Chapter 5: Instruction Set

Instruction set

- is a collection of commands that the processor can execute.

- define the operations a microprocessor can perform and are crucial in designing
software for embedded systems, computers, and microcontrollers.

Types of Instructions in a Microprocessor

- Data transfer functions

o These instructions move data between registers, memory, and I/O devices. (ex.
MOV, LOAD)
- Arithmetic Instructions
o Perform arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division (ex. ADD, SUB)
- Logical Instructions
o Execute bitwise operations and logical comparisons. (ex. AND, OR)
- Control Instructions
o Control the execution sequence of a program, including jump, call, and return
instructions. (ex. JMP, CALL)
- Branching Instructions
o Used for decision-making and conditional execution. (ex. JZ, JNZ)
- Stack and I/O Instructions
o Manage stack operations and input/output communication. (ex. PUSH, POP)

Instruction Set Architectures (ISA)

- The way instructions are structured in a microprocessor. Two primary types:

- CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing)
o Large instruction, complex operations, Fewer instructions, takes more clock
cycles (ex. Intel x86)
- RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing)
o Simple and limited instruction set, Faster execution (ex. ARM)

Importance of Instruction Set in Microprocessor Systems

- Determines the functionality of the processor

- Affects program execution speed and efficiency
- Helps in designing assembly language programs
- Influences the choice of microprocessor for an application

An instruction set of a microcontroller

- refers to the predefined set of commands

- crucial in programming microcontrollers
- instructions that needs to be executed
- provide direction to the microcontroller and help it execute functions
- collection of instructions that the developer uses

Difference Between Instruction Set of a Microprocessor and a Microcontroller

PURPOSE:

- MPIC (Microprocessor Instruction Set) - for general-purpose computing

- MCIC (Microcontroller Instruction Set) - Designed for specific embedded applications
Complexity:

- MPIC - has a larger and more complex instruction set

- MCIC - a simplified and optimized instruction set

Instruction Type Focus

- MPIC - focus on data processing, memory management, and arithmetic operations.

- MCIC - emphasis on I/O control, bitwise operations, and real-time processing.

Data Transfer Instructions

- MPIC - Handles large data movement

- MCIC - Focuses on moving data efficiently

Arithmetic & Logical Instructions

- MPIC - Supports advanced arithmetic operations

- MCIC - designed for basic arithmetic, bitwise logic, and control operations.

Branching & Control Instructions

- MPIC - Supports advanced control flow

- MCIC - Efficient control flow

Bit Manipulation Instructions

- MPIC - Limited bitwise operations

- MCIC - Extensive bit manipulation instructions
-

Peripheral Control Instructions

- MPIC - Requires external interfacing for I/O operations

- MCIC - Includes direct I/O operations

Memory Access

- MPIC - Uses external memory for program

- MCIC - Has onboard memory

Execution Efficiency

- MPIC - More powerful but requires multiple clock cycles

- MCIC - Optimized for single-cycle execution in RISC-based architectures.

ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE

- low-level programming language with symbolic representation

- specific to a particular microprocessor architecture
- uses mnemonics

Structure of Assembly Language

- Opcode (Operation Code) - Specifies the operation to be performed

- Operands - Specifies the data or memory location involved in the operation.
- Addressing Modes - Defines how the operands are accessed

Advantages of Assembly Language

- programs interface with OS, processor, and BIOS;

- data is represented in memory and other external devices;
 - the processor accesses and executes instruction;
- instructions access and process data
- a program accesses external devices.

Applications of Assembly Language

- Embedded Systems – Microcontrollers

- Operating Systems and Device Drivers - Kernel development
- Performance-Critical Applications - Real-time systems
- Reverse Engineering and Security - Malware analysis

Assembler

- is a software tool that translates assembly language into machine code

Assembly Language Structure

- The data Section – is used for declaring initialized data or constants.

- The bss Section - is used for declaring variables.
- The text section - is used for keeping the actual code

Syntax of Assembly Language Statements

The fields in the square brackets are optional

Basic instruction has two parts - the name of the instruction (mnemonic), the operands or the
parameters of the command.

Machine Code

– also known as machine language or native code, is the elemental language

of computers.
- also known as machine language or native code, is the elemental language

of computers.
- consists of binary instructions

- is specific to the architecture of the microprocessor

Structure of Machine Code (same lang din sa assembly)

- Opcode (Operation Code) - Specifies the operation to be performed

- Operands - Identify the data or memory locations involved in the operation.
- Addressing Modes – Define how the operands are accessed

Role in Microprocessor Systems

- Direct Execution - The microprocessor fetches, decodes, and executes machine code
instructions from memory.
- Efficiency - Programs in machine code execute faster than interpreted or high-level
code.
- Microcontroller Applications - Embedded systems use machine code for precise control
in automation, robotics, and communication devices.
Challenges of Machine Code Programming

- Hard to read and write.

