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1@c Copyright 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001,
2@c 2002, 2003, 2004
3@c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4@c This is part of the GAS manual.
5@c For copying conditions, see the file as.texinfo.
6@ifset GENERIC
7@page
8@node MIPS-Dependent
9@chapter MIPS Dependent Features
10@end ifset
11@ifclear GENERIC
12@node Machine Dependencies
13@chapter MIPS Dependent Features
14@end ifclear
15
16@cindex MIPS processor
17@sc{gnu} @code{@value{AS}} for @sc{mips} architectures supports several
18different @sc{mips} processors, and MIPS ISA levels I through V, MIPS32,
19and MIPS64. For information about the @sc{mips} instruction set, see
20@cite{MIPS RISC Architecture}, by Kane and Heindrich (Prentice-Hall).
21For an overview of @sc{mips} assembly conventions, see ``Appendix D:
22Assembly Language Programming'' in the same work.
23
24@menu
25* MIPS Opts:: Assembler options
26* MIPS Object:: ECOFF object code
27* MIPS Stabs:: Directives for debugging information
28* MIPS ISA:: Directives to override the ISA level
29* MIPS symbol sizes:: Directives to override the size of symbols
30* MIPS autoextend:: Directives for extending MIPS 16 bit instructions
31* MIPS insn:: Directive to mark data as an instruction
32* MIPS option stack:: Directives to save and restore options
33* MIPS ASE instruction generation overrides:: Directives to control
34 generation of MIPS ASE instructions
35@end menu
36
37@node MIPS Opts
38@section Assembler options
39
40The @sc{mips} configurations of @sc{gnu} @code{@value{AS}} support these
41special options:
42
43@table @code
44@cindex @code{-G} option (MIPS)
45@item -G @var{num}
46This option sets the largest size of an object that can be referenced
47implicitly with the @code{gp} register. It is only accepted for targets
48that use @sc{ecoff} format. The default value is 8.
49
50@cindex @code{-EB} option (MIPS)
51@cindex @code{-EL} option (MIPS)
52@cindex MIPS big-endian output
53@cindex MIPS little-endian output
54@cindex big-endian output, MIPS
55@cindex little-endian output, MIPS
56@item -EB
57@itemx -EL
58Any @sc{mips} configuration of @code{@value{AS}} can select big-endian or
59little-endian output at run time (unlike the other @sc{gnu} development
60tools, which must be configured for one or the other). Use @samp{-EB}
61to select big-endian output, and @samp{-EL} for little-endian.
62
63@cindex MIPS architecture options
64@item -mips1
65@itemx -mips2
66@itemx -mips3
67@itemx -mips4
68@itemx -mips5
69@itemx -mips32
70@itemx -mips32r2
71@itemx -mips64
72@itemx -mips64r2
73Generate code for a particular MIPS Instruction Set Architecture level.
74@samp{-mips1} corresponds to the @sc{r2000} and @sc{r3000} processors,
75@samp{-mips2} to the @sc{r6000} processor, @samp{-mips3} to the
76@sc{r4000} processor, and @samp{-mips4} to the @sc{r8000} and
77@sc{r10000} processors. @samp{-mips5}, @samp{-mips32}, @samp{-mips32r2},
78@samp{-mips64}, and @samp{-mips64r2}
79correspond to generic
80@sc{MIPS V}, @sc{MIPS32}, @sc{MIPS32 Release 2}, @sc{MIPS64},
81and @sc{MIPS64 Release 2}
82ISA processors, respectively. You can also switch
83instruction sets during the assembly; see @ref{MIPS ISA, Directives to
84override the ISA level}.
85
86@item -mgp32
87@itemx -mfp32
88Some macros have different expansions for 32-bit and 64-bit registers.
89The register sizes are normally inferred from the ISA and ABI, but these
90flags force a certain group of registers to be treated as 32 bits wide at
91all times. @samp{-mgp32} controls the size of general-purpose registers
92and @samp{-mfp32} controls the size of floating-point registers.
