{NEG}, \i\c{NOT}: Two's and One's Complement
10177 \c NEG r/m8 ; F6 /3 [8086]
10178 \c NEG r/m16 ; o16 F7 /3 [8086]
10179 \c NEG r/m32 ; o32 F7 /3 [386]
10181 \c NOT r/m8 ; F6 /2 [8086]
10182 \c NOT r/m16 ; o16 F7 /2 [8086]
10183 \c NOT r/m32 ; o32 F7 /2 [386]
10185 \c{NEG} replaces the contents of its operand by the two's complement
10186 negation (invert all the bits and then add one) of the original
10187 value. \c{NOT}, similarly, performs one's complement (inverts all
10191 \S{insNOP} \i\c{NOP}: No Operation
10195 \c{NOP} performs no operation. Its opcode is the same as that
10196 generated by \c{XCHG AX,AX} or \c{XCHG EAX,EAX} (depending on the
10197 processor mode; see \k{insXCHG}).
10200 \S{insOR} \i\c{OR}: Bitwise OR
10202 \c OR r/m8,reg8 ; 08 /r [8086]
10203 \c OR r/m16,reg16 ; o16 09 /r [8086]
10204 \c OR r/m32,reg32 ; o32 09 /r [386]
10206 \c OR reg8,r/m8 ; 0A /r [8086]
10207 \c OR reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0B /r [8086]
10208 \c OR reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0B /r [386]
10210 \c OR r/m8,imm8 ; 80 /1 ib [8086]
10211 \c OR r/m16,imm16 ; o16 81 /1 iw [8086]
10212 \c OR r/m32,imm32 ; o32 81 /1 id [386]
10214 \c OR r/m16,imm8 ; o16 83 /1 ib [8086]
10215 \c OR r/m32,imm8 ; o32 83 /1 ib [386]
10217 \c OR AL,imm8 ; 0C ib [8086]
10218 \c OR AX,imm16 ; o16 0D iw [8086]
10219 \c OR EAX,imm32 ; o32 0D id [386]
10221 \c{OR} performs a bitwise OR operation between its two operands
10222 (i.e. each bit of the result is 1 if and only if at least one of the
10223 corresponding bits of the two inputs was 1), and stores the result
10224 in the destination (first) operand.
10226 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate second operand and a longer
10227 first operand, the second operand is considered to be signed, and is
10228 sign-extended to the length of the first operand. In these cases,
10229 the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force NASM to generate this
10230 form of the instruction.
10232 The MMX instruction \c{POR} (see \k{insPOR}) performs the same
10233 operation on the 64-bit MMX registers.
10236 \S{insORPD} \i\c{ORPD}: Bit-wise Logical OR of Double-Precision FP Data
10238 \c ORPD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 56 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10240 \c{ORPD} return a bit-wise logical OR between xmm1 and xmm2/mem,
10241 and stores the result in xmm1. If the source operand is a memory
10242 location, it must be aligned to a 16-byte boundary.
10245 \S{insORPS} \i\c{ORPS}: Bit-wise Logical OR of Single-Precision FP Data
10247 \c ORPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 56 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
10249 \c{ORPS} return a bit-wise logical OR between xmm1 and xmm2/mem,
10250 and stores the result in xmm1. If the source operand is a memory
10251 location, it must be aligned to a 16-byte boundary.
10254 \S{insOUT} \i\c{OUT}: Output Data to I/O Port
10256 \c OUT imm8,AL ; E6 ib [8086]
10257 \c OUT imm8,AX ; o16 E7 ib [8086]
10258 \c OUT imm8,EAX ; o32 E7 ib [386]
10259 \c OUT DX,AL ; EE [8086]
10260 \c OUT DX,AX ; o16 EF [8086]
10261 \c OUT DX,EAX ; o32 EF [386]
10263 \c{OUT} writes the contents of the given source register to the
10264 specified I/O port. The port number may be specified as an immediate
10265 value if it is between 0 and 255, and otherwise must be stored in
10266 \c{DX}. See also \c{IN} (\k{insIN}).
10269 \S{insOUTSB} \i\c{OUTSB}, \i\c{OUTSW}, \i\c{OUTSD}: Output String to I/O Port
10271 \c OUTSB ; 6E [186]
10272 \c OUTSW ; o16 6F [186]
10273 \c OUTSD ; o32 6F [386]
10275 \c{OUTSB} loads a byte from \c{[DS:SI]} or \c{[DS:ESI]} and writes
10276 it to the I/O port specified in \c{DX}. It then increments or
10277 decrements (depending on the direction flag: increments if the flag
10278 is clear, decrements if it is set) \c{SI} or \c{ESI}.
10280 The register used is \c{SI} if the address size is 16 bits, and
10281 \c{ESI} if it is 32 bits. If you need to use an address size not
10282 equal to the current \c{BITS} setting, you can use an explicit
10283 \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
10285 The segment register used to load from \c{[SI]} or \c{[ESI]} can be
10286 overridden by using a segment register name as a prefix (for
10287 example, \c{es outsb}).
10289 \c{OUTSW} and \c{OUTSD} work in the same way, but they output a
10290 word or a doubleword instead of a byte, and increment or decrement
10291 the addressing registers by 2 or 4 instead of 1.
10293 The \c{REP} prefix may be used to repeat the instruction \c{CX} (or
10294 \c{ECX} - again, the address size chooses which) times.
10297 \S{insPACKSSDW} \i\c{PACKSSDW}, \i\c{PACKSSWB}, \i\c{PACKUSWB}: Pack Data
10299 \c PACKSSDW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 6B /r [PENT,MMX]
10300 \c PACKSSWB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 63 /r [PENT,MMX]
10301 \c PACKUSWB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 67 /r [PENT,MMX]
10303 \c PACKSSDW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 6B /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10304 \c PACKSSWB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 63 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10305 \c PACKUSWB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 67 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10307 All these instructions start by combining the source and destination
10308 operands, and then splitting the result in smaller sections which it
10309 then packs into the destination register. The \c{MMX} versions pack
10310 two 64-bit operands into one 64-bit register, while the \c{SSE}
10311 versions pack two 128-bit operands into one 128-bit register.
10313 \b \c{PACKSSWB} splits the combined value into words, and then reduces
10314 the words to bytes, using signed saturation. It then packs the bytes
10315 into the destination register in the same order the words were in.
10317 \b \c{PACKSSDW} performs the same operation as \c{PACKSSWB}, except that
10318 it reduces doublewords to words, then packs them into the destination
10321 \b \c{PACKUSWB} performs the same operation as \c{PACKSSWB}, except that
10322 it uses unsigned saturation when reducing the size of the elements.
10324 To perform signed saturation on a number, it is replaced by the largest
10325 signed number (\c{7FFFh} or \c{7Fh}) that \e{will} fit, and if it is too
10326 small it is replaced by the smallest signed number (\c{8000h} or
10327 \c{80h}) that will fit. To perform unsigned saturation, the input is
10328 treated as unsigned, and the input is replaced by the largest unsigned
10329 number that will fit.
10332 \S{insPADDB} \i\c{PADDB}, \i\c{PADDW}, \i\c{PADDD}: Add Packed Integers
10334 \c PADDB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F FC /r [PENT,MMX]
10335 \c PADDW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F FD /r [PENT,MMX]
10336 \c PADDD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F FE /r [PENT,MMX]
10338 \c PADDB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F FC /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10339 \c PADDW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F FD /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10340 \c PADDD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F FE /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10342 \c{PADDx} performs packed addition of the two operands, storing the
10343 result in the destination (first) operand.
10345 \b \c{PADDB} treats the operands as packed bytes, and adds each byte
10348 \b \c{PADDW} treats the operands as packed words;
10350 \b \c{PADDD} treats its operands as packed doublewords.
10352 When an individual result is too large to fit in its destination, it
10353 is wrapped around and the low bits are stored, with the carry bit
10357 \S{insPADDQ} \i\c{PADDQ}: Add Packed Quadword Integers
10359 \c PADDQ mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F D4 /r [PENT,MMX]
10361 \c PADDQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F D4 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10363 \c{PADDQ} adds the quadwords in the source and destination operands, and
10364 stores the result in the destination register.
10366 When an individual result is too large to fit in its destination, it
10367 is wrapped around and the low bits are stored, with the carry bit
10371 \S{insPADDSB} \i\c{PADDSB}, \i\c{PADDSW}: Add Packed Signed Integers With Saturation
10373 \c PADDSB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F EC /r [PENT,MMX]
10374 \c PADDSW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F ED /r [PENT,MMX]
10376 \c PADDSB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F EC /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10377 \c PADDSW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F ED /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10379 \c{PADDSx} performs packed addition of the two operands, storing the
10380 result in the destination (first) operand.
10381 \c{PADDSB} treats the operands as packed bytes, and adds each byte
10382 individually; and \c{PADDSW} treats the operands as packed words.
10384 When an individual result is too large to fit in its destination, a
10385 saturated value is stored. The resulting value is the value with the
10386 largest magnitude of the same sign as the result which will fit in
10387 the available space.
10390 \S{insPADDSIW} \i\c{PADDSIW}: MMX Packed Addition to Implicit Destination
10392 \c PADDSIW mmxreg,r/m64 ; 0F 51 /r [CYRIX,MMX]
10394 \c{PADDSIW}, specific to the Cyrix extensions to the MMX instruction
10395 set, performs the same function as \c{PADDSW}, except that the result
10396 is placed in an implied register.
10398 To work out the implied register, invert the lowest bit in the register
10399 number. So \c{PADDSIW MM0,MM2} would put the result in \c{MM1}, but
10400 \c{PADDSIW MM1,MM2} would put the result in \c{MM0}.
10403 \S{insPADDUSB} \i\c{PADDUSB}, \i\c{PADDUSW}: Add Packed Unsigned Integers With Saturation
10405 \c PADDUSB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F DC /r [PENT,MMX]
10406 \c PADDUSW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F DD /r [PENT,MMX]
10408 \c PADDUSB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F DC /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10409 \c PADDUSW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F DD /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10411 \c{PADDUSx} performs packed addition of the two operands, storing the
10412 result in the destination (first) operand.
10413 \c{PADDUSB} treats the operands as packed bytes, and adds each byte
10414 individually; and \c{PADDUSW} treats the operands as packed words.
10416 When an individual result is too large to fit in its destination, a
10417 saturated value is stored. The resulting value is the maximum value
10418 that will fit in the available space.
10421 \S{insPAND} \i\c{PAND}, \i\c{PANDN}: MMX Bitwise AND and AND-NOT
10423 \c PAND mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F DB /r [PENT,MMX]
10424 \c PANDN mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F DF /r [PENT,MMX]
10426 \c PAND xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F DB /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10427 \c PANDN xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F DF /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10430 \c{PAND} performs a bitwise AND operation between its two operands
10431 (i.e. each bit of the result is 1 if and only if the corresponding
10432 bits of the two inputs were both 1), and stores the result in the
10433 destination (first) operand.
10435 \c{PANDN} performs the same operation, but performs a one's
10436 complement operation on the destination (first) operand first.
10439 \S{insPAUSE} \i\c{PAUSE}: Spin Loop Hint
10441 \c PAUSE ; F3 90 [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10443 \c{PAUSE} provides a hint to the processor that the following code
10444 is a spin loop. This improves processor performance by bypassing
10445 possible memory order violations. On older processors, this instruction
10446 operates as a \c{NOP}.
10449 \S{insPAVEB} \i\c{PAVEB}: MMX Packed Average
10451 \c PAVEB mmxreg,r/m64 ; 0F 50 /r [CYRIX,MMX]
10453 \c{PAVEB}, specific to the Cyrix MMX extensions, treats its two
10454 operands as vectors of eight unsigned bytes, and calculates the
10455 average of the corresponding bytes in the operands. The resulting
10456 vector of eight averages is stored in the first operand.
10458 This opcode maps to \c{MOVMSKPS r32, xmm} on processors that support
10459 the SSE instruction set.
10462 \S{insPAVGB} \i\c{PAVGB} \i\c{PAVGW}: Average Packed Integers
10464 \c PAVGB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F E0 /r [KATMAI,MMX]
10465 \c PAVGW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F E3 /r [KATMAI,MMX,SM]
10467 \c PAVGB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F E0 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10468 \c PAVGW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F E3 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10470 \c{PAVGB} and \c{PAVGW} add the unsigned data elements of the source
10471 operand to the unsigned data elements of the destination register,
10472 then adds 1 to the temporary results. The results of the add are then
10473 each independently right-shifted by one bit position. The high order
10474 bits of each element are filled with the carry bits of the corresponding
10477 \b \c{PAVGB} operates on packed unsigned bytes, and
10479 \b \c{PAVGW} operates on packed unsigned words.
10482 \S{insPAVGUSB} \i\c{PAVGUSB}: Average of unsigned packed 8-bit values
10484 \c PAVGUSB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r BF [PENT,3DNOW]
10486 \c{PAVGUSB} adds the unsigned data elements of the source operand to
10487 the unsigned data elements of the destination register, then adds 1
10488 to the temporary results. The results of the add are then each
10489 independently right-shifted by one bit position. The high order bits
10490 of each element are filled with the carry bits of the corresponding
10493 This instruction performs exactly the same operations as the \c{PAVGB}
10494 \c{MMX} instruction (\k{insPAVGB}).
10497 \S{insPCMPEQB} \i\c{PCMPxx}: Compare Packed Integers.
10499 \c PCMPEQB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 74 /r [PENT,MMX]
10500 \c PCMPEQW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 75 /r [PENT,MMX]
10501 \c PCMPEQD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 76 /r [PENT,MMX]
10503 \c PCMPGTB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 64 /r [PENT,MMX]
10504 \c PCMPGTW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 65 /r [PENT,MMX]
10505 \c PCMPGTD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 66 /r [PENT,MMX]
10507 \c PCMPEQB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 74 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10508 \c PCMPEQW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 75 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10509 \c PCMPEQD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 76 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10511 \c PCMPGTB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 64 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10512 \c PCMPGTW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 65 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10513 \c PCMPGTD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 66 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10515 The \c{PCMPxx} instructions all treat their operands as vectors of
10516 bytes, words, or doublewords; corresponding elements of the source
10517 and destination are compared, and the corresponding element of the
10518 destination (first) operand is set to all zeros or all ones
10519 depending on the result of the comparison.