- Machine code is not portable across different microprocessors
- Difficult debugging or finding and fixing errors in machine code is complex.

Addressing Modes

- define how an operand (data) is accessed in a microprocessor system.

Addressing modes supported by the 8086 processor

- Register Addressing - the operand is placed in one of the CPU registers

- Immediate Addressing - the operand is a constant value or immediate data that is part
of the instruction itself.
- Direct Addressing - the operand's address (memory address) is directly specified in the
instruction
- Indirect Addressing - the address of the operand is stored in a register or memory
location, and the data is at that address.
- Indirect Addressing - the effective address of the operand is determined by adding a
constant offset (displacement) to a base register.
- Indexed Addressing - effective address is calculated using an index register plus an
optional displacement.
- Base-plus-index addressing - the effective address is calculated by adding a base
register and an index register
o Base Register (BX or BP) - Holds the starting address of a structure
o Index Register (SI or DI) - Provides an additional offset
o Displacement (Immediate Value) - A fixed constant added to fine-tune the
address

ACTIVITY
• What is an instruction set in a microprocessor?
Answer: A collection of commands that a microprocessor can execute.
• What is the primary function of logical instructions in a microprocessor?
Answer: To perform operations like AND, OR, and XOR.
• Which type of instruction is used to move data from one register to another?
Answer: Data transfer.
• What does the JMP instruction do in an instruction set?
Answer: Moves to a memory location to continue execution.
• Which of the following is NOT a type of microprocessor instruction?
Answer: Peripheral.
• Which instruction is commonly used to call a subroutine in a microprocessor?
Answer: CALL.
• What is the purpose of the RET instruction in a microprocessor?
Answer: It returns from a subroutine to the main program.
• Which of the following addressing modes is typically used when an instruction directly
specifies the operand value?
Answer: Immediate.
• What happens when an instruction like PUSH is executed in a stack-based microprocessor?
Answer: The stack pointer moves to the next lower address.
• Which of the following instructions is used to perform bitwise rotation in a microprocessor?
Answer: ROL.
• What is the primary difference between JMP and CALL instructions in a microprocessor?
Answer: CALL saves the return address, while JMP does not.
• Which of the following conditions will be affected by the execution of a CMP instruction?
Answer: The processor flags such as Zero and Carry Flag.
• What is the primary purpose of an instruction that performs AND operations at the bitwise
level?
Answer: To test specific bits in a register or memory.
• When an instruction uses indirect addressing mode, where is the actual operand stored?
Answer: In the memory location pointed to by a register.
• What is the function of the HLT instruction in a microprocessor?
Answer: It stops execution until a hardware interrupt occurs.
• What happens when an assembly language program is assembled?
Answer: The program is converted into machine code that the processor can execute.
• How does an assembler handle labels in an assembly language program?
Answer: It translates labels into memory addresses during the assembly process.
• In machine code, why are instructions typically stored as hexadecimal values instead of binary?
Answer: Hexadecimal is easier for humans to read and write.
• What is the purpose of an assembler directive in assembly language?
Answer: To provide instructions for how the assembler should process the code.
• Which of the following is a valid reason to use assembly language instead of a high-level
language?
Answer: To improve execution speed and hardware efficiency.

Immediate Addressing Mode - Stores a value directly in the instruction itself.

PUSH Instruction - Stores a value in the stack.

POP Instruction - Retrieves the last value pushed onto the stack.

CALL Instruction - Transfers control to a subroutine and saves the return address.

HLT Instruction - Stops execution until an external interrupt occurs.

CMP Instruction - Updates flags but does not change operand values.

XOR AX, AX - Clears the register by setting it to zero.

JMP Instruction- Directly changes the instruction pointer to a new location.

Indirect Addressing Mode - Uses a memory address stored in a register to access data.

AND Instruction - Performs a bitwise operation to clear specific bits.

CHAPTER 6: I/O INTERFACING
I/O Interfacing

- method by which a microprocessor communicates

- allows data exchange between the CPU and peripherals like sensors

Interface Design Considerations

- Speed of communication
- Voltage compatibility
- Handshaking
- Buffering and timing

Isolated and Memory-Mapped I/O

- Isolated I/O - also known as Port-Mapped I/O (PMIO), is a method used in

microprocessor systems to manage communication between the CPU and external I/O
devices like keyboards, displays, or sensors.
- Memory-Mapped I/O - or MMIO, is another method for connecting input/output (I/O)
devices to a microprocessor system, where I/O devices share the same address space as
memory.

