Converting assembly language to machine language
The general instruction for converting assembly language into machine code is given below:
Opcode: Operation code
Operation Opcode
MOV 100010
ADD 000000
SUB 010010
XOR 001100
IN 111001
D: Direction to register or from register
=1 if destination is considered
=0 if source is considered
W: Word or byte
=0 for 8 bit register
=1 for 16 bit register
MOD: Register mode or memory mode with displacement
MOD Indication
00 Memory mode, no displacement
01 Memory mode, with 8 bit displacement.
For example: [BX]+12H
10 Memory mode, with 16 bit displacement.
For example: [BX]+1234H
11 Register mode, no displacement
REG: Identifies a register which is one of the instruction operands.
REG W=0 W=1
000 AL AX
001 CL CX
010 DL DX
011 BL BX, DS
100 AH SP
101 CH BP
110 DH SI
111 BH DI
R/M: Register/Memory coding
– Depends on the MOD field
• If MOD = 11, then R/M field acts as a REG field (used for register to-register operations and other
cases).
• If MOD ≠ 11, then R/M indicates how the effective address of the operand is calculated.
Example-1: Convert the following assembly language into machine language.
MOV BL,AL
Solution:
Here, opcode: MOV
Assume, destination register is considered (BL)
hence, Opcode: 100010
D=1
W=0
REG: 011
MOD: 11
R/M: 000
Byte 1 Byte 2
1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
Opcode D W Mod REG R/M
Example-2: Repeat example-1 considering register as source.
Solution:
Here, AL is source register.
Here, opcode: MOV
Assume, source register is considered (AL)
hence, Opcode: 100010
D=0
W=0
REG: 000
MOD: 11
R/M: 011
Byte 1 Byte 2
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
Opcode D W Mod REG R/M
Example-3: ADD AX,[SI]
Solution:
Here, opcode: ADD
Assume, destination register is considered (AX)
Hence, Opcode: 000000
D=1
W=1
REG: 000
MOD: 00
R/M: 100
Byte 1 Byte 2
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Opcode D W Mod REG R/M
Example-4: ADD AX, [SI] + 12H
Solution:
Here, opcode: ADD
Assume, destination register is considered (AX)
Hence, Opcode: 000000
D=1
W=1
REG: 000
MOD: 01
R/M: 100
Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Opcode D W Mod REG R/M Displacement
Assignment:
Example-5: ADD AX, [SI]+1234H
Example-6: XOR CL, [1234H]
Solution: Here, opcode: XOR
Destination register is CL
Hence, Opcode: 001100
D=1
W=0
REG: 001
MOD: 00
R/M: 110
Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
Opcode D W Mod REG R/M Lower byte
Byte 4
0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Higher byte