10521 \b \c{PCMPxxB} treats the operands as vectors of bytes;
10523 \b \c{PCMPxxW} treats the operands as vectors of words;
10525 \b \c{PCMPxxD} treats the operands as vectors of doublewords;
10527 \b \c{PCMPEQx} sets the corresponding element of the destination
10528 operand to all ones if the two elements compared are equal;
10530 \b \c{PCMPGTx} sets the destination element to all ones if the element
10531 of the first (destination) operand is greater (treated as a signed
10532 integer) than that of the second (source) operand.
10535 \S{insPDISTIB} \i\c{PDISTIB}: MMX Packed Distance and Accumulate
10536 with Implied Register
10538 \c PDISTIB mm,m64 ; 0F 54 /r [CYRIX,MMX]
10540 \c{PDISTIB}, specific to the Cyrix MMX extensions, treats its two
10541 input operands as vectors of eight unsigned bytes. For each byte
10542 position, it finds the absolute difference between the bytes in that
10543 position in the two input operands, and adds that value to the byte
10544 in the same position in the implied output register. The addition is
10545 saturated to an unsigned byte in the same way as \c{PADDUSB}.
10547 To work out the implied register, invert the lowest bit in the register
10548 number. So \c{PDISTIB MM0,M64} would put the result in \c{MM1}, but
10549 \c{PDISTIB MM1,M64} would put the result in \c{MM0}.
10551 Note that \c{PDISTIB} cannot take a register as its second source
10556 \c dstI[0-7] := dstI[0-7] + ABS(src0[0-7] - src1[0-7]),
10557 \c dstI[8-15] := dstI[8-15] + ABS(src0[8-15] - src1[8-15]),
10560 \c dstI[56-63] := dstI[56-63] + ABS(src0[56-63] - src1[56-63]).
10563 \S{insPEXTRW} \i\c{PEXTRW}: Extract Word
10565 \c PEXTRW reg32,mm,imm8 ; 0F C5 /r ib [KATMAI,MMX]
10566 \c PEXTRW reg32,xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F C5 /r ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10568 \c{PEXTRW} moves the word in the source register (second operand)
10569 that is pointed to by the count operand (third operand), into the
10570 lower half of a 32-bit general purpose register. The upper half of
10571 the register is cleared to all 0s.
10573 When the source operand is an \c{MMX} register, the two least
10574 significant bits of the count specify the source word. When it is
10575 an \c{SSE} register, the three least significant bits specify the
10579 \S{insPF2ID} \i\c{PF2ID}: Packed Single-Precision FP to Integer Convert
10581 \c PF2ID mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 1D [PENT,3DNOW]
10583 \c{PF2ID} converts two single-precision FP values in the source operand
10584 to signed 32-bit integers, using truncation, and stores them in the
10585 destination operand. Source values that are outside the range supported
10586 by the destination are saturated to the largest absolute value of the
10590 \S{insPF2IW} \i\c{PF2IW}: Packed Single-Precision FP to Integer Word Convert
10592 \c PF2IW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 1C [PENT,3DNOW]
10594 \c{PF2IW} converts two single-precision FP values in the source operand
10595 to signed 16-bit integers, using truncation, and stores them in the
10596 destination operand. Source values that are outside the range supported
10597 by the destination are saturated to the largest absolute value of the
10600 \b In the K6-2 and K6-III, the 16-bit value is zero-extended to 32-bits
10603 \b In the K6-2+, K6-III+ and Athlon processors, the value is sign-extended
10604 to 32-bits before storing.
10607 \S{insPFACC} \i\c{PFACC}: Packed Single-Precision FP Accumulate
10609 \c PFACC mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r AE [PENT,3DNOW]
10611 \c{PFACC} adds the two single-precision FP values from the destination
10612 operand together, then adds the two single-precision FP values from the
10613 source operand, and places the results in the low and high doublewords
10614 of the destination operand.
10618 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] + dst[32-63],
10619 \c dst[32-63] := src[0-31] + src[32-63].
10622 \S{insPFADD} \i\c{PFADD}: Packed Single-Precision FP Addition
10624 \c PFADD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 9E [PENT,3DNOW]
10626 \c{PFADD} performs addition on each of two packed single-precision
10629 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] + src[0-31],
10630 \c dst[32-63] := dst[32-63] + src[32-63].
10633 \S{insPFCMP} \i\c{PFCMPxx}: Packed Single-Precision FP Compare
10634 \I\c{PFCMPEQ} \I\c{PFCMPGE} \I\c{PFCMPGT}
10636 \c PFCMPEQ mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r B0 [PENT,3DNOW]
10637 \c PFCMPGE mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 90 [PENT,3DNOW]
10638 \c PFCMPGT mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r A0 [PENT,3DNOW]
10640 The \c{PFCMPxx} instructions compare the packed single-point FP values
10641 in the source and destination operands, and set the destination
10642 according to the result. If the condition is true, the destination is
10643 set to all 1s, otherwise it's set to all 0s.
10645 \b \c{PFCMPEQ} tests whether dst == src;
10647 \b \c{PFCMPGE} tests whether dst >= src;
10649 \b \c{PFCMPGT} tests whether dst > src.
10652 \S{insPFMAX} \i\c{PFMAX}: Packed Single-Precision FP Maximum
10654 \c PFMAX mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r A4 [PENT,3DNOW]
10656 \c{PFMAX} returns the higher of each pair of single-precision FP values.
10657 If the higher value is zero, it is returned as positive zero.
10660 \S{insPFMIN} \i\c{PFMIN}: Packed Single-Precision FP Minimum
10662 \c PFMIN mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 94 [PENT,3DNOW]
10664 \c{PFMIN} returns the lower of each pair of single-precision FP values.
10665 If the lower value is zero, it is returned as positive zero.
10668 \S{insPFMUL} \i\c{PFMUL}: Packed Single-Precision FP Multiply
10670 \c PFMUL mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r B4 [PENT,3DNOW]
10672 \c{PFMUL} returns the product of each pair of single-precision FP values.
10674 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] * src[0-31],
10675 \c dst[32-63] := dst[32-63] * src[32-63].
10678 \S{insPFNACC} \i\c{PFNACC}: Packed Single-Precision FP Negative Accumulate
10680 \c PFNACC mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 8A [PENT,3DNOW]
10682 \c{PFNACC} performs a negative accumulate of the two single-precision
10683 FP values in the source and destination registers. The result of the
10684 accumulate from the destination register is stored in the low doubleword
10685 of the destination, and the result of the source accumulate is stored in
10686 the high doubleword of the destination register.
10690 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] - dst[32-63],
10691 \c dst[32-63] := src[0-31] - src[32-63].
10694 \S{insPFPNACC} \i\c{PFPNACC}: Packed Single-Precision FP Mixed Accumulate
10696 \c PFPNACC mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 8E [PENT,3DNOW]
10698 \c{PFPNACC} performs a positive accumulate of the two single-precision
10699 FP values in the source register and a negative accumulate of the
10700 destination register. The result of the accumulate from the destination
10701 register is stored in the low doubleword of the destination, and the
10702 result of the source accumulate is stored in the high doubleword of the
10703 destination register.
10707 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] - dst[32-63],
10708 \c dst[32-63] := src[0-31] + src[32-63].
10711 \S{insPFRCP} \i\c{PFRCP}: Packed Single-Precision FP Reciprocal Approximation
10713 \c PFRCP mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 96 [PENT,3DNOW]
10715 \c{PFRCP} performs a low precision estimate of the reciprocal of the
10716 low-order single-precision FP value in the source operand, storing the
10717 result in both halves of the destination register. The result is accurate
10720 For higher precision reciprocals, this instruction should be followed by
10721 two more instructions: \c{PFRCPIT1} (\k{insPFRCPIT1}) and \c{PFRCPIT2}
10722 (\k{insPFRCPIT1}). This will result in a 24-bit accuracy. For more details,
10723 see the AMD 3DNow! technology manual.
10726 \S{insPFRCPIT1} \i\c{PFRCPIT1}: Packed Single-Precision FP Reciprocal,
10727 First Iteration Step
10729 \c PFRCPIT1 mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r A6 [PENT,3DNOW]
10731 \c{PFRCPIT1} performs the first intermediate step in the calculation of
10732 the reciprocal of a single-precision FP value. The first source value
10733 (\c{mm1} is the original value, and the second source value (\c{mm2/m64}
10734 is the result of a \c{PFRCP} instruction.
10736 For the final step in a reciprocal, returning the full 24-bit accuracy
10737 of a single-precision FP value, see \c{PFRCPIT2} (\k{insPFRCPIT2}). For
10738 more details, see the AMD 3DNow! technology manual.
10741 \S{insPFRCPIT2} \i\c{PFRCPIT2}: Packed Single-Precision FP
10742 Reciprocal/ Reciprocal Square Root, Second Iteration Step
10744 \c PFRCPIT2 mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r B6 [PENT,3DNOW]
10746 \c{PFRCPIT2} performs the second and final intermediate step in the
10747 calculation of a reciprocal or reciprocal square root, refining the
10748 values returned by the \c{PFRCP} and \c{PFRSQRT} instructions,
10751 The first source value (\c{mm1}) is the output of either a \c{PFRCPIT1}
10752 or a \c{PFRSQIT1} instruction, and the second source is the output of
10753 either the \c{PFRCP} or the \c{PFRSQRT} instruction. For more details,
10754 see the AMD 3DNow! technology manual.
10757 \S{insPFRSQIT1} \i\c{PFRSQIT1}: Packed Single-Precision FP Reciprocal
10758 Square Root, First Iteration Step
10760 \c PFRSQIT1 mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r A7 [PENT,3DNOW]
10762 \c{PFRSQIT1} performs the first intermediate step in the calculation of
10763 the reciprocal square root of a single-precision FP value. The first
10764 source value (\c{mm1} is the square of the result of a \c{PFRSQRT}
10765 instruction, and the second source value (\c{mm2/m64} is the original
10768 For the final step in a calculation, returning the full 24-bit accuracy
10769 of a single-precision FP value, see \c{PFRCPIT2} (\k{insPFRCPIT2}). For
10770 more details, see the AMD 3DNow! technology manual.
10773 \S{insPFRSQRT} \i\c{PFRSQRT}: Packed Single-Precision FP Reciprocal
10774 Square Root Approximation
10776 \c PFRSQRT mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 97 [PENT,3DNOW]
10778 \c{PFRSQRT} performs a low precision estimate of the reciprocal square
10779 root of the low-order single-precision FP value in the source operand,
10780 storing the result in both halves of the destination register. The result
10781 is accurate to 15 bits.
10783 For higher precision reciprocals, this instruction should be followed by
10784 two more instructions: \c{PFRSQIT1} (\k{insPFRSQIT1}) and \c{PFRCPIT2}
10785 (\k{insPFRCPIT1}). This will result in a 24-bit accuracy. For more details,
10786 see the AMD 3DNow! technology manual.
10789 \S{insPFSUB} \i\c{PFSUB}: Packed Single-Precision FP Subtract
10791 \c PFSUB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 9A [PENT,3DNOW]
10793 \c{PFSUB} subtracts the single-precision FP values in the source from
10794 those in the destination, and stores the result in the destination
10797 \c dst[0-31] := dst[0-31] - src[0-31],
10798 \c dst[32-63] := dst[32-63] - src[32-63].
10801 \S{insPFSUBR} \i\c{PFSUBR}: Packed Single-Precision FP Reverse Subtract
10803 \c PFSUBR mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r AA [PENT,3DNOW]
10805 \c{PFSUBR} subtracts the single-precision FP values in the destination
10806 from those in the source, and stores the result in the destination
10809 \c dst[0-31] := src[0-31] - dst[0-31],
10810 \c dst[32-63] := src[32-63] - dst[32-63].
10813 \S{insPI2FD} \i\c{PI2FD}: Packed Doubleword Integer to Single-Precision FP Convert
10815 \c PI2FD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 0D [PENT,3DNOW]
10817 \c{PF2ID} converts two signed 32-bit integers in the source operand
10818 to single-precision FP values, using truncation of significant digits,
10819 and stores them in the destination operand.
10822 \S{insPF2IW} \i\c{PF2IW}: Packed Word Integer to Single-Precision FP Convert
10824 \c PI2FW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r 0C [PENT,3DNOW]
10826 \c{PF2IW} converts two signed 16-bit integers in the source operand
10827 to single-precision FP values, and stores them in the destination
10828 operand. The input values are in the low word of each doubleword.
10831 \S{insPINSRW} \i\c{PINSRW}: Insert Word
10833 \c PINSRW mm,r16/r32/m16,imm8 ;0F C4 /r ib [KATMAI,MMX]
10834 \c PINSRW xmm,r16/r32/m16,imm8 ;66 0F C4 /r ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10836 \c{PINSRW} loads a word from a 16-bit register (or the low half of a
10837 32-bit register), or from memory, and loads it to the word position
10838 in the destination register, pointed at by the count operand (third
10839 operand). If the destination is an \c{MMX} register, the low two bits
10840 of the count byte are used, if it is an \c{XMM} register the low 3
10841 bits are used. The insertion is done in such a way that the other
10842 words from the destination register are left untouched.
10845 \S{insPMACHRIW} \i\c{PMACHRIW}: Packed Multiply and Accumulate with Rounding
10847 \c PMACHRIW mm,m64 ; 0F 5E /r [CYRIX,MMX]
10849 \c{PMACHRIW} takes two packed 16-bit integer inputs, multiplies the
10850 values in the inputs, rounds on bit 15 of each result, then adds bits
10851 15-30 of each result to the corresponding position of the \e{implied}
10852 destination register.
10854 The operation of this instruction is:
10856 \c dstI[0-15] := dstI[0-15] + (mm[0-15] *m64[0-15]
10857 \c + 0x00004000)[15-30],
10858 \c dstI[16-31] := dstI[16-31] + (mm[16-31]*m64[16-31]
10859 \c + 0x00004000)[15-30],
10860 \c dstI[32-47] := dstI[32-47] + (mm[32-47]*m64[32-47]
10861 \c + 0x00004000)[15-30],
10862 \c dstI[48-63] := dstI[48-63] + (mm[48-63]*m64[48-63]
10863 \c + 0x00004000)[15-30].
10865 Note that \c{PMACHRIW} cannot take a register as its second source
10869 \S{insPMADDWD} \i\c{PMADDWD}: MMX Packed Multiply and Add
10871 \c PMADDWD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F F5 /r [PENT,MMX]
10872 \c PMADDWD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F F5 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10874 \c{PMADDWD} treats its two inputs as vectors of signed words. It
10875 multiplies corresponding elements of the two operands, giving doubleword
10876 results. These are then added together in pairs and stored in the
10877 destination operand.
