ARM Architecture

Contents

Part A: CPU Architecture

Chapter A1

Introduction to the ARM Architecture

A1.1
A1.2

Chapter A2

About the ARM architecture ............................................................................... A1-2

ARM instruction set ............................................................................................ A1-5

Programmers Model
A2.1
A2.2

Data types .......................................................................................................... A2-2

Processor modes ............................................................................................... A2-3

A2.3
A2.4
A2.5
A2.6
A2.7

Registers ............................................................................................................ A2-4

General-purpose registers ................................................................................. A2-5
Program status registers .................................................................................... A2-9
Exceptions ....................................................................................................... A2-13
Memory and memory-mapped I/O ................................................................... A2-22

Chapter A3

Chapter A4

The ARM Instruction Set

A3.1
A3.2
A3.3
A3.4
A3.5
A3.6
A3.7

Instruction set encoding ..................................................................................... A3-2

The condition field .............................................................................................. A3-5
Branch instructions ............................................................................................. A3-7
Data-processing instructions .............................................................................. A3-9
Multiply instructions .......................................................................................... A3-12
Miscellaneous arithmetic instructions ............................................................... A3-14
Status register access instructions ................................................................... A3-15

A3.8
A3.9
A3.10
A3.11
A3.12
A3.13

Load and store instructions .............................................................................. A3-17

Load and Store Multiple instructions ................................................................ A3-21
Semaphore instructions ................................................................................... A3-23
Exception-generating instructions .................................................................... A3-24
Coprocessor instructions .................................................................................. A3-25
Extending the instruction set ............................................................................ A3-27

ARM Instructions
A4.1
A4.2

Chapter A5

ARM Addressing Modes

A5.1
A5.2
A5.3
A5.4
A5.5

Chapter A6

Chapter A7

Alphabetical list of ARM instructions .................................................................. A4-2

ARM instructions and architecture versions ................................................... A4-113

Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands ............................................... A5-2

Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte ........................ A5-18
Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores ................................... A5-34
Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple ................................................. A5-48
Addressing Mode 5 - Load and Store Coprocessor ......................................... A5-56

The Thumb Instruction Set

A6.1
A6.2
A6.3
A6.4
A6.5

About the Thumb instruction set ........................................................................ A6-2

Instruction set encoding ..................................................................................... A6-4
Branch instructions ............................................................................................. A6-6
Data-processing instructions .............................................................................. A6-8
Load and Store Register instructions ............................................................... A6-15

A6.6
A6.7
A6.8

Load and Store Multiple instructions ................................................................ A6-18

Exception-generating instructions .................................................................... A6-20
Undefined instruction space ............................................................................. A6-21

Thumb Instructions
A7.1
A7.2

Alphabetical list of Thumb instructions ............................................................... A7-2

Thumb instructions and architecture versions ................................................ A7-104

Chapter A8

The 26-bit Architectures

A8.1
A8.2
A8.3
A8.4
A8.5

Chapter A9

ARM Code Sequences

A9.1
A9.2
A9.3
A9.4
A9.5
A9.6

Chapter A10

Overview of the 26-bit architectures .................................................................. A8-2

Format of register 15 .......................................................................................... A8-4
26-bit PSR update instructions .......................................................................... A8-6
Address exceptions ............................................................................................ A8-8
Backwards compatibility from 32-bit architectures ............................................. A8-9

Arithmetic instructions ........................................................................................ A9-2

Branch instructions ............................................................................................ A9-5
Load and Store instructions ............................................................................... A9-7
Load and Store Multiple instructions ................................................................ A9-10
Semaphore instructions ................................................................................... A9-11
Other code examples ....................................................................................... A9-12

Enhanced DSP Extension

A10.1
A10.2
A10.3
A10.4

About the enhanced DSP instructions ............................................................. A10-2

Saturated integer arithmetic ............................................................................. A10-3
Saturated Q15 and Q31 arithmetic .................................................................. A10-4
The Q flag ........................................................................................................ A10-5

A10.5 Enhanced DSP instructions ............................................................................. A10-6

A10.6 Alphabetical list of enhanced DSP instructions ................................................ A10-8

Part B: Memory and System Architectures

Chapter B1

Introduction to Memory and System Architectures

B1.1
B1.2

Chapter B2

About the memory system ................................................................................. B1-2

System-level issues ........................................................................................... B1-4

The System Control Coprocessor

B2.1
B2.2
B2.3
B2.4
B2.5

About the System Control coprocessor ............................................................. B2-2

Registers ............................................................................................................ B2-3
Register 0: ID codes .......................................................................................... B2-6
Register 1: Control register .............................................................................. B2-13
Registers 2-15 .................................................................................................. B2-17

Chapter B3

Memory Management Unit

B3.1
B3.2
B3.3
B3.4
B3.5
B3.6
B3.7

Chapter B4

Protection Unit
B4.1
B4.2
B4.3

Chapter B5

About the MMU architecture .............................................................................. B3-2

Memory access sequence ................................................................................. B3-4
Translation process ............................................................................................ B3-6
Access permissions ......................................................................................... B3-16
Domains ........................................................................................................... B3-17
Aborts ............................................................................................................... B3-18
CP15 registers ................................................................................................. B3-23

About the Protection Unit ................................................................................... B4-2

Overlapping regions ........................................................................................... B4-5
CP15 registers ................................................................................................... B4-6

Caches and Write Buffers

B5.1
B5.2
B5.3
B5.4
B5.5

About caches and write buffers .......................................................................... B5-2

Cache organization ............................................................................................ B5-3
Types of cache ................................................................................................... B5-5
Cachability and bufferability ............................................................................... B5-8
Memory coherency ........................................................................................... B5-10

B5.6

CP15 registers ................................................................................................. B5-14

Part A
CPU Architecture

Chapter A1
Introduction to the ARM Architecture

This chapter introduces the ARM architecture and contains the following sections:

About the ARM architecture on page A1-2

ARM instruction set on page A1-5.

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A1-1

Introduction to the ARM Architecture

1.1

About the ARM architecture

The ARM architecture has been designed to allow very small, yet high-performance implementations. The
architectural simplicity of ARM processors leads to very small implementations, and small implementations
allow devices with very low power consumption.
The ARM is a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC), as it incorporates these typical RISC architecture
features:

a large uniform register file

a load/store architecture, where data-processing operations only operate on register contents, not
directly on memory contents

simple addressing modes, with all load/store addresses being determined from register contents and
instruction fields only

uniform and fixed-length instruction fields, to simplify instruction decode.

In addition, the ARM architecture gives you:

control over both the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and shifter in every data-processing instruction
to maximize the use of an ALU and a shifter

auto-increment and auto-decrement addressing modes to optimize program loops

Load and Store Multiple instructions to maximize data throughput

conditional execution of all instructions to maximize execution throughput.

These enhancements to a basic RISC architecture allow ARM processors to achieve a good balance of high
performance, low code size, low power consumption and low silicon area.

1.1.1

ARM registers
ARM has 31 general-purpose 32-bit registers. At any one time, 16 of these registers are visible. The other
registers are used to speed up exception processing. All the register specifiers in ARM instructions can
address any of the 16 visible registers.
The main bank of 16 registers is used by all unprivileged code. These are the User mode registers. User
mode is different from all other modes as it is unprivileged, which means:

A1-2

User mode is the only mode which cannot switch to another processor mode without generating an
exception

memory systems and coprocessors might allow User mode less access to memory and coprocessor
functionality than a privileged mode.

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Introduction to the ARM Architecture

Two of the 16 visible registers have special roles:

Link register

Register 14 is the Link Register (LR). This register holds the address of the next
instruction after a Branch and Link (BL) instruction, which is the instruction used
to make a subroutine call. At all other times, R14 can be used as a general-purpose
register.

Program counter

Register 15 is the Program Counter (PC). It can be used in most instructions as

a pointer to the instruction which is two instructions after the instruction being
executed. All ARM instructions are four bytes long (one 32-bit word) and are
always aligned on a word boundary. This means that the bottom two bits of the PC
are always zero, and therefore the PC contains only 30 non-constant bits.

The remaining 14 registers have no special hardware purpose. Their uses are defined purely by software.
Software normally uses R13 as a Stack Pointer (SP).
For more details on registers, please refer to Registers on page A2-4.

1.1.2

Exceptions
ARM supports five types of exception, and a privileged processing mode for each type. The five types of
exceptions are:

fast interrupt

normal interrupt

memory aborts, which can be used to implement memory protection or virtual memory

attempted execution of an undefined instruction

software interrupt (SWI) instructions which can be used to make a call to an operating system.
When an exception occurs, some of the standard registers are replaced with registers specific to the
exception mode. All exception modes have replacement banked registers for R13 and R14. The fast
interrupt mode has more registers for fast interrupt processing.
When an exception handler is entered, R14 holds the return address for exception processing. This is used
to return after the exception is processed and to address the instruction that caused the exception.
Register 13 is banked across exception modes to provide each exception handler with a private stack pointer.
The fast interrupt mode also banks registers 8 to 12 so that interrupt processing can begin without the need
to save or restore these registers.
There is a sixth privileged processing mode, System mode, which uses the User mode registers. This is used
to run tasks that require privileged access to memory and/or coprocessors, without limitations on which
exceptions can occur during the task.
For more details on exceptions, please refer to Exceptions on page A2-13.

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A1-3

Introduction to the ARM Architecture

The exception process

When an exception occurs, the ARM processor halts execution after the current instruction and begins
execution at one of a number of fixed addresses in memory, known as the exception vectors. There is
a separate vector location for each exception.
An operating system installs a handler on every exception at initialization. Privileged operating system tasks
are normally run in System mode to allow exceptions to occur within the operating system without state
loss.

1.1.3

Status registers
All processor state other than the general-purpose register contents is held in status registers. The current
operating processor status is in the Current Program Status Register (CPSR). The CPSR holds:

4 condition code flags (Negative, Zero, Carry and oVerflow)

2 interrupt disable bits, one for each type of interrupt

5 bits which encode the current processor mode

1 bit which encodes whether ARM or Thumb instructions are being executed.
Each exception mode also has a Saved Program Status Register (SPSR) which holds the CPSR of the task
immediately before the exception occurred. The CPSR and the SPSRs are accessed with special
instructions.
For more details on status registers, please refer to Program status registers on page A2-9.

A1-4

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Introduction to the ARM Architecture

1.2

ARM instruction set

The ARM instruction set can be divided into six broad classes of instruction:

Branch instructions

Data-processing instructions on page A1-6

Status register transfer instructions on page A1-7

Load and store instructions on page A1-7

Coprocessor instructions on page A1-8

Exception-generating instructions on page A1-9.

Most data-processing instructions and one type of coprocessor instruction can update the four condition
code flags in the CPSR (Negative, Zero, Carry and oVerflow) according to their result.
Almost all ARM instructions contain a 4-bit condition field. One value of this field specifies that the
instruction is executed unconditionally.
Fourteen other values specify conditional execution of the instruction. If the condition code flags indicate
that the corresponding condition is true when the instruction starts executing, it executes normally.
Otherwise, the instruction does nothing. The 14 available conditions allow:

tests for equality and non-equality

tests for <, <=, >, and >= inequalities, in both signed and unsigned arithmetic

each condition code flag to be tested individually.

The sixteenth value of the condition field is used for a few instructions which do not allow conditional
execution.

1.2.1

Branch instructions
As well as allowing many data-processing or load instructions to change control flow by writing the PC, a
standard Branch instruction is provided with a 24-bit signed offset, allowing forward and backward
branches of up to 32MB.
There is a Branch and Link (BL) option that also preserves the address of the instruction after the branch in
R14, the LR. This provides a subroutine call which can be returned from by copying the LR into the PC.
There are also branch instructions which can switch instruction set, so that execution continues at the branch
target using the Thumb instruction set. These allow ARM code to call Thumb subroutines, and ARM
subroutines to return to a Thumb caller. Similar instructions in the Thumb instruction set allow the
corresponding Thumb ARM switches. An overview of the Thumb instruction set is provided in Chapter
A6 The Thumb Instruction Set.

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A1-5

Introduction to the ARM Architecture

1.2.2

Data-processing instructions
The data-processing instructions perform calculations on the general-purpose registers. There are four types
of data-processing instructions:

Arithmetic/logic instructions

Comparison instructions

Multiply instructions

Count Leading Zeros instruction on page A1-7.

Arithmetic/logic instructions
There are twelve arithmetic/logic instructions which share a common instruction format. These perform an
arithmetic or logical operation on up to two source operands, and write the result to a destination register.
They can also optionally update the condition code flags based on the result.
Of the two source operands:

one is always a register

the other has two basic forms:

an immediate value

a register value, optionally shifted.

If the operand is a shifted register, the shift amount can be either an immediate value or the value of another
register. Four types of shift can be specified. Every arithmetic/logic instruction can therefore perform an
arithmetic/logic and a shift operation. As a result, ARM does not have dedicated shift instructions.
Because the Program Counter (PC) is a general-purpose register, arithmetic/logic instructions can write
their results directly to the PC. This allows easy implementation of a variety of jump instructions.

Comparison instructions
There are four comparison instructions which use the same instruction format as the arithmetic/logic
instructions. These perform an arithmetic or logical operation on two source operands, but do not write the
result to a register. They always update the condition flags based on the result.
The source operands of comparison instructions take the same forms as those of arithmetic/logic
instructions, including the ability to incorporate a shift operation.

Multiply instructions
Multiply instructions come in two classes. Both types multiply two 32-bit register values and store their
result:
32-bit result

Normal. Stores the 32-bit result in a register.

64-bit result

Long. Stores the 64-bit result in two separate registers.

Both types of multiply instruction can optionally perform an accumulate operation.

A1-6

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Introduction to the ARM Architecture

Count Leading Zeros instruction

The Count Leading Zeros (CLZ) instruction determines the number of zero bits at the most significant end
of a register value, up to the first 1 bit. This number is written to the destination register of the CLZ
instruction.

1.2.3

Status register transfer instructions

The status register transfer instructions transfer the contents of the CPSR or an SPSR to or from a
general-purpose register. Writing to the CPSR can:

set the values of the condition code flags

set the values of the interrupt enable bits

set the processor mode.

1.2.4

Load and store instructions

The following load and store instructions are available:

Load and Store Register

Load and Store Multiple registers on page A1-8

Swap register and memory contents on page A1-8.

Load and Store Register

Load Register instructions can load a 32-bit word, a 16-bit halfword or an 8-bit byte from memory into a
register. Byte and halfword loads can be automatically zero-extended or sign-extended as they are loaded.
Store Register instructions can store a 32-bit word, a 16-bit halfword or an 8-bit byte from a register to
memory.
Load and Store Register instructions have three primary addressing modes, all of which use a base register
and an offset specified by the instruction:

In offset addressing, the memory address is formed by adding or subtracting an offset to or from the
base register value.

In pre-indexed addressing, the memory address is formed in the same way as for offset addressing.
As a side-effect, the memory address is also written back to the base register.

In post-indexed addressing, the memory address is the base register value. As a side-effect, an offset
is added to or subtracted from the base register value and the result is written back to the base register.

In each case, the offset can be either an immediate or the value of an index register. Register-based offsets
can also be scaled with shift operations.
As the PC is a general-purpose register, a 32-bit value can be loaded directly into the PC to perform a jump
to any address in the 4GB memory space.

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A1-7

Introduction to the ARM Architecture

Load and Store Multiple registers

Load Multiple (LDM) and Store Multiple (STM) instructions perform a block transfer of any number of
the general-purpose registers to or from memory. Four addressing modes are provided:

pre-increment

post-increment

pre-decrement

post-decrement.
The base address is specified by a register value, which can be optionally updated after the transfer. As the
subroutine return address and PC values are in general-purpose registers, very efficient subroutine entry and
exit sequences can be constructed with LDM and STM:

A single STM instruction at subroutine entry can push register contents and the return address onto
the stack, updating the stack pointer in the process.

A single LDM instruction at subroutine exit can restore register contents from the stack, load the PC
with the return address, and update the stack pointer.

LDM and STM instructions also allow very efficient code for block copies and similar data movement
algorithms.

Swap register and memory contents

A swap (SWP) instruction performs the following sequence of operations:
1.
2.
3.

It loads a value from a register-specified memory location.

It stores the contents of a register to the same memory location.
It writes the value loaded in step 1 to a register.

By specifying the same register for steps 2 and 3, the contents of a memory location and a register are
interchanged.
The swap operation performs a special indivisible bus operation that allows atomic update of semaphores.
Both 32-bit word and 8-bit byte semaphores are supported.

1.2.5

Coprocessor instructions
There are three types of coprocessor instructions:
Data-processing instructions
These start a coprocessor-specific internal operation.
Data transfer instructions
These transfer coprocessor data to or from memory. The address of the transfer is calculated
by the ARM processor.
Register transfer instructions
These allow a coprocessor value to be transferred to or from an ARM register.

A1-8

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Introduction to the ARM Architecture

1.2.6

Exception-generating instructions
Two types of instruction are designed to cause specific exceptions to occur.
Software interrupt instructions
SWI instructions cause a software interrupt exception to occur. These are normally used to
make calls to an operating system, to request an OS-defined service. The exception entry
caused by a SWI instruction also changes to a privileged processor mode. This allows an
unprivileged task to gain access to privileged functions, but only in ways permitted by the
OS.
Software breakpoint instructions
BKPT instructions cause an abort exception to occur. If suitable debugger software is
installed on the abort vector, an abort exception generated in this fashion is treated as a
breakpoint. If debug hardware is present in the system, it can instead treat a BKPT
instruction directly as a breakpoint, preventing the abort exception from occurring.
In addition to the above, the following types of instruction cause an Undefined Instruction exception to
occur:

coprocessor instructions which are not recognized by any hardware coprocessor

most instruction words that have not yet been allocated a meaning as an ARM instruction.
In each case, this exception is normally used either to generate a suitable error or to initiate software
emulation of the instruction.

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A1-9

Introduction to the ARM Architecture

A1-10

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Chapter A2
Programmers Model

This chapter introduces the ARM programmers model. It contains the following sections:

Data types on page A2-2

Processor modes on page A2-3

Registers on page A2-4

General-purpose registers on page A2-5

Program status registers on page A2-9

Exceptions on page A2-13

Memory and memory-mapped I/O on page A2-22.

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A2-1

Programmers Model

2.1

Data types
ARM processors support the following data types:
Byte

8 bits.

Halfword

16 bits (halfwords must be aligned to two-byte boundaries).

Word

32 bits (words must be aligned to four-byte boundaries).

Note

All three types are supported in ARM architecture version 4 and above. Only bytes and words were
supported prior to ARM architecture version 4.
When any of these types is described as unsigned, the N-bit data value represents a non-negative
integer in the range 0 to +2N-1, using normal binary format.

When any of these types is described as signed, the N-bit data value represents an integer in the range
-2N-1 to +2N-1-1, using two's complement format.

A2-2

All data operations, for example ADD, are performed on word quantities.

Load and store operations can transfer bytes, halfwords and words to and from memory,
automatically zero-extending or sign-extending bytes or halfwords as they are loaded.

ARM instructions are exactly one word (and are aligned on a four-byte boundary). Thumb
instructions are exactly one halfword (and are aligned on a two-byte boundary).

