Basic Machine Level

Principle of Computer Systems

1
Today: Basic machine overview
 History of Intel processors and architectures
 Assembly Basics: Registers, operands, move
 Arithmetic & logical operations
 C, assembly, machine code

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Intel x86 Processors
 Dominate laptop/desktop/server market

 Evolutionary design
▪ Backwards compatible up until 8086, introduced in 1978
▪ Added more features as time goes on
▪ Now 3 volumes, about 5,000 pages of documentation
 Complex instruction set computer (CISC)
▪ Many different instructions with many different formats
▪ But, only small subset encountered with Linux programs
▪ Hard to match performance of Reduced Instruction Set Computers
(RISC)
▪ But, Intel has done just that!
▪ In terms of speed. Less so for low power.

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Intel x86 Evolution: Milestones
Name Date Transistors MHz
 8086 1978 29K 5-10
▪ First 16-bit Intel processor. Basis for IBM PC & DOS
▪ 1MB address space
 386 1985 275K 16-33
▪ First 32 bit Intel processor , referred to as IA32
▪ Added “flat addressing”, capable of running Unix
 Pentium 4E 2004 125M 2800-3800
▪ First 64-bit Intel x86 processor, referred to as x86-64
 Core 2 2006 291M 1060-3333
▪ First multi-core Intel processor
 Core i7 2008 731M 1600-4400
▪ Four cores (our shark machines)
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Intel x86 Processors, cont.
 Machine Evolution
▪ 386 1985 0.3M
▪ Pentium 1993 3.1M
▪ Pentium/MMX 1997 4.5M
▪ PentiumPro 1995 6.5M
▪ Pentium III 1999 8.2M
▪ Pentium 4 2000 42M
▪ Core 2 Duo 2006 291M
▪ Core i7 2008 731M
▪ Core i7 Skylake 2015 1.9B
 Added Features
▪ Instructions to support multimedia operations
▪ Instructions to enable more efficient conditional operations
▪ Transition from 32 bits to 64 bits
▪ More cores
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 Intel x86 Processors, cont.
 Past Generations Process technology
▪ 1st Pentium Pro 1995 600 nm
▪ 1st Pentium III 1999 250 nm
▪ 1st Pentium 4 2000 180 nm
▪ 1st Core 2 Duo 2006 65 nm
Process technology dimension
 Recent & Upcoming Generations
= width of narrowest wires
1. Nehalem 2008 45 nm
(10 nm ≈ 100 atoms wide)
2. Sandy Bridge 2011 32 nm
3. Ivy Bridge 2012 22 nm
(But this is changing now.)
4. Haswell 2013 22 nm
5. Broadwell 2014 14 nm
6. Skylake 2015 14 nm
7. Kaby Lake 2016 14 nm
8. Coffee Lake 2017 14 nm
9. Cannon Lake 2018 10 nm
10. Ice Lake 2019 10 nm
11. Tiger Lake 2020 10 nm
12. Alder Lake 2022 “intel 7” (10nm+++)

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 2018 State of the Art: Coffee Lake

 Mobile Model: Core i7  Server Model: Xeon E

▪ 2.2-3.2 GHz ▪ Integrated graphics
▪ 45 W  Desktop Model: Core i7 ▪ Multi-socket enabled
▪ Integrated graphics ▪ 3.3-3.8 GHz
▪ 2.4-4.0 GHz ▪ 80-95 W
▪ 35-95 W
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x86 Clones: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
 Historically
▪ AMD has followed just behind Intel
▪ A little bit slower, a lot cheaper
 Then
▪ Recruited top circuit designers from Digital Equipment Corp. and
other downward trending companies
▪ Built Opteron: tough competitor to Pentium 4
▪ Developed x86-64, their own extension to 64 bits
 Recent Years
▪ Intel got its act together
▪ 1995-2011: Lead semiconductor “fab” in world
▪ 2018: #2 largest by $$ (#1 is Samsung)
▪ 2019: reclaimed #1
▪ AMD fell behind: Spun off GlobalFoundaries
▪ 2019-20: Pulled ahead! Used TSMC for part of fab
▪ 2022: Intel re-took the lead
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Intel’s 64-Bit History
 2001: Intel Attempts Radical Shift from IA32 to IA64
▪ Totally different architecture (Itanium)
▪ Executes IA32 code only as legacy
▪ Performance disappointing
 2003: AMD Steps in with Evolutionary Solution
▪ x86-64 (now called “AMD64”)
 Intel Felt Obligated to Focus on IA64
▪ Hard to admit mistake or that AMD is better
 2004: Intel Announces EM64T extension to IA32
▪ Extended Memory 64-bit Technology
▪ Almost identical to x86-64!
 All but low-end x86 processors support x86-64
▪ But, lots of code still runs in 32-bit mode
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Our Coverage
 IA32
▪ The traditional x86
▪ For 15/18-213: RIP, Summer 2015