10879 The operation of this instruction is:
10881 \c dst[0-31] := (dst[0-15] * src[0-15])
10882 \c + (dst[16-31] * src[16-31]);
10883 \c dst[32-63] := (dst[32-47] * src[32-47])
10884 \c + (dst[48-63] * src[48-63]);
10886 The following apply to the \c{SSE} version of the instruction:
10888 \c dst[64-95] := (dst[64-79] * src[64-79])
10889 \c + (dst[80-95] * src[80-95]);
10890 \c dst[96-127] := (dst[96-111] * src[96-111])
10891 \c + (dst[112-127] * src[112-127]).
10894 \S{insPMAGW} \i\c{PMAGW}: MMX Packed Magnitude
10896 \c PMAGW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 52 /r [CYRIX,MMX]
10898 \c{PMAGW}, specific to the Cyrix MMX extensions, treats both its
10899 operands as vectors of four signed words. It compares the absolute
10900 values of the words in corresponding positions, and sets each word
10901 of the destination (first) operand to whichever of the two words in
10902 that position had the larger absolute value.
10905 \S{insPMAXSW} \i\c{PMAXSW}: Packed Signed Integer Word Maximum
10907 \c PMAXSW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F EE /r [KATMAI,MMX]
10908 \c PMAXSW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F EE /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10910 \c{PMAXSW} compares each pair of words in the two source operands, and
10911 for each pair it stores the maximum value in the destination register.
10914 \S{insPMAXUB} \i\c{PMAXUB}: Packed Unsigned Integer Byte Maximum
10916 \c PMAXUB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F DE /r [KATMAI,MMX]
10917 \c PMAXUB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F DE /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10919 \c{PMAXUB} compares each pair of bytes in the two source operands, and
10920 for each pair it stores the maximum value in the destination register.
10923 \S{insPMINSW} \i\c{PMINSW}: Packed Signed Integer Word Minimum
10925 \c PMINSW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F EA /r [KATMAI,MMX]
10926 \c PMINSW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F EA /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10928 \c{PMINSW} compares each pair of words in the two source operands, and
10929 for each pair it stores the minimum value in the destination register.
10932 \S{insPMINUB} \i\c{PMINUB}: Packed Unsigned Integer Byte Minimum
10934 \c PMINUB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F DA /r [KATMAI,MMX]
10935 \c PMINUB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F DA /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10937 \c{PMINUB} compares each pair of bytes in the two source operands, and
10938 for each pair it stores the minimum value in the destination register.
10941 \S{insPMOVMSKB} \i\c{PMOVMSKB}: Move Byte Mask To Integer
10943 \c PMOVMSKB reg32,mm ; 0F D7 /r [KATMAI,MMX]
10944 \c PMOVMSKB reg32,xmm ; 66 0F D7 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
10946 \c{PMOVMSKB} returns an 8-bit or 16-bit mask formed of the most
10947 significant bits of each byte of source operand (8-bits for an
10948 \c{MMX} register, 16-bits for an \c{XMM} register).
10951 \S{insPMULHRW} \i\c{PMULHRWC}, \i\c{PMULHRIW}: Multiply Packed 16-bit Integers
10952 With Rounding, and Store High Word
10954 \c PMULHRWC mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 59 /r [CYRIX,MMX]
10955 \c PMULHRIW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 5D /r [CYRIX,MMX]
10957 These instructions take two packed 16-bit integer inputs, multiply the
10958 values in the inputs, round on bit 15 of each result, then store bits
10959 15-30 of each result to the corresponding position of the destination
10962 \b For \c{PMULHRWC}, the destination is the first source operand.
10964 \b For \c{PMULHRIW}, the destination is an implied register (worked out
10965 as described for \c{PADDSIW} (\k{insPADDSIW})).
10967 The operation of this instruction is:
10969 \c dst[0-15] := (src1[0-15] *src2[0-15] + 0x00004000)[15-30]
10970 \c dst[16-31] := (src1[16-31]*src2[16-31] + 0x00004000)[15-30]
10971 \c dst[32-47] := (src1[32-47]*src2[32-47] + 0x00004000)[15-30]
10972 \c dst[48-63] := (src1[48-63]*src2[48-63] + 0x00004000)[15-30]
10974 See also \c{PMULHRWA} (\k{insPMULHRWA}) for a 3DNow! version of this
10978 \S{insPMULHRWA} \i\c{PMULHRWA}: Multiply Packed 16-bit Integers
10979 With Rounding, and Store High Word
10981 \c PMULHRWA mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r B7 [PENT,3DNOW]
10983 \c{PMULHRWA} takes two packed 16-bit integer inputs, multiplies
10984 the values in the inputs, rounds on bit 16 of each result, then
10985 stores bits 16-31 of each result to the corresponding position
10986 of the destination register.
10988 The operation of this instruction is:
10990 \c dst[0-15] := (src1[0-15] *src2[0-15] + 0x00008000)[16-31];
10991 \c dst[16-31] := (src1[16-31]*src2[16-31] + 0x00008000)[16-31];
10992 \c dst[32-47] := (src1[32-47]*src2[32-47] + 0x00008000)[16-31];
10993 \c dst[48-63] := (src1[48-63]*src2[48-63] + 0x00008000)[16-31].
10995 See also \c{PMULHRWC} (\k{insPMULHRW}) for a Cyrix version of this
10999 \S{insPMULHUW} \i\c{PMULHUW}: Multiply Packed 16-bit Integers,
11000 and Store High Word
11002 \c PMULHUW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F E4 /r [KATMAI,MMX]
11003 \c PMULHUW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F E4 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11005 \c{PMULHUW} takes two packed unsigned 16-bit integer inputs, multiplies
11006 the values in the inputs, then stores bits 16-31 of each result to the
11007 corresponding position of the destination register.
11010 \S{insPMULHW} \i\c{PMULHW}, \i\c{PMULLW}: Multiply Packed 16-bit Integers,
11013 \c PMULHW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F E5 /r [PENT,MMX]
11014 \c PMULLW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F D5 /r [PENT,MMX]
11016 \c PMULHW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F E5 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11017 \c PMULLW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F D5 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11019 \c{PMULxW} takes two packed unsigned 16-bit integer inputs, and
11020 multiplies the values in the inputs, forming doubleword results.
11022 \b \c{PMULHW} then stores the top 16 bits of each doubleword in the
11023 destination (first) operand;
11025 \b \c{PMULLW} stores the bottom 16 bits of each doubleword in the
11026 destination operand.
11029 \S{insPMULUDQ} \i\c{PMULUDQ}: Multiply Packed Unsigned
11030 32-bit Integers, and Store.
11032 \c PMULUDQ mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F F4 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11033 \c PMULUDQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F F4 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11035 \c{PMULUDQ} takes two packed unsigned 32-bit integer inputs, and
11036 multiplies the values in the inputs, forming quadword results. The
11037 source is either an unsigned doubleword in the low doubleword of a
11038 64-bit operand, or it's two unsigned doublewords in the first and
11039 third doublewords of a 128-bit operand. This produces either one or
11040 two 64-bit results, which are stored in the respective quadword
11041 locations of the destination register.
11045 \c dst[0-63] := dst[0-31] * src[0-31];
11046 \c dst[64-127] := dst[64-95] * src[64-95].
11049 \S{insPMVccZB} \i\c{PMVccZB}: MMX Packed Conditional Move
11051 \c PMVZB mmxreg,mem64 ; 0F 58 /r [CYRIX,MMX]
11052 \c PMVNZB mmxreg,mem64 ; 0F 5A /r [CYRIX,MMX]
11053 \c PMVLZB mmxreg,mem64 ; 0F 5B /r [CYRIX,MMX]
11054 \c PMVGEZB mmxreg,mem64 ; 0F 5C /r [CYRIX,MMX]
11056 These instructions, specific to the Cyrix MMX extensions, perform
11057 parallel conditional moves. The two input operands are treated as
11058 vectors of eight bytes. Each byte of the destination (first) operand
11059 is either written from the corresponding byte of the source (second)
11060 operand, or left alone, depending on the value of the byte in the
11061 \e{implied} operand (specified in the same way as \c{PADDSIW}, in
11064 \b \c{PMVZB} performs each move if the corresponding byte in the
11065 implied operand is zero;
11067 \b \c{PMVNZB} moves if the byte is non-zero;
11069 \b \c{PMVLZB} moves if the byte is less than zero;
11071 \b \c{PMVGEZB} moves if the byte is greater than or equal to zero.
11073 Note that these instructions cannot take a register as their second
11077 \S{insPOP} \i\c{POP}: Pop Data from Stack
11079 \c POP reg16 ; o16 58+r [8086]
11080 \c POP reg32 ; o32 58+r [386]
11082 \c POP r/m16 ; o16 8F /0 [8086]
11083 \c POP r/m32 ; o32 8F /0 [386]
11085 \c POP CS ; 0F [8086,UNDOC]
11086 \c POP DS ; 1F [8086]
11087 \c POP ES ; 07 [8086]
11088 \c POP SS ; 17 [8086]
11089 \c POP FS ; 0F A1 [386]
11090 \c POP GS ; 0F A9 [386]
11092 \c{POP} loads a value from the stack (from \c{[SS:SP]} or
11093 \c{[SS:ESP]}) and then increments the stack pointer.
11095 The address-size attribute of the instruction determines whether
11096 \c{SP} or \c{ESP} is used as the stack pointer: to deliberately
11097 override the default given by the \c{BITS} setting, you can use an
11098 \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
11100 The operand-size attribute of the instruction determines whether the
11101 stack pointer is incremented by 2 or 4: this means that segment
11102 register pops in \c{BITS 32} mode will pop 4 bytes off the stack and
11103 discard the upper two of them. If you need to override that, you can
11104 use an \i\c{o16} or \i\c{o32} prefix.
11106 The above opcode listings give two forms for general-purpose
11107 register pop instructions: for example, \c{POP BX} has the two forms
11108 \c{5B} and \c{8F C3}. NASM will always generate the shorter form
11109 when given \c{POP BX}. NDISASM will disassemble both.
11111 \c{POP CS} is not a documented instruction, and is not supported on
11112 any processor above the 8086 (since they use \c{0Fh} as an opcode
11113 prefix for instruction set extensions). However, at least some 8086
11114 processors do support it, and so NASM generates it for completeness.
11117 \S{insPOPA} \i\c{POPAx}: Pop All General-Purpose Registers
11120 \c POPAW ; o16 61 [186]
11121 \c POPAD ; o32 61 [386]
11123 \b \c{POPAW} pops a word from the stack into each of, successively,
11124 \c{DI}, \c{SI}, \c{BP}, nothing (it discards a word from the stack
11125 which was a placeholder for \c{SP}), \c{BX}, \c{DX}, \c{CX} and
11126 \c{AX}. It is intended to reverse the operation of \c{PUSHAW} (see
11127 \k{insPUSHA}), but it ignores the value for \c{SP} that was pushed
11128 on the stack by \c{PUSHAW}.
11130 \b \c{POPAD} pops twice as much data, and places the results in
11131 \c{EDI}, \c{ESI}, \c{EBP}, nothing (placeholder for \c{ESP}),
11132 \c{EBX}, \c{EDX}, \c{ECX} and \c{EAX}. It reverses the operation of
11135 \c{POPA} is an alias mnemonic for either \c{POPAW} or \c{POPAD},
11136 depending on the current \c{BITS} setting.
11138 Note that the registers are popped in reverse order of their numeric
11139 values in opcodes (see \k{iref-rv}).
11142 \S{insPOPF} \i\c{POPFx}: Pop Flags Register
11144 \c POPF ; 9D [8086]
11145 \c POPFW ; o16 9D [8086]
11146 \c POPFD ; o32 9D [386]
11148 \b \c{POPFW} pops a word from the stack and stores it in the bottom 16
11149 bits of the flags register (or the whole flags register, on
11150 processors below a 386).
11152 \b \c{POPFD} pops a doubleword and stores it in the entire flags register.
11154 \c{POPF} is an alias mnemonic for either \c{POPFW} or \c{POPFD},
11155 depending on the current \c{BITS} setting.
11157 See also \c{PUSHF} (\k{insPUSHF}).
11160 \S{insPOR} \i\c{POR}: MMX Bitwise OR
11162 \c POR mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F EB /r [PENT,MMX]
11163 \c POR xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F EB /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11165 \c{POR} performs a bitwise OR operation between its two operands
11166 (i.e. each bit of the result is 1 if and only if at least one of the
11167 corresponding bits of the two inputs was 1), and stores the result
11168 in the destination (first) operand.
11171 \S{insPREFETCH} \i\c{PREFETCH}: Prefetch Data Into Caches
11173 \c PREFETCH mem8 ; 0F 0D /0 [PENT,3DNOW]
11174 \c PREFETCHW mem8 ; 0F 0D /1 [PENT,3DNOW]
11176 \c{PREFETCH} and \c{PREFETCHW} fetch the line of data from memory that
11177 contains the specified byte. \c{PREFETCHW} performs differently on the
11178 Athlon to earlier processors.
11180 For more details, see the 3DNow! Technology Manual.
11183 \S{insPREFETCHh} \i\c{PREFETCHh}: Prefetch Data Into Caches
11184 \I\c{PREFETCHNTA} \I\c{PREFETCHT0} \I\c{PREFETCHT1} \I\c{PREFETCHT2}
11186 \c PREFETCHNTA m8 ; 0F 18 /0 [KATMAI]
11187 \c PREFETCHT0 m8 ; 0F 18 /1 [KATMAI]
11188 \c PREFETCHT1 m8 ; 0F 18 /2 [KATMAI]
11189 \c PREFETCHT2 m8 ; 0F 18 /3 [KATMAI]
11191 The \c{PREFETCHh} instructions fetch the line of data from memory
11192 that contains the specified byte. It is placed in the cache
11193 according to rules specified by locality hints \c{h}:
11197 \b \c{T0} (temporal data) - prefetch data into all levels of the
11200 \b \c{T1} (temporal data with respect to first level cache) -
11201 prefetch data into level 2 cache and higher.
11203 \b \c{T2} (temporal data with respect to second level cache) -
11204 prefetch data into level 2 cache and higher.
11206 \b \c{NTA} (non-temporal data with respect to all cache levels) -
11207 prefetch data into non-temporal cache structure and into a
11208 location close to the processor, minimizing cache pollution.