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Programmers Model

2.2

Processor modes
The ARM architecture supports the seven processor modes shown in Table 2-1.
Table 2-1 ARM version 4 processor modes
Processor mode

Description

User

usr

Normal program execution mode

FIQ

fiq

Supports a high-speed data transfer or channel process

IRQ

irq

Used for general-purpose interrupt handling

Supervisor

svc

A protected mode for the operating system

Abort

abt

Implements virtual memory and/or memory protection

Undefined

und

Supports software emulation of hardware coprocessors

System

sys

Runs privileged operating system tasks (ARM architecture version 4 and above)

Mode changes can be made under software control, or can be caused by external interrupts or exception
processing.
Most application programs execute in User mode. While the processor is in User mode, the program being
executed is unable to access some protected system resources or to change mode, other than by causing an
exception to occur (see Exceptions on page A2-13). This allows a suitably written operating system to
control the use of system resources.
The modes other than User mode are known as privileged modes. They have full access to system resources
and can change mode freely. Five of them are known as exception modes:

FIQ

IRQ

Supervisor

Abort

Undefined.
These are entered when specific exceptions occur. Each of them has some additional registers to avoid
corrupting User mode state when the exception occurs (see Registers on page A2-4 for details).
The remaining mode is System mode, and is only present in ARM architecture version 4 and above. It is not
entered by any exception and has exactly the same registers available as User mode. However, it is a
privileged mode and is therefore not subject to the User mode restrictions. It is intended for use by operating
system tasks which need access to system resources, but wish to avoid using the additional registers
associated with the exception modes. Avoiding such use ensures that the task state is not corrupted by the
occurrence of any exception.

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A2-3

Programmers Model

2.3

Registers
The ARM processor has a total of 37 registers:

31 general-purpose registers, including a program counter. These registers are 32 bits wide and are
described in General-purpose registers on page A2-5.

6 status registers. These registers are also 32 bits wide, but only 12 of the 32 bits are allocated or need
to be implemented. These are described in Program status registers on page A2-9.
Registers are arranged in partially overlapping banks, with a different register bank for each processor
mode, as shown in Figure 2-1. At any time, 15 general-purpose registers (R0 to R14), one or two status
registers and the program counter are visible. Each column of Figure 2-1 shows which general-purpose and
status registers are visible in the indicated processor mode.

Modes
Privileged modes
Exception modes
User

System

Supervisor

Abort

Undefined

R0

R0

R0

R0

R0

R0

R0

R1

R1

R1

R1

R1

R1

R1

R2

R2

R2

R2

R2

R2

R2

R3

R3

R3

R3

R3

R3

R3

R4

R4

R4

R4

R4

R4

R4

R5

R5

R5

R5

R5

R5

R5

R6

R6

R6

R6

R6

R6

R6

R7

R7

R7

R7

R7

R7

R7

R8

R8

R8

R8

R8

R8

R8_fiq

R9

R9

R9

R9

R9

R9

R9_fiq

R10

R10

R10

R10

R10

R10

R10_fiq

R11

R11

R11

R11

R11

R11

R11_fiq

R12

R12

R12

R12

R12

R12

R12_fiq

R13

R13

R13_svc

R13_abt

R13_und

R13_irq

R13_fiq

R14

R14

R14_svc

R14_abt

R14_und

R14_irq

R14_fiq

PC

PC

CPSR

CPSR

PC

PC

CPSR

CPSR

SPSR_svc

SPSR_abt

PC

CPSR
SPSR_und

Interrupt

PC

Fast interrupt

PC

CPSR

CPSR

SPSR_irq

SPSR_fiq

indicates that the normal register used by User or System mode has
been replaced by an alternative register specific to the exception mode

Figure 2-1 Register organization

A2-4

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ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

2.4

General-purpose registers
The general-purpose registers R0-R15 can be split into three groups. These groups differ in the way they
are banked and in their special-purpose uses:

The unbanked registers, R0-R7

The banked registers, R8-R14

Register 15, the PC, is described in The program counter, R15 on page A2-7.

2.4.1

The unbanked registers, R0-R7

Registers R0 to R7 are unbanked registers. This means that each of them refers to the same 32-bit physical
register in all processor modes. They are completely general-purpose registers, with no special uses implied
by the architecture, and can be used wherever an instruction allows a general-purpose register to be
specified.

2.4.2

The banked registers, R8-R14

Registers R8 to R14 are banked registers. The physical register referred to by each of them depends on the
current processor mode. Where a particular physical register is intended, without depending on the current
processor mode, a more specific name (as described below) is used. Almost all instructions allow the banked
registers to be used wherever a general-purpose register is allowed.

Note
A few exceptions to this rule are noted in the individual instruction descriptions. Where a restriction exists
on the use of banked registers, it always applies to all of R8 to R14. For example, R8 to R12 are subject to
such restrictions even in systems in which FIQ mode is never used and so only one physical version of the
register is ever in use.
Registers R8 to R12 have two banked physical registers each. One is used in all processor modes other than
FIQ mode, and the other is used in FIQ mode. Where it is necessary to be specific about which version is
being referred to, the first group of physical registers are referred to as R8_usr to R12_usr and the second
group as R8_fiq to R12_fiq.
Registers R8 to R12 do not have any dedicated special purposes in the architecture. However, for interrupts
that are simple enough to be processed using registers R8 to R14 only, the existence of separate FIQ mode
versions of these registers allows very fast interrupt processing. Examples of this usage can be found in
Single-channel DMA transfer on page A9-13 and Dual-channel DMA transfer on page A9-13.
Registers R13 and R14 have six banked physical registers each. One is used in User and System modes,
while each of the remaining five is used in one of the five exception modes. Where it is necessary to be
specific about which version is being referred to, you use names of the form:
R13_<mode>
R14_<mode>
where <mode> is the appropriate one of usr, svc (for Supervisor mode), abt, und, irq and fiq.

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Programmers Model

Register R13 is normally used as a stack pointer and is also known as the SP. In the ARM instruction set,
this is by convention only, as there are no defined instructions or other functionality which use R13 in a
special-case manner. However, there are such instructions in the Thumb instruction set, as described in
Chapter A6 The Thumb Instruction Set.
Each exception mode has its own banked version of R13, which should normally be initialized to point to a
stack dedicated to that exception mode. On entry, the exception handler typically stores to this stack the
values of other registers to be used. By reloading these values into the registers when it returns, the
exception handler can ensure that it does not corrupt the state of the program that was being executed when
the exception occurred.
Register R14 (also known as the Link Register or LR) has two special functions in the architecture:

In each mode, the mode's own version of R14 is used to hold subroutine return addresses. When a
subroutine call is performed by a BL or BLX instruction, R14 is set to the subroutine return address.
The subroutine return is performed by copying R14 back to the program counter. This is typically
done in one of the two following ways:

Execute either of these instructions:

MOV PC,LR
BX LR
On subroutine entry, store R14 to the stack with an instruction of the form:
STMFD SP!,{<registers>,LR}
and use a matching instruction to return:
LDMFD SP!,{<registers>,PC}

When an exception occurs, the appropriate exception mode's version of R14 is set to the exception
return address (offset by a small constant for some exceptions). The exception return is performed in
a similar way to a subroutine return, but using slightly different instructions to ensure full restoration
of the state of the program that was being executed when the exception occurred. See Exceptions on
page A2-13 for more details.

Register R14 can be treated as a general-purpose register at all other times.

Note
When nested exceptions are possible, the two special-purpose uses might conflict. For example, if an IRQ
interrupt occurs when a program is being executed in User mode, none of the User mode registers are
necessarily corrupted. But if an interrupt handler running in IRQ mode re-enables IRQ interrupts and a
nested IRQ interrupt occurs, any value the outer interrupt handler is holding in R14_irq at the time is
overwritten by the return address of the nested interrupt.
System programmers need to be careful about such interactions. The usual way to deal with them is to
ensure that the appropriate version of R14 does not hold anything significant at times that nested exceptions
can occur. When this is hard to do in a straightforward way, it is usually best to change to another processor
mode during entry to the exception handler, before re-enabling interrupts or otherwise allowing nested
exceptions to occur. (In ARM architecture version 4 and above, System mode is usually the best mode to
use for this purpose.)

A2-6

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ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

2.4.3

The program counter, R15

Register R15 holds the Program Counter (PC). It can often be used in place of one of the general-purpose
registers R0 to R14, and is therefore considered one of the general-purpose registers. However, there are
also many instruction-specific restrictions or special cases about its use. These are noted in the individual
instruction descriptions. Usually, the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if R15 is used in a manner that breaks
these restrictions.
The Program Counter is always used for a special purpose, as described in:

Reading the program counter

Writing the program counter on page A2-8.

Reading the program counter

When an instruction reads R15 without breaking any of the restrictions on its use, the value read is the
address of the instruction plus 8 bytes. As ARM instructions are always word-aligned, bits[1:0] of the
resulting value are always zero. (In T variants of the architecture, this behavior changes during Thumb state
execution - see Chapter A6 The Thumb Instruction Set for details.)
This way of reading the PC is primarily used for quick, position-independent addressing of nearby
instructions and data, including position-independent branching within a program.
An exception to the above rule occurs when an STR or STM instruction stores R15. Such instructions can
store either the address of the instruction plus 8 bytes, like other instructions that read R15, or the
instruction's own address plus 12 bytes. Whether the offset of 8 or the offset of 12 is used is
IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED. An implementation must use the same offset for all STR and STM instructions
that store R15. It cannot use 8 for some of them and 12 for others.
Because of this exception, it is usually best to avoid the use of STR and STM instructions that store R15. If
this is difficult, use a suitable instruction sequence in the program to ascertain which offset the
implementation uses. For example, if R0 points to an available word of memory, then the following
instructions put the offset of the implementation in R0:
SUB
STR
LDR
SUB

R1,
PC,
R0,
R0,

PC, #4
[R0]
[R0]
R0, R1

;
;
;
;

R1 = address of following STR instruction

Store address of STR instruction + offset,
then reload it
Calculate the offset as the difference

Note
The rules about how R15 is read apply only to reads by instructions. In particular, they do not necessarily
describe the values placed on a hardware address bus during instruction fetches. Like all other details of
hardware interfaces, such values are IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

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Programmers Model

Writing the program counter

When an instruction writes R15 without breaking any of the restrictions on its use, the normal result is that
the value written to R15 is treated as an instruction address and a branch occurs to that address.
Since ARM instructions are required to be word-aligned, values written to R15 are normally expected to
have bits[1:0] == 0b00. The precise rules for this depend on the architecture version:

In ARM architecture versions 3 and below, bits[1:0] of a value written to R15 are ignored, so that the
actual destination address of the instruction is (value written to R15) AND 0xFFFFFFFC.

In ARM architecture versions 4 and above, bits[1:0] of a value written to R15 in ARM state must be
0b00. If they are not, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.

Similarly, in T variants of ARM architecture versions 4 and above, Thumb instructions are required to be
halfword-aligned. Bit[0] of a value written to R15 in Thumb state is ignored, so that the actual destination
address of the instruction is (value written to R15) AND 0xFFFFFFFE.
Several instructions have their own rules for interpreting values written to R15. For example, BX and other
instructions designed to transfer between ARM and Thumb states use bit[0] of the value to select whether
to execute the code at the destination address in ARM state or Thumb state. Special rules of this type are
described on the individual instruction pages, and override the general rules in this section.

A2-8

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ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

2.5

Program status registers

The current program status register (CPSR) is accessible in all processor modes. It contains condition code
flags, interrupt disable bits, the current processor mode, and other status and control information. Each
exception mode also has a saved program status register (SPSR), that is used to preserve the value of the
CPSR when the associated exception occurs.

Note
User mode and System mode do not have an SPSR, because they are not exception modes. All instructions
which read or write the SPSR are UNPREDICTABLE when executed in User mode or System mode.
The format of the CPSR and the SPSRs is shown below.
31 30 29 28 27 26

N Z C V Q

2.5.1

DNM(RAZ)

6 5

1 0

M M M M M
I F T
4 3 2 1 0

The condition code flags

The N, Z, C, and V (Negative, Zero, Carry and oVerflow) bits are collectively known as the condition code
flags, often referred to as flags. The condition code flags in the CPSR can be tested by most instructions to
determine whether the instruction is to be executed.
The condition code flags are usually modified by:

Execution of a comparison instruction (CMN, CMP, TEQ or TST).

Execution of some other arithmetic, logical or move instruction, where the destination register of the
instruction is not R15. Most of these instructions have both a flag-preserving and a flag-setting
variant, with the latter being selected by adding an S qualifier to the instruction mnemonic. Some of
these instructions only have a flag-preserving version. This is noted in the individual instruction
descriptions.

In either case, the new condition code flags (after the instruction has been executed) usually mean:
N

Is set to bit 31 of the result of the instruction. If this result is regarded as a two's complement
signed integer, then N = 1 if the result is negative and N = 0 if it is positive or zero.

Is set to 1 if the result of the instruction is zero (which often indicates an equal result from
a comparison), and to 0 otherwise.

Is set in one of four ways:

ARM DDI 0100E

For an addition, including the comparison instruction CMN, C is set to 1 if the addition
produced a carry (that is, an unsigned overflow), and to 0 otherwise.

For a subtraction, including the comparison instruction CMP, C is set to 0 if the

subtraction produced a borrow (that is, an unsigned underflow), and to 1 otherwise.

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Programmers Model

For non-addition/subtractions that incorporate a shift operation, C is set to the last bit
shifted out of the value by the shifter.

For other non-addition/subtractions, C is normally left unchanged (but see the

individual instruction descriptions for any special cases).

Is set in one of two ways:

For an addition or subtraction, V is set to 1 if signed overflow occurred, regarding the

operands and result as two's complement signed integers.

For non-addition/subtractions, V is normally left unchanged (but see the individual

instruction descriptions for any special cases).

The flags can be modified in these additional ways:

Execution of an MSR instruction, as part of its function of writing a new value to the CPSR or SPSR.

Execution of MRC instructions with destination register R15. The purpose of such instructions is to
transfer coprocessor-generated condition code flag values to the ARM processor.

Execution of some variants of the LDM instruction. These variants copy the SPSR to the CPSR, and
their main intended use is for returning from exceptions.

Execution of flag-setting variants of arithmetic and logical instructions whose destination register is
R15. These also copy the SPSR to the CPSR, and are mainly intended for returning from exceptions.

The Q flag
In E variants of ARM architecture 5 and above, bit[27] of the CPSR is known as the Q flag and is used to
indicate whether overflow and/or saturation has occurred in some of the enhanced DSP instructions.
Similarly, bit[27] of each SPSR is a Q flag, and is used to preserve and restore the CPSR Q flag if an
exception occurs. For more details of the Q flag, see Chapter A10 Enhanced DSP Extension.
In architecture versions prior to version 5, and in non-E variants of architecture version 5 and above, bit[27]
of the CPSR and SPSRs should be treated as described in Other bits on page A2-12.

2.5.2

The control bits

The bottom eight bits of a Program Status Register (PSR), incorporating I, F, T and M[4:0], are known
collectively as the control bits. The control bits change when an exception arises and can be altered by
software only when the processor is in a privileged mode.

Interrupt disable bits

I and F are the interrupt disable bits:

A2-10

I bit

Disables IRQ interrupts when it is set.

F bit

Disables FIQ interrupts when it is set.

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ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

The T bit
The T bit should be zero (SBZ) on ARM architecture version 3 and below, and on non-T variants of ARM
architecture version 4. No instructions exist in these architectures that can switch between ARM and Thumb
states.
On T variants of ARM architecture 4 and above, the T bit has the following meanings:
T=0

Indicates ARM execution.

T=1

Indicates Thumb execution.

Instructions that switch between ARM and Thumb states can be used freely on implementations of these
architectures.
On non-T variants of ARM architecture version 5 and above, the T bit has the following meanings:
T=0

Indicates ARM execution.

T=1

Forces the next instruction executed to cause an undefined instruction exception (see
Undefined Instruction exception on page A2-15).

Instructions that switch between ARM and Thumb states can be used on implementations of these
architectures, but only function correctly as long as the program remains in ARM state. If the program
attempts to switch to Thumb state, the first instruction executed after the attempted switch causes an
undefined instruction exception. Entry into that exception then switches back to ARM state. The exception
handler can detect that this was the cause of the exception from the fact that the T bit of SPSR_und is set.

Mode bits
M0, M1, M2, M3, and M4 (M[4:0]) are the mode bits, and these determine the mode in which the processor
operates. Their interpretation is shown in Table 2-2.
Table 2-2 The mode bits
M[4:0]

Mode

Accessible registers

0b10000

User

PC, R14 to R0, CPSR

0b10001

FIQ

PC, R14_fiq to R8_fiq, R7 to R0, CPSR, SPSR_fiq

0b10010

IRQ

PC, R14_irq, R13_irq, R12 to R0, CPSR, SPSR_irq

0b10011

Supervisor

PC, R14_svc, R13_svc, R12 to R0, CPSR, SPSR_svc

0b10111

Abort

PC, R14_abt, R13_abt, R12 to R0, CPSR, SPSR_abt

0b11011

Undefined

PC, R14_und, R13_und, R12 to R0, CPSR, SPSR_und

0b11111

System

PC, R14 to R0, CPSR (ARM architecture v4 and above)

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Programmers Model

Not all combinations of the mode bits define a valid processor mode. Only those combinations explicitly
described can be used. If any other value is programmed into the mode bits M[4:0], the result is
UNPREDICTABLE. See also Table 8-1 on page A8-9 for details of the mode bits in the 26-bit architectures.

2.5.3

Other bits
Other bits in the program status registers are reserved for future expansion. In general, programmers must
take care to write code in such a way that these bits are never modified. Failure to do this might result in
code which has unexpected side-effects on future versions of the architecture. See the usage notes for the
MSR instruction on page A4-62 for more details.

A2-12

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ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

2.6

Exceptions
Exceptions are generated by internal and external sources to cause the processor to handle an event, such as
an externally generated interrupt or an attempt to execute an undefined instruction. The processor state just
before handling the exception must be preserved so that the original program can be resumed when the
exception routine has completed. More than one exception can arise at the same time.
ARM supports seven types of exception. Table 2-3 lists the types of exception and the processor mode that
is used to process that exception. When an exception occurs, execution is forced from a fixed memory
address corresponding to the type of exception. These fixed addresses are called the exception vectors.

Note
The normal vector at address 0x00000014 and the high vector at address 0xFFFF0014 are not normally
used and are reserved for future expansion. The reserved vector at address 0x00000014 was used for an
Address Exception vector in earlier versions of the ARM architecture which had a 26-bit address space. See
Chapter A8 The 26-bit Architectures for more information.

Table 2-3 Exception processing modes

Exception type

Mode

Normal
address

High vector
address

Reset

Supervisor

0x00000000

0xFFFF0000

Undefined instructions

Undefined

0x00000004

0xFFFF0004

Software interrupt (SWI)

Supervisor

0x00000008

0xFFFF0008

Prefetch Abort (instruction fetch memory abort)

Abort

0x0000000C

0xFFFF000C

Data Abort (data access memory abort)

Abort

0x00000010

0xFFFF0010

IRQ (interrupt)

IRQ

0x00000018

0xFFFF0018

FIQ (fast interrupt)

FIQ

0x0000001C

0xFFFF001C

When an exception occurs, the banked versions of R14 and the SPSR for the exception mode are used to
save state as follows:
R14_<exception_mode> = return link
SPSR_<exception_mode> = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = exception mode number
CPSR[5] = 0
if <exception_mode> == Reset or FIQ then
CPSR[6] = 1
/* else CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7] = 1
PC = exception vector address

ARM DDI 0100E

/* Execute in ARM state */

/* Disable fast interrupts */
/* Disable normal interrupts */

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A2-13

Programmers Model

To return after handling the exception, the SPSR is moved into the CPSR, and R14 is moved to the PC. This
can be done atomically in two ways:

using a data-processing instruction with the S bit set, and the PC as the destination

using the Load Multiple with Restore CPSR instruction, as described in LDM (3) on page A4-34.
The following sections show what happens automatically when the exception occurs, and also show the
recommended data-processing instruction to use to return from each exception. This instruction is always a
MOVS or SUBS instruction with the PC as its destination.

