CS 215
Introduction to Assembly Language
and Computer Architecture
Course topics
Computer Organization
Computer Components
CPU, memory, I/O devices, bus
Representing information
Integers, real numbers, text characters, machine
code
Arithmetic operations
Assembly Language
Basic features
Translation (C assembly language)
Data structures
Procedures
I/O Operations
Course activities
Computer Organization
Representing information
Encode and decode various types of data
How is 3.14 represented by a computer?
What unsigned integer is represented by the byte
11001010?
Arithmetic operations
Demonstrate the
(addition/subtraction/multiplication/division) of two
(integers/real numbers) using one of the algorithms
for hardware operations presented in class
Requires an understanding of the representations
Course activities
Assembly Language
Translation (C++ assembly language)
Implement a C++ code fragment in assembly
language
Procedures
Implement a C++ function in assembly
language
Use activation records
Programmed I/O
Write code which manages I/O to a device
monitor, keyboard
Focus: MIPS R2000 Assembly
Language
The MIPS R2000 is an old CPU from SGI
Modern MIPS used in SGI workstations, Sony PS2
All MIPS chips use nearly the same assembly
language
MIPS assembly language is very similar to that of
the PowerPC chip, the heart of the Apple
Macintosh
Why MIPS R2000
Simple, easily learned language
Straight-forward architecture
Freely available simulator: SPIM
Why study assembly language?
Developing a more accurate model of
computation is the main goal of this
course
A software engineer who understands
how a computer works will be able to:
design more efficient code
program for devices other than PCs
Better understand hardware, OS,
libraries, network, source code, etc.
What is a model?
A model is a partial representation of a
system
incomplete
specific purpose
Multiple models for different purposes
Model of the city of Milwaukee for
MCTS bus driver
MMSD engineer
Bicyclist
Commercial airline pilot
Level of detail
Eliminating distracting detail enables focus on
aspects of interest, get higher level
perspectives
street maps for navigation do not show buildings and
topography
More detail is NOT necessarily better
A detailed schematic of a car engine would not help
the average motorist troubleshoot a sputtering
engine
A flow chart would be better
A city map that shows every alley is less useful to a
visitor than one that shows just major roads
Abstraction
Modeling is about abstraction:
building general, high-level concept pictures
Models often abstract away variation
Access to UWM computers requires authentication
The authentication abstraction filters out
mechanism
login-password, fingerprint recognition, ID
badge, etc.
Different abstractions, levels of abstraction
depending on aspects of interest, degree of
expertise
Learning is model refinement
The primary purpose of modeling is
to improve understanding
Observing differences between the
model and reality shows us gaps in our
understanding
This is how learning works, according to
educational theory
Cognitive dissonance
Learn is updating our model to better
predict reality
Novice user’s model of
computation
A computer is a machine that:
Can generate video and sound, like a TV
responds to input from a keyboard and a mouse
Unlike a TV
must be plugged into the Internet to work properly
Like a TV needs cable, or an antenna
This is a useful model for word-processing,
email, web browsing, copying CD’s, etc.
Programming requires a more detailed model
CS-201 model of computation
A computer is a
machine that executes
a C++ program, by C++ Program
Executing each line of the
program sequentially,
subject to control
structures and function
calls
Allowing the program to
receive text input from
the keyboard, or a file Computer
Allowing the program to
produce text output to
the monitor, or a file
A more complex model of computation
A computer executes
machine instructions, and
can control a variety of C++ Program
input/output devices
Compiler
language definition
settings CPU
implementation details
Operating system Operating System
resource allocation
device management Compiler
CPU
machine instructions
addressing modes
Programming Language as
Abstraction
A primitive is an elementary operation.
A primitive in a higher level of
abstraction can correspond to a set of
operations in a lower level of
abstraction. For example,
Operators of Language A: {+, -, *, /}
Operators of Language B: {+, -}
Let 5*2 be a statement in Language A.
What is its equivalent in Language B?
Monadic vs. Dyadic
For the most part, the computer
hardware is limited to executing
monadic and dyadic operations
monadic - takes a single operand,
e.g. taking the complement
dyadic - takes two operand, e.g.
adding two values
The assembly process
Ultimately, instructions written in a
higher level abstraction must be
expanded to the primitives the
hardware understands directly, the
machine language.
For example, high-level language to
assembly language using a compiler;
then from assembly language to
machine language using an assembler
Compilers vs. Assemblers
A compiler is a computer program
that translates a high-level
language, e.g. C++, into an
intermediate-level language, e.g.
assembly language.
An assembler is a computer program
that translates an assembly
language into machine language
(string of binary digits).
Computer Architecture
Defines what the computer’s
instruction do and how they are
specified
The set of instructions determine the
computer’s capability
A computer’s machine language is
determined by its manufacturer
The assembly language is also formally
defined by the manufacturer
SAL, MAL, TAL
SAL (Simple Abstract Language)
contains the notion of types similar to HLL
and is based on MAL
MAL (MIPS Assembly Language)
more abstract and easier to use than TAL.
The MIPS RISC assembler translates MAL into
TAL, then TAL into MIPS RISC machine code
TAL (True Assembly Language)
exactly corresponds with hardware operations
Computer Execution
A computer’s processor executes
instructions.
The instructions specifies how
variables are to be manipulated and
stored in memory.
A variable in the machine language
must be assigned a specific memory
location. This process of assigning a
memory location is called binding.
Example
A statement in a high-level language
(HLL)
A = B + C;
An equivalent assembly language
instruction may be
add A, B, C
The mnemonic add stands for an
operation code (opcode) and A, B, and
C are the operands
CPU and the Memory
The Central Processing Unit (CPU)
is responsible for instruction execution.
determines how the memory is to be
modified.
The Main Memory
is a collection of cells and each cell is
assigned a label
a cell can hold a value.
CPU stores a new variable value, fetches
instructions, or loads a variable value.
Instruction Types
There are three instruction types:
Arithmetic, Logical, and Control
Arithmetic and logical instructions
evaluate variables and assign new
values to variables
Control instructions test or compare
values of variables and make
decisions about what instruction is
going to be executed next.
Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle
A computer’s complete functionality
is described by this mechanism.
1. instruction fetch
2. program counter (PC) update
3. instruction decode
4. operand load
5. operation execution
6. storage of results
Example
x1 = x2 + x3;
x4 = x2 - x5;
if(x4 != x1){
x1 = x1 + x5; }
else
Next part . . .
Example
part1: add x1,x2,x3
sub x4,x2,x5
beq x4,x1,part2
add x1,x1,x5
part2:
. . .