 x86-64
▪ The standard
▪ shark> gcc hello.c
▪ shark> gcc –m64 hello.c

 Presentation
▪ Book covers x86-64
▪ Web aside on IA32
▪ We will only cover x86-64
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Today: Basic machine overview
 History of Intel processors and architectures
 Assembly Basics: Registers, operands, move
 Arithmetic & logical operations
 C, assembly, machine code

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Levels of Abstraction
#include <stdio.h>
int main(){
int i, n = 10, t1 = 0, t2 = 1, nxt;
C programmer for (i = 1; i <= n; ++i){
printf("%d, ", t1);
nxt = t1 + t2;
t1 = t2;
t2 = nxt; }
return 0; }

Assembly programmer

Computer Designer
Gates, clocks, circuit layout, …

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Definitions
 Architecture: (also ISA: instruction set architecture) The
parts of a processor design that one needs to understand
for writing assembly/machine code.
▪ Examples: instruction set specification, registers
 Microarchitecture: Implementation of the architecture
▪ Examples: cache sizes and core frequency
 Code Forms:
▪ Machine Code: The byte-level programs that a processor executes
▪ Assembly Code: A text representation of machine code
 Example ISAs:
▪ Intel: x86, IA32, Itanium, x86-64
▪ ARM: Used in almost all mobile phones
▪ RISC V: New open-source ISA
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Assembly/Machine Code View
CPU Memory
Addresses
Registers
Data Code
PC Data
Condition Instructions Stack
Codes

Programmer-Visible State
▪ PC: Program counter ▪ Memory
▪ Byte addressable array
▪ Address of next instruction
▪ Code and user data
▪ Called “RIP” (x86-64)
▪ Stack to support procedures
▪ Register file
▪ Heavily used program data
▪ Condition codes
▪ Store status information about most
recent arithmetic or logical operation
▪ Used for conditional branching 14
Assembly: Data Types
 “Integer” data of 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes
▪ Data values
▪ Addresses (untyped pointers)

 Floating point data of 4, 8, or 10 bytes

 (SIMD vector data types of 8, 16, 32 or 64 bytes)

 Code: Byte sequences encoding series of instructions

 No aggregate types such as arrays or structures

▪ Just contiguously allocated bytes in memory

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 Register names

addq
add %rbx, %rax

is

rax += rbx

These are 64-bit registers, so we

know this is a 64-bit add

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x86-64 Integer Registers
%rax %eax %r8 %r8d

%rbx %ebx %r9 %r9d

%rcx %ecx %r10 %r10d

%rdx %edx %r11 %r11d

%rsi %esi %r12 %r12d

%rdi %edi %r13 %r13d

%rsp %esp %r14 %r14d

%rbp %ebp %r15 %r15d

▪ Can reference low-order 4 bytes (also low-order 1 & 2 bytes)

▪ Not part of memory (or cache)
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Some History: IA32 Registers Origin
(mostly obsolete)

%eax %ax %ah %al accumulate

%ecx %cx %ch %cl counter

general purpose

%edx %dx %dh %dl data

%ebx %bx %bh %bl base

source
%esi %si index

destination
%edi %di index
stack
%esp %sp
pointer
base
%ebp %bp
pointer

16-bit virtual registers

(backwards compatibility) 18
Assembly: Operations
 Transfer data between memory and register
▪ Load data from memory into register
▪ Store register data into memory