Note
When the recommended data-processing instruction is a SUBS and a Load Multiple with Restore CPSR
instruction is used to return from the exception handler, the subtraction must still be performed. This is
usually done at the start of the exception handler, before the return link is stored to memory.
For example, an interrupt handler that wishes to store its return link on the stack might use instructions of
the following form at its entry point:
SUB
STMFD

R14, R14, #4
SP!, {<other_registers>, R14}

and return using the instruction:

LDMFD

2.6.1

SP!, {<other_registers>, PC}^

Reset
When the Reset input is asserted on the processor, the ARM processor immediately stops execution of the
current instruction. When Reset is de-asserted, the following actions are performed:
R14_svc
= UNPREDICTABLE value
SPSR_svc = UNPREDICTABLE value
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10011
CPSR[5]
= 0
CPSR[6]
= 1
CPSR[7]
= 1
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF0000
else
PC
= 0x00000000

/*
/*
/*
/*

Enter Supervisor mode */

Execute in ARM state */
Disable fast interrupts */
Disable normal interrupts */

After Reset, the ARM processor begins execution at address 0x00000000 or 0xFFFF0000 in Supervisor
mode with interrupts disabled. See About the MMU architecture on page B3-2 for more information on the
effects of Reset.

Note
There is no architecturally defined way of returning from a Reset.

A2-14

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ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

2.6.2

Undefined Instruction exception

If the ARM processor executes a coprocessor instruction, it waits for any external coprocessor
to acknowledge that it can execute the instruction. If no coprocessor responds, an Undefined Instruction
exception occurs.
If an attempt is made to execute an instruction that is UNDEFINED, an Undefined Instruction exception occurs
(see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27).
The Undefined Instruction exception can be used for software emulation of a coprocessor in a system that
does not have the physical coprocessor (hardware), or for general-purpose instruction set extension by
software emulation.
When an Undefined Instruction exception occurs, the following actions are performed:
R14_und
= address of next instruction after the undefined instruction
SPSR_und = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b11011
/* Enter Undefined mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF0004
else
PC
= 0x00000004

To return after emulating the undefined instruction use:

MOVS PC,R14

This restores the PC (from R14_und) and CPSR (from SPSR_und) and returns to the instruction following
the undefined instruction.
In some coprocessor designs, an internal exceptional condition caused by one coprocessor instruction is
signaled imprecisely by refusing to respond to a later coprocessor instruction. In these circumstances, the
Undefined Instruction handler takes whatever action is necessary to clear the exceptional condition, then
returns to the second coprocessor instruction. To do this use:
SUBS PC,R14,#4

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Programmers Model

2.6.3

Software Interrupt exception

The Software Interrupt instruction (SWI) enters Supervisor mode to request a particular supervisor
(operating system) function. When a SWI is executed, the following actions are performed:
R14_svc
= address of next instruction after the SWI instruction
SPSR_svc = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10011
/* Enter Supervisor mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF0008
else
PC
= 0x00000008

To return after performing the SWI operation, use the following instruction to restore the PC
(from R14_svc) and CPSR (from SPSR_svc) and return to the instruction following the SWI:
MOVS PC,R14

2.6.4

Prefetch Abort (instruction fetch memory abort)

A memory abort is signaled by the memory system. Activating an abort in response to an instruction fetch
marks the fetched instruction as invalid. A Prefetch Abort exception is generated if the processor tries to
execute the invalid instruction. If the instruction is not executed (for example, as a result of a branch being
taken while it is in the pipeline), no Prefetch Abort occurs.
In ARM architecture version 5 and above, a Prefetch Abort exception can also be generated as the result of
executing a BKPT instruction. For details, see BKPT on page A4-14 (ARM instruction) and BKPT on
page A7-24 (Thumb instruction).
When an attempt is made to execute an aborted instruction, the following actions are performed:
R14_abt
= address of the aborted instruction + 4
SPSR_abt = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10111
/* Enter Abort mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF000C
else
PC
= 0x0000000C

To return after fixing the reason for the abort, use:

SUBS PC,R14,#4

This restores both the PC (from R14_abt) and CPSR (from SPSR_abt), and returns to the aborted
instruction.

A2-16

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ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

2.6.5

Data Abort (data access memory abort)

A memory abort is signaled by the memory system. Activating an abort in response to a data access (load
or store) marks the data as invalid. A Data Abort exception occurs before any following instructions or
exceptions have altered the state of the CPU. The following actions are performed:
R14_abt
= address of the aborted instruction + 8
SPSR_abt = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10111
/* Enter Abort mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF0010
else
PC
= 0x00000010

To return after fixing the reason for the abort use:

SUBS PC,R14,#8

This restores both the PC (from R14_abt) and CPSR (from SPSR_abt), and returns to re-execute the aborted
instruction.
If the aborted instruction does not need to be re-executed use:
SUBS PC,R14,#4

Effects of data-aborted instructions

Instructions that access data memory can modify memory by storing one or more values. If a Data Abort
occurs in such an instruction, the value of each memory location that the instruction stores to is:

unchanged if the memory system does not permit write access to the memory location
UNPREDICTABLE otherwise.

Instructions that access data memory can modify registers in three ways:

By loading values into one or more of the general-purpose registers, which can include the PC.

By specifying base register writeback, in which the base register used in the address calculation has
a modified value written to it. All instructions that allow this to be specified have UNPREDICTABLE
results if base register writeback is specified and the base register is the PC, so only general-purpose
registers other than the PC can legitimately be modified in this way.

By loading values into coprocessor registers.

If a Data Abort occurs, the values left in these registers are determined by the following rules:
1.

ARM DDI 0100E

The PC value on entry to the data abort handler is 0x00000010 or 0xFFFF0010, and the R14_abt
value is determined from the address of the aborted instruction. Neither is affected in any way by the
results of any PC load specified by the instruction.

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Programmers Model

2.

If base register writeback is not specified, the base register value is unchanged. This applies even if
the instruction loaded its own base register and the memory access to load the base register occurred
earlier than the aborting access.
For example, suppose the instruction is:
LDMIA R0,{R0,R1,R2}

and the implementation loads the new R0 value, then the new R1 value and finally the new R2 value.
If a Data Abort occurs on any of the accesses, the value in the base register R0 of the instruction is
unchanged. This applies even if it was the load of R1 or R2 that aborted, rather than the load of R0.
3.

If base register writeback is specified, the value left in the base register is determined by the abort
model of the implementation, as described in Abort models.

4.

If the instruction only loads one general-purpose register, the value in that register is unchanged.

5.

If the instruction loads more than one general-purpose register, UNPREDICTABLE values are left in
destination registers which are neither the PC nor the base register of the instruction.

6.

If the instruction loads coprocessor registers, UNPREDICTABLE values are left in the destination
coprocessor registers, unless otherwise specified in the instruction set description of the specific
coprocessor.

Abort models
The abort model used by an ARM implementation is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED, and is one of the
following:
Base Restored Abort Model
If a Data Abort occurs in an instruction which specifies base register writeback, the value in
the base register is unchanged.
Base Updated Abort Model
If a Data Abort occurs in an instruction which specifies base register writeback, the base
register writeback still occurs.
In either case, the abort model applies uniformly across all instructions. An implementation does not use the
Base Restored Abort Model for some instructions and the Base Updated Abort Model for others.

Note
In some ARMv3 and earlier implementations, a third abort model (the Early Abort Model) was used. In this
model, base register writeback occurred for LDC, LDM, STC and STM instructions, and the base register was
unchanged for all other instructions.
The Early Abort Model is not valid in ARM architecture versions 3M, 4 and above.
Some of these implementations optionally allowed a Late Abort Model to be selected. This is identical to
the Base Updated Abort Model.

A2-18

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ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

2.6.6

Interrupt request (IRQ) exception

The IRQ exception is generated externally by asserting the IRQ input on the processor. It has a lower
priority than FIQ (see Table 2-4 on page A2-20), and is masked out when an FIQ sequence is entered.
Interrupts are disabled when the I bit in the CPSR is set. If the I bit is clear, ARM checks for an IRQ at
instruction boundaries.

Note
The I bit can only be changed from a privileged mode.
When an IRQ is detected, the following actions are performed:
R14_irq
= address of next instruction to be executed + 4
SPSR_irq = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10010
/* Enter IRQ mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF0018
else
PC
= 0x00000018

To return after servicing the interrupt, use:

SUBS PC,R14,#4

This restores both the PC (from R14_irq) and CPSR (from SPSR_irq), and resumes execution of the
interrupted code.

2.6.7

Fast interrupt request (FIQ) exception

The FIQ exception is generated externally by asserting the FIQ input on the processor. FIQ is designed to
support a data transfer or channel process, and has sufficient private registers to remove the need for register
saving in such applications, therefore minimizing the overhead of context switching.
Fast interrupts are disabled when the F bit in the CPSR is set. If the F bit is clear, ARM checks for an FIQ
at instruction boundaries.

Note
The F bit can only be changed from a privileged mode.
When an FIQ is detected, the following actions are performed:

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R14_fiq
= address of next instruction to be executed + 4
SPSR_fiq = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10001
/* Enter FIQ mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
CPSR[6]
= 1
/* Disable fast interrupts */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF001C
else
PC
= 0x0000001C

To return after servicing the interrupt, use:

SUBS PC, R14,#4

This restores both the PC (from R14_fiq) and CPSR (from SPSR_fiq), and resumes execution of the
interrupted code.
The FIQ vector is deliberately the last vector to allow the FIQ exception-handler software to be placed
directly at address 0x0000001C or 0xFFFF001C, without requiring a branch instruction from the vector.

2.6.8

Exception priorities
Table 2-4 shows the exception priorities:
Table 2-4 Exception priorities
Priority
Highest

Lowest

Exception
1

Reset

Data Abort

FIQ

IRQ

Prefetch Abort

Undefined instruction
SWI

Undefined instruction and software interrupt cannot occur at the same time, as they each correspond to
particular (non-overlapping) decodings of the current instruction, and both must be lower priority than
prefetch abort, as a prefetch abort indicates that no valid instruction was fetched.
The priority of a Data Abort exception is higher than FIQ, which ensures that the data abort handler is
entered before the FIQ handler is entered (so that the Data Abort is resolved after the FIQ handler has
completed).

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2.6.9

High vectors
Some ARM implementations allow the exception vector locations to be moved from their normal address
range 0x00000000-0x0000001C at the bottom of the 32-bit address space, to an alternative address
range 0xFFFF0000-0xFFFF001C near the top of the address space. These alternative locations are
known as the high vectors.
It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether the high vectors are supported. When they are, a hardware
configuration input selects whether the normal vectors or the high vectors are to be used.
The ARM instruction set does not contain any instructions which can directly change whether normal or
high vectors are configured. However, if the standard System Control coprocessor is attached to an ARM
processor which supports the high vectors, bit[13] of coprocessor 15 register 1 can be used to switch
between using the normal vectors and the high vectors (see Register 1: Control register on page B2-13).

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2.7

Memory and memory-mapped I/O

This section discusses memory and memory-mapped I/O, mainly with regard to the assumptions ARM
processor implementations make about how their memory systems behave and how programs should access
memory. As a result, it describes the memory system from the outside, specifying how it should behave
without going into much detail of how this behavior can or should be implemented. More details of how
some standard memory systems behave can be found in Part B: Memory and System Architectures.
The ARM architecture allows a wide variety of memory system designs, using the range of memory and I/O
devices which are available. This makes it difficult to specify absolute rules about how a memory system
should behave.
Many of the rules below can be broken if the hardware and software are designed appropriately. However,
breaking these rules is discouraged, for the following reasons:

2.7.1

It might make implementing the memory system more difficult.

It might cause difficulties in porting the system (hardware and/or software) to future ARM
processors.

Standard software (such as compilers and other software toolkit components) might not work with
the rule-breaking system.

Address space
The ARM architecture uses a single, flat address space of 232 8-bit bytes. Byte addresses are treated as
unsigned numbers, running from 0 to 232 - 1.
This address space is regarded as consisting of 230 32-bit words, each of whose addresses is word-aligned,
which means that the address is divisible by 4. The word whose word-aligned address is A consists of the
four bytes with addresses A, A+1, A+2 and A+3.
In ARM architecture version 4 and above, the address space is also regarded as consisting of 231 16-bit
halfwords, each of whose addresses is halfword-aligned (divisible by 2). The halfword whose
halfword-aligned address is A consists of the two bytes with addresses A and A+1.

Note
Prior to ARM architecture version 3, the address space was only 226 bytes, with addresses running from 0
to 226 - 1. This address space was split into 224 words.
Some implementations of subsequent non-T variants of the ARM architecture include
backwards-compatibility features to allow execution of code written for this address space. These features
are described in Chapter A8 The 26-bit Architectures. Their use for any purpose other than executing old
code is strongly discouraged.
These backwards-compatibility features are not compatible with T variants of the architecture, due to
conflicting uses of bits[1:0] of R15.

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Address calculations are normally performed using ordinary integer instructions. This means that they
normally wrap around if they overflow or underflow the address space. This means that the result of the
calculation is reduced modulo 232. However, to minimize the chances of incompatibility if the address space
is extended in the future, programs should not be written so that they rely on this behavior. Address
calculations should be written so that their results would still lie in the range 0 to 232 - 1 if they were
calculated without wrap-around.
Most branch instructions calculate their targets by adding an instruction-specified offset to the value of the
PC and writing the result back to the PC. If the overall effect of this calculation of:
(address_of_current_instruction) + 8 + offset
is to overflow or underflow the address space, the instruction is technically UNPREDICTABLE because it relies
on address wrap-around. The result of this is that forward branches past address 0xFFFFFFFF and
backward branches past address 0x00000000 should not be used.
Also, normal sequential execution of instructions effectively calculates:
(address_of_current_instruction) + 4
after each instruction to determine which instruction to execute next. If this calculation overflows the top of
the address space, the result is again technically UNPREDICTABLE. In other words, programs should not rely
on sequential execution of the instruction at address 0x00000000 after the instruction at address
0xFFFFFFFC.

Note
The above only applies to instructions that are executed, including those which fail their condition code
check. Most ARM implementations prefetch instructions ahead of the currently-executing instruction. If
this prefetching overflows the top of the address space, it does not cause the implementations behavior to
become UNPREDICTABLE until and unless the prefetched instructions are actually executed.
LDC, LDM, STC, and STM instructions access a sequence of words at increasing memory addresses,
effectively incrementing a memory address by 4 for each load or store. If this calculation overflows the top
of the address space, the result is again technically UNPREDICTABLE. In other words, programs should not
use these instructions in such a way that they access the word at address 0x00000000 sequentially after
the word at address 0xFFFFFFFC.

2.7.2

Endianness
The rules in Address space on page A2-22 require that for a word-aligned address A:

The word at address A consists of the bytes at addresses A, A+1, A+2 and A+3.

The halfword at address A consists of the bytes at addresses A and A+1.

The halfword at address A+2 consists of the bytes at addresses A+2 and A+3.

The word at address A therefore consists of the halfwords at addresses A and A+2.
However, this does not totally specify the mappings between words, halfwords and bytes.

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A memory system uses one of the two following mapping schemes. This choice is known as the endianness
of the memory system.

In a little-endian memory system:

a byte or halfword at a word-aligned address is the least significant byte or halfword within
the word at that address

a byte at a halfword-aligned address is the least significant byte within the halfword at that
address.

In a big-endian memory system:

a byte or halfword at a word-aligned address is the most significant byte or halfword within
the word at that address

a byte at a halfword-aligned address is the most significant byte within the halfword at that
address.

For a word-aligned address A, Table 2-5 and Table 2-6 show how the word at address A, the halfwords at
addresses A and A+2, and the bytes at addresses A, A+1, A+2 and A+3 map on to each other for each
endianness.
Table 2-5 Big-endian memory system
31

24 23

16 15

Word at address A
Halfword at address A
Byte at address A

Halfword at address A+2

Byte at address A+1

Byte at address A+2

Byte at address A+3

Table 2-6 Little-endian memory system

31

20 19

12 11 10 9 8

4 3

Word at address A
Halfword at address A+2
Byte at address A+3

Byte at address A+2

Halfword at address A
Byte at address A+1

Byte at address A

It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether an ARM implementation supports little-endian memory systems,

big-endian memory systems, or both.

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The ARM instruction set does not contain any instructions that directly select the endianness. Instead, an
ARM implementation which supports both endiannesses has a hardware input to configure it to match the
endianness of the attached memory system. If a standard System Control coprocessor is attached to such an
ARM implementation, this configuration input can be changed by writing to bit[7] of register 1 of the
System Control coprocessor (see Register 1: Control register on page B2-13).
If an ARM implementation is configured for a memory system of one endianness but is actually attached to
a memory system of the opposite endianness, only word-sized instruction fetches, data loads and data stores
can be relied upon. Other memory accesses have UNPREDICTABLE results.
When the standard System Control coprocessor is attached to an ARM processor that supports both
endiannesses, bit[7] of the coprocessors register 1 is cleared on reset. This means that the ARM processor
is configured for a little-endian memory system immediately after reset. If it is attached to a big-endian
memory system, one of the first things the reset handler must do is switch the configured endianness to
big-endian, using an instruction sequence like:
MRC
ORR
MCR

p15, 0, r0, c1, c0

r0, r0, #0x80
p15, 0, r0, c1, c0

; r0 := CP15 register 1
; Set bit[7] in r0
; CP15 register 1 := r0

This must be done before there is any possibility of a byte or halfword data access occurring, or of a Thumb
instruction being executed.

Note
The rules on endianness imply that word loads and stores are not affected by the configured endianness.
Because of this, it is not possible to reverse the order of the bytes in a word by storing it, changing the
configured endianness, and reloading the stored word. Instead, use one of the code sequences in Swapping
endianness on page A9-4.
More generally, there is no point in changing the configured endianness of an ARM processor to be different
from that of the memory system it is attached to, because no additional architecturally defined operations
become available as a result of doing so. So normally, the only time the configured endianness is changed
is at reset to make it match the memory system endianness.

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2.7.3

Unaligned memory accesses

The ARM architecture normally expects all memory accesses to be suitably aligned. In particular, the
address used for a word access should normally be word-aligned, and the address used for a halfword access
should normally be halfword-aligned. Memory accesses which are not aligned in this way are called
unaligned memory accesses.

Unaligned instruction fetches

If an address which is not word-aligned is written to R15 during ARM state execution, the result is normally
either UNPREDICTABLE or that bits[1:0] of the address are ignored. If an address which is not
halfword-aligned is written to R15 during Thumb state execution, bit[0] of the address is normally ignored.
See Writing the program counter on page A2-8 and individual instruction descriptions for more details. As
a result, a value which is read from R15 during execution of valid code always has bits[1:0] zero for ARM
state execution and bit[0] zero for Thumb state execution.
When it is specified that these bits are ignored, ARM implementations are not required to ensure that they
are cleared from the address sent to memory for the instruction fetch. They can instead send the value
written to R15 unchanged to memory, and require the memory system to ignore bits[1:0] of the address for
an ARM instruction fetch and bit[0] for a Thumb instruction fetch.

Unaligned data accesses

The architecturally defined behavior of a load/store instruction which generates an unaligned access is one
of the following:

It is UNPREDICTABLE.

It ignores the low-order address bits that make the access unaligned. This means it effectively uses
the formula (address AND 0xFFFFFFFE) for a halfword access, and uses the formula
(address AND 0xFFFFFFFC)for a word access.

It ignores the low-order address bits that make the access unaligned for the memory access itself, but
then uses those low-order bits to control a rotation of the loaded data. (This behavior applies only to
the LDR and SWP instructions.)

Which of these three options applies to a load/store instruction depends on which instruction it is, and is
documented on the individual instruction pages.
ARM implementations are not required to ensure that the low-order address bits that make an access
unaligned are cleared from the address they send to memory. They can instead send the address as calculated
by the load/store instruction unchanged to memory, and require the memory system to ignore address[0] for
a halfword access and address[1:0] for a word access.

Note
When an instruction ignores the low-order address bits that make an access unaligned, the pseudo-code in
the instruction description does not mask them out explicitly. Instead, the Memory[<address>,<size>]
function used in the pseudo-code masks them out implicitly. This function is defined in the Glossary.