11210 Note that this group of instructions doesn't provide a guarantee
11211 that the data will be in the cache when it is needed. For more
11212 details, see the Intel IA32 Software Developer Manual, Volume 2.
11215 \S{insPSADBW} \i\c{PSADBW}: Packed Sum of Absolute Differences
11217 \c PSADBW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F F6 /r [KATMAI,MMX]
11218 \c PSADBW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F F6 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11220 \c{PSADBW} The PSADBW instruction computes the absolute value of the
11221 difference of the packed unsigned bytes in the two source operands.
11222 These differences are then summed to produce a word result in the lower
11223 16-bit field of the destination register; the rest of the register is
11224 cleared. The destination operand is an \c{MMX} or an \c{XMM} register.
11225 The source operand can either be a register or a memory operand.
11228 \S{insPSHUFD} \i\c{PSHUFD}: Shuffle Packed Doublewords
11230 \c PSHUFD xmm1,xmm2/m128,imm8 ; 66 0F 70 /r ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11232 \c{PSHUFD} shuffles the doublewords in the source (second) operand
11233 according to the encoding specified by imm8, and stores the result
11234 in the destination (first) operand.
11236 Bits 0 and 1 of imm8 encode the source position of the doubleword to
11237 be copied to position 0 in the destination operand. Bits 2 and 3
11238 encode for position 1, bits 4 and 5 encode for position 2, and bits
11239 6 and 7 encode for position 3. For example, an encoding of 10 in
11240 bits 0 and 1 of imm8 indicates that the doubleword at bits 64-95 of
11241 the source operand will be copied to bits 0-31 of the destination.
11244 \S{insPSHUFHW} \i\c{PSHUFHW}: Shuffle Packed High Words
11246 \c PSHUFHW xmm1,xmm2/m128,imm8 ; F3 0F 70 /r ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11248 \c{PSHUFW} shuffles the words in the high quadword of the source
11249 (second) operand according to the encoding specified by imm8, and
11250 stores the result in the high quadword of the destination (first)
11253 The operation of this instruction is similar to the \c{PSHUFW}
11254 instruction, except that the source and destination are the top
11255 quadword of a 128-bit operand, instead of being 64-bit operands.
11256 The low quadword is copied from the source to the destination
11257 without any changes.
11260 \S{insPSHUFLW} \i\c{PSHUFLW}: Shuffle Packed Low Words
11262 \c PSHUFLW xmm1,xmm2/m128,imm8 ; F2 0F 70 /r ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11264 \c{PSHUFLW} shuffles the words in the low quadword of the source
11265 (second) operand according to the encoding specified by imm8, and
11266 stores the result in the low quadword of the destination (first)
11269 The operation of this instruction is similar to the \c{PSHUFW}
11270 instruction, except that the source and destination are the low
11271 quadword of a 128-bit operand, instead of being 64-bit operands.
11272 The high quadword is copied from the source to the destination
11273 without any changes.
11276 \S{insPSHUFW} \i\c{PSHUFW}: Shuffle Packed Words
11278 \c PSHUFW mm1,mm2/m64,imm8 ; 0F 70 /r ib [KATMAI,MMX]
11280 \c{PSHUFW} shuffles the words in the source (second) operand
11281 according to the encoding specified by imm8, and stores the result
11282 in the destination (first) operand.
11284 Bits 0 and 1 of imm8 encode the source position of the word to be
11285 copied to position 0 in the destination operand. Bits 2 and 3 encode
11286 for position 1, bits 4 and 5 encode for position 2, and bits 6 and 7
11287 encode for position 3. For example, an encoding of 10 in bits 0 and 1
11288 of imm8 indicates that the word at bits 32-47 of the source operand
11289 will be copied to bits 0-15 of the destination.
11292 \S{insPSLLD} \i\c{PSLLx}: Packed Data Bit Shift Left Logical
11294 \c PSLLW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F F1 /r [PENT,MMX]
11295 \c PSLLW mm,imm8 ; 0F 71 /6 ib [PENT,MMX]
11297 \c PSLLW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F F1 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11298 \c PSLLW xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F 71 /6 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11300 \c PSLLD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F F2 /r [PENT,MMX]
11301 \c PSLLD mm,imm8 ; 0F 72 /6 ib [PENT,MMX]
11303 \c PSLLD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F F2 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11304 \c PSLLD xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F 72 /6 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11306 \c PSLLQ mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F F3 /r [PENT,MMX]
11307 \c PSLLQ mm,imm8 ; 0F 73 /6 ib [PENT,MMX]
11309 \c PSLLQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F F3 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11310 \c PSLLQ xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F 73 /6 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11312 \c PSLLDQ xmm1,imm8 ; 66 0F 73 /7 ib [PENT,MMX]
11314 \c{PSLLx} performs logical left shifts of the data elements in the
11315 destination (first) operand, moving each bit in the separate elements
11316 left by the number of bits specified in the source (second) operand,
11317 clearing the low-order bits as they are vacated.
11319 \b \c{PSLLW} shifts word sized elements.
11321 \b \c{PSLLD} shifts doubleword sized elements.
11323 \b \c{PSLLQ} shifts quadword sized elements.
11325 \b \c{PSLLDQ} shifts double quadword sized elements.
11328 \S{insPSRAD} \i\c{PSRAx}: Packed Data Bit Shift Right Arithmetic
11330 \c PSRAW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F E1 /r [PENT,MMX]
11331 \c PSRAW mm,imm8 ; 0F 71 /4 ib [PENT,MMX]
11333 \c PSRAW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F E1 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11334 \c PSRAW xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F 71 /4 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11336 \c PSRAD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F E2 /r [PENT,MMX]
11337 \c PSRAD mm,imm8 ; 0F 72 /4 ib [PENT,MMX]
11339 \c PSRAD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F E2 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11340 \c PSRAD xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F 72 /4 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11342 \c{PSRAx} performs arithmetic right shifts of the data elements in the
11343 destination (first) operand, moving each bit in the separate elements
11344 right by the number of bits specified in the source (second) operand,
11345 setting the high-order bits to the value of the original sign bit.
11347 \b \c{PSRAW} shifts word sized elements.
11349 \b \c{PSRAD} shifts doubleword sized elements.
11352 \S{insPSRLD} \i\c{PSRLx}: Packed Data Bit Shift Right Logical
11354 \c PSRLW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F D1 /r [PENT,MMX]
11355 \c PSRLW mm,imm8 ; 0F 71 /2 ib [PENT,MMX]
11357 \c PSRLW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F D1 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11358 \c PSRLW xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F 71 /2 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11360 \c PSRLD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F D2 /r [PENT,MMX]
11361 \c PSRLD mm,imm8 ; 0F 72 /2 ib [PENT,MMX]
11363 \c PSRLD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F D2 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11364 \c PSRLD xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F 72 /2 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11366 \c PSRLQ mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F D3 /r [PENT,MMX]
11367 \c PSRLQ mm,imm8 ; 0F 73 /2 ib [PENT,MMX]
11369 \c PSRLQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F D3 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11370 \c PSRLQ xmm,imm8 ; 66 0F 73 /2 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11372 \c PSRLDQ xmm1,imm8 ; 66 0F 73 /3 ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11374 \c{PSRLx} performs logical right shifts of the data elements in the
11375 destination (first) operand, moving each bit in the separate elements
11376 right by the number of bits specified in the source (second) operand,
11377 clearing the high-order bits as they are vacated.
11379 \b \c{PSRLW} shifts word sized elements.
11381 \b \c{PSRLD} shifts doubleword sized elements.
11383 \b \c{PSRLQ} shifts quadword sized elements.
11385 \b \c{PSRLDQ} shifts double quadword sized elements.
11388 \S{insPSUBB} \i\c{PSUBx}: Subtract Packed Integers
11390 \c PSUBB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F F8 /r [PENT,MMX]
11391 \c PSUBW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F F9 /r [PENT,MMX]
11392 \c PSUBD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F FA /r [PENT,MMX]
11393 \c PSUBQ mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F FB /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11395 \c PSUBB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F F8 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11396 \c PSUBW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F F9 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11397 \c PSUBD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F FA /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11398 \c PSUBQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F FB /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11400 \c{PSUBx} subtracts packed integers in the source operand from those
11401 in the destination operand. It doesn't differentiate between signed
11402 and unsigned integers, and doesn't set any of the flags.
11404 \b \c{PSUBB} operates on byte sized elements.
11406 \b \c{PSUBW} operates on word sized elements.
11408 \b \c{PSUBD} operates on doubleword sized elements.
11410 \b \c{PSUBQ} operates on quadword sized elements.
11413 \S{insPSUBSB} \i\c{PSUBSxx}, \i\c{PSUBUSx}: Subtract Packed Integers With Saturation
11415 \c PSUBSB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F E8 /r [PENT,MMX]
11416 \c PSUBSW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F E9 /r [PENT,MMX]
11418 \c PSUBSB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F E8 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11419 \c PSUBSW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F E9 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11421 \c PSUBUSB mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F D8 /r [PENT,MMX]
11422 \c PSUBUSW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F D9 /r [PENT,MMX]
11424 \c PSUBUSB xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F D8 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11425 \c PSUBUSW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F D9 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11427 \c{PSUBSx} and \c{PSUBUSx} subtracts packed integers in the source
11428 operand from those in the destination operand, and use saturation for
11429 results that are outside the range supported by the destination operand.
11431 \b \c{PSUBSB} operates on signed bytes, and uses signed saturation on the
11434 \b \c{PSUBSW} operates on signed words, and uses signed saturation on the
11437 \b \c{PSUBUSB} operates on unsigned bytes, and uses signed saturation on
11440 \b \c{PSUBUSW} operates on unsigned words, and uses signed saturation on
11444 \S{insPSUBSIW} \i\c{PSUBSIW}: MMX Packed Subtract with Saturation to
11445 Implied Destination
11447 \c PSUBSIW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 55 /r [CYRIX,MMX]
11449 \c{PSUBSIW}, specific to the Cyrix extensions to the MMX instruction
11450 set, performs the same function as \c{PSUBSW}, except that the
11451 result is not placed in the register specified by the first operand,
11452 but instead in the implied destination register, specified as for
11453 \c{PADDSIW} (\k{insPADDSIW}).
11456 \S{insPSWAPD} \i\c{PSWAPD}: Swap Packed Data
11459 \c PSWAPD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 0F /r BB [PENT,3DNOW]
11461 \c{PSWAPD} swaps the packed doublewords in the source operand, and
11462 stores the result in the destination operand.
11464 In the \c{K6-2} and \c{K6-III} processors, this opcode uses the
11465 mnemonic \c{PSWAPW}, and it swaps the order of words when copying
11466 from the source to the destination.
11468 The operation in the \c{K6-2} and \c{K6-III} processors is
11470 \c dst[0-15] = src[48-63];
11471 \c dst[16-31] = src[32-47];
11472 \c dst[32-47] = src[16-31];
11473 \c dst[48-63] = src[0-15].
11475 The operation in the \c{K6-x+}, \c{ATHLON} and later processors is:
11477 \c dst[0-31] = src[32-63];
11478 \c dst[32-63] = src[0-31].
11481 \S{insPUNPCKHBW} \i\c{PUNPCKxxx}: Unpack and Interleave Data
11483 \c PUNPCKHBW mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 68 /r [PENT,MMX]
11484 \c PUNPCKHWD mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 69 /r [PENT,MMX]
11485 \c PUNPCKHDQ mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F 6A /r [PENT,MMX]
11487 \c PUNPCKHBW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 68 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11488 \c PUNPCKHWD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 69 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11489 \c PUNPCKHDQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 6A /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11490 \c PUNPCKHQDQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 6D /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11492 \c PUNPCKLBW mm1,mm2/m32 ; 0F 60 /r [PENT,MMX]
11493 \c PUNPCKLWD mm1,mm2/m32 ; 0F 61 /r [PENT,MMX]
11494 \c PUNPCKLDQ mm1,mm2/m32 ; 0F 62 /r [PENT,MMX]
11496 \c PUNPCKLBW xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 60 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11497 \c PUNPCKLWD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 61 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11498 \c PUNPCKLDQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 62 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11499 \c PUNPCKLQDQ xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 6C /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11501 \c{PUNPCKxx} all treat their operands as vectors, and produce a new
11502 vector generated by interleaving elements from the two inputs. The
11503 \c{PUNPCKHxx} instructions start by throwing away the bottom half of
11504 each input operand, and the \c{PUNPCKLxx} instructions throw away
11507 The remaining elements, are then interleaved into the destination,
11508 alternating elements from the second (source) operand and the first
11509 (destination) operand: so the leftmost part of each element in the
11510 result always comes from the second operand, and the rightmost from
11513 \b \c{PUNPCKxBW} works a byte at a time, producing word sized output
11516 \b \c{PUNPCKxWD} works a word at a time, producing doubleword sized
11519 \b \c{PUNPCKxDQ} works a doubleword at a time, producing quadword sized
11522 \b \c{PUNPCKxQDQ} works a quadword at a time, producing double quadword
11523 sized output elements.
11525 So, for example, for \c{MMX} operands, if the first operand held
11526 \c{0x7A6A5A4A3A2A1A0A} and the second held \c{0x7B6B5B4B3B2B1B0B},
11529 \b \c{PUNPCKHBW} would return \c{0x7B7A6B6A5B5A4B4A}.
11531 \b \c{PUNPCKHWD} would return \c{0x7B6B7A6A5B4B5A4A}.
11533 \b \c{PUNPCKHDQ} would return \c{0x7B6B5B4B7A6A5A4A}.
11535 \b \c{PUNPCKLBW} would return \c{0x3B3A2B2A1B1A0B0A}.
11537 \b \c{PUNPCKLWD} would return \c{0x3B2B3A2A1B0B1A0A}.
11539 \b \c{PUNPCKLDQ} would return \c{0x3B2B1B0B3A2A1A0A}.
11542 \S{insPUSH} \i\c{PUSH}: Push Data on Stack
11544 \c PUSH reg16 ; o16 50+r [8086]
11545 \c PUSH reg32 ; o32 50+r [386]
11547 \c PUSH r/m16 ; o16 FF /6 [8086]
11548 \c PUSH r/m32 ; o32 FF /6 [386]
11550 \c PUSH CS ; 0E [8086]
11551 \c PUSH DS ; 1E [8086]
11552 \c PUSH ES ; 06 [8086]
11553 \c PUSH SS ; 16 [8086]
11554 \c PUSH FS ; 0F A0 [386]
11555 \c PUSH GS ; 0F A8 [386]
11557 \c PUSH imm8 ; 6A ib [186]
11558 \c PUSH imm16 ; o16 68 iw [186]
11559 \c PUSH imm32 ; o32 68 id [386]
11561 \c{PUSH} decrements the stack pointer (\c{SP} or \c{ESP}) by 2 or 4,
11562 and then stores the given value at \c{[SS:SP]} or \c{[SS:ESP]}.
