GNU ARM Assembler Quick Reference

A summary of useful commands and expressions for the ARM architecture using the GNU assembler is presented briefly in the concluding portion of this Appendix. Each assembly line has the following format: [:] [} @ comment

Unlike the ARM assembler, using the GNU assembler does not require you to indent instructions and directives. Labels are recognized by the following colon instead of their position at the start of a line. An example follows showing a simple assembly program defining a function ‘add’ that returns the sum of two input arguments:

.section .text, “x”

.global add @ give the symbol add external linkage

add: ADD r0, r0, r1 @ add input arguments MOV pc, lr @ return from subroutine

@ end of program

GNU Assembler Directives for ARM

The follow is an alphabetical listing of the more command GNU assembler directives.

GNU Assembler Directive Description .ascii “” Inserts the string as data into the assembly (like DCB in

armasm).

.asciz “” Like .ascii, but follows the string with a zero byte. .balign Aligns the address to bytes. The assembler {, aligns by adding bytes of value or a suitable default. {,} } The alignment will not occur if more than fill

bytes are required (similar to ALIGN in armasm).

.byte {,} … Inserts a list of byte values as data into the assembly (like DCB

in armasm).

.code Sets the instruction width in bits. Use 16 for Thumb and 32 for

ARM assembly (similar to CODE16 and CODE32 in armasm).

.else Use with .if and .endif (similar to ELSE in armasm). .end Marks the end of the assembly file (usually omitted). .endif Ends a conditional compilation code block – see .if, .ifdef, .ifndef

(similar to ENDIF in armasm).

.endm Ends a macro definition – see .macro (similar to MEND in

armasm).

.endr Ends a repeat loop – see .rept and .irp (similar to WEND in

armasm).

.equ , This directive sets the value of a symbol (similar to EQU in

armasm)

.err Causes assembly to halt with an error. .exitm Exit a macro partway through – see .macro (similar to MEXIT in

armasm)

.global This directive gives the symbol external linkage (similar to

EXPORT in armasm).

.hword {,} Inserts a list of 16-bit values as data into the assembly (similar to … DCW in armasm).

GNU Assembler Directive

.if .ifdef .ifndef .include “” .irp {,} {,} …

.macro {} … {,}

.rept .req

.section {,””}

.set ,

.space {,}

.word {,} … Description

Makes a block of code conditional. End the block using .endif (similar to IF in armasm). See also .else.

Include a block of code if is defined. End the block with .endif.

Include a block of code if is not defined. End the block with .endif.

Includes the indicated source file (similar to INCLUDE in armasm or #include in C).

Repeats a block of code, once for each value in the value list. Mark the end of the block using a .endr directive. In the

repeated code block, use \\ to substitute the associated value in the value list.

Defines an assembler macro called with N parameters. The macro definition must end with .endm. To escape from the macro at an earlier point, use .exitm. These directives are similar to MACRO, MEND, and MEXIT in armasm. You must precede the dummy macro parameters by \\. For example:

.macro SHIFTLEFT a, b .if \\b < 0

MOV \\a, \\a, ASR #-\\b .exitm .endif

MOV \\a, \\a, LSL #\\b .endm

Repeats a block of code the given number of times. End with .endr.

This directive names a register. It is similar to the RN directive in armasm except that you must supply a name rather than a number on the right (e.g., acc .req r0).

Starts a new code or data section. Sections in GNU are called .text, a code section, .data, an initialized data section, and .bss, an uninitialized data section. These sections have default flags, and the linker understands the default names (similar directive to the armasm directive AREA). The following are allowable .section flags for ELF format files:

Meaning

a allowable section w writable section x executable section

This directive sets the value of a variable. It is similar to SETA in armasm.

Reserves the given number of bytes. The bytes are filled with zero or if specified (similar to SPACE in armasm). Inserts a list of 32-bit word values as data into the assembly (similar to DCD in armasm).

Assembler Special Characters / Syntax Inline comment char: ‘@’ Line comment char: ‘#’ Statement separator: ‘;’ Immediate operand prefix: ‘#’ or ‘$’

Register Names

General registers: %r0 - %r15 ($0 = const 0) FP registers: %f0 - %f7 Non-saved (temp) regs: %r0 - %r3, %r12 Saved registers: %r4 - %r10 Stack ptr register: %sp Frame ptr register: %fp Link (retn) register: %lr Program counter: %ip Status register: $psw Status register flags: xPSR (x = C current) xPSR_all (x = S saved ) xPSR_f xPSR_x xPSR_ctl xPSR_fs xPSR_fx xPSR_fc xPSR_cs xPSR_cf xPSR_cx .. and so on

Arm Procedure Call Standard (APCS) Conventions Argument registers: %a0 - %a4 (aliased to %r0 - %r4) Returned value regs: %v1 - %v6 (aliased to %r4 - %r9)

Addressing Modes

‘rn’ in the following refers to any of the numbered registers, but not the control registers. addr Absolute addressing mode %rn Register direct [%rn] Register indirect or indexed [%rn,#n] Register based with offset #imm Immediate data

Machine Dependent Directives .arm Assemble using arm mode .thumb Assemble using thumb mode .code16 Assemble using thumb mode .code32 Assemble using arm mode .force_thumb Force thumb mode (even if not supported) .thumb_func Mark entry point as thumb coded (force bx entry) .ltorg Start a new literal pool

Opcodes

For detailed information on the machine instruction set, see this manual:

ARM Architecture Reference Manual, Addison-Wesley ISBN 0-201-73719-1

Here is a recommended book to get a lot of system developer information on the ARM architecture.

ARM System Developer’s Guide, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers ISBN 1-55860-874-5 (alk.paper), authors: Andrew N. Sloss, Dominic Symes, Chris Wright, 2004