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2.7.4

Prefetching and self-modifying code

Many ARM implementations fetch instructions from memory before execution of the instructions that
precede them has completed. This behavior is known as prefetching the instruction.
Prefetching an instruction does not commit the ARM implementation to actually executing the instruction.
Two typical cases in which the instruction is not subsequently executed are:

When an exception occurs, execution of the current instruction is completed, all further prefetched
instructions are discarded, and execution of the instructions at the exception vector is started.

When a branch is taken, any instructions that have already been prefetched from sequential locations
beyond the branch are discarded.

ARM implementations are free to choose how far ahead of the current point of execution they prefetch
instructions, or even to have a dynamically varying number of prefetched instructions. The original ARM
implementation prefetched two instructions ahead of the instruction currently being executed, but
implementations are free to choose to prefetch more or less than this.

Note
When an instruction reads the PC, it gets the address of the instruction that is two after itself:

for ARM instructions, it gets its own address plus 8

for Thumb instructions, it gets its own address plus 4.

Historically, there is a link between this two-instruction offset for PC reads and the two-instruction prefetch
of the original ARM implementation. However, this link is not architectural. An implementation which
prefetches a different number of instructions still ensures that an instruction which reads the PC gets the
address of the instruction two after itself.
As well as being free to choose how many instructions to prefetch, an ARM implementation can choose
which possible future execution path to prefetch along. For example, after a branch instruction, it can choose
to prefetch either the instruction following the branch or the instruction at the branch target. This is known
as branch prediction.
A potential problem with all forms of instruction prefetching is that the instruction in memory might be
changed after it was prefetched but before it is executed. If this happens, the modification to the instruction
in memory does not normally prevent the already prefetched copy of the instruction from executing to
completion.
For example, in the following code sequence, the STR instruction replaces the SUB instruction that follows
it by a copy of the ADD instruction:
LDR
STR
NextInstr
SUB
:
:
AddInstr
ADD

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r0, NextInstr
r1, r1, #1

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Programmers Model

However, the instruction executed after the STR instruction is normally the SUB instruction on the first
occasion that this code is executed, because the SUB instruction was prefetched before the instruction in
memory was changed. The ADD instruction is not executed until the second time that the code sequence is
executed.
Furthermore, even this behavior cannot be guaranteed, because:

On the first occasion that the code sequence is executed, it is possible that an interrupt will occur
immediately after the STR. If it does, the SUB instruction that had been prefetched is discarded. When
the interrupt handler returns, the instruction at NextInstr is prefetched again, and is the ADD
instruction this time. So while the SUB instruction is normally executed on the first occasion that the
code is executed, it is possible that the ADD instruction is executed instead.

Either the ARM processor or the memory system is allowed to keep copies of instructions fetched
from memory and use those copies instead of repeating the instruction fetch if the instruction is
executed again. If this occurs, a copy of the SUB instruction can be executed on the second or
subsequent occasion that the code sequence is executed.
The main reason that this might occur is that the memory system contains separate instruction and
data caches (see Instruction cache coherency on page B5-11). However, other possibilities also exist.
For example, some forms of branch prediction hardware keep copies of the instructions at branch
targets.

The overall result is that code which writes one or more instructions to memory and then executes them
(known as self-modifying code) cannot be executed reliably on ARM processors without special
precautions. Programming techniques that involve the use of self-modifying code are to be avoided as far
as possible.

Instruction Memory Barriers (IMBs)

In many systems, however, it is impossible to avoid the use of self-modifying code entirely. For example,
any system which allows a program to be loaded into memory and then executed is using self-modifying
code.
Each implementation therefore defines a sequence of operations that can be used in the middle of a
self-modifying code sequence to make it execute reliably. This sequence is called an Instruction Memory
Barrier (IMB), and often depends both on the ARM processor implementation and on the memory system
implementation.
The IMB sequence must be executed after the new instructions have been stored to memory and before they
are executed, for example, after a program has been loaded and before its entry point is branched to. Any
self-modifying code sequence which does not use an IMB in this way has UNPREDICTABLE behavior.
Because the exact sequence of operations to be performed by an IMB depends on the ARM and memory
system implementations, it is recommended that software is designed so that the IMB sequence is provided
as a call to an easily replaceable system dependencies module, rather than being included in-line where it is
needed. This eases porting to other ARM processors and memory systems.

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Also, in many implementations, the IMB sequence includes operations that are only usable from privileged
processor modes, such as the cache cleaning and invalidation operations supplied by the standard System
Control coprocessor (see Chapter B5 Caches and Write Buffers). To allow User mode programs to use the
IMB sequence, it is recommended that it is supplied as an operating system call, invoked by a SWI
instruction.
In systems that use the 24-bit immediate in a SWI instruction to specify the required operating system
service, it is recommended that the IMB sequence is requested by the instruction:
SWI 0xF00000

This call takes no parameters and does not return a result, and should use the same calling conventions as a
call to a C function with prototype:
void IMB(void);

apart from the fact that a SWI instruction is used for the call, rather than a BL instruction.
Some implementations can use knowledge of the range of addresses to which new instructions have been
stored to reduce the execution time cost of an IMB. It is therefore also recommended that a second operating
system call is supplied which does an IMB with respect to a specified address range only. On systems that
use the 24-bit immediate in a SWI instruction to specify the required operating system service, this should
be requested by the instruction:
SWI 0xF00001

and should use similar calling conventions to those used by a call to a C function with prototype:
void IMB_Range(unsigned long start_addr, unsigned long end_addr);

where the address range runs from start_addr (inclusive) to end_addr (exclusive).

Note

When the standard ARM Procedure Calling Standard is used, this means that start_addr is
passed in R0 and end_addr in R1.

On some ARM implementations, the execution time cost of an IMB can be very large (many
thousands of clock cycles), even when a small address range is specified. For small scale uses of
self-modifying code, this is likely to lead to a major loss of performance. It is therefore recommended
that self-modifying code is only used where it is unavoidable and/or it produces sufficiently large
execution time benefits to offset the cost of the IMB.

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Other uses for IMBs

Some memory systems allow virtual-to-physical address mapping, in which the physical memory location
corresponding to an address generated by the ARM processor can be changed. If this address mapping is
changed after an instruction has been prefetched but before it is executed, and the address of the instruction
is affected by the change of address mapping, then the wrong instruction is executed.
This is very similar to the situation that arises if a store occurs to an instruction address after it has been
prefetched but before it is executed. In both cases, the instruction held at the memory address is being
changed, either because a value is being stored to it or because a different physical memory location
becomes associated with the address. The same solution is therefore used when the virtual-to-physical
address mapping is changed. The IMB sequence must be executed after a change of virtual-to-physical
address mapping and before any attempt to execute an instruction from a memory area whose address
mapping has been changed.
Another similar case occurs if memory access permissions are changed between prefetching and executing
an instruction. If access was not permitted when the instruction was prefetched but is permitted when it is
executed, an unexpected Prefetch Abort exception might occur. In the opposite case that access was
permitted when the instruction was prefetched and is no longer permitted when it is executed, there might
be a security hole in the system.
Memory access permissions can typically be changed either by explicitly writing new access permission
settings to the memory system, or because the memory system supports different access permissions for
User mode and privileged modes and one of the following occurs:

An exception occurs in User mode, causing the processor to switch to a privileged mode.

Privileged code changes mode to User mode.

All ARM implementations ensure that the following events do not cause any instructions to be executed
after having been prefetched with the wrong access permissions:

An exception occurring in User mode.

Execution of one of the instructions designed for exception return causing a change from a privileged
mode to User mode. These instructions are the ones which have a side-effect of copying the SPSR of
the current mode to the CPSR, namely:

The data processing instructions ADCS, ADDS, ANDS, BICS, EORS, MOVS, MVNS, ORRS,
RSBS, RSCS, SBCS and SUBS when their destination register is R15. (However, only MOVS
and SUBS are commonly used for exception return.)

The form of the LDM instruction described in LDM (3) on page A4-34.

The same is not guaranteed in the remaining cases where memory access permissions might change between
prefetching and executing an instruction. These are:

Explicitly writing new access permission settings to the memory system.

Changing from a privileged mode to User mode by means of an MSR instruction.

In these cases, an IMB sequence needs to be executed shortly after the change of access permissions, and
none of the instructions executed after the change of access permissions and before the Instruction Memory
Barrier should be affected by the change of access permissions.

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However, the cost of a full IMB can often be avoided in these cases. In particular, the instruction word
associated with any particular address has not changed, so it is usually possible to avoid cache flushes. An
implementation can therefore define restricted versions of the IMB sequence to be used in these cases.
In the case of an MSR instruction changing from a privileged mode to User mode, a restricted version of the
IMB sequence that works on all ARM processors to date is simply to execute any instruction that writes to
the PC, other than the branch instructions described in the following sections:

B, BL on page A4-10

BLX (1) on page A4-16

B (1) on page A7-18

B (2) on page A7-20

BL, BLX(1) on page A7-26.

In other words, the mode change should not affect the access permissions of any instructions that can be
reached from the MSR instruction by any combination of:

Normal sequential execution of instructions.

For each branch from the above list that can be reached in this way, execution of the instruction at its
target. (The branch instructions in the list are precisely those that have a fixed, statically determined
target.)

This set of instructions is occasionally referred to elsewhere in this manual as the set of instructions that can
be reached by predictable subsequent execution from the MSR instruction.

2.7.5

Memory-mapped I/O
The standard way to perform I/O functions on ARM systems is by the use of memory-mapped I/O. This uses
special memory addresses which supply I/O functions when they are loaded from or stored to. Typically,
loading from a memory-mapped I/O address is used for input, and storing to a memory-mapped I/O address
is used for output. Both loads and stores can also be used to perform control functions, either instead of or
in addition to their normal input or output function.
The behavior of a memory-mapped I/O location usually differs from that expected of a normal memory
location. For example, two successive loads from a normal memory location return the same value each time
unless there has been an intervening store to that location. For a memory-mapped I/O location, the value
returned by the second load can be different from the value returned by the first load. Typically, this is
because the first load has a side-effect (such as removing the loaded value from a buffer) or because of a
side-effect of an intervening load or store to another memory-mapped I/O location.
These differences in behavior mainly affect the use of caches and write buffers in the memory system. This
is discussed in Chapter B5 Caches and Write Buffers. In short, memory-mapped I/O locations are normally
marked as uncachable and unbufferable, to avoid changes to the number, type, order, or timing of the
accesses made to them.

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Instruction fetches from memory-mapped I/O

As described in Prefetching and self-modifying code on page A2-27, ARM implementations can vary
considerably with regard to when they fetch instructions from memory. As a result, it is strongly
recommended that memory-mapped I/O locations are only used for data loads and stores, not for instruction
fetches. Any system design which relies on executing instructions fetched from a memory-mapped I/O
location is likely to be hard to port to future ARM implementations.

Data accesses to memory-mapped I/O

An instruction sequence accesses data memory at various points during its execution, generating a sequence
of load and store accesses. Provided these loads and stores access normal memory locations, they only
interact with each other if they access the same memory location. As a result, loads and stores to distinct
normal memory locations can be performed in a different order to that implied by the instruction sequence,
without changing the final result of the sequence. This freedom to change the order of memory accesses can
be exploited by a memory system to improve performance (for example, by the use of caches and write
buffers).
Furthermore, data accesses to the same normal memory location have other properties that can be exploited
to improve performance. These include:

Successive loads from the same location without an intervening store generate identical results.

A load from a location returns the last value stored to that location.

Multiple accesses of one data size can sometimes be merged into a single, larger size access. For
example, separate stores to the two halfwords contained within a word can be merged to produce a
single word store.

However, if the memory words, halfwords or bytes accessed by the code sequence are memory-mapped I/O
locations, one access can generate a side-effect which changes the results of a subsequent access to a
different location. If this happens, the time order of individual accesses makes a difference to the final
results of the code sequence. Also, a load access to a memory-mapped I/O location can have a side-effect
that changes the result of a subsequent access to the same location. Accesses to memory-mapped I/O
locations must therefore not be optimized away, and their time order must not be changed.
It is also important that for memory-mapped I/O, the data size of each memory access is maintained. For
example, a code sequence that specifies 4 byte reads from 4 sequential byte addresses must not be merged
into a single word read when accessing memory-mapped I/O. Such a system might cause the final results of
the code sequence to be different from that intended. Similarly a system which splits word accesses up into
many byte accesses might cause memory-mapped I/O devices not to operate as expected.
Each ARM implementation provides a mechanism to ensure that no changes are made to the number of
accesses in a sequence of data memory accesses, or to their data sizes, or time order. This mechanism
consists of IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED requirements on the memory accesses whose number, data sizes, and
time order are to be preserved. If these requirements are not adhered to for accesses to memory-mapped I/O
locations, unexpected behavior might occur.

A2-32

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Programmers Model

Typical requirements include:

Constraints on memory attributes of the memory-mapped I/O locations. For example, in the standard
memory system architectures described in Part B: Memory and System Architectures, the memory
locations must be uncachable and unbufferable.

Constraints on the sizes or alignments of the accesses to the memory-mapped I/O locations. For
example, if an ARM implementation has a 16-bit external data bus, it might prohibit the use of 32-bit
accesses to memory-mapped I/O locations, since they cannot be performed in a single bus cycle.

A requirement for additional external hardware. For example, an alternative possibility for an ARM
implementation with a 16-bit external bus is to allow 32-bit accesses to memory-mapped I/O
locations, but require external hardware to re-assemble the two 16-bit bus accesses into a single
32-bit access to the I/O device.

If a sequence of data memory accesses includes some accesses which meet the requirements for
memory-mapped I/O accesses and some which do not, then:

The number and data sizes of the accesses that meet the requirements are preserved. In particular,
they are not merged with each other or with the accesses that do not meet the requirements in any
way. The accesses which do not meet the requirements can be merged with each other.

The time order of the accesses which meet the requirements are preserved relative to each other. Their
time order relative to accesses which do not meet the requirements is not guaranteed.

Time ordering of LDM and STM instructions

The LDM instruction performs a sequence of loads from successive words in memory, and the STM
instruction performs a similar sequence of stores. The rules described above for accessing memory-mapped
I/O apply to the sequence of word accesses within one of these instructions in the same way as they do to a
series of separate memory access instructions.
The time order of the sequence of memory accesses performed by an LDM or STM instruction is only
architecturally defined under limited circumstances. The rules for this are:

If the register list in the instruction includes the PC, the time order of the sequence of memory
accesses is not defined. (This means that such LDM and STM instructions are not suitable for accessing
memory-mapped I/O.)

If the register list in the instruction does not include the PC, the time order of the sequence of memory
accesses is in order of memory address, starting with the lowest address and ending with the highest
address. (This order is identical to ascending register number order within the list of registers to be
loaded or stored.)

If all of the memory accesses generated by an LDM or STM meet the IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED
requirements to be treated as memory-mapped I/O locations, then their number, data sizes and time
order are preserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A2-33

Programmers Model

If some of the memory accesses generated by an LDM or STM meet the IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED
requirements to be treated as memory-mapped I/O locations, but others do not, then their number,
data sizes and time order are not guaranteed to be preserved. In particular, the ARM processor and
memory system do not even necessarily preserve the relative time order of the accesses that do meet
the requirements. This is an exception to the normal rules that govern what happens when some
accesses meet the requirements and others do not.
For example, with the standard memory systems described in Part B: Memory and System
Architectures, the time order of the memory accesses is not guaranteed to be preserved if the LDM or
STM crosses the boundary between a cachable area of memory and an uncachable, unbufferable area.
Such LDM and STM instructions are therefore not suitable for memory-mapped I/O.

A2-34

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter A3
The ARM Instruction Set

This chapter describes the ARM instruction set and contains the following sections:

Instruction set encoding on page A3-2

The condition field on page A3-5

Branch instructions on page A3-7

Data-processing instructions on page A3-9

Multiply instructions on page A3-12

Miscellaneous arithmetic instructions on page A3-14

Status register access instructions on page A3-15

Load and store instructions on page A3-17

Load and Store Multiple instructions on page A3-21

Semaphore instructions on page A3-23

Exception-generating instructions on page A3-24

Coprocessor instructions on page A3-25

Extending the instruction set on page A3-27.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-1

The ARM Instruction Set

3.1

Instruction set encoding

Figure 3-1 shows the ARM instruction set encoding.
All other bit patterns are UNPREDICTABLE or UNDEFINED. See Extending the instruction set on page A3-27
for a description of the cases where instructions are UNDEFINED.
An entry in square brackets, for example [1], indicates that more information is given after the figure.

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

shift

cond [1]

0 0 0 1 0 x x 0

Data processing register shift [2]

cond [1]

0 0 0

Miscellaneous instructions:
See Figure 3-3

cond [1]

0 0 0 1 0 x x 0

x x x x x x x x x x x x 0 x x 1

x x x x

Multiplies, extra load/stores:

See Figure 3-2

cond [1]

0 0 0 x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x 1 x x 1

x x x x

Data processing immediate [2]

cond [1]

0 0 1

Undefined instruction [3]

cond [1]

0 0 1 1 0 x 0 0

Move immediate to status register

cond [1]

0 0 1 1 0 R 1 0

Mask

Load/store immediate offset

cond [1]

0 1 0 P U B W L

Rn

Rd

Load/store register offset

cond [1]

0 1 1 P U B W L

Rn

Rd

Undefined instruction

cond [1]

0 1 1 x x

Load/store multiple
Undefined instruction [4]
Branch and branch with link
Branch and branch with link
and change to Thumb [4]

opcode

1 1 1 1 0 x x x x
cond [1]

Rn

Rn

Rd

Rs

Rd

rotate

SBO

Rm

immediate

rotate

immediate
immediate

shift amount

Rn

shift

Rm

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

1 1 1 1 1 0 1 H

24-bit offset

cond [5]

1 1 0 P U N W L

Coprocessor data processing

cond [5]

1 1 1 0

Coprocessor register transfers

cond [5]

1 1 1 0 opcode1 L

Software interrupt

cond [1]

1 1 1 1

opcode1

x x x x

register list

24-bit offset

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 x

x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

1 0 1 L

cond [1]

0 shift

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Coprocessor load/store and double

register transfers [6]

Undefined instruction [4]

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 0

Rm

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 1 x x x x

1 0 0 P U S W L

1 1 1 1 1 0 0 x x

shift amount

0 0 0

x x x

Rd

cond [1]

Rn

Miscellaneous instructions:
See Figure 3-3

opcode

Data processing immediate shift

Undefined instruction [4,7]

opcode

x x x x

Rn

CRd

cp_num

8-bit offset

CRn

CRd

cp_num

opcode2 0

CRm

CRn

Rd

cp_num

opcode2 1

CRm

swi number
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

x x x x

Figure 3-1 ARM instruction set summary

A3-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

3.1.1

The cond field is not allowed to be 1111 in this line. Other lines deal with the cases where
bits[31:28] of the instruction are 1111.
If the opcode field is of the form 10xx and the S field is 0, one of the following lines applies instead.
UNPREDICTABLE prior to ARM architecture version 4.
UNPREDICTABLE prior to ARM architecture version 5.
If the cond field is 1111, this instruction is UNPREDICTABLE prior to ARM architecture version 5.
The coprocessor double register transfer instructions are described in Chapter A10 Enhanced DSP
Extension.
In E variants of architecture version 5 and above, the cache preload instruction PLD uses a small
number of these instruction encodings.

Multiplies and extra load/store instructions

Figure 3-2 shows extra multiply and load/store instructions. An entry in square brackets, for example [1],
indicates that more information is given below the figure.