11564 The address-size attribute of the instruction determines whether
11565 \c{SP} or \c{ESP} is used as the stack pointer: to deliberately
11566 override the default given by the \c{BITS} setting, you can use an
11567 \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
11569 The operand-size attribute of the instruction determines whether the
11570 stack pointer is decremented by 2 or 4: this means that segment
11571 register pushes in \c{BITS 32} mode will push 4 bytes on the stack,
11572 of which the upper two are undefined. If you need to override that,
11573 you can use an \i\c{o16} or \i\c{o32} prefix.
11575 The above opcode listings give two forms for general-purpose
11576 \i{register push} instructions: for example, \c{PUSH BX} has the two
11577 forms \c{53} and \c{FF F3}. NASM will always generate the shorter
11578 form when given \c{PUSH BX}. NDISASM will disassemble both.
11580 Unlike the undocumented and barely supported \c{POP CS}, \c{PUSH CS}
11581 is a perfectly valid and sensible instruction, supported on all
11584 The instruction \c{PUSH SP} may be used to distinguish an 8086 from
11585 later processors: on an 8086, the value of \c{SP} stored is the
11586 value it has \e{after} the push instruction, whereas on later
11587 processors it is the value \e{before} the push instruction.
11590 \S{insPUSHA} \i\c{PUSHAx}: Push All General-Purpose Registers
11592 \c PUSHA ; 60 [186]
11593 \c PUSHAD ; o32 60 [386]
11594 \c PUSHAW ; o16 60 [186]
11596 \c{PUSHAW} pushes, in succession, \c{AX}, \c{CX}, \c{DX}, \c{BX},
11597 \c{SP}, \c{BP}, \c{SI} and \c{DI} on the stack, decrementing the
11598 stack pointer by a total of 16.
11600 \c{PUSHAD} pushes, in succession, \c{EAX}, \c{ECX}, \c{EDX},
11601 \c{EBX}, \c{ESP}, \c{EBP}, \c{ESI} and \c{EDI} on the stack,
11602 decrementing the stack pointer by a total of 32.
11604 In both cases, the value of \c{SP} or \c{ESP} pushed is its
11605 \e{original} value, as it had before the instruction was executed.
11607 \c{PUSHA} is an alias mnemonic for either \c{PUSHAW} or \c{PUSHAD},
11608 depending on the current \c{BITS} setting.
11610 Note that the registers are pushed in order of their numeric values
11611 in opcodes (see \k{iref-rv}).
11613 See also \c{POPA} (\k{insPOPA}).
11616 \S{insPUSHF} \i\c{PUSHFx}: Push Flags Register
11618 \c PUSHF ; 9C [8086]
11619 \c PUSHFD ; o32 9C [386]
11620 \c PUSHFW ; o16 9C [8086]
11622 \b \c{PUSHFW} pops a word from the stack and stores it in the
11623 bottom 16 bits of the flags register (or the whole flags register,
11624 on processors below a 386).
11626 \b \c{PUSHFD} pops a doubleword and stores it in the entire flags
11629 \c{PUSHF} is an alias mnemonic for either \c{PUSHFW} or \c{PUSHFD},
11630 depending on the current \c{BITS} setting.
11632 See also \c{POPF} (\k{insPOPF}).
11635 \S{insPXOR} \i\c{PXOR}: MMX Bitwise XOR
11637 \c PXOR mm1,mm2/m64 ; 0F EF /r [PENT,MMX]
11638 \c PXOR xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F EF /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
11640 \c{PXOR} performs a bitwise XOR operation between its two operands
11641 (i.e. each bit of the result is 1 if and only if exactly one of the
11642 corresponding bits of the two inputs was 1), and stores the result
11643 in the destination (first) operand.
11646 \S{insRCL} \i\c{RCL}, \i\c{RCR}: Bitwise Rotate through Carry Bit
11648 \c RCL r/m8,1 ; D0 /2 [8086]
11649 \c RCL r/m8,CL ; D2 /2 [8086]
11650 \c RCL r/m8,imm8 ; C0 /2 ib [186]
11651 \c RCL r/m16,1 ; o16 D1 /2 [8086]
11652 \c RCL r/m16,CL ; o16 D3 /2 [8086]
11653 \c RCL r/m16,imm8 ; o16 C1 /2 ib [186]
11654 \c RCL r/m32,1 ; o32 D1 /2 [386]
11655 \c RCL r/m32,CL ; o32 D3 /2 [386]
11656 \c RCL r/m32,imm8 ; o32 C1 /2 ib [386]
11658 \c RCR r/m8,1 ; D0 /3 [8086]
11659 \c RCR r/m8,CL ; D2 /3 [8086]
11660 \c RCR r/m8,imm8 ; C0 /3 ib [186]
11661 \c RCR r/m16,1 ; o16 D1 /3 [8086]
11662 \c RCR r/m16,CL ; o16 D3 /3 [8086]
11663 \c RCR r/m16,imm8 ; o16 C1 /3 ib [186]
11664 \c RCR r/m32,1 ; o32 D1 /3 [386]
11665 \c RCR r/m32,CL ; o32 D3 /3 [386]
11666 \c RCR r/m32,imm8 ; o32 C1 /3 ib [386]
11668 \c{RCL} and \c{RCR} perform a 9-bit, 17-bit or 33-bit bitwise
11669 rotation operation, involving the given source/destination (first)
11670 operand and the carry bit. Thus, for example, in the operation
11671 \c{RCL AL,1}, a 9-bit rotation is performed in which \c{AL} is
11672 shifted left by 1, the top bit of \c{AL} moves into the carry flag,
11673 and the original value of the carry flag is placed in the low bit of
11676 The number of bits to rotate by is given by the second operand. Only
11677 the bottom five bits of the rotation count are considered by
11678 processors above the 8086.
11680 You can force the longer (286 and upwards, beginning with a \c{C1}
11681 byte) form of \c{RCL foo,1} by using a \c{BYTE} prefix: \c{RCL
11682 foo,BYTE 1}. Similarly with \c{RCR}.
11685 \S{insRCPPS} \i\c{RCPPS}: Packed Single-Precision FP Reciprocal
11687 \c RCPPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 53 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
11689 \c{RCPPS} returns an approximation of the reciprocal of the packed
11690 single-precision FP values from xmm2/m128. The maximum error for this
11691 approximation is: |Error| <= 1.5 x 2^-12
11694 \S{insRCPSS} \i\c{RCPSS}: Scalar Single-Precision FP Reciprocal
11696 \c RCPSS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; F3 0F 53 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
11698 \c{RCPSS} returns an approximation of the reciprocal of the lower
11699 single-precision FP value from xmm2/m32; the upper three fields are
11700 passed through from xmm1. The maximum error for this approximation is:
11701 |Error| <= 1.5 x 2^-12
11704 \S{insRDMSR} \i\c{RDMSR}: Read Model-Specific Registers
11706 \c RDMSR ; 0F 32 [PENT,PRIV]
11708 \c{RDMSR} reads the processor Model-Specific Register (MSR) whose
11709 index is stored in \c{ECX}, and stores the result in \c{EDX:EAX}.
11710 See also \c{WRMSR} (\k{insWRMSR}).
11713 \S{insRDPMC} \i\c{RDPMC}: Read Performance-Monitoring Counters
11715 \c RDPMC ; 0F 33 [P6]
11717 \c{RDPMC} reads the processor performance-monitoring counter whose
11718 index is stored in \c{ECX}, and stores the result in \c{EDX:EAX}.
11720 This instruction is available on P6 and later processors and on MMX
11724 \S{insRDSHR} \i\c{RDSHR}: Read SMM Header Pointer Register
11726 \c RDSHR r/m32 ; 0F 36 /0 [386,CYRIX,SMM]
11728 \c{RDSHR} reads the contents of the SMM header pointer register and
11729 saves it to the destination operand, which can be either a 32 bit
11730 memory location or a 32 bit register.
11732 See also \c{WRSHR} (\k{insWRSHR}).
11735 \S{insRDTSC} \i\c{RDTSC}: Read Time-Stamp Counter
11737 \c RDTSC ; 0F 31 [PENT]
11739 \c{RDTSC} reads the processor's time-stamp counter into \c{EDX:EAX}.
11742 \S{insRET} \i\c{RET}, \i\c{RETF}, \i\c{RETN}: Return from Procedure Call
11745 \c RET imm16 ; C2 iw [8086]
11747 \c RETF ; CB [8086]
11748 \c RETF imm16 ; CA iw [8086]
11750 \c RETN ; C3 [8086]
11751 \c RETN imm16 ; C2 iw [8086]
11753 \b \c{RET}, and its exact synonym \c{RETN}, pop \c{IP} or \c{EIP} from
11754 the stack and transfer control to the new address. Optionally, if a
11755 numeric second operand is provided, they increment the stack pointer
11756 by a further \c{imm16} bytes after popping the return address.
11758 \b \c{RETF} executes a far return: after popping \c{IP}/\c{EIP}, it
11759 then pops \c{CS}, and \e{then} increments the stack pointer by the
11760 optional argument if present.
11763 \S{insROL} \i\c{ROL}, \i\c{ROR}: Bitwise Rotate
11765 \c ROL r/m8,1 ; D0 /0 [8086]
11766 \c ROL r/m8,CL ; D2 /0 [8086]
11767 \c ROL r/m8,imm8 ; C0 /0 ib [186]
11768 \c ROL r/m16,1 ; o16 D1 /0 [8086]
11769 \c ROL r/m16,CL ; o16 D3 /0 [8086]
11770 \c ROL r/m16,imm8 ; o16 C1 /0 ib [186]
11771 \c ROL r/m32,1 ; o32 D1 /0 [386]
11772 \c ROL r/m32,CL ; o32 D3 /0 [386]
11773 \c ROL r/m32,imm8 ; o32 C1 /0 ib [386]
11775 \c ROR r/m8,1 ; D0 /1 [8086]
11776 \c ROR r/m8,CL ; D2 /1 [8086]
11777 \c ROR r/m8,imm8 ; C0 /1 ib [186]
11778 \c ROR r/m16,1 ; o16 D1 /1 [8086]
11779 \c ROR r/m16,CL ; o16 D3 /1 [8086]
11780 \c ROR r/m16,imm8 ; o16 C1 /1 ib [186]
11781 \c ROR r/m32,1 ; o32 D1 /1 [386]
11782 \c ROR r/m32,CL ; o32 D3 /1 [386]
11783 \c ROR r/m32,imm8 ; o32 C1 /1 ib [386]
11785 \c{ROL} and \c{ROR} perform a bitwise rotation operation on the given
11786 source/destination (first) operand. Thus, for example, in the
11787 operation \c{ROL AL,1}, an 8-bit rotation is performed in which
11788 \c{AL} is shifted left by 1 and the original top bit of \c{AL} moves
11789 round into the low bit.
11791 The number of bits to rotate by is given by the second operand. Only
11792 the bottom five bits of the rotation count are considered by processors
11795 You can force the longer (286 and upwards, beginning with a \c{C1}
11796 byte) form of \c{ROL foo,1} by using a \c{BYTE} prefix: \c{ROL
11797 foo,BYTE 1}. Similarly with \c{ROR}.
11800 \S{insRSDC} \i\c{RSDC}: Restore Segment Register and Descriptor
11802 \c RSDC segreg,m80 ; 0F 79 /r [486,CYRIX,SMM]
11804 \c{RSDC} restores a segment register (DS, ES, FS, GS, or SS) from mem80,
11805 and sets up its descriptor.
11808 \S{insRSLDT} \i\c{RSLDT}: Restore Segment Register and Descriptor
11810 \c RSLDT m80 ; 0F 7B /0 [486,CYRIX,SMM]
11812 \c{RSLDT} restores the Local Descriptor Table (LDTR) from mem80.
11815 \S{insRSM} \i\c{RSM}: Resume from System-Management Mode
11817 \c RSM ; 0F AA [PENT]
11819 \c{RSM} returns the processor to its normal operating mode when it
11820 was in System-Management Mode.
11823 \S{insRSQRTPS} \i\c{RSQRTPS}: Packed Single-Precision FP Square Root Reciprocal
11825 \c RSQRTPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 52 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
11827 \c{RSQRTPS} computes the approximate reciprocals of the square
11828 roots of the packed single-precision floating-point values in the
11829 source and stores the results in xmm1. The maximum error for this
11830 approximation is: |Error| <= 1.5 x 2^-12
11833 \S{insRSQRTSS} \i\c{RSQRTSS}: Scalar Single-Precision FP Square Root Reciprocal
11835 \c RSQRTSS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; F3 0F 52 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
11837 \c{RSQRTSS} returns an approximation of the reciprocal of the
11838 square root of the lowest order single-precision FP value from
11839 the source, and stores it in the low doubleword of the destination
11840 register. The upper three fields of xmm1 are preserved. The maximum
11841 error for this approximation is: |Error| <= 1.5 x 2^-12
11844 \S{insRSTS} \i\c{RSTS}: Restore TSR and Descriptor
11846 \c RSTS m80 ; 0F 7D /0 [486,CYRIX,SMM]
11848 \c{RSTS} restores Task State Register (TSR) from mem80.
11851 \S{insSAHF} \i\c{SAHF}: Store AH to Flags
11853 \c SAHF ; 9E [8086]
11855 \c{SAHF} sets the low byte of the flags word according to the
11856 contents of the \c{AH} register.