 Perform arithmetic function on register or memory data

 Transfer control
▪ Unconditional jumps to/from procedures
▪ Conditional branches
▪ Indirect branches

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Most x64 instructions are two-operand:

movq src, dst

move ”quad-word” (64 bits) from src to dst
Ex: movq %rax, %rcx moves the value from register rax to
rcx

addq src, dst

Implements dst += src

subq src, dst

Implements dst -= src

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Moving Data %rax
 Moving Data %rcx
movq Source, Dest %rdx
 Operand Types %rbx
▪ Immediate: Constant integer data %rsi
▪Example: $0x400, $-533 %rdi
▪ Like C constant, but prefixed with ‘$’
%rsp
▪ Encoded with 1, 2, or 4 bytes
▪ Register: One of 16 integer registers
%rbp
▪ Example: %rax, %r13
%rN
▪ But %rsp reserved for special use
▪ Others have special uses for particular instructions
▪ Memory: 8 consecutive bytes of memory at address given by register
▪ Simplest example: (%rax)
Warning: Intel docs use
▪ Various other “addressing modes”
mov Dest, Source
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movq Operand Combinations

Source Dest Src,Dest C Analog

Reg movq $0x4,%rax temp = 0x4;

Imm
Mem movq $-147,(%rax) *p = -147;

movq Reg movq %rax,%rdx temp2 = temp1;

Reg
Mem movq %rax,(%rdx) *p = temp;

Mem Reg movq (%rax),%rdx temp = *p;

Cannot do memory-memory transfer with a single instruction

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Simple Memory Addressing Modes
 Normal (R) Mem[Reg[R]]
▪ Register R specifies memory address
▪ Aha! Pointer dereferencing in C

movq (%rcx),%rax

 Displacement D(R) Mem[Reg[R]+D]

▪ Register R specifies start of memory region
▪ Constant displacement D specifies offset

movq 8(%rbp),%rdx

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 Example of Simple Addressing Modes
void
whatAmI(<type> a, <type> b)
{
????
whatAmI:
}
movq (%rdi), %rax
movq (%rsi), %rdx
movq %rdx, (%rdi)
movq %rax, (%rsi)
ret

%rsi
%rdi

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 Example of Simple Addressing Modes

void swap
(long *xp, long *yp)
{ swap:
long t0 = *xp; movq (%rdi), %rax
long t1 = *yp; movq (%rsi), %rdx
*xp = t1; movq %rdx, (%rdi)
*yp = t0; movq %rax, (%rsi)
} ret

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 Understanding Swap()
Memory
void swap Registers
(long *xp, long *yp)
{ %rdi
long t0 = *xp;
%rsi
long t1 = *yp;
*xp = t1; %rax
*yp = t0;
} %rdx

Register Value
%rdi xp
%rsi yp swap:
%rax t0 movq (%rdi), %rax # t0 = *xp
%rdx t1 movq (%rsi), %rdx # t1 = *yp
movq %rdx, (%rdi) # *xp = t1
movq %rax, (%rsi) # *yp = t0
ret
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Understanding Swap()
Memory
Registers Address
123 0x120
%rdi 0x120
0x118
%rsi 0x100
0x110
%rax 0x108
%rdx 456 0x100

swap:
movq (%rdi), %rax # t0 = *xp
movq (%rsi), %rdx # t1 = *yp
movq %rdx, (%rdi) # *xp = t1
movq %rax, (%rsi) # *yp = t0
ret

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Understanding Swap()
Memory
Registers Address
123 0x120
%rdi 0x120
0x118
%rsi 0x100
0x110
%rax 123 0x108
%rdx 456 0x100

swap:
movq (%rdi), %rax # t0 = *xp
movq (%rsi), %rdx # t1 = *yp
movq %rdx, (%rdi) # *xp = t1
movq %rax, (%rsi) # *yp = t0
ret