Basic Input and Output Interfaces

- The basic input device is a set of three-state buffers. The basic output device is a set of
data latches

The Basic Input Interface

- Three-state buffers are used to construct the 8-bit input port

The Basic Output Interface

- The basic output interface receives data from the microprocessor and usually must hold
it for some external device
- Latches are needed to hold the data

Input Devices

- Input devices are already TTL and compatible, and therefore can be connected

Output Devices

- Output devices are far more diverse than input devices, but many are interfaced in a
uniform manner.

I/O Port Addressing Decoding

Addressing Decoding - is the process of determining which device (memory or I/O) should
respond to a specific address placed on the address bus by the CPU

- is the process where many devices (RAM, ROM, I/O ports) are connected to the same
address, data, and control buses.
- The process that makes the memory function at a unique section or partition of the
memory map.

Decoding 8-Bit I/O Port Addresses

- In Isolated I/O, an I/O device is assigned a port number, which is an address separate
from the memory space. If using 8-bit I/O addressing, this means:
o The CPU can access 2⁸ = 256 unique I/O port addresses.
o Each I/O port is identified by an 8-bit number: 00H to FFH.
- These are decoded by a decoder circuit to determine which I/O device should respond
to a given address.

ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL (ADC) AND DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG (DAC) CONVERTERS

The DAC0830 Digital-to-Analog Converter

- A fairly common and low-cost digital-to-analog converter

- This device is an 8-bit converter that transforms an 8-bit binary number into an analog
voltage.

The ADC080X Analog-to-Digital Converter

- A common, low-cost ADC

- belongs to a family of converters that are all identical, except for accuracy

Handshaking

- used to manage communication between devices, ensuring that data is transferred

accurately and reliably
- used to control the flow of data
- an I/O control approach to synchronize I/O devices
- helps in:
o Avoiding data loss or corruption.
o Synchronizing data transfer.
o Managing timing differences between devices

Common Handshaking Signals

- READY - Indicates that the peripheral is ready to communicate.

- WAIT - Tells the microprocessor to pause until the peripheral is ready.
- STROBE - Signals that valid data is on the bus
- ACK - Acknowledges that data has been received.

Application Areas

- Serial communication
- Parallel ports
- DMA
- Interfacing ADCs/DACs or memory devices.
Chapter 6: I/O Interfacing - Questions and
Answers
- What is I/O interfacing in a microprocessor system?
Answer: I/O interfacing is the method by which a microprocessor communicates and
exchanges data with peripherals such as sensors, keyboards, or displays.
- What is one key consideration in interface design for I/O communication?
Answer: Speed of communication.
- What is Isolated I/O also known as?
Answer: Port-Mapped I/O (PMIO).
- How does Isolated I/O manage communication in a microprocessor system?
Answer: It manages communication between the CPU and external I/O devices by
assigning each device a unique port address separate from the memory space.
- What is a characteristic of Memory-Mapped I/O?
Answer: I/O devices share the same address space as memory.
- What is the role of three-state buffers in a basic input interface?
Answer: Three-state buffers are used to construct an 8-bit input port, allowing data to be
read from input devices.
- What is the function of latches in a basic output interface?
Answer: Latches hold data received from the microprocessor for an external device.
- Why are input devices typically easy to interface with a microprocessor?
Answer: Input devices are already TTL-compatible and can be connected directly.
- How are output devices generally interfaced with a microprocessor?
Answer: Output devices are interfaced in a uniform manner despite their diversity.
- What is addressing decoding in a microprocessor system?
Answer: Addressing decoding is the process of determining which device (memory or
I/O) should respond to a specific address placed on the address bus by the CPU.
- What does addressing decoding enable in a system with multiple devices?
Answer: It allows many devices (RAM, ROM, I/O ports) to be connected to the same
address, data, and control buses.
- How many unique I/O port addresses can a CPU access with 8-bit I/O addressing?
Answer: 256 unique I/O port addresses.
- What range of addresses is used for 8-bit I/O ports?
Answer: 00H to FFH.
- What is the role of a decoder circuit in 8-bit I/O port addressing?
Answer: The decoder circuit determines which I/O device should respond to a given port
address.
- What is the DAC0830?
Answer: The DAC0830 is a common, low-cost 8-bit digital-to-analog converter that
transforms an 8-bit binary number into an analog voltage.
- What is a key feature of the ADC080X analog-to-digital converter?
Answer: It is a common, low-cost ADC that belongs to a family of converters identical
except for accuracy.
- What is the purpose of handshaking in I/O interfacing?
Answer: Handshaking manages communication between devices to ensure accurate and
reliable data transfer.
- What is one benefit of handshaking in data transfer?
Answer: It avoids data loss or corruption.
- Which handshaking signal indicates that a peripheral is ready to communicate?
Answer: READY.
- In which application area is handshaking commonly used?
Answer: Serial communication.
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