11858 The operation of \c{SAHF} is:
11860 \c AH --> SF:ZF:0:AF:0:PF:1:CF
11862 See also \c{LAHF} (\k{insLAHF}).
11865 \S{insSAL} \i\c{SAL}, \i\c{SAR}: Bitwise Arithmetic Shifts
11867 \c SAL r/m8,1 ; D0 /4 [8086]
11868 \c SAL r/m8,CL ; D2 /4 [8086]
11869 \c SAL r/m8,imm8 ; C0 /4 ib [186]
11870 \c SAL r/m16,1 ; o16 D1 /4 [8086]
11871 \c SAL r/m16,CL ; o16 D3 /4 [8086]
11872 \c SAL r/m16,imm8 ; o16 C1 /4 ib [186]
11873 \c SAL r/m32,1 ; o32 D1 /4 [386]
11874 \c SAL r/m32,CL ; o32 D3 /4 [386]
11875 \c SAL r/m32,imm8 ; o32 C1 /4 ib [386]
11877 \c SAR r/m8,1 ; D0 /7 [8086]
11878 \c SAR r/m8,CL ; D2 /7 [8086]
11879 \c SAR r/m8,imm8 ; C0 /7 ib [186]
11880 \c SAR r/m16,1 ; o16 D1 /7 [8086]
11881 \c SAR r/m16,CL ; o16 D3 /7 [8086]
11882 \c SAR r/m16,imm8 ; o16 C1 /7 ib [186]
11883 \c SAR r/m32,1 ; o32 D1 /7 [386]
11884 \c SAR r/m32,CL ; o32 D3 /7 [386]
11885 \c SAR r/m32,imm8 ; o32 C1 /7 ib [386]
11887 \c{SAL} and \c{SAR} perform an arithmetic shift operation on the given
11888 source/destination (first) operand. The vacated bits are filled with
11889 zero for \c{SAL}, and with copies of the original high bit of the
11890 source operand for \c{SAR}.
11892 \c{SAL} is a synonym for \c{SHL} (see \k{insSHL}). NASM will
11893 assemble either one to the same code, but NDISASM will always
11894 disassemble that code as \c{SHL}.
11896 The number of bits to shift by is given by the second operand. Only
11897 the bottom five bits of the shift count are considered by processors
11900 You can force the longer (286 and upwards, beginning with a \c{C1}
11901 byte) form of \c{SAL foo,1} by using a \c{BYTE} prefix: \c{SAL
11902 foo,BYTE 1}. Similarly with \c{SAR}.
11905 \S{insSALC} \i\c{SALC}: Set AL from Carry Flag
11907 \c SALC ; D6 [8086,UNDOC]
11909 \c{SALC} is an early undocumented instruction similar in concept to
11910 \c{SETcc} (\k{insSETcc}). Its function is to set \c{AL} to zero if
11911 the carry flag is clear, or to \c{0xFF} if it is set.
11914 \S{insSBB} \i\c{SBB}: Subtract with Borrow
11916 \c SBB r/m8,reg8 ; 18 /r [8086]
11917 \c SBB r/m16,reg16 ; o16 19 /r [8086]
11918 \c SBB r/m32,reg32 ; o32 19 /r [386]
11920 \c SBB reg8,r/m8 ; 1A /r [8086]
11921 \c SBB reg16,r/m16 ; o16 1B /r [8086]
11922 \c SBB reg32,r/m32 ; o32 1B /r [386]
11924 \c SBB r/m8,imm8 ; 80 /3 ib [8086]
11925 \c SBB r/m16,imm16 ; o16 81 /3 iw [8086]
11926 \c SBB r/m32,imm32 ; o32 81 /3 id [386]
11928 \c SBB r/m16,imm8 ; o16 83 /3 ib [8086]
11929 \c SBB r/m32,imm8 ; o32 83 /3 ib [386]
11931 \c SBB AL,imm8 ; 1C ib [8086]
11932 \c SBB AX,imm16 ; o16 1D iw [8086]
11933 \c SBB EAX,imm32 ; o32 1D id [386]
11935 \c{SBB} performs integer subtraction: it subtracts its second
11936 operand, plus the value of the carry flag, from its first, and
11937 leaves the result in its destination (first) operand. The flags are
11938 set according to the result of the operation: in particular, the
11939 carry flag is affected and can be used by a subsequent \c{SBB}
11942 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate second operand and a longer
11943 first operand, the second operand is considered to be signed, and is
11944 sign-extended to the length of the first operand. In these cases,
11945 the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force NASM to generate this
11946 form of the instruction.
11948 To subtract one number from another without also subtracting the
11949 contents of the carry flag, use \c{SUB} (\k{insSUB}).
11952 \S{insSCASB} \i\c{SCASB}, \i\c{SCASW}, \i\c{SCASD}: Scan String
11954 \c SCASB ; AE [8086]
11955 \c SCASW ; o16 AF [8086]
11956 \c SCASD ; o32 AF [386]
11958 \c{SCASB} compares the byte in \c{AL} with the byte at \c{[ES:DI]}
11959 or \c{[ES:EDI]}, and sets the flags accordingly. It then increments
11960 or decrements (depending on the direction flag: increments if the
11961 flag is clear, decrements if it is set) \c{DI} (or \c{EDI}).
11963 The register used is \c{DI} if the address size is 16 bits, and
11964 \c{EDI} if it is 32 bits. If you need to use an address size not
11965 equal to the current \c{BITS} setting, you can use an explicit
11966 \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
11968 Segment override prefixes have no effect for this instruction: the
11969 use of \c{ES} for the load from \c{[DI]} or \c{[EDI]} cannot be
11972 \c{SCASW} and \c{SCASD} work in the same way, but they compare a
11973 word to \c{AX} or a doubleword to \c{EAX} instead of a byte to
11974 \c{AL}, and increment or decrement the addressing registers by 2 or
11977 The \c{REPE} and \c{REPNE} prefixes (equivalently, \c{REPZ} and
11978 \c{REPNZ}) may be used to repeat the instruction up to \c{CX} (or
11979 \c{ECX} - again, the address size chooses which) times until the
11980 first unequal or equal byte is found.
11983 \S{insSETcc} \i\c{SETcc}: Set Register from Condition
11985 \c SETcc r/m8 ; 0F 90+cc /2 [386]
11987 \c{SETcc} sets the given 8-bit operand to zero if its condition is
11988 not satisfied, and to 1 if it is.
11991 \S{insSFENCE} \i\c{SFENCE}: Store Fence
11993 \c SFENCE ; 0F AE /7 [KATMAI]
11995 \c{SFENCE} performs a serialising operation on all writes to memory
11996 that were issued before the \c{SFENCE} instruction. This guarantees that
11997 all memory writes before the \c{SFENCE} instruction are visible before any
11998 writes after the \c{SFENCE} instruction.
12000 \c{SFENCE} is ordered respective to other \c{SFENCE} instruction, \c{MFENCE},
12001 any memory write and any other serialising instruction (such as \c{CPUID}).
12003 Weakly ordered memory types can be used to achieve higher processor
12004 performance through such techniques as out-of-order issue,
12005 write-combining, and write-collapsing. The degree to which a consumer
12006 of data recognizes or knows that the data is weakly ordered varies
12007 among applications and may be unknown to the producer of this data.
12008 The \c{SFENCE} instruction provides a performance-efficient way of
12009 insuring store ordering between routines that produce weakly-ordered
12010 results and routines that consume this data.
12012 \c{SFENCE} uses the following ModRM encoding:
12015 \c Reg/Opcode (5:3) = 111B
12016 \c R/M (2:0) = 000B
12018 All other ModRM encodings are defined to be reserved, and use
12019 of these encodings risks incompatibility with future processors.
12021 See also \c{LFENCE} (\k{insLFENCE}) and \c{MFENCE} (\k{insMFENCE}).
12024 \S{insSGDT} \i\c{SGDT}, \i\c{SIDT}, \i\c{SLDT}: Store Descriptor Table Pointers
12026 \c SGDT mem ; 0F 01 /0 [286,PRIV]
12027 \c SIDT mem ; 0F 01 /1 [286,PRIV]
12028 \c SLDT r/m16 ; 0F 00 /0 [286,PRIV]
12030 \c{SGDT} and \c{SIDT} both take a 6-byte memory area as an operand:
12031 they store the contents of the GDTR (global descriptor table
12032 register) or IDTR (interrupt descriptor table register) into that
12033 area as a 32-bit linear address and a 16-bit size limit from that
12034 area (in that order). These are the only instructions which directly
12035 use \e{linear} addresses, rather than segment/offset pairs.
12037 \c{SLDT} stores the segment selector corresponding to the LDT (local
12038 descriptor table) into the given operand.
12040 See also \c{LGDT}, \c{LIDT} and \c{LLDT} (\k{insLGDT}).
12043 \S{insSHL} \i\c{SHL}, \i\c{SHR}: Bitwise Logical Shifts
12045 \c SHL r/m8,1 ; D0 /4 [8086]
12046 \c SHL r/m8,CL ; D2 /4 [8086]
12047 \c SHL r/m8,imm8 ; C0 /4 ib [186]
12048 \c SHL r/m16,1 ; o16 D1 /4 [8086]
12049 \c SHL r/m16,CL ; o16 D3 /4 [8086]
12050 \c SHL r/m16,imm8 ; o16 C1 /4 ib [186]
12051 \c SHL r/m32,1 ; o32 D1 /4 [386]
12052 \c SHL r/m32,CL ; o32 D3 /4 [386]
12053 \c SHL r/m32,imm8 ; o32 C1 /4 ib [386]
12055 \c SHR r/m8,1 ; D0 /5 [8086]
12056 \c SHR r/m8,CL ; D2 /5 [8086]
12057 \c SHR r/m8,imm8 ; C0 /5 ib [186]
12058 \c SHR r/m16,1 ; o16 D1 /5 [8086]
12059 \c SHR r/m16,CL ; o16 D3 /5 [8086]
12060 \c SHR r/m16,imm8 ; o16 C1 /5 ib [186]
12061 \c SHR r/m32,1 ; o32 D1 /5 [386]
12062 \c SHR r/m32,CL ; o32 D3 /5 [386]
12063 \c SHR r/m32,imm8 ; o32 C1 /5 ib [386]
12065 \c{SHL} and \c{SHR} perform a logical shift operation on the given
12066 source/destination (first) operand. The vacated bits are filled with
12069 A synonym for \c{SHL} is \c{SAL} (see \k{insSAL}). NASM will
12070 assemble either one to the same code, but NDISASM will always
12071 disassemble that code as \c{SHL}.
12073 The number of bits to shift by is given by the second operand. Only
12074 the bottom five bits of the shift count are considered by processors
12077 You can force the longer (286 and upwards, beginning with a \c{C1}
12078 byte) form of \c{SHL foo,1} by using a \c{BYTE} prefix: \c{SHL
12079 foo,BYTE 1}. Similarly with \c{SHR}.
12082 \S{insSHLD} \i\c{SHLD}, \i\c{SHRD}: Bitwise Double-Precision Shifts
12084 \c SHLD r/m16,reg16,imm8 ; o16 0F A4 /r ib [386]
12085 \c SHLD r/m16,reg32,imm8 ; o32 0F A4 /r ib [386]
12086 \c SHLD r/m16,reg16,CL ; o16 0F A5 /r [386]
12087 \c SHLD r/m16,reg32,CL ; o32 0F A5 /r [386]
12089 \c SHRD r/m16,reg16,imm8 ; o16 0F AC /r ib [386]
12090 \c SHRD r/m32,reg32,imm8 ; o32 0F AC /r ib [386]
12091 \c SHRD r/m16,reg16,CL ; o16 0F AD /r [386]
12092 \c SHRD r/m32,reg32,CL ; o32 0F AD /r [386]
12094 \b \c{SHLD} performs a double-precision left shift. It notionally
12095 places its second operand to the right of its first, then shifts
12096 the entire bit string thus generated to the left by a number of
12097 bits specified in the third operand. It then updates only the
12098 \e{first} operand according to the result of this. The second
12099 operand is not modified.
12101 \b \c{SHRD} performs the corresponding right shift: it notionally
12102 places the second operand to the \e{left} of the first, shifts the
12103 whole bit string right, and updates only the first operand.
12105 For example, if \c{EAX} holds \c{0x01234567} and \c{EBX} holds
12106 \c{0x89ABCDEF}, then the instruction \c{SHLD EAX,EBX,4} would update
12107 \c{EAX} to hold \c{0x12345678}. Under the same conditions, \c{SHRD
12108 EAX,EBX,4} would update \c{EAX} to hold \c{0xF0123456}.
12110 The number of bits to shift by is given by the third operand. Only
12111 the bottom five bits of the shift count are considered.
12114 \S{insSHUFPD} \i\c{SHUFPD}: Shuffle Packed Double-Precision FP Values
12116 \c SHUFPD xmm1,xmm2/m128,imm8 ; 66 0F C6 /r ib [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12118 \c{SHUFPD} moves one of the packed double-precision FP values from
12119 the destination operand into the low quadword of the destination
12120 operand; the upper quadword is generated by moving one of the
12121 double-precision FP values from the source operand into the
12122 destination. The select (third) operand selects which of the values
12123 are moved to the destination register.
12125 The select operand is an 8-bit immediate: bit 0 selects which value
12126 is moved from the destination operand to the result (where 0 selects
12127 the low quadword and 1 selects the high quadword) and bit 1 selects
12128 which value is moved from the source operand to the result.
12129 Bits 2 through 7 of the shuffle operand are reserved.
12132 \S{insSHUFPS} \i\c{SHUFPS}: Shuffle Packed Single-Precision FP Values
12134 \c SHUFPS xmm1,xmm2/m128,imm8 ; 0F C6 /r ib [KATMAI,SSE]
12136 \c{SHUFPS} moves two of the packed single-precision FP values from
12137 the destination operand into the low quadword of the destination
12138 operand; the upper quadword is generated by moving two of the
12139 single-precision FP values from the source operand into the
12140 destination. The select (third) operand selects which of the
12141 values are moved to the destination register.
12143 The select operand is an 8-bit immediate: bits 0 and 1 select the
12144 value to be moved from the destination operand the low doubleword of
12145 the result, bits 2 and 3 select the value to be moved from the
12146 destination operand the second doubleword of the result, bits 4 and
12147 5 select the value to be moved from the source operand the third
12148 doubleword of the result, and bits 6 and 7 select the value to be
12149 moved from the source operand to the high doubleword of the result.
12152 \S{insSMI} \i\c{SMI}: System Management Interrupt
12154 \c SMI ; F1 [386,UNDOC]
12156 \c{SMI} puts some AMD processors into SMM mode. It is available on some
12157 386 and 486 processors, and is only available when DR7 bit 12 is set,
12158 otherwise it generates an Int 1.
12161 \S{insSMINT} \i\c{SMINT}, \i\c{SMINTOLD}: Software SMM Entry (CYRIX)
12163 \c SMINT ; 0F 38 [PENT,CYRIX]
12164 \c SMINTOLD ; 0F 7E [486,CYRIX]
12166 \c{SMINT} puts the processor into SMM mode. The CPU state information is
12167 saved in the SMM memory header, and then execution begins at the SMM base
12170 \c{SMINTOLD} is the same as \c{SMINT}, but was the opcode used on the 486.