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Understanding Swap()
Memory
Registers Address
123 0x120
%rdi 0x120
0x118
%rsi 0x100
0x110
%rax 123 0x108
%rdx 456 456 0x100

swap:
movq (%rdi), %rax # t0 = *xp
movq (%rsi), %rdx # t1 = *yp
movq %rdx, (%rdi) # *xp = t1
movq %rax, (%rsi) # *yp = t0
ret

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Understanding Swap()
Memory
Registers Address
456 0x120
%rdi 0x120
0x118
%rsi 0x100
0x110
%rax 123 0x108
%rdx 456 456 0x100

swap:
movq (%rdi), %rax # t0 = *xp
movq (%rsi), %rdx # t1 = *yp
movq %rdx, (%rdi) # *xp = t1
movq %rax, (%rsi) # *yp = t0
ret

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Understanding Swap()
Memory
Registers Address
456 0x120
%rdi 0x120
0x118
%rsi 0x100
0x110
%rax 123 0x108
%rdx 456 123 0x100

swap:
movq (%rdi), %rax # t0 = *xp
movq (%rsi), %rdx # t1 = *yp
movq %rdx, (%rdi) # *xp = t1
movq %rax, (%rsi) # *yp = t0
ret

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Simple Memory Addressing Modes
 Normal (R) Mem[Reg[R]]
▪ Register R specifies memory address
▪ Aha! Pointer dereferencing in C

movq (%rcx),%rax

 Displacement D(R) Mem[Reg[R]+D]

▪ Register R specifies start of memory region
▪ Constant displacement D specifies offset

movq 8(%rbp),%rdx

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Complete Memory Addressing Modes
 Most General Form
D(Rb,Ri,S) Mem[Reg[Rb]+S*Reg[Ri]+ D]
▪ D: Constant “displacement” 1, 2, or 4 bytes
▪ Rb: Base register: Any of 16 integer registers
▪ Ri: Index register: Any, except for %rsp
▪ S: Scale: 1, 2, 4, or 8 (why these numbers?)

 Special Cases
(Rb,Ri) Mem[Reg[Rb]+Reg[Ri]]
D(Rb,Ri) Mem[Reg[Rb]+Reg[Ri]+D]
(Rb,Ri,S) Mem[Reg[Rb]+S*Reg[Ri]]

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Address Computation Examples
%rdx 0xf000
%rcx 0x0100

Expression Address Computation Address

0x8(%rdx) 0xf000 + 0x8 0xf008
(%rdx,%rcx) 0xf000 + 0x100 0xf100
(%rdx,%rcx,4) 0xf000 + 4*0x100 0xf400
0x80(,%rdx,2) 2*0xf000 + 0x80 0x1e080

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Address Computation Examples
%rdx 0xf000
%rcx 0x0100

Expression Address Computation Address

0x8(%rdx) 0xf000 + 0x8 0xf008
(%rdx,%rcx) 0xf000 + 0x100 0xf100
(%rdx,%rcx,4) 0xf000 + 4*0x100 0xf400
0x80(,%rdx,2) 2*0xf000 + 0x80 0x1e080

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Today: Basic machine overview
 History of Intel processors and architectures
 Assembly Basics: Registers, operands, move
 Arithmetic & logical operations
 C, assembly, machine code

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Address Computation Instruction
 leaq Src, Dst
▪ Src is address mode expression
▪ Set Dst to address denoted by expression

 Uses
▪ Computing addresses without a memory reference
▪E.g., translation of p = &x[i];
▪ Computing arithmetic expressions of the form x + k*y
▪ k = 1, 2, 4, or 8

 Example
long m12(long x)
{ Converted to ASM by compiler:
return x*12; leaq (%rdi,%rdi,2), %rax # t = x+2*x
} salq $2, %rax # return t<<2

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Some Arithmetic Operations
 Two Operand Instructions:
Format Computation
addq Src,Dest Dest = Dest + Src
subq Src,Dest Dest = Dest − Src
imulq Src,Dest Dest = Dest * Src
salq Src,Dest Dest = Dest << Src Also called shlq
sarq Src,Dest Dest = Dest >> Src Arithmetic
shrq Src,Dest Dest = Dest >> Src Logical
xorq Src,Dest Dest = Dest ^ Src
andq Src,Dest Dest = Dest & Src
orq Src,Dest Dest = Dest | Src
 Watch out for argument order! Src,Dest
(Warning: Intel docs use “op Dest,Src”)
 No distinction between signed and unsigned int (why?)
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Some Arithmetic Operations
 One Operand Instructions
incq Dest Dest = Dest + 1
decq Dest Dest = Dest − 1
negq Dest Dest = − Dest
notq Dest Dest = ~Dest