93
94On some MIPS variants there is a 32-bit mode flag; when this flag is
95set, 64-bit instructions generate a trap. Also, some 32-bit OSes only
96save the 32-bit registers on a context switch, so it is essential never
97to use the 64-bit registers.
98
99@item -mgp64
100Assume that 64-bit general purpose registers are available. This is
101provided in the interests of symmetry with -gp32.
102
103@item -mips16
104@itemx -no-mips16
105Generate code for the MIPS 16 processor. This is equivalent to putting
106@samp{.set mips16} at the start of the assembly file. @samp{-no-mips16}
107turns off this option.
108
109@item -msmartmips
110@itemx -mno-smartmips
111Enables the SmartMIPS extensions to the MIPS32 instruction set, which
112provides a number of new instructions which target smartcard and
113cryptographic applications. This is equivalent to putting
114@samp{.set smartmips} at the start of the assembly file.
115@samp{-mno-smartmips} turns off this option.
116
117@item -mips3d
118@itemx -no-mips3d
119Generate code for the MIPS-3D Application Specific Extension.
120This tells the assembler to accept MIPS-3D instructions.
121@samp{-no-mips3d} turns off this option.
122
123@item -mdmx
124@itemx -no-mdmx
125Generate code for the MDMX Application Specific Extension.
126This tells the assembler to accept MDMX instructions.
127@samp{-no-mdmx} turns off this option.
128
129@item -mdsp
130@itemx -mno-dsp
131Generate code for the DSP Application Specific Extension.
132This tells the assembler to accept DSP instructions.
133@samp{-mno-dsp} turns off this option.
134
135@item -mmt
136@itemx -mno-mt
137Generate code for the MT Application Specific Extension.
138This tells the assembler to accept MT instructions.
139@samp{-mno-mt} turns off this option.
140
141@item -mfix7000
142@itemx -mno-fix7000
143Cause nops to be inserted if the read of the destination register
144of an mfhi or mflo instruction occurs in the following two instructions.
145
146@item -mfix-vr4120
147@itemx -no-mfix-vr4120
148Insert nops to work around certain VR4120 errata. This option is
149intended to be used on GCC-generated code: it is not designed to catch
150all problems in hand-written assembler code.
151
152@item -mfix-vr4130
153@itemx -no-mfix-vr4130
154Insert nops to work around the VR4130 @samp{mflo}/@samp{mfhi} errata.
155
156@item -m4010
157@itemx -no-m4010
158Generate code for the LSI @sc{r4010} chip. This tells the assembler to
159accept the @sc{r4010} specific instructions (@samp{addciu}, @samp{ffc},
160etc.), and to not schedule @samp{nop} instructions around accesses to
161the @samp{HI} and @samp{LO} registers. @samp{-no-m4010} turns off this
162option.
163
164@item -m4650
165@itemx -no-m4650
166Generate code for the MIPS @sc{r4650} chip. This tells the assembler to accept
167the @samp{mad} and @samp{madu} instruction, and to not schedule @samp{nop}
168instructions around accesses to the @samp{HI} and @samp{LO} registers.
169@samp{-no-m4650} turns off this option.
170
171@itemx -m3900
172@itemx -no-m3900
173@itemx -m4100
174@itemx -no-m4100
175For each option @samp{-m@var{nnnn}}, generate code for the MIPS
176@sc{r@var{nnnn}} chip. This tells the assembler to accept instructions
177specific to that chip, and to schedule for that chip's hazards.
178
179@item -march=@var{cpu}
180Generate code for a particular MIPS cpu. It is exactly equivalent to
181@samp{-m@var{cpu}}, except that there are more value of @var{cpu}
182understood. Valid @var{cpu} value are:
183
184@quotation
1852000,
1863000,
1873900,
1884000,
1894010,
1904100,
1914111,
192vr4120,
193vr4130,
194vr4181,
1954300,
1964400,
1974600,
1984650,
1995000,
200rm5200,
201rm5230,
202rm5231,
203rm5261,
204rm5721,
205vr5400,
206vr5500,
2076000,
208rm7000,
2098000,
210rm9000,
21110000,
21212000,
213mips32-4k,
214sb1
215@end quotation
216
217@item -mtune=@var{cpu}
218Schedule and tune for a particular MIPS cpu. Valid @var{cpu} values are
219identical to @samp{-march=@var{cpu}}.