12172 This pair of opcodes are specific to the Cyrix and compatible range of
12173 processors (Cyrix, IBM, Via).
12176 \S{insSMSW} \i\c{SMSW}: Store Machine Status Word
12178 \c SMSW r/m16 ; 0F 01 /4 [286,PRIV]
12180 \c{SMSW} stores the bottom half of the \c{CR0} control register (or
12181 the Machine Status Word, on 286 processors) into the destination
12182 operand. See also \c{LMSW} (\k{insLMSW}).
12184 For 32-bit code, this would use the low 16-bits of the specified
12185 register (or a 16bit memory location), without needing an operand
12186 size override byte.
12189 \S{insSQRTPD} \i\c{SQRTPD}: Packed Double-Precision FP Square Root
12191 \c SQRTPD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 51 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12193 \c{SQRTPD} calculates the square root of the packed double-precision
12194 FP value from the source operand, and stores the double-precision
12195 results in the destination register.
12198 \S{insSQRTPS} \i\c{SQRTPS}: Packed Single-Precision FP Square Root
12200 \c SQRTPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 51 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
12202 \c{SQRTPS} calculates the square root of the packed single-precision
12203 FP value from the source operand, and stores the single-precision
12204 results in the destination register.
12207 \S{insSQRTSD} \i\c{SQRTSD}: Scalar Double-Precision FP Square Root
12209 \c SQRTSD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; F2 0F 51 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12211 \c{SQRTSD} calculates the square root of the low-order double-precision
12212 FP value from the source operand, and stores the double-precision
12213 result in the destination register. The high-quadword remains unchanged.
12216 \S{insSQRTSS} \i\c{SQRTSS}: Scalar Single-Precision FP Square Root
12218 \c SQRTSS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; F3 0F 51 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
12220 \c{SQRTSS} calculates the square root of the low-order single-precision
12221 FP value from the source operand, and stores the single-precision
12222 result in the destination register. The three high doublewords remain
12226 \S{insSTC} \i\c{STC}, \i\c{STD}, \i\c{STI}: Set Flags
12232 These instructions set various flags. \c{STC} sets the carry flag;
12233 \c{STD} sets the direction flag; and \c{STI} sets the interrupt flag
12234 (thus enabling interrupts).
12236 To clear the carry, direction, or interrupt flags, use the \c{CLC},
12237 \c{CLD} and \c{CLI} instructions (\k{insCLC}). To invert the carry
12238 flag, use \c{CMC} (\k{insCMC}).
12241 \S{insSTMXCSR} \i\c{STMXCSR}: Store Streaming SIMD Extension
12244 \c STMXCSR m32 ; 0F AE /3 [KATMAI,SSE]
12246 \c{STMXCSR} stores the contents of the \c{MXCSR} control/status
12247 register to the specified memory location. \c{MXCSR} is used to
12248 enable masked/unmasked exception handling, to set rounding modes,
12249 to set flush-to-zero mode, and to view exception status flags.
12250 The reserved bits in the \c{MXCSR} register are stored as 0s.
12252 For details of the \c{MXCSR} register, see the Intel processor docs.
12254 See also \c{LDMXCSR} (\k{insLDMXCSR}).
12257 \S{insSTOSB} \i\c{STOSB}, \i\c{STOSW}, \i\c{STOSD}: Store Byte to String
12259 \c STOSB ; AA [8086]
12260 \c STOSW ; o16 AB [8086]
12261 \c STOSD ; o32 AB [386]
12263 \c{STOSB} stores the byte in \c{AL} at \c{[ES:DI]} or \c{[ES:EDI]},
12264 and sets the flags accordingly. It then increments or decrements
12265 (depending on the direction flag: increments if the flag is clear,
12266 decrements if it is set) \c{DI} (or \c{EDI}).
12268 The register used is \c{DI} if the address size is 16 bits, and
12269 \c{EDI} if it is 32 bits. If you need to use an address size not
12270 equal to the current \c{BITS} setting, you can use an explicit
12271 \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
12273 Segment override prefixes have no effect for this instruction: the
12274 use of \c{ES} for the store to \c{[DI]} or \c{[EDI]} cannot be
12277 \c{STOSW} and \c{STOSD} work in the same way, but they store the
12278 word in \c{AX} or the doubleword in \c{EAX} instead of the byte in
12279 \c{AL}, and increment or decrement the addressing registers by 2 or
12282 The \c{REP} prefix may be used to repeat the instruction \c{CX} (or
12283 \c{ECX} - again, the address size chooses which) times.
12286 \S{insSTR} \i\c{STR}: Store Task Register
12288 \c STR r/m16 ; 0F 00 /1 [286,PRIV]
12290 \c{STR} stores the segment selector corresponding to the contents of
12291 the Task Register into its operand. When the operand size is a 16-bit
12292 register, the upper 16-bits are cleared to 0s. When the destination
12293 operand is a memory location, 16 bits are written regardless of the
12297 \S{insSUB} \i\c{SUB}: Subtract Integers
12299 \c SUB r/m8,reg8 ; 28 /r [8086]
12300 \c SUB r/m16,reg16 ; o16 29 /r [8086]
12301 \c SUB r/m32,reg32 ; o32 29 /r [386]
12303 \c SUB reg8,r/m8 ; 2A /r [8086]
12304 \c SUB reg16,r/m16 ; o16 2B /r [8086]
12305 \c SUB reg32,r/m32 ; o32 2B /r [386]
12307 \c SUB r/m8,imm8 ; 80 /5 ib [8086]
12308 \c SUB r/m16,imm16 ; o16 81 /5 iw [8086]
12309 \c SUB r/m32,imm32 ; o32 81 /5 id [386]
12311 \c SUB r/m16,imm8 ; o16 83 /5 ib [8086]
12312 \c SUB r/m32,imm8 ; o32 83 /5 ib [386]
12314 \c SUB AL,imm8 ; 2C ib [8086]
12315 \c SUB AX,imm16 ; o16 2D iw [8086]
12316 \c SUB EAX,imm32 ; o32 2D id [386]
12318 \c{SUB} performs integer subtraction: it subtracts its second
12319 operand from its first, and leaves the result in its destination
12320 (first) operand. The flags are set according to the result of the
12321 operation: in particular, the carry flag is affected and can be used
12322 by a subsequent \c{SBB} instruction (\k{insSBB}).
12324 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate second operand and a longer
12325 first operand, the second operand is considered to be signed, and is
12326 sign-extended to the length of the first operand. In these cases,
12327 the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force NASM to generate this
12328 form of the instruction.
12331 \S{insSUBPD} \i\c{SUBPD}: Packed Double-Precision FP Subtract
12333 \c SUBPD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 5C /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12335 \c{SUBPD} subtracts the packed double-precision FP values of
12336 the source operand from those of the destination operand, and
12337 stores the result in the destination operation.
12340 \S{insSUBPS} \i\c{SUBPS}: Packed Single-Precision FP Subtract
12342 \c SUBPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 5C /r [KATMAI,SSE]
12344 \c{SUBPS} subtracts the packed single-precision FP values of
12345 the source operand from those of the destination operand, and
12346 stores the result in the destination operation.
12349 \S{insSUBSD} \i\c{SUBSD}: Scalar Single-FP Subtract
12351 \c SUBSD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; F2 0F 5C /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12353 \c{SUBSD} subtracts the low-order double-precision FP value of
12354 the source operand from that of the destination operand, and
12355 stores the result in the destination operation. The high
12356 quadword is unchanged.
12359 \S{insSUBSS} \i\c{SUBSS}: Scalar Single-FP Subtract
12361 \c SUBSS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; F3 0F 5C /r [KATMAI,SSE]
12363 \c{SUBSS} subtracts the low-order single-precision FP value of
12364 the source operand from that of the destination operand, and
12365 stores the result in the destination operation. The three high
12366 doublewords are unchanged.
12369 \S{insSVDC} \i\c{SVDC}: Save Segment Register and Descriptor
12371 \c SVDC m80,segreg ; 0F 78 /r [486,CYRIX,SMM]
12373 \c{SVDC} saves a segment register (DS, ES, FS, GS, or SS) and its
12374 descriptor to mem80.
12377 \S{insSVLDT} \i\c{SVLDT}: Save LDTR and Descriptor
12379 \c SVLDT m80 ; 0F 7A /0 [486,CYRIX,SMM]
12381 \c{SVLDT} saves the Local Descriptor Table (LDTR) to mem80.
12384 \S{insSVTS} \i\c{SVTS}: Save TSR and Descriptor
12386 \c SVTS m80 ; 0F 7C /0 [486,CYRIX,SMM]
12388 \c{SVTS} saves the Task State Register (TSR) to mem80.
12391 \S{insSYSCALL} \i\c{SYSCALL}: Call Operating System
12393 \c SYSCALL ; 0F 05 [P6,AMD]
12395 \c{SYSCALL} provides a fast method of transferring control to a fixed
12396 entry point in an operating system.
12398 \b The \c{EIP} register is copied into the \c{ECX} register.
12400 \b Bits [31-0] of the 64-bit SYSCALL/SYSRET Target Address Register
12401 (\c{STAR}) are copied into the \c{EIP} register.
12403 \b Bits [47-32] of the \c{STAR} register specify the selector that is
12404 copied into the \c{CS} register.
12406 \b Bits [47-32]+1000b of the \c{STAR} register specify the selector that
12407 is copied into the SS register.
12409 The \c{CS} and \c{SS} registers should not be modified by the operating
12410 system between the execution of the \c{SYSCALL} instruction and its
12411 corresponding \c{SYSRET} instruction.
12413 For more information, see the \c{SYSCALL and SYSRET Instruction Specification}
12414 (AMD document number 21086.pdf).
12417 \S{insSYSENTER} \i\c{SYSENTER}: Fast System Call
12419 \c SYSENTER ; 0F 34 [P6]
12421 \c{SYSENTER} executes a fast call to a level 0 system procedure or
12422 routine. Before using this instruction, various MSRs need to be set
12425 \b \c{SYSENTER_CS_MSR} contains the 32-bit segment selector for the
12426 privilege level 0 code segment. (This value is also used to compute
12427 the segment selector of the privilege level 0 stack segment.)
12429 \b \c{SYSENTER_EIP_MSR} contains the 32-bit offset into the privilege
12430 level 0 code segment to the first instruction of the selected operating
12431 procedure or routine.
12433 \b \c{SYSENTER_ESP_MSR} contains the 32-bit stack pointer for the
12434 privilege level 0 stack.
12436 \c{SYSENTER} performs the following sequence of operations:
12438 \b Loads the segment selector from the \c{SYSENTER_CS_MSR} into the
12441 \b Loads the instruction pointer from the \c{SYSENTER_EIP_MSR} into
12442 the \c{EIP} register.
12444 \b Adds 8 to the value in \c{SYSENTER_CS_MSR} and loads it into the
12447 \b Loads the stack pointer from the \c{SYSENTER_ESP_MSR} into the
12450 \b Switches to privilege level 0.
12452 \b Clears the \c{VM} flag in the \c{EFLAGS} register, if the flag
12455 \b Begins executing the selected system procedure.
12457 In particular, note that this instruction des not save the values of
12458 \c{CS} or \c{(E)IP}. If you need to return to the calling code, you
12459 need to write your code to cater for this.
12461 For more information, see the Intel Architecture Software Developer's
12465 \S{insSYSEXIT} \i\c{SYSEXIT}: Fast Return From System Call
12467 \c SYSEXIT ; 0F 35 [P6,PRIV]
12469 \c{SYSEXIT} executes a fast return to privilege level 3 user code.
12470 This instruction is a companion instruction to the \c{SYSENTER}
12471 instruction, and can only be executed by privilege level 0 code.
12472 Various registers need to be set up before calling this instruction:
12474 \b \c{SYSENTER_CS_MSR} contains the 32-bit segment selector for the
12475 privilege level 0 code segment in which the processor is currently
12476 executing. (This value is used to compute the segment selectors for
12477 the privilege level 3 code and stack segments.)
12479 \b \c{EDX} contains the 32-bit offset into the privilege level 3 code
12480 segment to the first instruction to be executed in the user code.
12482 \b \c{ECX} contains the 32-bit stack pointer for the privilege level 3
12485 \c{SYSEXIT} performs the following sequence of operations:
12487 \b Adds 16 to the value in \c{SYSENTER_CS_MSR} and loads the sum into
12488 the \c{CS} selector register.
12490 \b Loads the instruction pointer from the \c{EDX} register into the
12493 \b Adds 24 to the value in \c{SYSENTER_CS_MSR} and loads the sum
12494 into the \c{SS} selector register.
12496 \b Loads the stack pointer from the \c{ECX} register into the \c{ESP}
12499 \b Switches to privilege level 3.
12501 \b Begins executing the user code at the \c{EIP} address.
12503 For more information on the use of the \c{SYSENTER} and \c{SYSEXIT}
12504 instructions, see the Intel Architecture Software Developer's
12508 \S{insSYSRET} \i\c{SYSRET}: Return From Operating System
12510 \c SYSRET ; 0F 07 [P6,AMD,PRIV]
12512 \c{SYSRET} is the return instruction used in conjunction with the
12513 \c{SYSCALL} instruction to provide fast entry/exit to an operating system.
12515 \b The \c{ECX} register, which points to the next sequential instruction
12516 after the corresponding \c{SYSCALL} instruction, is copied into the \c{EIP}
12519 \b Bits [63-48] of the \c{STAR} register specify the selector that is copied
12520 into the \c{CS} register.
12522 \b Bits [63-48]+1000b of the \c{STAR} register specify the selector that is
12523 copied into the \c{SS} register.
12525 \b Bits [1-0] of the \c{SS} register are set to 11b (RPL of 3) regardless of
12526 the value of bits [49-48] of the \c{STAR} register.
12528 The \c{CS} and \c{SS} registers should not be modified by the operating
12529 system between the execution of the \c{SYSCALL} instruction and its
12530 corresponding \c{SYSRET} instruction.
12532 For more information, see the \c{SYSCALL and SYSRET Instruction Specification}
12533 (AMD document number 21086.pdf).