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

Rd

Rn

Rs

1 0 0 1

Rm

RdHi

RdLo

Rs

1 0 0 1

Rm

Rn

Rd

SBZ

1 0 0 1

Rm

cond

0 0 0 P U 0 W L

Rn

Rd

SBZ

1 0 1 1

Rm

Load/store halfword
immediate offset [1]

cond

0 0 0 P U 1 W L

Rn

Rd

HiOffset

1 0 1 1

LoOffset

Load/store two words

register offset [2]

cond

0 0 0 P U 0 W 0

Rn

Rd

SBZ

1 1 S 1

Rm

Load signed halfword/byte

register offset [1]

cond

0 0 0 P U 0 W 1

Rn

Rd

SBZ

1 1 H 1

Rm

Load/store two words

immediate offset [2]

cond

0 0 0 P U 1 W 0

Rn

Rd

HiOffset

1 1 S 1

LoOffset

Load signed halfword/byte

immediate offset [1]

cond

0 0 0 P U 1 W 1

Rn

Rd

HiOffset

1 1 H 1

LoOffset

Multiply (accumulate)

cond

0 0 0 0 0 0

Multiply (accumulate) long

cond

0 0 0 0 1 U A S

Swap/swap byte

cond

0 0 0 1 0 B 0

Load/store halfword
register offset [1]

A S

Figure 3-2 Multiplies and extra load/store instructions

1.
2.

UNPREDICTABLE prior

to ARM architecture version 4.

These instructions are described in Chapter A10 Enhanced DSP Extension.

Note
Any instruction with bits[27:25] = 000, bit[7] = 1, bit[4] = 1, and cond not equal to 1111, and which is not
specified in Figure 3-2 or its notes, is an undefined instruction (or UNPREDICTABLE prior to ARM
architecture version 4).

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-3

The ARM Instruction Set

3.1.2

Miscellaneous instructions
Figure 3-3 shows the remaining ARM instruction encodings. An entry in square brackets, for example [1],
indicates that more information is given below the figure.

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10

Move status register to register

cond

0 0 0 1 0 R 0 0

SBO

Rd

SBZ

0 0 0 0

SBZ

Move register to status register

cond

0 0 0 1 0 R 1 0

mask

SBO

SBZ

0 0 0 0

Rm

Branch/exchange instruction set [1]

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

SBO

SBO

SBO

0 0 0 1

Rm

Count leading zeros [2]

cond

0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

SBO

Rd

SBO

0 0 0 1

Rm

Branch and link/exchange instruction set [2]

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

SBO

SBO

SBO

0 0 1 1

Rm

Enhanced DSP add/subtracts [4]

cond

0 0 0 1 0

Rn

Rd

SBZ

0 1 0 1

Rm

Software breakpoint [2,3]

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

0 1 1 1

immed

Enhanced DSP multiplies[4]

cond

0 0 0 1 0

1 y x 0

Rm

op

op

immed
Rd

Rn

Rs

Figure 3-3 Miscellaneous instructions

1.
2.
3.
4.

Defined in ARM architecture version 5 and above, and in T variants of ARM architecture version 4.
This is an undefined instruction is ARM architecture version 4, and is UNPREDICTABLE prior to ARM
architecture version 4.
If the cond field of this instruction is not 1110, it is UNPREDICTABLE.
The enhanced DSP instructions are described in Chapter A10 Enhanced DSP Extension.

Note
Any instruction with bits[27:23] = 00010, bit[20] = 0, bit[7] and bit[4] not both 1, and cond is not equal to
1111, and which is not specified in Figure 3-3 or its notes, is an undefined instruction (or UNPREDICTABLE
prior to architecture version 4).

A3-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.2

The condition field

Almost all ARM instructions can be conditionally executed, which means that they only have their normal
effect on the programmers model state, memory and coprocessors if the N, Z, C and V flags in the CPSR
satisfy a condition specified in the instruction. If the flags do not satisfy this condition, the instruction acts
as a NOP: that is, execution advances to the next instruction as normal, including any relevant checks for
interrupts and prefetch aborts, but has no other effect.
Prior to ARM architecture version 5, all ARM instructions could be conditionally executed. A few
instructions have been introduced subsequently which can only be executed unconditionally.
Every instruction contains a 4-bit condition code field in bits 31 to 28:
31

28 27

cond

This field contains one of the 16 values described in Table 3-1 on page A3-6. Most instruction mnemonics
can be extended with the letters defined in the mnemonic extension field.
If the always (AL) condition is specified, the instruction is executed irrespective of the value of the
condition code flags. The absence of a condition code on an instruction mnemonic implies the AL condition
code.

3.2.1

Condition code 0b1111

As indicated in Table 3-1 on page A3-6, if the condition field is 0b1111, the behavior depends on the
architecture version:

Prior to ARM architecture version 3, a condition field of 0b1111 meant that the instruction was never
executed. The mnemonic extension for this condition was NV.

Note
Use of this condition is now obsolete and unsupported.

In ARM architecture version 3 and version 4, any instruction with a condition field of 0b1111 is
UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

In ARM architecture version 5 and above, a condition field of 0b1111 is used to encode various
additional instructions which can only be executed unconditionally. All instruction encoding
diagrams which show bits[31:28] as cond only match instructions in which these bits are not equal
to 0b1111, unless otherwise stated in the individual instruction description.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-5

The ARM Instruction Set

Table 3-1 Condition codes

Opcode
[31:28]

Mnemonic
extension

Meaning

Condition flag state

0000

EQ

Equal

Z set

0001

NE

Not equal

Z clear

0010

CS/HS

Carry set/unsigned higher or same

C set

0011

CC/LO

Carry clear/unsigned lower

C clear

0100

MI

Minus/negative

N set

0101

PL

Plus/positive or zero

N clear

0110

VS

Overflow

V set

0111

VC

No overflow

V clear

1000

HI

Unsigned higher

C set and Z clear

1001

LS

Unsigned lower or same

C clear or Z set

1010

GE

Signed greater than or equal

N set and V set, or

N clear and V clear (N == V)

1011

LT

Signed less than

N set and V clear, or

N clear and V set (N != V)

1100

GT

Signed greater than

Z clear, and either N set and V set, or

N clear and V clear (Z == 0,N == V)

1101

LE

Signed less than or equal

Z set, or N set and V clear, or

N clear and V set (Z == 1 or N != V)

1110

AL

Always (unconditional)

1111

(NV)

See Condition code 0b1111 on page A3-5

A3-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.3

Branch instructions
All ARM processors support a branch instruction that allows a conditional branch forwards or backwards
up to 32MB. As the PC is one of the general-purpose registers (R15), a branch or jump can also be generated
by writing a value to R15.
A subroutine call can be performed by a variant of the standard branch instruction. As well as allowing a
branch forward or backward up to 32MB, the Branch with Link (BL) instruction preserves the address of
the instruction after the branch (the return address) in the LR (R14).
In T variants of ARM architecture version 4, and in ARM architecture version 5 and above, the Branch and
Exchange (BX) instruction copies the contents of a general-purpose register Rm to the PC (like a MOV
PC,Rm instruction), with the additional functionality that if bit[0] of the transferred value is 1, the processor
shifts to Thumb state. Together with the corresponding Thumb instructions, this allows interworking
branches between ARM and Thumb code.
Interworking subroutine calls can be generated by combining BX with an instruction to write a suitable
return address to the LR, such as an immediately preceding MOV LR,PC instruction.
In ARM architecture version 5 and above, there are also two types of Branch with Link and Exchange (BLX)
instruction:

One type takes a register operand Rm, like a BX instruction. This instruction behaves like a BX
instruction, and additionally writes the address of the next instruction into the LR. This provides a
more efficient interworking subroutine call than a sequence of MOV LR,PC followed by BX Rm.

The other type behaves like a BL instruction, branching backwards or forwards by up to 32MB and
writing a return link to the LR, but shifts to Thumb state rather than staying in ARM state as BL does.
This provides a more efficient alternative to loading the subroutine address into Rm followed by a
BLX Rm instruction when it is known that a Thumb subroutine is being called and that the subroutine
lies within the 32MB range.

A load instruction provides a way to branch anywhere in the 4GB address space (known as a long branch).
A 32-bit value is loaded directly from memory into the PC, causing a branch. A long branch can be preceded
by MOV LR,PC or another instruction that writes the LR to generate a long subroutine call. In ARM
architecture version 5 and above, bit[0] of the value loaded by a long branch controls whether the subroutine
is executed in ARM state or Thumb state, just like bit[0] of the value moved to the PC by a BX instruction.
Prior to ARM architecture version 5, bits[1:0] of the value loaded into the PC are ignored, and a load into
the PC can only be used to call a subroutine in ARM state.
In non-T variants of ARM architecture version 5, the instructions described above can cause an entry into
Thumb state despite the fact that the Thumb instruction set is not present. This causes the instruction at the
branch target to enter the undefined instruction trap. See The control bits on page A2-10 for more details.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-7

The ARM Instruction Set

3.3.1

Examples
B

label

; branch unconditionally to label

BCC

label

; branch to label if carry flag is clear

BEQ

label

; branch to label if zero flag is set

MOV

PC, #0

; R15 = 0, branch to location zero

BL

func

; subroutine call to function

.
MOV
MOV

PC, LR
LR, PC

LDR

PC, =func

;
;
;
;

func

3.3.2

A3-8

.
R15=R14, return to instruction after the BL
store the address of the instruction
after the next one into R14 ready to return
load a 32-bit value into the program counter

List of branch instructions

B, BL

Branch, and Branch with Link. See B, BL on page A4-10.

BLX

Branch with Link and Exchange. See BLX (1) on page A4-16 and BLX (2) on page A4-18.

BX

Branch and Exchange Instruction Set. See BX on page A4-19.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.4

Data-processing instructions
ARM has 16 data-processing instructions, shown in Table 3-2.
Table 3-2 Data-processing instructions

Opcode

Mnemonic

Operation

Action

0000

AND

Logical AND

Rd := Rn AND shifter_operand

0001

EOR

Logical Exclusive OR

Rd := Rn EOR shifter_operand

0010

SUB

Subtract

Rd := Rn - shifter_operand

0011

RSB

Reverse Subtract

Rd := shifter_operand - Rn

0100

ADD

Add

Rd := Rn + shifter_operand

0101

ADC

Add with Carry

Rd := Rn + shifter_operand + Carry Flag

0110

SBC

Subtract with Carry

Rd := Rn - shifter_operand - NOT(Carry Flag)

0111

RSC

Reverse Subtract with Carry

Rd := shifter_operand - Rn - NOT(Carry Flag)

1000

TST

Test

Update flags after Rn AND shifter_operand

1001

TEQ

Test Equivalence

Update flags after Rn EOR shifter_operand

1010

CMP

Compare

Update flags after Rn - shifter_operand

1011

CMN

Compare Negated

Update flags after Rn + shifter_operand

1100

ORR

Logical (inclusive) OR

Rd := Rn OR shifter_operand

1101

MOV

Move

Rd := shifter_operand (no first operand)

1110

BIC

Bit Clear

Rd := Rn AND NOT(shifter_operand)

1111

MVN

Move Not

Rd := NOT shifter_operand (no first operand)

Most data-processing instructions take two source operands, though Move and Move Not take only one. The
compare and test instructions only update the condition flags. Other data-processing instructions store a
result to a register and optionally update the condition flags as well.
Of the two source operands, one is always a register. The other is called a shifter operand and is either an
immediate value or a register. If the second operand is a register value, it can have a shift applied to it.
CMP, CMN, TST and TEQ always update the condition code flags. The assembler automatically sets the S
bit in the instruction for them, and the corresponding instruction with the S bit clear is not a data-processing
instruction, but instead lies in one of the instruction extension spaces (see Extending the instruction set on
page A3-27). The remaining instructions update the flags if an S is appended to the instruction mnemonic
(which sets the S bit in the instruction). See The condition code flags on page A2-9 for more details.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-9

The ARM Instruction Set

3.4.1

Instruction encoding
<opcode1>{<cond>}{S} <Rd>, <shifter_operand>
<opcode1> := MOV | MVN
<opcode2>{<cond>} <Rn>, <shifter_operand>
<opcode2> := CMP | CMN | TST | TEQ
<opcode3>{<cond>}{S} <Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>
<opcode3> := ADD | SUB | RSB | ADC | SBC | RSC | AND | BIC | EOR | ORR
31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

A3-10

0 0 I

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

I bit

Distinguishes between the immediate and register forms of

<shifter_operand>.

S bit

Signifies that the instruction updates the condition codes.

Rn

Specifies the first source operand register.

Rd

Specifies the destination register.

shifter_operand

Specifies the second source operand. See Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing

operands on page A5-2 for details of the shifter operands.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.4.2

List of data-processing instructions

ADC

Add with Carry. See ADC on page A4-4.

ADD

Add. See ADD on page A4-6.

AND

Logical AND. See AND on page A4-8.

BIC

Logical Bit Clear. See BIC on page A4-12.

CMN

Compare Negative. See CMN on page A4-23.

CMP

Compare. See CMP on page A4-25.

EOR

Logical EOR. See EOR on page A4-26.

MOV

Move. See MOV on page A4-56.

MVN

Move Negative. See MVN on page A4-68.

ORR

Logical OR. See ORR on page A4-70.

RSB

Reverse Subtract. See RSB on page A4-72.

RSC

Reverse Subtract with Carry. See RSC on page A4-74.

SBC

Subtract with Carry. See SBC on page A4-76.

SUB

Subtract. See SUB on page A4-98.

TEQ

Test Equivalence. See TEQ on page A4-106.

TST

Test. See TST on page A4-107.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-11

The ARM Instruction Set

3.5

Multiply instructions
ARM has two classes of Multiply instruction:

normal, 32-bit result

long, 64-bit result.

All Multiply instructions take two register operands as the input to the multiplier. The ARM processor does
not directly support a multiply-by-constant instruction due to the efficiency of shift and add, or shift and
reverse subtract instructions.

3.5.1

Normal multiply
There are two Multiply instructions that produce 32-bit results:
MUL
Multiplies the values of two registers together, truncates the result to 32 bits, and stores the
result in a third register.
MLA
Multiplies the values of two registers together, adds the value of a third register, truncates
the result to 32 bits, and stores the result in a fourth register. This can be used to perform
multiply-accumulate operations.
Both Multiply instructions can optionally set the N (Negative) and Z (Zero) condition code flags.
No distinction is made between signed and unsigned variants. Only the least significant 32 bits of the result
are stored in the destination register, and the sign of the operands does not affect this value.

3.5.2

Long multiply
There are four Multiply instructions that produce 64-bit results (long multiply).
Two of the variants multiply the values of two registers together and store the 64-bit result in third and fourth
registers. There are signed (SMULL) and unsigned (UMULL) variants. The signed variants produce a
different result in the most significant 32 bits if either or both of the source operands is negative.
The remaining two variants multiply the values of two registers together, add the 64-bit value from the third
and fourth registers and store the 64-bit result back into those registers (third and fourth). There are signed
(SMLAL) and unsigned (UMLAL) variants. These instructions perform a long multiply and accumulate.
All four long multiply instructions can optionally set the N (Negative) and Z (Zero) condition code flags.

3.5.3

A3-12

Examples
MUL
MULS
MLA
SMULL

R4,
R4,
R7,
R4,

R2,
R2,
R8,
R8,

R1
R1
R9, R3
R2, R3

UMULL
UMLAL

R6, R8, R0, R1

R5, R8, R0, R1

;
;
;
;
;
;
;

Set R4 to value of R2 multiplied by R1

R4 = R2 x R1, set N and Z flags
R7 = R8 x R9 + R3
R4 = bits 0 to 31 of R2 x R3
R8 = bits 32 to 63 of R2 x R3
R8, R6 = R0 x R1
R8, R5 = R0 x R1 + R8, R5

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.5.4

List of multiply instructions

MLA

Multiply Accumulate. See MLA on page A4-54.

MUL

Multiply. See MUL on page A4-66.

SMLAL

Signed Multiply Accumulate Long. See SMLAL on page A4-78.

SMULL

Signed Multiply Long. See SMULL on page A4-80.

UMLAL

Unsigned Multiply Accumulate Long. See UMLAL on page A4-109.

UMULL

Unsigned Multiply Long. See UMULL on page A4-111.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-13

The ARM Instruction Set

3.6

Miscellaneous arithmetic instructions

In addition to the normal data-processing and multiply instructions, versions 5 and above of the ARM
architecture include a Count Leading Zeros (CLZ) instruction. This instruction returns the number of 0 bits
at the most significant end of its operand before the first 1 bit is encountered (or 32 if its operand is zero).
Two typical applications for this are:

3.6.1

To determine how many bits the operand should be shifted left in order to normalize it, so that its
most significant bit is 1. (This can be used in integer division routines.)

To locate the highest priority bit in a bit mask.

Instruction encoding
CLZ{<cond>}
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

Rd
Rm

3.6.2

<Rd>, <Rm>

0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

16 15

SBO

12 11

Rd

SBO

4 3

0 0 0 1

Rm

Specifies the destination register.

Specifies the operand register.

List of miscellaneous arithmetic instructions

CLZ Count Leading Zeros. See CLZ on page A4-22.

A3-14

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.7

Status register access instructions

There are two instructions for moving the contents of a program status register to or from a general-purpose
register. Both the CPSR and SPSR can be accessed.
Each status register is split into four 8-bit fields that can be individually written:
Bits[31:24]

The flags field.

Bits[23:16]

The status field.

Bits[15:8]

The extension field.

Bits[7:0]

The control field.

To date, the ARM architecture does not use the status and extension fields, and three bits are unused in the
flags field. The four condition code flags occupy bits[31:28]. In E variants of architecture versions 5 and
above, the Q flag occupies bit[27]. See The Q flag on page A10-5 for more information on the Q flag. The
control field contains two interrupt disable bits, five processor mode bits, and the Thumb bit on ARM
architecture version 5 and above and on T variants of ARM architecture version 4 (see The T bit on
page A2-11).
The unused bits of the status registers might be used in future ARM architectures, and must not be modified
by software. Therefore, a read-modify-write strategy must be used to update the value of a status register to
ensure future compatibility.
The status registers are readable to allow the read part of the read-modify-write operation, and to allow all
processor state to be preserved (for instance, during process context switches).
The status registers are writable to allow the write part of the read-modify-write operation, and allow all
processor state to be restored.

3.7.1

CPSR value
Altering the value of the CPSR has three uses:

sets the value of the condition code flags (and of the Q flag when it exists) to a known value

enables or disable interrupts

changes processor mode (for instance, to initialize stack pointers).

Note
The T bit must not be changed directly by writing to the CPSR, but only via the BX instruction, and in the
implicit SPSR to CPSR moves in instructions designed for exception return. Attempts to enter or leave
Thumb state by directly altering the T bit can have UNPREDICTABLE consequences.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-15

The ARM Instruction Set

3.7.2

Examples
These examples assume that the ARM processor is already in a privileged mode. If the ARM processor
starts in User mode, only the flag update has any effect.

3.7.3

A3-16

MRS
BIC
MSR

R0, CPSR
R0, R0, #0xF0000000
CPSR_f, R0

;
;
;
;

Read the CPSR

Clear the N, Z, C and V bits
Update the flag bits in the CPSR
N, Z, C and V flags now all clear

MRS
ORR
MSR

R0, CPSR
R0, R0, #0x80
CPSR_c, R0

;
;
;
;

Read the CPSR

Set the interrupt disable bit
Update the control bits in the CPSR
interrupts (IRQ) now disabled

MRS
BIC
ORR
MSR

R0, CPSR
R0, R0, #0x1F
R0, R0, #0x11
CPSR_c, R0

;
;
;
;
;

Read the CPSR

Clear the mode bits
Set the mode bits to FIQ mode
Update the control bits in the CPSR
now in FIQ mode

List of status register access instructions

MRS

Move PSR to General-purpose Register. See MRS on page A4-60.

MSR

Move General-purpose Register to PSR. See MSR on page A4-62.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.8

Load and store instructions

The ARM architecture supports two broad types of instruction which load or store the value of a single
register from or to memory:

3.8.1

The first type can load or store a 32-bit word or an 8-bit unsigned byte.