 See book for more instructions

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 Arithmetic Expression Example
arith:
leaq (%rdi,%rsi), %rax
long arith addq %rdx, %rax
(long x, long y, long z) leaq (%rsi,%rsi,2), %rdx
{ salq $4, %rdx
long t1 = x+y; leaq 4(%rdi,%rdx), %rcx
long t2 = z+t1; imulq %rcx, %rax
long t3 = x+4; ret
long t4 = y * 48;
long t5 = t3 + t4; Interesting Instructions
long rval = t2 * t5; ▪ leaq: address computation
return rval; ▪ salq: shift
}
▪ imulq: multiplication
▪ But, only used once

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 Understanding Arithmetic Expression
Example arith:
leaq (%rdi,%rsi), %rax # t1
long arith addq %rdx, %rax # t2
(long x, long y, long z) leaq (%rsi,%rsi,2), %rdx
{ salq $4, %rdx # t4
long t1 = x+y; leaq 4(%rdi,%rdx), %rcx # t5
long t2 = z+t1; imulq %rcx, %rax # rval
long t3 = x+4; ret
long t4 = y * 48;
long t5 = t3 + t4; Register Use(s)
long rval = t2 * t5;
return rval; %rdi Argument x
} %rsi Argument y
%rdx Argument z,
t4
%rax t1, t2, rval
%rcx t5

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Today: Machine Programming I: Basics
 History of Intel processors and architectures
 Assembly Basics: Registers, operands, move
 Arithmetic & logical operations
 C, assembly, machine code

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Turning C into Object Code
▪ Code in files p1.c p2.c
▪ Compile with command: gcc –Og p1.c p2.c -o p
▪ Use debugging-friendly optimizations (-Og)
▪ Put resulting binary in file p

text C program (p1.c p2.c)

Compiler (gcc –Og -S)

text Asm program (p1.s p2.s)

Assembler (gcc –c or as)

binary Object program (p1.o p2.o) Static libraries

(.a)
Linker (gcc or ld)

binary Executable program (p)

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 Compiling Into Assembly
C Code (sum.c) Generated x86-64 Assembly
long plus(long x, long y); sumstore:
pushq %rbx
void sumstore(long x, long y, movq %rdx, %rbx
long *dest) call plus
{ movq %rax, (%rbx)
long t = plus(x, y); popq %rbx
*dest = t; ret
}
Obtain (on shark machine) with command
gcc –Og –S sum.c
Produces file sum.s
Warning: Will get very different results on non-Shark
machines (Andrew Linux, Mac OS-X, …) due to different
versions of gcc and different compiler settings.
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What it really looks like
.globl sumstore
.type sumstore, @function
sumstore:
.LFB35:
.cfi_startproc
pushq %rbx
.cfi_def_cfa_offset 16
.cfi_offset 3, -16
movq %rdx, %rbx
call plus
movq %rax, (%rbx)
popq %rbx
.cfi_def_cfa_offset 8
ret
.cfi_endproc
.LFE35:
.size sumstore, .-sumstore

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What it really looks like
.globl sumstore
Things that look weird
.type sumstore, @function and are preceded by a ‘.’
sumstore: are generally directives.
.LFB35:
.cfi_startproc
pushq %rbx
.cfi_def_cfa_offset 16 sumstore:
.cfi_offset 3, -16 pushq %rbx
movq %rdx, %rbx
movq %rdx, %rbx
call plus
call plus
movq %rax, (%rbx)
movq %rax, (%rbx)
popq %rbx
popq %rbx
ret
.cfi_def_cfa_offset 8
ret
.cfi_endproc
.LFE35:
.size sumstore, .-sumstore

