Learn IBM Assemb;y Lsnhushr
When I was a kid, the Coasters had a big hit with Searchin’. If you are searchin’ for a particular character in a string, you can use TRT or try an easier route – use SRST (Search String). SRST avoids having to build a TRT table. And if you aren’t searchin’, take a break and listen to a classic. You can read about SRST here.
These “Greek” instructions use three registers, so learning to ADD (Greek) should be easy. You can find a link to the AGRK instruction here.
Multiply Greek! At least that’s how I remember it. Greek is a good mnemonic for MGRK. Use this instruction to multiply grande registers. This instruction has a simple setup, so it’s easy to use. Find it here.
Just a few more multiplication instructions, and we will move forward in the alphabet from “M”. MHY is a companion instruction to MFY. These two instructions share the same instruction format: RXY-a. Remember that “Y”-type instructions can reach farther from the base address, both forward and backward. You can find a writeup here.
I’m working on writing an article about each multiply instruction on the machine. Today’s instruction, Multiply Grande Halfword (MGH), provides an easy way to multiply a halfword value times a Grande Register value. It only takes a few minutes to review it here.
I’m still working my way alphabetically (ususally) through the instruction set, picking instructions you should learn. We are in the M’s and there’s a plethora of multiply instructions we can review. I’m also selecting instructions I haven’t already covered. Today’s instruction is Multiply Single Register (MSR), which provides an easy way to multiply two single-precision register values without much setup. The result should be single-precision if you want to use this instruction. Read about MSG here.
A place for everything, and everything in its place. In assembler, that means that the things we define require proper alignment. This short paper discusses alignment for code and data, and how to get it.
This week I am in lovely Vilnius with my son before starting a week of assembler training. I’ll post some pictures below. The castle is in Trakai, a short drive outside the city. The bust is of Frank Zappa, Rock on Vilnius!
On a different note, Amit Sharma was kind enough to interview me for his wonderful Tech Sharmit podcast.You can listen to the interview here. You can catch Amit on YouTube here. Thanks again, Amit!
Multiply Single (MS) provides another way to multiply binary integers using a single register. Read about it here.