The second type can load or store a 16-bit unsigned halfword, and can load and sign extend a 16-bit
halfword or an 8-bit byte. This type of instruction is only available in ARM architecture version 4
and above.

Addressing modes
In both types of instruction, the addressing mode is formed from two parts:

the base register

the offset.
The base register can be any one of the general-purpose registers (including the PC, which allows
PC-relative addressing for position-independent code).
The offset takes one of three formats:
Immediate

The offset is an unsigned number that can be added to or subtracted from the base
register. Immediate offset addressing is useful for accessing data elements that are
a fixed distance from the start of the data object, such as structure fields, stack
offsets and input/output registers.
For the word and unsigned byte instructions, the immediate offset is a 12-bit
number. For the halfword and signed byte instructions, it is an 8-bit number.

Register

The offset is a general-purpose register (not the PC), that can be added to or
subtracted from the base register. Register offsets are useful for accessing arrays or
blocks of data.

Scaled register

The offset is a general-purpose register (not the PC) shifted by an immediate value,
then added to or subtracted from the base register. The same shift operations used
for data-processing instructions can be used (Logical Shift Left, Logical Shift Right,
Arithmetic Shift Right and Rotate Right), but Logical Shift Left is the most useful
as it allows an array indexed to be scaled by the size of each array element.
Scaled register offsets are only available for the word and unsigned byte
instructions.

As well as the three types of offset, the offset and base register are used in three different ways to form the
memory address. The addressing modes are described as follows:
Offset

The base register and offset are added or subtracted to form the memory address.

Pre-indexed

The base register and offset are added or subtracted to form the memory address.
The base register is then updated with this new address, to allow automatic indexing
through an array or memory block.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-17

The ARM Instruction Set

Post-indexed

3.8.2

The value of the base register alone is used as the memory address. The base register
and offset are added or subtracted and this value is stored back in the base register,
to allow automatic indexing through an array or memory block.

Load and Store word or unsigned byte instructions

Load instructions load a single value from memory and write it to a general-purpose register.
Store instructions read a value from a general-purpose register and store it to memory.
Load and Store instructions have a single instruction format:
LDR|STR{<cond>}{B}{T} Rd, <addressing_mode>
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

3.8.3

0 1 I P U B W L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addressing_mode_specific

I, P, U, W

Are bits that distinguish between different types of <addressing_mode>.

L bit

Distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store instruction (L==0).

B bit

Distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

Rn

Specifies the base register used by <addressing_mode>.

Rd

Specifies the register whose contents are to be loaded or stored.

Load and Store Halfword and Load Signed Byte

Load instructions load a single value from memory and write it to a general-purpose register.
Store instructions read a value from a general-purpose register and store it to memory.
Load and Store Halfword and Load Signed Byte instructions have a single instruction format:
LDR|STR{<cond>}H|SH|SB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

A3-18

Rd, <addressing_mode>

0 0 0 P U I W L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

4 3

addr_mode 1 S H 1 addr_mode

addr_mode

Are addressing-mode-specific bits.

I, P, U, W

Are bits that specify the type of addressing mode (see Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous
Loads and Stores on page A5-34).

L bit

Distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store instruction (L==0).

S bit

Distinguishes between a signed (S==1) and an unsigned (S==0) halfword access. If the L
bit is zero and S bit is one, the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.8.4

H bit

Distinguishes between a halfword (H==1) and a signed byte (H==0) access. If the S bit and
H bit are both zero, this instruction encodes a SWP or Multiply instruction.

Rn

Specifies the base register used by the addressing mode.

Rd

Specifies the register whose contents are to be loaded or stored.

Examples

ARM DDI 0100E

LDR
LDR
LDR
STR

R1, [R0]
R8, [R3, #4]
R12, [R13, #-4]
R2, [R1, #0x100]

;
;
;
;

Load R1 from the address in R0

Load R8 from the address in R3 + 4
Load R12 from R13 - 4
Store R2 to the address in R1 + 0x100

LDRB

R5, [R9]

LDRB

R3, [R8, #3]

STRB

R4, [R10, #0x200]

; Load byte into R5 from R9

; (zero top 3 bytes)
; Load byte to R3 from R8 + 3
; (zero top 3 bytes)
; Store byte from R4 to R10 + 0x200

LDR
STRB

R11, [R1, R2]

R10, [R7, -R4]

; Load R11 from the address in R1 + R2

; Store byte from R10 to addr in R7 - R4

LDR
LDR
STRB

R11, [R3, R5, LSL #2]

R1, [R0, #4]!
R7, [R6, #-1]!

; Load R11 from R3 + (R5 x 4)

; Load R1 from R0 + 4, then R0 = R0 + 4
; Store byte from R7 to R6 - 1,
; then R6 = R6 - 1

LDR
STR

R3, [R9], #4
R2, [R5], #8

; Load R3 from R9, then R9 = R9 + 4

; Store R2 to R5, then R5 = R5 + 8

LDR

R0, [PC, #40]

LDR

R0, [R1], R2

; Load R0 from PC + 0x40 (= address of

; the LDR instruction + 8 + 0x40)
; Load R0 from R1, then R1 = R1 + R2

LDRH

R1, [R0]

LDRH
LDRH
STRH

R8, [R3, #2]

R12, [R13, #-6]
R2, [R1, #0x80]

;
;
;
;
;

LDRSH
LDRSB
LDRSB

R5, [R9]
R3, [R8, #3]
R4, [R10, #0xC1]

; Load signed halfword to R5 from R9

; Load signed byte to R3 from R8 + 3
; Load signed byte to R4 from R10 + 0xC1

LDRH

R11, [R1, R2]

STRH

R10, [R7, -R4]

; Load halfword into R11 from address

; in R1 + R2
; Store halfword from R10 to R7 - R4

LDRSH

R1, [R0, #2]!

Load halfword to R1 from R0

(zero top 2 bytes)
Load halfword into R8 from R3 + 2
Load halfword into R12 from R13 - 6
Store halfword from R2 to R1 + 0x80

; Load signed halfword R1 from R0 + 2,

; then R0 = R0 + 2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-19

The ARM Instruction Set

3.8.5

A3-20

LDRSB

R7, [R6, #-1]!

LDRH

R3, [R9], #2

STRH

R2, [R5], #8

; Load signed byte to R7 from R6 - 1,

; then R6 = R6 - 1
; Load halfword to R3 from R9,
; then R9 = R9 + 2
; Store halfword from R2 to R5,
; then R5 = R5 + 8

List of load and store instructions

LDR

Load Word. See LDR on page A4-37.

LDRB

Load Byte. See LDRB on page A4-40.

LDRBT

Load Byte with User Mode Privilege. See LDRBT on page A4-42.

LDRH

Load Unsigned Halfword. See LDRH on page A4-44.

LDRSB

Load Signed Byte. See LDRSB on page A4-46.

LDRSH

Load Signed Halfword. See LDRSH on page A4-48.

LDRT

Load Word with User Mode Privilege. See LDRT on page A4-50.

STR

Store Word. See STR on page A4-88.

STRB

Store Byte. See STRB on page A4-90.

STRBT

Store Byte with User Mode Privilege. See STRBT on page A4-92.

STRH

Store Halfword. See STRH on page A4-94.

STRT

Store Word with User Mode Privilege. See STRT on page A4-96.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.9

Load and Store Multiple instructions

Load Multiple instructions load a subset, or possibly all, of the general-purpose registers from memory.
Store Multiple instructions store a subset, or possibly all, of the general-purpose registers to memory.
Load and Store Multiple instructions have a single instruction format:
LDM{<cond>}<addressing_mode>
STM{<cond>}<addressing_mode>

Rn{!}, <registers>{^}
Rn{!}, <registers>{^}

where:
<addressing_mode> = IA | IB | DA | DB | FD | FA | ED | EA
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 P U S W L

register list

16 15

Rn

register list

The list of <registers> has one bit for each general-purpose register. Bit 0 is for
R0, and bit 15 is for R15 (the PC).
The register syntax list is an opening bracket, followed by a comma-separated list
of registers, followed by a closing bracket. A sequence of consecutive registers can
be specified by separating the first and last registers in the range with a minus sign.

3.9.1

P, U, and W bits

These distinguish between the different types of addressing mode (see Addressing
Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48).

S bit

For LDMs that load the PC, the S bit indicates that the CPSR is loaded from the SPSR
after all the registers have been loaded. For all STMs, and LDMs that do not load the
PC, it indicates that when the processor is in a privileged mode, the User mode
banked registers are transferred and not the registers of the current mode.

L bit

This distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Rn

This specifies the base register used by the addressing mode.

Examples
STMFD
LDMFD
LDMIA
STMDA

ARM DDI 0100E

R13!, {R0
R13!, {R0
R0, {R5 R1!, {R2,

- R12, LR}
- R12, PC}
R8}
R5, R7 - R9, R11}

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-21

The ARM Instruction Set

3.9.2

A3-22

List of Load and Store Multiple instructions

LDM

Load Multiple. See LDM (1) on page A4-30.

LDM

User Registers Load Multiple. See LDM (2) on page A4-32.

LDM

Load Multiple with Restore CPSR. See LDM (3) on page A4-34.

STM

Store Multiple. See STM(1) on page A4-84.

STM

User Registers Store Multiple. See STM (2) on page A4-86.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.10

Semaphore instructions
The ARM instruction set has two semaphore instructions:

Swap (SWP)

Swap Byte (SWPB).

These instructions are provided for process synchronization. Both instructions generate an atomic load and
store operation, allowing a memory semaphore to be loaded and altered without interruption.
SWP and SWPB have a single addressing mode, whose address is the contents of a register. Separate registers
are used to specify the value to store and the destination of the load. If the same register is specified for both
of these, SWP exchanges the value in the register and the value in memory.
The semaphore instructions do not provide a compare and conditional write facility. If wanted, this must be
done explicitly.

3.10.1

3.10.2

Examples
SWP

R12, R10, [R9]

; load R12 from address R9 and

; store R10 to address R9

SWPB

R3, R4, [R8]

; load byte to R3 from address R8 and

; store byte from R4 to address R8

SWP

R1, R1, [R2]

; Exchange value in R1 and address in R2

List of semaphore instructions

SWP

Swap. See SWP on page A4-102.

SWPB

Swap Byte. See SWPB on page A4-104.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-23

The ARM Instruction Set

3.11

Exception-generating instructions
The ARM instruction set provides two types of instruction whose main purpose is to cause a processor
exception to occur:

The Software Interrupt (SWI) instruction is used to cause a SWI exception to occur (see Software
Interrupt exception on page A2-16). This is the main mechanism in the ARM instruction set by which
User mode code can make calls to privileged Operating System code.

The Breakpoint (BKPT) instruction is used for software breakpoints in ARM architecture versions 5
and above. Its default behavior is to cause a Prefetch Abort exception to occur (see Prefetch Abort
(instruction fetch memory abort) on page A2-16). A debug monitor program which has previously
been installed on the Prefetch Abort vector can handle this exception.
If debug hardware is present in the system, it is allowed to override this default behavior. Details of
whether and how this happens are IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

3.11.1

Instruction encodings
SWI{<cond>}
31

<immed_24>

28 27 26 25 24 23

cond

BKPT
31

1 1 1 1

immed_24

<immediate>
28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

immed

4 3

0 1 1 1

immed

In both SWI and BKPT, the immediate fields of the instruction are ignored by the ARM processor. The SWI
or Prefetch Abort handler can optionally be written to load the instruction that caused the exception and
extract these fields. This allows them to be used to communicate extra information about the Operating
System call or breakpoint to the handler.

3.11.2

A3-24

List of exception-generating instructions

BKPT

Breakpoint. See BKPT on page A4-14.

SWI

Software Interrupt. See SWI on page A4-100.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.12

Coprocessor instructions
The ARM instruction set provides three types of instruction for communicating with coprocessors. These
allow:

the ARM processor to initiate a coprocessor data processing operation

ARM registers to be transferred to and from coprocessor registers

the ARM processor to generate addresses for the coprocessor Load and Store instructions.
The instruction set distinguishes up to 16 coprocessors with a 4-bit field in each coprocessor instruction, so
each coprocessor is assigned a particular number.

Note
One coprocessor can use more than one of the 16 numbers if a large coprocessor instruction set is required.
Coprocessors execute the same instruction stream as ARM, ignoring ARM instructions and coprocessor
instructions for other coprocessors. Coprocessor instructions that cannot be executed by coprocessor
hardware cause an undefined instruction trap, allowing software emulation of coprocessor hardware.
A coprocessor can partially execute an instruction and then cause an exception. This is useful for handling
run-time-generated exceptions, like divide-by-zero or overflow. However, the partial execution is internal
to the coprocessor and is not visible to the ARM processor. As far as the ARM processor is concerned, the
instruction is held at the start of its execution and completes without exception if allowed to begin execution.
Any decision on whether to execute the instruction or cause an exception is taken within the coprocessor
before the ARM processor is allowed to start executing the instruction.
Not all fields in coprocessor instructions are used by the ARM processor. Coprocessor register specifiers
and opcodes are defined by individual coprocessors. Therefore, only generic instruction mnemonics are
provided for coprocessor instructions. Assembler macros can be used to transform custom coprocessor
mnemonics into these generic mnemonics, or to regenerate the opcodes manually.

3.12.1

Examples

ARM DDI 0100E

CDP

p5, 2, c12, c10, c3, 4

;
;
;
;

Coproc 5 data operation

opcode 1 = 2, opcode 2 = 4
destination register is 12
source registers are 10 and 3

MRC

p15, 5, R4, c0, c2, 3

;
;
;
;

Coproc 15 transfer to ARM register

opcode 1 = 5, opcode 2 = 3
ARM destination register = R4
coproc source registers are 0 and 2

MCR

p14, 1, R7, c7, c12, 6

;
;
;
;

ARM register transfer to Coproc 14

opcode 1 = 1, opcode 2 = 6
ARM source register = R7
coproc dest registers are 7 and 12

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-25

The ARM Instruction Set

3.12.2

LDC

p6, CR1, [R4]

; Load from memory to coprocessor 6

; ARM register 4 contains the address
; Load to CP reg 1

LDC

p6, CR4, [R2, #4]

; Load from memory to coprocessor 6

; ARM register R2 + 4 is the address
; Load to CP reg 4

STC

p8, CR8, [R2, #4]!

;
;
;
;

Store from coprocessor 8 to memory

ARM register R2 + 4 is the address
after the transfer R2 = R2 + 4
Store from CP reg 8

STC

p8, CR9, [R2], #-16

;
;
;
;

Store from coprocessor 8 to memory

ARM register R2 holds the address
after the transfer R2 = R2 - 16
Store from CP reg 9

List of coprocessor instructions

CDP

Coprocessor Data Operations. See CDP on page A4-20.

LDC

Load Coprocessor Register. See LDC on page A4-28.

MCR

Move to Coprocessor from ARM Register. See MCR on page A4-52.

MRC

Move to ARM Register from Coprocessor. See MRC on page A4-58.

STC

Store Coprocessor Register. See STC on page A4-82.

Note
Coprocessor instructions are not implemented in ARM architecture version 1.

A3-26

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.13

Extending the instruction set

Successive versions of the ARM architecture have extended the instruction set in a number of areas. This
section describes the six areas where extensions have occurred, and where further extensions might occur
in the future:

Undefined instruction space on page A3-28

Arithmetic instruction extension space on page A3-29

Control instruction extension space on page A3-30

Load/store instruction extension space on page A3-32

Coprocessor instruction extension space on page A3-33

Unconditional instruction extension space on page A3-34.

Instructions in these areas which have not yet been allocated a meaning are either UNDEFINED or
UNPREDICTABLE. To determine which, use the following rules:
1.

The decode bits of an instruction are defined to be bits[27:20] and bits[7:4].

In ARM architecture version 5 and above, the result of ANDing bits[31:28] together is also a decode
bit. This bit determines whether the condition field is 0b1111, which is used in ARM architecture
version 5 and above to encode various instructions which can only be executed unconditionally. See
Condition code 0b1111 on page A3-5 and Unconditional instruction extension space on page A3-34
for more information.

2.

If the decode bits of an instruction are equal to those of a defined instruction, but the whole instruction
is not a defined instruction, then the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.
For example, suppose an instruction has:

bits[31:28] not equal to 0b1111

bits[27:20] equal to 0b00010000

bits[7:4] equal to 0b0000

but where:

bit[11] of the instruction is 1.

Here, the instruction is in the control instruction extension space and has the same decode bits as an
MRS instruction, but is not a valid MRS instruction because bit[11] of an MRS instruction should be
zero. Using the above rule, this instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.

3.

In ARM architecture version 4 and above, if the decode bits of an instruction are not equal to those
of any defined instruction, then the instruction is UNDEFINED.

4.

In ARM architecture version 3 and below, if the decode bits of an instruction are not equal to those
of any defined instruction, then the instruction is:

UNDEFINED if it is in the undefined instruction space

UNPREDICTABLE if it is in any of the other five areas.

Each of rules 2 to 4 above applies separately to each ARM architecture version. As a result, the status of an
instruction might differ between architecture versions. Usually, this happens because an instruction which
was UNPREDICTABLE or UNDEFINED in an earlier architecture version becomes a defined instruction in a later
version.
ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-27

The ARM Instruction Set

3.13.1

Undefined instruction space

Instructions with the following opcodes are undefined instruction space:
opcode[27:25] = 0b011
opcode[4] = 1
31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

4 3

0 1 1 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 1 x x x x

The meaning of instructions in the undefined instruction space is UNDEFINED on all versions of the ARM
architecture.
In general, undefined instructions might be used to extend the ARM instruction set in the future. However,
it is intended that instructions with the following encoding will not be used for this:
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

4 3

0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 x x x x x x x x x x x x 1 1 1 1 x x x x

If a programmer wants to use an undefined instruction for software purposes, with minimal risk that future
hardware will treat it as a defined instruction, one of the instructions with this encoding must be used.

A3-28

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.13.2

Arithmetic instruction extension space

Instructions with the following opcodes are the arithmetic instruction extension space:
opcode[27:24]
opcode[7:4]
opcode[31:28]

== 0b0000
== 0b1001
!= 0b1111

/* Only required for version 5 and above */

The field names given are guidelines suggested to simplify implementation.