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Object Code
Code for sumstore
 Assembler
0x0400595:
0x53
▪ Translates .s into .o
0x48 ▪ Binary encoding of each instruction
0x89 ▪ Nearly-complete image of executable code
0xd3
0xe8
▪ Missing linkages between code in different
0xf2 files
0xff  Linker
0xff
0xff ▪ Resolves references between files
• Total of 14 bytes
0x48 ▪ Combines with static run-time libraries
0x89 • Each instruction
E.g., code for malloc, printf
▪
0x03 1, 3, or 5 bytes
0x5b • Starts at address
▪ Some libraries are dynamically linked
0xc3 0x0400595 ▪ Linking occurs when program begins
execution

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Machine Instruction Example
 C Code
*dest = t;
▪ Store value t where designated by
dest
 Assembly
movq %rax, (%rbx)
▪ Move 8-byte value to memory
▪Quad words in x86-64 parlance
▪ Operands:
t: Register %rax
dest: Register %rbx
*dest: Memory M[%rbx]
 Object Code
0x40059e: 48 89 03
▪ 3-byte instruction
▪ Stored at address 0x40059e

48
Disassembling Object Code
Disassembled
0000000000400595 <sumstore>:
400595: 53 push %rbx
400596: 48 89 d3 mov %rdx,%rbx
400599: e8 f2 ff ff ff callq 400590 <plus>
40059e: 48 89 03 mov %rax,(%rbx)
4005a1: 5b pop %rbx
4005a2: c3 retq

 Disassembler
objdump –d sum
▪ Useful tool for examining object code
▪ Analyzes bit pattern of series of instructions
▪ Produces approximate rendition of assembly code
▪ Can be run on either a.out (complete executable) or .o file
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Alternate Disassembly
Disassembled

Dump of assembler code for function sumstore:

0x0000000000400595 <+0>: push %rbx
0x0000000000400596 <+1>: mov %rdx,%rbx
0x0000000000400599 <+4>: callq 0x400590 <plus>
0x000000000040059e <+9>: mov %rax,(%rbx)
0x00000000004005a1 <+12>:pop %rbx
0x00000000004005a2 <+13>:retq

 Within gdb Debugger

▪ Disassemble procedure
gdb sum
disassemble sumstore

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 Alternate Disassembly
Disassembled
Object
Code
Dump of assembler code for function sumstore:
0x0400595: 0x0000000000400595 <+0>: push %rbx
0x53 0x0000000000400596 <+1>: mov %rdx,%rbx
0x48 0x0000000000400599 <+4>: callq 0x400590 <plus>
0x89 0x000000000040059e <+9>: mov %rax,(%rbx)
0xd3 0x00000000004005a1 <+12>:pop %rbx
0xe8 0x00000000004005a2 <+13>:retq
0xf2
0xff
0xff
0xff  Within gdb Debugger
0x48 ▪ Disassemble procedure
0x89 gdb sum
0x03
0x5b disassemble sumstore
0xc3 ▪ Examine the 14 bytes starting at sumstore
x/14xb sumstore
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 What Can be Disassembled?
% objdump -d WINWORD.EXE

WINWORD.EXE: file format pei-i386

No symbols in "WINWORD.EXE".
Disassembly of section .text:

30001000 <.text>:
30001000: 55 push %ebp
30001001: 8b ec mov %esp,%ebp
30001003: 6a ffReverse engineering
push forbidden by
$0xffffffff
30001005: 68Microsoft
90 10 00 End User License
30 push Agreement
$0x30001090
3000100a: 68 91 dc 4c 30 push $0x304cdc91

 Anything that can be interpreted as executable code

 Disassembler examines bytes and reconstructs assembly source
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Machine Programming Overview: Summary
 History of Intel processors and architectures
▪ Evolutionary design leads to many quirks and artifacts
 C, assembly, machine code
▪ New forms of visible state: program counter, registers, ...
▪ Compiler must transform statements, expressions, procedures into
low-level instruction sequences
 Assembly Basics: Registers, operands, move
▪ The x86-64 move instructions cover wide range of data movement
forms
 Arithmetic
▪ C compiler will figure out different instruction combinations to
carry out computation

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