ARM Assembly Language
Getting the most from the ARM processor
This lecture introduces working with assembly language on ARM processors, including the ARM Cortex-A8 found in Bela. It explains the basic operations of the CPU, the format of assembly language instructions and how to call them from C or C++. It also explains how to work with floating point numbers in assembly, setting the stage for high-performance filtering in Lecture 22.
Table of contents
- What you’ll learn in this lecture
- What you’ll make in this lecture
- Code examples
- Recommended parts
- Additional references
Lecture 21: ARM Assembly Language
What you’ll learn in this lecture
- Basics of assembly language instructions on ARM
- Calling assembly language code from C++
- Floating point in assembly language
What you’ll make in this lecture
- Example functions written in assembly
Code examples
asm-test: Template project for creating basic functions in assembly language.
asm-factorial: Implement a factorial function in assembly language and compare the results to the same thing written in C.
asm-float: Shows how to work with floating point numbers in assembly language.
Recommended parts
Running the examples in this course assumes that you have a Bela Starter Kit or Bela Mini Starter Kit.
No external components are required for this lecture.
Additional references
- ARM instruction set quick reference card. Handy PDF featuring summaries of the instructions on most ARM processors.
- VFP instruction set quick reference card. PDF reference for the instruction set on the Vector Floating Point unit. Note: you will find different versions of this instruction set, some with VFP instructions preceded by
V(as it is here), others with instructions preceded byF. Which one to use may depend on the specific version of the assembler. - ARM Cortex-A8 technical reference manual. This is the complete technical information on the operation of the ARM Cortex-A8 CPU, including its instruction set and its floating point units.