31

28 27 26 25 24 23

cond

0 0 0 0

20 19

op1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

Rs

6 5

1 0 0 1

Rm

Table 3-3 summarizes the instructions that have already been allocated in this area.
Table 3-3 Arithmetic instruction space

ARM DDI 0100E

Instructions

op1

Architecture versions

MUL, MULS

000S

Version 2 and above

MLA, MLAS

001S

Version 2 and above

UMULL, UMULLS

100S

All M variants

UMLAL, UMLALS

101S

All M variants

SMULL, SMULLS

110S

All M variants

SMLAL, SMLALS

111S

All M variants

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-29

The ARM Instruction Set

3.13.3

Control instruction extension space

Instructions with the following opcodes are the control instruction space.
opcode[27:26]
opcode[24:23]
opcode[20]
opcode[31:28]

==
==
==
!=

0b00
0b10
0
0b1111

/* Only required for version 5 and above */

and not:
opcode[25] == 0
opcode[7] == 1
opcode[4] == 1
The field names given are guidelines suggested to simplify implementation.
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

16 15

12 11

cond

0 0 0 1 0

op1

Rn

Rd

Rs

cond

0 0 0 1 0

op1

Rn

Rd

Rs

cond

0 0 1 1 0

op1

Rn

Rd

rotate_imm

op2
0

op2

4 3

Rm

Rm

immed_8

Table 3-4 summarizes the instructions that have already been allocated in this area.
Table 3-4 Control extension space instructions

A3-30

Instruction

Bit[25]

Bits[7:4]

op1

Architecture versions

MRS

0000

x0

Version 3 and above

MSR (register form)

0000

x1

Version 3 and above

BX

0001

01

Version 5 and above, plus T variants of

version 4

CLZ

0001

11

Version 5 and above

BLX (register form)

0011

01

Version 5 and above

QADD

0101

00

E variants of version 5 and above

QSUB

0101

01

E variants of version 5 and above

QDADD

0101

10

E variants of version 5 and above

QDSUB

0101

11

E variants of version 5 and above

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

Table 3-4 Control extension space instructions (continued)

Instruction

Bit[25]

Bits[7:4]

op1

Architecture versions

BKPT

0111

01

Version 5 and above

SMLA<x><y>

1yx0

00

E variants of version 5 and above

SMLAW<y>

1y00

01

E variants of version 5 and above

SMULW<y>

1y10

01

E variants of version 5 and above

SMLAL<x><y>

1yx0

10

E variants of version 5 and above

SMUL<x><y>

1yx0

11

E variants of version 5 and above

MSR (immediate form)

xxxx

x1

Version 3 and above

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-31

The ARM Instruction Set

3.13.4

Load/store instruction extension space

Instructions with the following opcodes are the load/store instruction extension space:
opcode[27:25]
opcode[7]
opcode[4]
opcode[31:28]

==
==
==
!=

0b000
1
1
0b1111 /* Only required for version 5 and above */

and not:
opcode[24] == 0
opcode[6:5] == 0
The field names given are guidelines suggested to simplify implementation.
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 P U B W L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

Rs

op1

4 3

Rm

Table 3-5 summarizes the instructions that have already been allocated in this area.
Table 3-5 Load/store instructions

A3-32

Instruction

Bits[24:20]

op1

Architecture versions

SWP/SWPB

Version 3 and above, plus ARMv2a

STRH

Version 4 and above

LDRD

E variants of version 5 and above,

except v5TExP

STRD

E variants of version 5 and above,

except v5TExP

LDRH

Version 4 and above

LDRSB

Version 4 and above

LDRSH

Version 4 and above

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The ARM Instruction Set

3.13.5

Coprocessor instruction extension space

Instructions with the following opcodes are the coprocessor instruction extension space:
opcode[27:23]
opcode[21]

== 0b11000
== 0

The field names given are guidelines suggested to simplify implementation.

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 0 0 x 0 x

16 15

Rn

12 11

CRd

cp_num

offset

In ARM architecture version 3 and below, all instructions in the coprocessor instruction extension space are
UNPREDICTABLE.
In all variants of architecture version 4, and in non-E variants of architecture 5, all instructions in the
coprocessor instruction extension space are UNDEFINED. It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED how an ARM
processor achieves this. The options are:

The ARM processor might take the undefined instruction trap directly.

The ARM processor might require attached coprocessors not to respond to such instructions. This
causes the undefined instruction trap to be taken (see Undefined Instruction exception on
page A2-15).

In E variants of architecture version 5, instructions in the coprocessor instruction extension space are treated
as follows:

Instructions with bit[22] == 0 are UNDEFINED and are handled in precisely the same way as described
above for non-E variants.

Instructions with bit[22] ==1 are the MCRR and MRRC instructions described in Chapter A10
Enhanced DSP Extension.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A3-33

The ARM Instruction Set

3.13.6

Unconditional instruction extension space

In ARM architecture version 5 and above, instructions with the following opcode are the unconditional
instruction space:
opcode[31:28] == 0b1111
31 30 29 28 27

20 19

1 1 1 1

opcode1

x x x x x x x x x x x x

4 3

opcode2

x x x x

Table 3-6 summarizes the instructions that have already been allocated in this area.
Table 3-6 Unconditional instruction extension space

A3-34

Instruction

opcode1

opcode2

Architecture versions

PLD

E variants of version 5 and

above, except v5TExP

BLX
(address form)

Version 5 and above

STC2

Version 5 and above

LDC2

Version 5 and above

CDP2

Version 5 and above

MCR2

Version 5 and above

MRC2

Version 5 and above

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter A4
ARM Instructions

This chapter describes the syntax and usage of every ARM instruction, in the sections:

Alphabetical list of ARM instructions on page A4-2

ARM instructions and architecture versions on page A4-113.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-1

ARM Instructions

4.1

Alphabetical list of ARM instructions

Every ARM instruction is listed on the following pages. Each instruction description shows:

the instruction encoding

the instruction syntax

the version of the ARM architecture where the instruction is valid

any exceptions that apply

an example in pseudo-code of how the instruction operates

notes on usage and special cases.

4.1.1

General notes
These notes explain the types of information and abbreviations used on the instruction pages.

Syntax abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in the instruction pages:
immed_n

This is an immediate value, where n is the number of bits. For example, an 8-bit immediate
value is represented by:
immed_8

offset_n

This is an offset value, where n is the number of bits. For example, an 8-bit offset value is
represented by:
offset_8
The same construction is used for signed offsets. For example, an 8-bit signed offset is
represented by:
signed_offset_8

Encoding diagram and assembler syntax

For the conventions used, see Assembler syntax descriptions on page Preface-xiii.

Architecture versions
This gives details of architecture versions where the instruction is valid. For details, see Architecture
versions and variants on page Preface-v.

Exceptions
This gives details of which exceptions can occur during the execution of the instruction. Prefetch Abort is
not listed in general, both because it can occur for any instruction and because if an abort occurred during
instruction fetch, the instruction bit pattern is not known. (Prefetch Abort is however listed for BKPT, since
it can generate a Prefetch Abort exception without these considerations applying.)

A4-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
This gives a pseudo-code description of what the instruction does. For details of conventions used in this
pseudo-code, see Pseudo-code descriptions of instructions on page Preface-xii.

Information on usage
Usage sections are included where appropriate to supply suggestions and other information about how to
use the instruction effectively.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-3

ARM Instructions

4.1.2

ADC
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 0 1 0 1 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The ADC (Add with Carry) instruction adds the value of <shifter_operand> and the Carry flag to the
value of <Rn> and stores the result in <Rd>. The condition code flags are optionally updated, based on the
result.

Syntax
ADC{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the
instruction. Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the addition,
and the C and V flags are set according to whether the addition generated a carry
(unsigned overflow) and a signed overflow, respectively. The rest of the CPSR is
unchanged.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the addition.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the addition. The options for this operand are described in
Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each option
causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not ADC.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Rn + shifter_operand + C Flag
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = CarryFrom(Rn + shifter_operand + C Flag)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn + shifter_operand + C Flag)

Usage
ADC is used to synthesize multi-word addition. If register pairs R0, R1 and R2, R3 hold 64-bit values (where
R0 and R2 hold the least significant words) the following instructions leave the 64-bit sum in R4, R5:
ADDS R4,R0,R2
ADC R5,R1,R3

If the second instruction is changed from:

ADC

R5,R1,R3

to:
ADCS R5,R1,R3

the resulting values of the flags indicate:

N

The 64-bit addition produced a negative result.

An unsigned overflow occurred.

A signed overflow occurred.

The most significant 32 bits are all zero.

The following instruction produces a single-bit Rotate Left with Extend operation (33-bit rotate through the
Carry flag) on R0:
ADCS R0,R0,R0

See Data-processing operands - Rotate right with extend on page A5-17 for information on how to perform
a similar rotation to the right.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-5

ARM Instructions

4.1.3

ADD
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 0 1 0 0 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter operand

The ADD instruction adds the value of <shifter_operand> to the value of register <Rn>, and stores
the result in the destination register <Rd>. The condition code flags are optionally updated, based on the
result.

Syntax
ADD{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The condition field on page A3-5.
If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the
instruction. Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the addition,
and the C and V flags are set according to whether the addition generated a carry
(unsigned overflow) and a signed overflow, respectively. The rest of the CPSR is
unchanged.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the addition.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the addition. The options for this operand are described in
Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each option
causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not ADD.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Rn + shifter_operand
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = CarryFrom(Rn + shifter_operand)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn + shifter_operand)

Usage
The ADD instruction is used to add two values together to produce a third.
To increment a register value in Rx use:
ADD Rx, Rx, #1

Constant multiplication of Rx by 2n+1 into Rd can be performed with:

ADD Rd, Rx, Rx, LSL #n

To form a PC-relative address use:

ADD Rs, PC, #offset

where the offset must be the difference between the required address and the address held in the PC, where
the PC is the address of the ADD instruction itself plus 8 bytes.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-7

ARM Instructions

4.1.4

AND
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 0 0 0 0 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The AND instruction performs a bitwise AND of the value of register <Rn> with the value of
<shifter_operand>, and stores the result in the destination register <Rd>. The condition code flags
are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
AND{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the
instruction. Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the operation,
and the C flag is set to the carry output bit generated by the shifter (see Addressing
Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2). The V flag and the rest of the
CPSR are unaffected.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the operation.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the operation. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not AND.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-8

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Rn AND shifter_operand
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = shifter_carry_out
V Flag = unaffected

Usage
AND is most useful for extracting a field from a register, by ANDing the register with a mask value that has
1s in the field to be extracted, and 0s elsewhere.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-9

ARM Instructions

4.1.5

B, BL
31

28 27 26 25 24 23

cond

1 0 1 L

signed_immed_24

The B (Branch) and BL (Branch and Link) instructions cause a branch to a target address, and provide both
conditional and unconditional changes to program flow.

Syntax
B{L}{<cond>}

<target_address>

where:
L

Causes the L bit (bit 24) in the instruction to be set to 1. The resulting instruction stores a
return address in the link register (R14). If L is omitted, the L bit is 0 and the instruction
simply branches without storing a return address.

<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<target_address>
Specifies the address to branch to. The branch target address is calculated by:
1.

Sign-extending the 24-bit signed (twos complement) immediate to 32 bits.

2.

Shifting the result left two bits.

3.

Adding this to the contents of the PC, which contains the address of the branch
instruction plus 8.

The instruction can therefore specify a branch of approximately 32MB.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if L == 1 then
LR = address of the instruction after the branch instruction
PC = PC + (SignExtend(signed_immed_24) << 2)

A4-10

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
The BL instruction is used to perform a subroutine call. The return from subroutine is achieved by copying
the LR to the PC. Typically, this is done by one of the following methods:

Executing a BX R14 instruction, on architecture versions that support that instruction.

Executing a MOV PC,R14 instruction.

Storing a group of registers and R14 to the stack on subroutine entry, using an instruction of the form:
STMFD R13!,{<registers>,R14}

and then restoring the register values and returning with an instruction of the form:
LDMFD R13!,{<registers>,PC}

To calculate the correct value of signed_immed_24, the assembler (or other toolkit component) needs to:
1.

Form the base address for this branch instruction. This is the address of the instruction, plus 8. In
other words, this base address is equal to the PC value used by the instruction.

2.

Subtract the base address from the target address to form a byte offset. This offset is always a multiple
of four, because all ARM instructions are word-aligned.

3.

If the byte offset is outside the range 33554432 to +33554428, use an alternative code-generation
strategy or produce an error as appropriate.

4.

Otherwise, set the signed_immed_24 field of the instruction to bits{25:2] of the byte offset.

Notes
Memory bounds

ARM DDI 0100E

Branching backwards past location zero and forwards over the end of the 32-bit
address space is UNPREDICTABLE.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-11

ARM Instructions

4.1.6

BIC
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 1 1 0 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The BIC (Bit Clear) instruction performs a bitwise AND of the value of register <Rn> with the complement
of the value of <shifter_operand>, and stores the result in the destination register <Rd>. The
condition code flags are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
BIC{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the
instruction. Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the operation,
and the C flag is set to the carry output bit generated by the shifter (see Addressing
Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2). The V flag and the rest of the
CPSR are unaffected.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the operation.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the operation. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not BIC.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-12

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Rn AND NOT shifter_operand
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = shifter_carry_out
V Flag = unaffected

Usage
BIC can be used to clear selected bits in a register. For each bit, BIC with 1 clears the bit, and BIC with 0
leaves it unchanged.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-13

ARM Instructions

4.1.7

BKPT
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

immed

4 3

0 1 1 1

immed

The BKPT (Breakpoint) instruction causes a software breakpoint to occur. This breakpoint can be handled
by an exception handler installed on the prefetch abort vector. In implementations which also include debug
hardware, the hardware can optionally override this behavior and handle the breakpoint itself. When this
occurs, the prefetch abort vector is not entered.

Syntax
BKPT

<immediate>

where:
<immediate>

Is a 16-bit immediate value, the top 12 bits of which are placed in bits[19:8] of the
instruction, and the bottom 4 bits of which are placed in bits[3:0] of the instruction.
This value is ignored by the ARM hardware, but can be used by a debugger to store
additional information about the breakpoint.

Architecture version
Version 5 and above

Exceptions
Prefetch Abort

Operation
if (not overridden by debug hardware)
R14_abt
= address of BKPT instruction + 4
SPSR_abt = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10111
/* Enter Abort mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF000C
else
PC
= 0x0000000C

A4-14

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
The exact usage of the BKPT instruction depends on the debug system being used. A debug system can use
the BKPT instruction in two ways:

Debug hardware, if present, does not override the normal behavior of the BKPT instruction, and so
the prefetch abort vector is entered. If the system also allows real prefetch aborts to occur, the
prefetch abort handler determines, in a system-dependent manner, whether the vector entry occurred
as a result of a BKPT instruction or as a result of a real prefetch abort, and branches to debug code or
prefetch abort code accordingly. Otherwise, the prefetch abort handler just branches straight to debug
code.
When used in this manner, the BKPT instruction must be avoided within abort handlers, as it corrupts
R14_abt and SPSR_abt. For the same reason, it must also be avoided within FIQ handlers, since an
FIQ interrupt can occur within an abort handler.

Debug hardware does override the normal behavior of the BKPT instruction and handles the software
breakpoint itself. When finished, it typically either resumes execution at the instruction following the
BKPT, or replaces the BKPT in memory with another instruction and resumes execution at that
instruction.
When BKPT is used in this manner, R14_abt and SPSR_abt are not corrupted, and so the above
restrictions about its use in abort and FIQ handlers do not apply.

Notes
Condition field

The BKPT instruction must be unconditional. If bits[31:28] of the instruction

encode a valid condition other than the AL (always) condition, the instruction is
UNPREDICTABLE.

Hardware override

Debug hardware in an implementation is specifically permitted to override the

normal behavior of the BKPT instruction. Because of this, software must not use this
instruction for purposes other than those documented by the debug system being
used (if any). In particular, software cannot rely on the Prefetch Abort exception
occurring, unless either there is guaranteed to be no debug hardware in the system
or the debug system specifies that it will occur.
For more information, consult the documentation for the debug system being used.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-15

ARM Instructions

4.1.8

BLX (1)
31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23

1 1 1 1 1 0 1 H

signed_immed_24

This form of the BLX (Branch with Link and Exchange) instruction is used to call a Thumb subroutine from
the ARM instruction set at an address specified in the instruction. This instruction is unconditional (always
causing a change in program flow) and preserves the address of the instruction following the branch in the
link register (R14). Execution of Thumb instructions begins at the target address.

Syntax
BLX

<target_addr>

where:
<target_addr>

Specifies the address of the Thumb instruction to branch to. The branch target
address is calculated by:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Sign-extending the 24-bit signed (twos complement) immediate to 32 bits

Shifting the result left two bits
Setting bit[1] of the result of step 2 to the H bit
Adding the result of step 3 to the contents of the PC, which contains the
address of the branch instruction plus 8.

The instruction can therefore specify a branch of approximately 32MB.

Architecture version
Version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
LR = address of the instruction after the BLX instruction
T Flag = 1
PC = PC + (SignExtend(signed_immed_24) << 2) + (H << 1)

A4-16

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
To return from a Thumb subroutine called via BLX to the ARM caller, use the Thumb instruction:
BX

R14

as described in BX on page A7-32, or use this instruction on subroutine entry:

PUSH {<registers>,R14}

and this instruction to return:

POP

{<registers>,PC}

To calculate the correct value of signed_immed_24, the assembler (or other toolkit component) needs to:
1.

Form the base address for this branch instruction. This is the address of the instruction, plus 8. In
other words, this base address is equal to the PC value used by the instruction.

2.

Subtract the base address from the target address to form a byte offset. This offset is always even,
because all ARM instructions are word-aligned and all Thumb instructions are halfword-aligned.

3.

If the byte offset is outside the range 33554432 to +33554430, use an alternative code-generation
strategy or produce an error as appropriate.

4.

Otherwise, set the signed_immed_24 field of the instruction to bits{25:2] of the byte offset, and the
H bit of the instruction to bit[1] of the byte offset.

Notes
Condition

Unlike most other ARM instructions, this instruction cannot be executed conditionally.

Bit[24]

This bit is used as bit[1] of the target address.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-17

ARM Instructions

4.1.9

BLX (2)
31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

16 15

SBO

12 11

SBO

SBO

4 3

0 0 1 1

Rm

This form of BLX is used to call an ARM or Thumb subroutine from the ARM instruction set, at an address
specified in a register. The branch target address is the value of register Rm, with its bit[0] forced to zero.
The instruction set to be used at the branch target is chosen by setting the CPSR T bit to bit[0] of Rm.
Register 14 is set to a return address. To return from the subroutine, use a BX R14 instruction, or store R14
on the stack and re-load the stored value into the PC.

Syntax
BLX{<cond>}
where:
<cond>
<Rm>

<Rm>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
Is the register containing the address of the target instruction. Bit[0] of Rm is 0 to select a
target ARM instruction, or 1 to select a target Thumb instruction. If R15 is specified for
<Rm>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.

Architecture version
Version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
LR = address of instruction after the BLX instruction
T Flag = Rm[0]
PC = Rm AND 0xFFFFFFFE

Notes
ARM/Thumb state transfers
If Rm[1:0] == 0b10, the result is UNPREDICTABLE, as branches to non word-aligned
addresses are impossible in ARM state.

A4-18

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

4.1.10

BX
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

16 15

SBO

12 11

SBO

SBO

6 5

0 0 0 1

Rm

The BX (Branch and Exchange) instruction branches to an address held in a register Rm, with an optional
switch to Thumb execution. The branch target address is the value of register Rm, with its bit[0] forced to
zero. The instruction set to be used at the branch target is chosen by setting the CPSR T bit to bit[0] of Rm.

Syntax
BX{<cond>}
where:
<cond>
<Rm>

<Rm>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
Holds the value of the branch target address. Bit[0] of Rm is 0 to select a target ARM
instruction, or 1 to select a target Thumb instruction.

Architecture version
Version 5 and above, plus T variants of version 4

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
T Flag = Rm[0]
PC = Rm AND 0xFFFFFFFE

Notes
ARM/Thumb state transfers
If Rm[1:0] == 0b10, the result is UNPREDICTABLE, as branches to non word-aligned
addresses are impossible in ARM state.
Use of R15

Register 15 can be specified for <Rm>, but doing so is discouraged.

In a BX R15 instruction, R15 is read as normal for ARM code, that is, it is the address of
the BX instruction itself plus 8. The result is to branch to the second following word,
executing in ARM state. This is precisely the same effect that would have been obtained if
a B instruction with an offset field of 0 had been executed, or an ADD PC,PC,#0 or MOV
PC,PC instruction. In new code, use these instructions in preference to the more complex
BX PC instruction.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-19

ARM Instructions

4.1.11

CDP
31

28 27 26 25 24 23

cond

1 1 1 0

20 19

opcode_1

16 15

CRn

12 11

CRd

cp_num

4 3

opcode_2 0

CRm

The CDP (Coprocessor Data Processing) instruction tells the coprocessor whose number is cp_num to
perform an operation that is independent of ARM registers and memory. If no coprocessors indicate that
they can execute the instruction, an Undefined Instruction exception is generated.

Syntax
CDP{<cond>}
CDP2

<coproc>, <opcode_1>, <CRd>, <CRn>, <CRm>, <opcode_2>

<coproc>, <opcode_1>, <CRd>, <CRn>, <CRm>, <opcode_2>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined
in The condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always)
condition is used.