220
221@item -mabi=@var{abi}
222Record which ABI the source code uses. The recognized arguments
223are: @samp{32}, @samp{n32}, @samp{o64}, @samp{64} and @samp{eabi}.
224
225@item -msym32
226@itemx -mno-sym32
227@cindex -msym32
228@cindex -mno-sym32
229Equivalent to adding @code{.set sym32} or @code{.set nosym32} to
230the beginning of the assembler input. @xref{MIPS symbol sizes}.
231
232@cindex @code{-nocpp} ignored (MIPS)
233@item -nocpp
234This option is ignored. It is accepted for command-line compatibility with
235other assemblers, which use it to turn off C style preprocessing. With
236@sc{gnu} @code{@value{AS}}, there is no need for @samp{-nocpp}, because the
237@sc{gnu} assembler itself never runs the C preprocessor.
238
239@item --construct-floats
240@itemx --no-construct-floats
241@cindex --construct-floats
242@cindex --no-construct-floats
243The @code{--no-construct-floats} option disables the construction of
244double width floating point constants by loading the two halves of the
245value into the two single width floating point registers that make up
246the double width register. This feature is useful if the processor
247support the FR bit in its status register, and this bit is known (by
248the programmer) to be set. This bit prevents the aliasing of the double
249width register by the single width registers.
250
251By default @code{--construct-floats} is selected, allowing construction
252of these floating point constants.
253
254@item --trap
255@itemx --no-break
256@c FIXME! (1) reflect these options (next item too) in option summaries;
257@c (2) stop teasing, say _which_ instructions expanded _how_.
258@code{@value{AS}} automatically macro expands certain division and
259multiplication instructions to check for overflow and division by zero. This
260option causes @code{@value{AS}} to generate code to take a trap exception
261rather than a break exception when an error is detected. The trap instructions
262are only supported at Instruction Set Architecture level 2 and higher.
263
264@item --break
265@itemx --no-trap
266Generate code to take a break exception rather than a trap exception when an
267error is detected. This is the default.
268
269@item -mpdr
270@itemx -mno-pdr
271Control generation of @code{.pdr} sections. Off by default on IRIX, on
272elsewhere.
273
274@item -mshared
275@itemx -mno-shared
276When generating code using the Unix calling conventions (selected by
277@samp{-KPIC} or @samp{-mcall_shared}), gas will normally generate code
278which can go into a shared library. The @samp{-mno-shared} option
279tells gas to generate code which uses the calling convention, but can
280not go into a shared library. The resulting code is slightly more
281efficient. This option only affects the handling of the
282@samp{.cpload} and @samp{.cpsetup} pseudo-ops.
283@end table
284
285@node MIPS Object
286@section MIPS ECOFF object code
287
288@cindex ECOFF sections
289@cindex MIPS ECOFF sections
290Assembling for a @sc{mips} @sc{ecoff} target supports some additional sections
291besides the usual @code{.text}, @code{.data} and @code{.bss}. The
292additional sections are @code{.rdata}, used for read-only data,
293@code{.sdata}, used for small data, and @code{.sbss}, used for small
294common objects.
295
296@cindex small objects, MIPS ECOFF
297@cindex @code{gp} register, MIPS
298When assembling for @sc{ecoff}, the assembler uses the @code{$gp} (@code{$28})
299register to form the address of a ``small object''. Any object in the
300@code{.sdata} or @code{.sbss} sections is considered ``small'' in this sense.