12536 \S{insTEST} \i\c{TEST}: Test Bits (notional bitwise AND)
12538 \c TEST r/m8,reg8 ; 84 /r [8086]
12539 \c TEST r/m16,reg16 ; o16 85 /r [8086]
12540 \c TEST r/m32,reg32 ; o32 85 /r [386]
12542 \c TEST r/m8,imm8 ; F6 /0 ib [8086]
12543 \c TEST r/m16,imm16 ; o16 F7 /0 iw [8086]
12544 \c TEST r/m32,imm32 ; o32 F7 /0 id [386]
12546 \c TEST AL,imm8 ; A8 ib [8086]
12547 \c TEST AX,imm16 ; o16 A9 iw [8086]
12548 \c TEST EAX,imm32 ; o32 A9 id [386]
12550 \c{TEST} performs a `mental' bitwise AND of its two operands, and
12551 affects the flags as if the operation had taken place, but does not
12552 store the result of the operation anywhere.
12555 \S{insUCOMISD} \i\c{UCOMISD}: Unordered Scalar Double-Precision FP
12556 compare and set EFLAGS
12558 \c UCOMISD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 2E /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12560 \c{UCOMISD} compares the low-order double-precision FP numbers in the
12561 two operands, and sets the \c{ZF}, \c{PF} and \c{CF} bits in the
12562 \c{EFLAGS} register. In addition, the \c{OF}, \c{SF} and \c{AF} bits
12563 in the \c{EFLAGS} register are zeroed out. The unordered predicate
12564 (\c{ZF}, \c{PF} and \c{CF} all set) is returned if either source
12565 operand is a \c{NaN} (\c{qNaN} or \c{sNaN}).
12568 \S{insUCOMISS} \i\c{UCOMISS}: Unordered Scalar Single-Precision FP
12569 compare and set EFLAGS
12571 \c UCOMISS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 2E /r [KATMAI,SSE]
12573 \c{UCOMISS} compares the low-order single-precision FP numbers in the
12574 two operands, and sets the \c{ZF}, \c{PF} and \c{CF} bits in the
12575 \c{EFLAGS} register. In addition, the \c{OF}, \c{SF} and \c{AF} bits
12576 in the \c{EFLAGS} register are zeroed out. The unordered predicate
12577 (\c{ZF}, \c{PF} and \c{CF} all set) is returned if either source
12578 operand is a \c{NaN} (\c{qNaN} or \c{sNaN}).
12581 \S{insUD2} \i\c{UD0}, \i\c{UD1}, \i\c{UD2}: Undefined Instruction
12583 \c UD0 ; 0F FF [186,UNDOC]
12584 \c UD1 ; 0F B9 [186,UNDOC]
12585 \c UD2 ; 0F 0B [186]
12587 \c{UDx} can be used to generate an invalid opcode exception, for testing
12590 \c{UD0} is specifically documented by AMD as being reserved for this
12593 \c{UD1} is documented by Intel as being available for this purpose.
12595 \c{UD2} is specifically documented by Intel as being reserved for this
12596 purpose. Intel document this as the preferred method of generating an
12597 invalid opcode exception.
12599 All these opcodes can be used to generate invalid opcode exceptions on
12600 all currently available processors.
12603 \S{insUMOV} \i\c{UMOV}: User Move Data
12605 \c UMOV r/m8,reg8 ; 0F 10 /r [386,UNDOC]
12606 \c UMOV r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F 11 /r [386,UNDOC]
12607 \c UMOV r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F 11 /r [386,UNDOC]
12609 \c UMOV reg8,r/m8 ; 0F 12 /r [386,UNDOC]
12610 \c UMOV reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0F 13 /r [386,UNDOC]
12611 \c UMOV reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0F 13 /r [386,UNDOC]
12613 This undocumented instruction is used by in-circuit emulators to
12614 access user memory (as opposed to host memory). It is used just like
12615 an ordinary memory/register or register/register \c{MOV}
12616 instruction, but accesses user space.
12618 This instruction is only available on some AMD and IBM 386 and 486
12622 \S{insUNPCKHPD} \i\c{UNPCKHPD}: Unpack and Interleave High Packed
12623 Double-Precision FP Values
12625 \c UNPCKHPD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 15 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12627 \c{UNPCKHPD} performs an interleaved unpack of the high-order data
12628 elements of the source and destination operands, saving the result
12629 in \c{xmm1}. It ignores the lower half of the sources.
12631 The operation of this instruction is:
12633 \c dst[63-0] := dst[127-64];
12634 \c dst[127-64] := src[127-64].
12637 \S{insUNPCKHPS} \i\c{UNPCKHPS}: Unpack and Interleave High Packed
12638 Single-Precision FP Values
12640 \c UNPCKHPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 15 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
12642 \c{UNPCKHPS} performs an interleaved unpack of the high-order data
12643 elements of the source and destination operands, saving the result
12644 in \c{xmm1}. It ignores the lower half of the sources.
12646 The operation of this instruction is:
12648 \c dst[31-0] := dst[95-64];
12649 \c dst[63-32] := src[95-64];
12650 \c dst[95-64] := dst[127-96];
12651 \c dst[127-96] := src[127-96].
12654 \S{insUNPCKLPD} \i\c{UNPCKLPD}: Unpack and Interleave Low Packed
12655 Double-Precision FP Data
12657 \c UNPCKLPD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 14 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12659 \c{UNPCKLPD} performs an interleaved unpack of the low-order data
12660 elements of the source and destination operands, saving the result
12661 in \c{xmm1}. It ignores the lower half of the sources.
12663 The operation of this instruction is:
12665 \c dst[63-0] := dst[63-0];
12666 \c dst[127-64] := src[63-0].
12669 \S{insUNPCKLPS} \i\c{UNPCKLPS}: Unpack and Interleave Low Packed
12670 Single-Precision FP Data
12672 \c UNPCKLPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 14 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
12674 \c{UNPCKLPS} performs an interleaved unpack of the low-order data
12675 elements of the source and destination operands, saving the result
12676 in \c{xmm1}. It ignores the lower half of the sources.
12678 The operation of this instruction is:
12680 \c dst[31-0] := dst[31-0];
12681 \c dst[63-32] := src[31-0];
12682 \c dst[95-64] := dst[63-32];
12683 \c dst[127-96] := src[63-32].
12686 \S{insVERR} \i\c{VERR}, \i\c{VERW}: Verify Segment Readability/Writability
12688 \c VERR r/m16 ; 0F 00 /4 [286,PRIV]
12690 \c VERW r/m16 ; 0F 00 /5 [286,PRIV]
12692 \b \c{VERR} sets the zero flag if the segment specified by the selector
12693 in its operand can be read from at the current privilege level.
12694 Otherwise it is cleared.
12696 \b \c{VERW} sets the zero flag if the segment can be written.
12699 \S{insWAIT} \i\c{WAIT}: Wait for Floating-Point Processor
12701 \c WAIT ; 9B [8086]
12702 \c FWAIT ; 9B [8086]
12704 \c{WAIT}, on 8086 systems with a separate 8087 FPU, waits for the
12705 FPU to have finished any operation it is engaged in before
12706 continuing main processor operations, so that (for example) an FPU
12707 store to main memory can be guaranteed to have completed before the
12708 CPU tries to read the result back out.
12710 On higher processors, \c{WAIT} is unnecessary for this purpose, and
12711 it has the alternative purpose of ensuring that any pending unmasked
12712 FPU exceptions have happened before execution continues.
12715 \S{insWBINVD} \i\c{WBINVD}: Write Back and Invalidate Cache
12717 \c WBINVD ; 0F 09 [486]
12719 \c{WBINVD} invalidates and empties the processor's internal caches,
12720 and causes the processor to instruct external caches to do the same.
12721 It writes the contents of the caches back to memory first, so no
12722 data is lost. To flush the caches quickly without bothering to write
12723 the data back first, use \c{INVD} (\k{insINVD}).
12726 \S{insWRMSR} \i\c{WRMSR}: Write Model-Specific Registers
12728 \c WRMSR ; 0F 30 [PENT]
12730 \c{WRMSR} writes the value in \c{EDX:EAX} to the processor
12731 Model-Specific Register (MSR) whose index is stored in \c{ECX}.
12732 See also \c{RDMSR} (\k{insRDMSR}).
12735 \S{insWRSHR} \i\c{WRSHR}: Write SMM Header Pointer Register
12737 \c WRSHR r/m32 ; 0F 37 /0 [386,CYRIX,SMM]
12739 \c{WRSHR} loads the contents of either a 32-bit memory location or a
12740 32-bit register into the SMM header pointer register.
12742 See also \c{RDSHR} (\k{insRDSHR}).
12745 \S{insXADD} \i\c{XADD}: Exchange and Add
12747 \c XADD r/m8,reg8 ; 0F C0 /r [486]
12748 \c XADD r/m16,reg16 ; o16 0F C1 /r [486]
12749 \c XADD r/m32,reg32 ; o32 0F C1 /r [486]
12751 \c{XADD} exchanges the values in its two operands, and then adds
12752 them together and writes the result into the destination (first)
12753 operand. This instruction can be used with a \c{LOCK} prefix for
12754 multi-processor synchronisation purposes.
12757 \S{insXBTS} \i\c{XBTS}: Extract Bit String
12759 \c XBTS reg16,r/m16 ; o16 0F A6 /r [386,UNDOC]
12760 \c XBTS reg32,r/m32 ; o32 0F A6 /r [386,UNDOC]
12762 The implied operation of this instruction is:
12764 \c XBTS r/m16,reg16,AX,CL
12765 \c XBTS r/m32,reg32,EAX,CL
12767 Writes a bit string from the source operand to the destination. \c{CL}
12768 indicates the number of bits to be copied, and \c{(E)AX} indicates the
12769 low order bit offset in the source. The bits are written to the low
12770 order bits of the destination register. For example, if \c{CL} is set
12771 to 4 and \c{AX} (for 16-bit code) is set to 5, bits 5-8 of \c{src} will
12772 be copied to bits 0-3 of \c{dst}. This instruction is very poorly
12773 documented, and I have been unable to find any official source of
12774 documentation on it.
12776 \c{XBTS} is supported only on the early Intel 386s, and conflicts with
12777 the opcodes for \c{CMPXCHG486} (on early Intel 486s). NASM supports it
12778 only for completeness. Its counterpart is \c{IBTS} (see \k{insIBTS}).
12781 \S{insXCHG} \i\c{XCHG}: Exchange
12783 \c XCHG reg8,r/m8 ; 86 /r [8086]
12784 \c XCHG reg16,r/m8 ; o16 87 /r [8086]
12785 \c XCHG reg32,r/m32 ; o32 87 /r [386]
12787 \c XCHG r/m8,reg8 ; 86 /r [8086]
12788 \c XCHG r/m16,reg16 ; o16 87 /r [8086]
12789 \c XCHG r/m32,reg32 ; o32 87 /r [386]
12791 \c XCHG AX,reg16 ; o16 90+r [8086]
12792 \c XCHG EAX,reg32 ; o32 90+r [386]
12793 \c XCHG reg16,AX ; o16 90+r [8086]
12794 \c XCHG reg32,EAX ; o32 90+r [386]
12796 \c{XCHG} exchanges the values in its two operands. It can be used
12797 with a \c{LOCK} prefix for purposes of multi-processor
12800 \c{XCHG AX,AX} or \c{XCHG EAX,EAX} (depending on the \c{BITS}
12801 setting) generates the opcode \c{90h}, and so is a synonym for
12802 \c{NOP} (\k{insNOP}).
12805 \S{insXLATB} \i\c{XLATB}: Translate Byte in Lookup Table
12807 \c XLAT ; D7 [8086]
12808 \c XLATB ; D7 [8086]
12810 \c{XLATB} adds the value in \c{AL}, treated as an unsigned byte, to
12811 \c{BX} or \c{EBX}, and loads the byte from the resulting address (in
12812 the segment specified by \c{DS}) back into \c{AL}.
12814 The base register used is \c{BX} if the address size is 16 bits, and
12815 \c{EBX} if it is 32 bits. If you need to use an address size not
12816 equal to the current \c{BITS} setting, you can use an explicit
12817 \i\c{a16} or \i\c{a32} prefix.
12819 The segment register used to load from \c{[BX+AL]} or \c{[EBX+AL]}
12820 can be overridden by using a segment register name as a prefix (for
12821 example, \c{es xlatb}).
12824 \S{insXOR} \i\c{XOR}: Bitwise Exclusive OR
12826 \c XOR r/m8,reg8 ; 30 /r [8086]
12827 \c XOR r/m16,reg16 ; o16 31 /r [8086]
12828 \c XOR r/m32,reg32 ; o32 31 /r [386]
12830 \c XOR reg8,r/m8 ; 32 /r [8086]
12831 \c XOR reg16,r/m16 ; o16 33 /r [8086]
12832 \c XOR reg32,r/m32 ; o32 33 /r [386]
12834 \c XOR r/m8,imm8 ; 80 /6 ib [8086]
12835 \c XOR r/m16,imm16 ; o16 81 /6 iw [8086]
12836 \c XOR r/m32,imm32 ; o32 81 /6 id [386]
12838 \c XOR r/m16,imm8 ; o16 83 /6 ib [8086]
12839 \c XOR r/m32,imm8 ; o32 83 /6 ib [386]
12841 \c XOR AL,imm8 ; 34 ib [8086]
12842 \c XOR AX,imm16 ; o16 35 iw [8086]
12843 \c XOR EAX,imm32 ; o32 35 id [386]
12845 \c{XOR} performs a bitwise XOR operation between its two operands
12846 (i.e. each bit of the result is 1 if and only if exactly one of the
12847 corresponding bits of the two inputs was 1), and stores the result
12848 in the destination (first) operand.
12850 In the forms with an 8-bit immediate second operand and a longer
12851 first operand, the second operand is considered to be signed, and is
12852 sign-extended to the length of the first operand. In these cases,
12853 the \c{BYTE} qualifier is necessary to force NASM to generate this
12854 form of the instruction.
12856 The \c{MMX} instruction \c{PXOR} (see \k{insPXOR}) performs the same
12857 operation on the 64-bit \c{MMX} registers.
12860 \S{insXORPD} \i\c{XORPD}: Bitwise Logical XOR of Double-Precision FP Values
12862 \c XORPD xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 66 0F 57 /r [WILLAMETTE,SSE2]
12864 \c{XORPD} returns a bit-wise logical XOR between the source and
12865 destination operands, storing the result in the destination operand.
12868 \S{insXORPS} \i\c{XORPS}: Bitwise Logical XOR of Single-Precision FP Values
12870 \c XORPS xmm1,xmm2/m128 ; 0F 57 /r [KATMAI,SSE]
12872 \c{XORPS} returns a bit-wise logical XOR between the source and
12873 destination operands, storing the result in the destination operand.