## Microprocessors Lecture 13

### Assembly Code Programming

Until now we have been writing programs in Machine Code - that is the actual binary codes which the computer can understand and execute directly. Actually we have been using the hexadecimal equivalent of the instructions to save typing long strings of ones and zeros. In the lab when we type in a hex instruction there is a program running which converts the hex code into the appropriate binary and stores it in memory. Thus we have been using a very simple translation program to make life easier for ourselves. Early computers did not even have that and programming was done on a row of switches, one for each bit.

If we can get the computer to do a simple translation like hex to binary then we can get it to do a slightly more useful translation of mnemonics to machine code. The mnemonics are easily remembered shorthand versions of the instructions which we have already met LDA, LSR, ADDA etc. A program which converts mnemonics to machine code is called an Assembler and the language based on these mnemonics is known as Assembly Code.

The Assembler uses a look-up table to convert each mnemonic into the appropriate code. An instruction like DECA is simple the code is 4A. With an instruction like LDA, however, there are many possible codes depending upon the addressing mode. The program must obviously specify which mode should be used.

                        LDA #$FF     -    Immediate addressing      86

                        LDA <$56     -    Direct Page addressing    96

                        LDA $FE00    -    Extended addressing       B6

                        LDA $0F,X    -    Indexed addressing        A6

                        LDA [$2020]  -    Indirect addressing       A6

Thus there is a precise format for the 'address' part of the instruction which indicates which mode to use. In the last two cases the instruction code is the same but the 'post-byte' or second byte of the instruction is different.

So the first thing we can get the assembler to do is to look up the instruction codes for us - but in fact it can do a great deal more.

We have all had problems with the relative addressing used in Branch instructions even though it is really a fairly simple calculation. The assembler can do this calculation for us.

                            Assembler Input         Assembler Output

                             (Source Code)            (Object Code)

                          $0030     LDX #$C646           8E C6 46

                          $0033     LEAX -1,X            30 1F

                          $0035     BNE $0033            26 FC

By now this will be a very familiar loop. The assembler will work out the twos complement of the difference between the address of the next instruction and the destination address. Moreover the assembler will use the normal or short branch instruction with an 8 bit offset or the long branch if the offset is outside the range -128 to +127.

The next thing we can get the assembler to do is to keep track of all the addresses in the program. Rather than specifying the destination of a branch explicitly as an address we can give the appropriate location a name and simply refer to the name from then on. The assembler works out what actual address the name corresponds to and works out the offset accordingly.

                               ORG   $0030    ;Program starts at $0030

                               LDX   #$C646

                     LOOP      LEAX  -1,X

                               BNE    LOOP

The Assembler works out that the address of the instruction labelled LOOP is $0033 and uses this number in the calculation of the offset. This makes editing the program a great deal easier since we can add lines and the assembler will work out all the new addresses. We can have as many labels like this as we like and they can refer to instruction locations as shown here, or any other locations in memory.

                      ORB      EQU  $FE00

                      INA      EQU  $FE01

                      DDRB     EQU  $FE02

                      DDRA     EQU  $FE03

                               ORG $0020

                               LDA  #$FF

                               STA  DDRB

                      LOOP1    LDA  INA

                               STA  ORB

                               BRA  LOOP1

The first four statements simply equate the label to the value so that whenever that label is encountered again the appropriate value is substituted. This means that labels can be defined just once at the beginning of the program. If we wish to change the actual addresses then we only have to change the definition statements and re-asssemble the program for it all to work correctly.

The assembler works by reading the source code program and building up a symbol table which lists all the labels and their equivalent values. This causes no problems with the programs listed so far, but we often want to refer to locations by label before they have been encountered.

                             ADDA 0,X

                             BCC NOCARRY

                             INC MSBYTE

                  NOCARRY    DECB

                             etc.

Here the label NOCARRY is encountered by the assembler before it has been given a value. In addition the assembler does not know whether the offset will fit into 8 bits or 16 bits which in turn affects the addresses of all subsequent instructions and indeed the address of NOCARRY itself. To overcome this the assembler will read through the program a number of times. The first time it builds up the symbol table assuming a 16 bit offset will be required in a situation like that above. It then reads through again knowing the actual addresses and correcting the symbol table as necessary to take account of the fact that only an 8 bit offset is needed. It is of course possible that this shortening of the program brings offsets into 8 bit range that were not previously. So the assembler must keep on reading through until no further shortening is possible. It then does a final read through translating all the codes using the final version of the symbol table.

The assembler is therefore a fairly sophisticated software package. In some cases it is possible for the assembler to run on the computer system it is assembling programs for. E.g. the BBC microcomputer had a built in assembler. In the case of the simple lab kits there is not nearly enough memory to run such a large program, and so if we want to run an assembler we have to do it on a different computer system. In this case it is referred to as a Cross-Assembler. The assembler we have runs on the PCs on the Novell network and is such a cross-assembler. It is one produced by Motorola and the format of the source code conforms to the standard Motorola format which you may find in a number of books on the subject.

### Assembler Directives

The majority of lines of the source code will consist of instructions to the processor LDA, DECA etc. each of which will result in an instruction output in the object code. There are also lines of input which are instructions to the assembler telling it how to interpret the source code. These are known as assembler directives.

ORG $1234 | Tells the assembler to enter the next instruction (or data byte) at the location $1234.
END | Marks end of source code.
EQU | Equates a symbol to a value.
FCB $0F | Form a Constant Byte - Allocates a memory location and enters the data specified. Can be used to create tables of values in memory.
FDB $1234 | Form a Double Byte - Allocates a pair of memory locations and enters the data specified - MSByte first.
FCC 'Message' | Form Constant Characters - Allocates sufficient memory bytes to hold the string enclosed in quotation marks. The ASCII values of the characters are entered into the following locations.
RMB $20 | Reserve Memory Bytes - Reserves the specified number of memory locations without entering any data into them.
; | Whatever follows on the line is a comment and should be ignored.

In addition most assemblers will allow simple arithmetic to be carried out using the symbols and basic operators.

                        VIA   EQU $FE00

                        ORB   EQU VIA

                        INA   EQU VIA+1

                        DDRB  EQU VIA+2

                        DDRA  EQU VIA+3

                        etc.

Here we are defining the address at which the VIA is located and then defining the addresses of all the registers in the VIA with reference to that starting address. This means that if we want the software to run on a different system with the VIA at a different address all we have to do is change one line in the program and re-assemble it.

                        VIA EQU $8008

Or if we have a table of values and wish to have a location which stores the number of entries in the table:-

                        TABLE     FCB $0A

                                  FCB $15

                        ENDTAB    FCB $7B

                        NUMBER    FCB ENDTAB-TABLE

See notes on using the assembler on the Novell network and on downloading programs assembled by this program to the M6809 lab kits.

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