301For external objects, or for objects in the @code{.bss} section, you can use
302the @code{@value{GCC}} @samp{-G} option to control the size of objects addressed via
303@code{$gp}; the default value is 8, meaning that a reference to any object
304eight bytes or smaller uses @code{$gp}. Passing @samp{-G 0} to
305@code{@value{AS}} prevents it from using the @code{$gp} register on the basis
306of object size (but the assembler uses @code{$gp} for objects in @code{.sdata}
307or @code{sbss} in any case). The size of an object in the @code{.bss} section
308is set by the @code{.comm} or @code{.lcomm} directive that defines it. The
309size of an external object may be set with the @code{.extern} directive. For
310example, @samp{.extern sym,4} declares that the object at @code{sym} is 4 bytes
311in length, whie leaving @code{sym} otherwise undefined.
312
313Using small @sc{ecoff} objects requires linker support, and assumes that the
314@code{$gp} register is correctly initialized (normally done automatically by
315the startup code). @sc{mips} @sc{ecoff} assembly code must not modify the
316@code{$gp} register.
317
318@node MIPS Stabs
319@section Directives for debugging information
320
321@cindex MIPS debugging directives
322@sc{mips} @sc{ecoff} @code{@value{AS}} supports several directives used for
323generating debugging information which are not support by traditional @sc{mips}
324assemblers. These are @code{.def}, @code{.endef}, @code{.dim}, @code{.file},
325@code{.scl}, @code{.size}, @code{.tag}, @code{.type}, @code{.val},
326@code{.stabd}, @code{.stabn}, and @code{.stabs}. The debugging information
327generated by the three @code{.stab} directives can only be read by @sc{gdb},
328not by traditional @sc{mips} debuggers (this enhancement is required to fully
329support C++ debugging). These directives are primarily used by compilers, not
330assembly language programmers!
331
332@node MIPS symbol sizes
333@section Directives to override the size of symbols
334
335@cindex @code{.set sym32}
336@cindex @code{.set nosym32}
337The n64 ABI allows symbols to have any 64-bit value. Although this
338provides a great deal of flexibility, it means that some macros have
339much longer expansions than their 32-bit counterparts. For example,
340the non-PIC expansion of @samp{dla $4,sym} is usually:
341
342@smallexample
343lui $4,%highest(sym)
344lui $1,%hi(sym)
345daddiu $4,$4,%higher(sym)
346daddiu $1,$1,%lo(sym)
347dsll32 $4,$4,0
348daddu $4,$4,$1
349@end smallexample
350
351whereas the 32-bit expansion is simply:
352
353@smallexample
354lui $4,%hi(sym)
355daddiu $4,$4,%lo(sym)
356@end smallexample
357
358n64 code is sometimes constructed in such a way that all symbolic
359constants are known to have 32-bit values, and in such cases, it's
360preferable to use the 32-bit expansion instead of the 64-bit
361expansion.
362
363You can use the @code{.set sym32} directive to tell the assembler
364that, from this point on, all expressions of the form
365@samp{@var{symbol}} or @samp{@var{symbol} + @var{offset}}
366have 32-bit values. For example:
367
368@smallexample
369.set sym32
370dla $4,sym
371lw $4,sym+16
372sw $4,sym+0x8000($4)
373@end smallexample
374
375will cause the assembler to treat @samp{sym}, @code{sym+16} and
376@code{sym+0x8000} as 32-bit values. The handling of non-symbolic
377addresses is not affected.
378
379The directive @code{.set nosym32} ends a @code{.set sym32} block and
380reverts to the normal behavior. It is also possible to change the
381symbol size using the command-line options @option{-msym32} and
382@option{-mno-sym32}.
383
384These options and directives are always accepted, but at present,
385they have no effect for anything other than n64.
386
387@node MIPS ISA
388@section Directives to override the ISA level
389
390@cindex MIPS ISA override
391@kindex @code{.set mips@var{n}}
392@sc{gnu} @code{@value{AS}} supports an additional directive to change
393the @sc{mips} Instruction Set Architecture level on the fly: @code{.set
394mips@var{n}}. @var{n} should be a number from 0 to 5, or 32, 32r2, 64
395or 64r2.
396The values other than 0 make the assembler accept instructions
397for the corresponding @sc{isa} level, from that point on in the
398assembly. @code{.set mips@var{n}} affects not only which instructions
399are permitted, but also how certain macros are expanded. @code{.set
400mips0} restores the @sc{isa} level to its original level: either the
401level you selected with command line options, or the default for your
402configuration. You can use this feature to permit specific @sc{r4000}
403instructions while assembling in 32 bit mode. Use this directive with
404care!
405
406The directive @samp{.set mips16} puts the assembler into MIPS 16 mode,
407in which it will assemble instructions for the MIPS 16 processor. Use
408@samp{.set nomips16} to return to normal 32 bit mode.
409
410The @samp{.set smartmips} directive enables use of the SmartMIPS
411extensions to the MIPS32 @sc{isa}; the @samp{.set nosmartmips} directive
412reverses that.
413
414Traditional @sc{mips} assemblers do not support this directive.
415
416@node MIPS autoextend
417@section Directives for extending MIPS 16 bit instructions
418
419@kindex @code{.set autoextend}
420@kindex @code{.set noautoextend}
421By default, MIPS 16 instructions are automatically extended to 32 bits
422when necessary. The directive @samp{.set noautoextend} will turn this
423off. When @samp{.set noautoextend} is in effect, any 32 bit instruction
424must be explicitly extended with the @samp{.e} modifier (e.g.,
425@samp{li.e $4,1000}). The directive @samp{.set autoextend} may be used
426to once again automatically extend instructions when necessary.
427
428This directive is only meaningful when in MIPS 16 mode. Traditional
429@sc{mips} assemblers do not support this directive.
430
431@node MIPS insn
432@section Directive to mark data as an instruction
433
434@kindex @code{.insn}
435The @code{.insn} directive tells @code{@value{AS}} that the following
436data is actually instructions. This makes a difference in MIPS 16 mode:
437when loading the address of a label which precedes instructions,
438@code{@value{AS}} automatically adds 1 to the value, so that jumping to
439the loaded address will do the right thing.
440
441@node MIPS option stack
442@section Directives to save and restore options
443
444@cindex MIPS option stack
445@kindex @code{.set push}
446@kindex @code{.set pop}
447The directives @code{.set push} and @code{.set pop} may be used to save
448and restore the current settings for all the options which are
449controlled by @code{.set}. The @code{.set push} directive saves the
450current settings on a stack. The @code{.set pop} directive pops the
451stack and restores the settings.
452
453These directives can be useful inside an macro which must change an
454option such as the ISA level or instruction reordering but does not want
455to change the state of the code which invoked the macro.
456
457Traditional @sc{mips} assemblers do not support these directives.
458
459@node MIPS ASE instruction generation overrides
460@section Directives to control generation of MIPS ASE instructions
461
462@cindex MIPS MIPS-3D instruction generation override
463@kindex @code{.set mips3d}
464@kindex @code{.set nomips3d}
465The directive @code{.set mips3d} makes the assembler accept instructions
466from the MIPS-3D Application Specific Extension from that point on
467in the assembly. The @code{.set nomips3d} directive prevents MIPS-3D
468instructions from being accepted.
469
470@cindex MIPS MDMX instruction generation override
471@kindex @code{.set mdmx}
472@kindex @code{.set nomdmx}
473The directive @code{.set mdmx} makes the assembler accept instructions
474from the MDMX Application Specific Extension from that point on
475in the assembly. The @code{.set nomdmx} directive prevents MDMX
476instructions from being accepted.
477
478@cindex MIPS DSP instruction generation override
479@kindex @code{.set dsp}
480@kindex @code{.set nodsp}
481The directive @code{.set dsp} makes the assembler accept instructions
482from the DSP Application Specific Extension from that point on
483in the assembly. The @code{.set nodsp} directive prevents DSP
484instructions from being accepted.
485
486@cindex MIPS MT instruction generation override
487@kindex @code{.set mt}
488@kindex @code{.set nomt}
489The directive @code{.set mt} makes the assembler accept instructions
490from the MT Application Specific Extension from that point on
491in the assembly. The @code{.set nomt} directive prevents MT
492instructions from being accepted.
493
494Traditional @sc{mips} assemblers do not support these directives.
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