CDP2

Causes the condition field of the instruction to be set to 0b1111. This provides
additional opcode space for coprocessor designers. The resulting instructions can
only be executed unconditionally.

<coproc>

Specifies the name of the coprocessor, and causes the corresponding coprocessor
number to be placed in the cp_num field of the instruction. The standard generic
coprocessor names are p0, p1, ..., p15.

<opcode_1>

Specifies (in a coprocessor-specific manner) which coprocessor operation is to be

performed.

<CRd>

Specifies the destination coprocessor register for the instruction.

<CRn>

Specifies the coprocessor register that contains the first operand for the instruction.

<CRm>

Specifies the coprocessor register that contains the second operand for the
instruction.

<opcode_2>

Specifies (in a coprocessor-specific manner) which coprocessor operation is to be

performed.

Architecture version
CDP is in Version 2 and above.
CDP2 is in Version 5 and above.

Exceptions
Undefined Instruction
A4-20

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Coprocessor[cp_num]-dependent operation

Usage
CDP is used to initiate coprocessor instructions that do not operate on values in ARM registers or in main
memory. An example is a floating-point multiply instruction for a floating-point coprocessor.

Notes
Coprocessor fields

Only instruction bits[31:24], bits[11:8], and bit[4] are architecturally defined. The
remaining fields are recommendations, for compatibility with ARM Development
Systems.

Unimplemented coprocessor instructions

Hardware coprocessor support is optional, regardless of the architecture version.
An implementation can choose to implement a subset of the coprocessor
instructions, or no coprocessor instructions at all. Any coprocessor instructions that
are not implemented instead cause an undefined instruction trap.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-21

ARM Instructions

4.1.12

CLZ
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

16 15

SBO

12 11

Rd

SBO

4 3

0 0 0 1

Rm

The CLZ (Count Leading Zeros) instruction returns the number of binary zero bits before the first binary
one bit in a register value. The source register is scanned from the most significant bit (bit[31]) towards the
least significant bit (bit[0]). The result value is 32 if no bits are set in the source register, and zero if bit[31]
is set.
This instruction does not update the condition code flags.

Syntax
CLZ{<cond>}
where:
<cond>

<Rd>, <Rm>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
Specifies the destination register for the operation. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the result
is UNPREDICTABLE.
Specifies the source register for this operation. If R15 is specified for <Rm>, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

<Rd>
<Rm>

Architecture version
Version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if Rm == 0
Rd = 32
else
Rd = 31 - (bit position of most significant 1 in Rm)

Usage
To normalize the value of register Rm, use CLZ followed by a left shift of Rm by the resulting Rd value. This
shifts Rm so that its most significant 1 bit is in bit[31]. Using MOVS rather than MOV sets the Z flag in the
special case that Rm is zero and so does not have a most significant 1 bit:
CLZ
MOVS

A4-22

Rd, Rm
Rm, Rm, LSL Rd

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

4.1.13

CMN
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 0 1 1 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

SBZ

shifter_operand

The CMN (Compare Negative) instruction compares a register value with the negative of another arithmetic
value. The condition flags are updated, based on the result of adding the second arithmetic value to the
register value, so that subsequent instructions can be conditionally executed.

Syntax
CMN{<cond>}

<Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the operation.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the operation. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not CMN.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
alu_out = Rn + shifter_operand
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = CarryFrom(Rn + shifter_operand)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn + shifter_operand)

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-23

ARM Instructions

Usage
CMN performs a comparison by adding the value of <shifter_operand> to the value of register <Rn>,
and updates the condition code flags (based on the result). This is almost equivalent to subtracting the
negative of the second operand from the first operand, and setting the flags on the result.
The difference is that the flag values generated can differ when the second operand is 0 or 0x80000000.
For example, this instruction always leaves the C flag = 1:
CMP Rn, #0

while this instruction always leaves the C flag = 0:

CMN Rn, #0

A4-24

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

4.1.14

CMP
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 0 1 0 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

SBZ

shifter_operand

The CMP (Compare) instruction compares a register value with another arithmetic value. The condition flags
are updated, based on the result of subtracting the second arithmetic value from the register value, so that
subsequent instructions can be conditionally executed.

Syntax
CMP{<cond>}

<Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
<Rn>
Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the operation.
<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the operation. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not CMP.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
alu_out = Rn - shifter_operand
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn - shifter_operand)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn - shifter_operand)

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-25

ARM Instructions

4.1.15

EOR
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 0 0 0 1 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The EOR (Exclusive OR) instruction performs a bitwise Exclusive-OR of the value of register <Rn> with
the value of <shifter_operand>, and stores the result in the destination register <Rd>. The condition
code flags are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
EOR{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Sets the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies that the instruction updates the
CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the instruction.
Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the operation,
and the C flag is set to the carry output bit generated by the shifter (see Addressing
Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2). The V flag and the rest of the
CPSR are unaffected.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the operation.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the operation. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not EOR.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-26

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Rn EOR shifter_operand
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = shifter_carry_out
V Flag = unaffected

Usage
EOR can be used to invert selected bits in a register. For each bit, EOR with 1 inverts that bit, and EOR with
0 leaves it unchanged.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-27

ARM Instructions

4.1.16

LDC
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 P U N W 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

CRd

cp_num

8_bit_word_offset

The LDC (Load Coprocessor) instruction loads memory data from the sequence of consecutive memory
addresses calculated by <addressing_mode> to the coprocessor whose number is cp_num. If no
coprocessors indicate that they can execute the instruction, an Undefined Instruction exception is generated.

Syntax
LDC{<cond>}{L}
LDC2{L}

<coproc>, <CRd>, <addressing_mode>

<coproc>, <CRd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

LDC2

Causes the condition field of the instruction to be set to 0b1111. This provides additional
opcode space for coprocessor designers. The resulting instructions can only be executed
unconditionally.

Sets the N bit (bit[22]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies a long load (for example,
double-precision instead of single-precision data transfer). If L is omitted, the N bit is 0 and
the instruction specifies a short load.

<coproc>

Specifies the name of the coprocessor, and causes the corresponding coprocessor number to
be placed in the cp_num field of the instruction. The standard generic coprocessor names
are p0, p1, ..., p15.

<CRd>

Specifies the coprocessor destination register of the instruction.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 5 - Load and Store Coprocessor on page A5-56. It
determines the P, U, Rn, W and 8_bit_word_offset bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
LDC is in Version 2 and above.
LDC2 is in Version 5 and above.

A4-28

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
Undefined Instruction, Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
address = start_address
load Memory[address,4] for Coprocessor[cp_num]
while (NotFinished(Coprocessor[cp_num]))
address = address + 4
load Memory[address,4] for Coprocessor[cp_num]
assert address == end_address

Usage
LDC is useful for loading coprocessor data from memory.

Notes
Coprocessor fields

Only instruction bits[31:23], bits[21:16], and bits[11:0] are ARM

architecture-defined. The remaining fields (bit[22] and bits[15:12]) are
recommendations, for compatibility with ARM Development Systems.
In the case of the Unindexed addressing mode (P==0, U==1, W==0), instruction
bits[7:0] are also not defined by the ARM architecture, and can be used to specify
additional coprocessor options.

Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a Data Abort occurs, see Effects of
data-aborted instructions on page A2-17.

Non word-aligned addresses

Load coprocessor register instructions ignore the least significant two bits of
address.
Alignment

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The

System Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with
bits[1:0] != 0b00 causes an alignment exception.

Unimplemented coprocessor instructions

Hardware coprocessor support is optional, regardless of the architecture version.
An implementation can choose to implement a subset of the coprocessor
instructions, or no coprocessor instructions at all. Any coprocessor instructions that
are not implemented instead cause an undefined instruction trap.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-29

ARM Instructions

4.1.17

LDM (1)
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 P U 0 W 1

16 15

Rn

register_list

This form of the LDM (Load Multiple) instruction is useful for block loads, stack operations and procedure
exit sequences. It loads a non-empty subset, or possibly all, of the general-purpose registers from sequential
memory locations.
The general-purpose registers loaded can include the PC. If they do, the word loaded for the PC is treated
as an address and a branch occurs to that address. In ARM architecture version 5 and above, bit[0] of the
loaded value determines whether execution continues after this branch in ARM state or in Thumb state, as
though a BX (loaded_value) instruction had been executed. In earlier versions of the architecture,
bits[1:0] of the loaded value are ignored and execution continues in ARM state, as though the instruction
MOV PC,(loaded_value) had been executed.

Syntax
LDM{<cond>}<addressing_mode>

<Rn>{!}, <registers>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48. It determines
the P, U, and W bits of the instruction.
<Rn>

Specifies the base register used by <addressing_mode>. Using R15 as the base register
<Rn> gives an UNPREDICTABLE result.

Sets the W bit, causing the instruction to write a modified value back to its base register Rn
as specified in Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48. If ! is omitted,
the W bit is 0 and the instruction does not change its base register in this way. (However, if
the base register is included in <registers>, it changes when a value is loaded into it.)

<registers>
Is a list of registers, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }. It specifies the set of
registers to be loaded by the LDM instruction.
The registers are loaded in sequence, the lowest-numbered register from the lowest memory
address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register from the highest
memory address (end_address). If the PC is specified in the register list (opcode bit[15]
is set), the instruction causes a branch to the address (data) loaded into the PC.
For each of i=0 to 15, bit[i] in the register_list field of the instruction is 1 if Ri is in the list
and 0 otherwise. If bits[15:0] are all zero, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

A4-30

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 14
if register_list[i] == 1 then
Ri = Memory[address,4]
address = address + 4
if register_list[15] == 1 then
value = Memory[address,4]
if (architecture version 5 or above) then
pc = value AND 0xFFFFFFFE
T Bit = value[0]
else
pc = value AND 0xFFFFFFFC
address = address + 4
assert end_address = address - 4

Notes
Operand restrictions
If the base register <Rn> is specified in <registers>, and base register writeback is
specified, the final value of <Rn> is UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort
For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.
Non word-aligned addresses
Load Multiple instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address (the words are
not rotated as for Load Word).
Alignment
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.
ARM/Thumb state transfers (ARM architecture version 5 and above)

Time order

ARM DDI 0100E

If bits[1:0] of a value loaded for R15 are 0b10, the result is UNPREDICTABLE, as branches to
non word-aligned addresses are impossible in ARM state.
The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this instruction
is only defined in some circumstances. See Data accesses to memory-mapped I/O on
page A2-32 for details.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-31

ARM Instructions

4.1.18

LDM (2)
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 P U 1 0 1

16 15 14

Rn

register_list

This form of LDM loads User mode registers when the processor is in a privileged mode (useful when
performing process swaps, and in instruction emulators). The instruction loads a non-empty subset of
the User mode general-purpose registers from sequential memory locations.

Syntax
LDM{<cond>}<addressing_mode>

<Rn>, <registers_without_pc>^

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48. It determines
the P and U bits of the instruction. Only the forms of this addressing mode with W == 0 are
available for this form of the LDM instruction.
<Rn>

Specifies the base register used by <addressing_mode>. Using R15 as <Rn> gives an
UNPREDICTABLE result.

<registers_without_pc>
Is a list of registers, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }. This list must not
include the PC, and specifies the set of registers to be loaded by the LDM instruction.
The registers are loaded in sequence, the lowest-numbered register from the lowest memory
address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register from the highest
memory address (end_address).
For each of i=0 to 15, bit[i] in the register_list field of the instruction is 1 if Ri is in the list
and 0 otherwise. If bits[15:0] are all zero, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.
^

For an LDM instruction that does not load the PC, this indicates that User mode registers are
to be loaded.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

A4-32

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 14
if register_list[i] == 1
Ri_usr = Memory[address,4]
address = address + 4
assert end_address == address - 4

Notes
Banked registers

This form of LDM must not be followed by an instruction which accesses banked
registers (a following NOP is a good way to ensure this).

Writeback

Setting bit[21] (the W bit) has UNPREDICTABLE results.

User and System mode

This form of LDM is UNPREDICTABLE in User mode or System mode.
Base register mode

The base register is read from the current processor mode registers, not the User
mode registers.

Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of
data-aborted instructions on page A2-17.

Non word-aligned addresses

LDM instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address (words are not
rotated as for Load Word).
Alignment

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The

System Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with
bits[1:0] != 0b00 causes an alignment exception.

Time order

The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this
instruction is only defined in some circumstances. See Data accesses to
memory-mapped I/O on page A2-32 for details.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-33

ARM Instructions

4.1.19

LDM (3)
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 P U 1 W 1

16 15 14

Rn

register_list

This form of is useful for returning from an exception. It loads a subset (or possibly all) of the
general-purpose registers and the PC from sequential memory locations. Also, the SPSR of the current
mode is copied to the CPSR.
The value loaded for the PC is treated as an address and a branch occurs to that address. In ARM architecture
version 5 and above, and in T variants of version 4, the value copied from the SPSR T bit to the CPSR T bit
determines whether execution continues after the branch in ARM state or in Thumb state. In earlier
architecture versions, it continues after the branch in ARM state (the only possibility in those architecture
versions).

Syntax
LDM{<cond>}<addressing_mode>

<Rn>{!}, <registers_and_pc>^

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48. It determines
the P, U, and W bits of the instruction.
<Rn>
Specifies the base register used by <addressing_mode>. Using R15 as <Rn> gives an
UNPREDICTABLE result.
!
Sets the W bit, and the instruction writes a modified value back to its base register Rn (see
Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48). If ! is omitted, the W bit is
0 and the instruction does not change its base register in this way. (However, if the base
register is included in <registers>, it changes when a value is loaded into it.)
<registers_and_pc>
Is a list of registers, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }. This list must include
the PC, and specifies the set of registers to be loaded by the LDM instruction.
The registers are loaded in sequence, the lowest-numbered register from the lowest memory
address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register from the highest
memory address (end_address).

A4-34

For each of i=0 to 15, bit[i] in the register_list field of the instruction is 1 if Ri is in the list
and 0 otherwise.
For an LDM instruction that loads the PC, this indicates that the SPSR of the current mode
is copied to the CPSR.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 14
if register_list[i] == 1 then
Ri = Memory[address,4]
address = address + 4
CPSR = SPSR
value = Memory[address,4]
if (architecture version 4T, 5 or above) and (T Bit == 1) then
pc = value AND 0xFFFFFFFE
else
pc = value AND 0xFFFFFFFC
address = address + 4
assert end_address = address - 4

Notes
User and System mode
This instruction is UNPREDICTABLE in User or System mode.
Operand restrictions
If the base register <Rn> is specified in <registers_and_pc>, and base register
writeback is specified, the final value of <Rn> is UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Non word-aligned addresses

Load Multiple instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address (the words are
not rotated as for Load Word).
Alignment

ARM DDI 0100E

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-35

ARM Instructions

ARM/Thumb state transfers (ARM architecture versions 4T, 5 and above)

If the SPSR T bit is 0 and bit[1] of the value loaded into the PC is 1, the results are
it is not possible to branch to an ARM instruction at a non
word-aligned address. Note that no special precautions against this are needed on normal
exception returns, because exception entries always either set the T bit of the SPSR to 1 or
bit[1] of the return link value in R14 to 0.

UNPREDICTABLE because

Time order

A4-36

The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this instruction
is not defined. See Data accesses to memory-mapped I/O on page A2-32 for details.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

4.1.20

LDR
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 I P U 0 W 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addr_mode

The LDR (Load Register) instruction loads a word from the memory address calculated by
<addressing_mode> and writes it to register <Rd>. If the address is not word-aligned, the loaded value
is rotated right by 8 times the value of bits[1:0] of the address. For a little-endian memory system, this
rotation causes the addressed byte to occupy the least significant byte of the register. For a big-endian
memory system, it causes the addressed byte to occupy bits[31:24] or bits[15:8] of the register, depending
on whether bit[0] of the address is 0 or 1 respectively.
If the PC is specified as register <Rd>, the instruction loads a data word which it treats as an address, then
branches to that address. In ARM architecture version 5 and above, bit[0] of the loaded value determines
whether execution continues after this branch in ARM state or in Thumb state, as though a BX
(loaded_value) instruction had been executed. In earlier versions of the architecture, bits[1:0] of the
loaded value are ignored and execution continues in ARM state, as though a MOV PC,(loaded_value)
instruction had been executed.

Syntax
LDR{<cond>}

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the loaded value.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It determines the I, P, U, W, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-37

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if address[1:0] == 0b00 then
value = Memory[address,4]
else if address[1:0] == 0b01 then
value = Memory[address,4] Rotate_Right 8
else if address[1:0] == 0b10 then
value = Memory[address,4] Rotate_Right 16
else /* address[1:0] == 0b11 */
value = Memory[address,4] Rotate_Right 24
if (Rd is R15) then
if (architecture version 5 or above) then
PC = value AND 0xFFFFFFFE
T Bit = value[0]
else
PC = value AND 0xFFFFFFFC
else
Rd = value

Usage
Using the PC as the base register allows PC-relative addressing, which facilitates position-independent
code. Combined with a suitable addressing mode, LDR allows 32-bit memory data to be loaded into a
general-purpose register where its value can be manipulated. If the destination register is the PC, this
instruction loads a 32-bit address from memory and branches to that address.
To synthesize a Branch with Link, precede the LDR instruction with MOV LR, PC.

A4-38

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.
Operand restrictions

If <addressing_mode> specifies base register writeback, and the same register is

specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Alignment
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.
Use of R15
If register 15 is specified for <Rd>, address[1:0] must be 0b00. If not, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.
ARM/Thumb state transfers (ARM architecture version 5 and above)
If bits[1:0] of the loaded value are 0b10, the result is UNPREDICTABLE, as branches to non
word-aligned addresses are not possible in ARM state.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-39

ARM Instructions

4.1.21

LDRB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 I P U 1 W 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addr_mode

The LDRB (Load Register Byte) instruction loads a byte from the memory address calculated by
<addressing_mode>, zero-extends the byte to a 32-bit word, and writes the word to register <Rd>.

Syntax
LDR{<cond>}B

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the loaded value. If register 15 is specified for <Rd>,
the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It determines the I, P, U, W, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Memory[address,1]

Usage
Combined with a suitable addressing mode, LDRB allows 8-bit memory data to be loaded into a
general-purpose register where it can be manipulated.
Using the PC as the base register allows PC-relative addressing, to facilitate position-independent code.

A4-40

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <addressing_mode> specifies base register writeback, and the same register is
specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

ARM DDI 0100E

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-41

ARM Instructions

4.1.22

LDRBT
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 I 0 U 1 1 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addr_mode

The LDRBT (Load Register Byte with Translation) instruction loads a byte from the memory address
calculated by <post_indexed_addressing_mode>, zero-extends the byte to a 32-bit word, and
writes the word to register <Rd>.
If the instruction is executed when the processor is in a privileged mode, the memory system is signaled to
treat the access as if the processor were in User mode.

Syntax
LDR{<cond>}BT

<Rd>, <post_indexed_addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the loaded value. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the
result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<post_indexed_addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It determines the I, U, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction. Only post-indexed forms
of Addressing Mode 2 are available for this instruction. These forms have P == 0 and W ==
0, where P and W are bit[24] and bit[21] respectively. This instruction uses P == 0 and W
== 1 instead, but the addressing mode is the same in all other respects.
The syntax of all forms of <post_indexed_addressing_mode> includes a base
register <Rn>. All forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value
(this is known as base register writeback).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Memory[address,1]

A4-42

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
LDRBT can be used by a (privileged) exception handler that is emulating a memory access instruction that
would normally execute in User mode. The access is restricted as if it had User mode privilege.

Notes
User mode

If this instruction is executed in User mode, an ordinary User mode access is performed.

Operand restrictions
If the same register is specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

ARM DDI 0100E

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-43

ARM Instructions

4.1.23

LDRH
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 P U I W 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

4 3

addr_mode 1 0 1 1 addr_mode

The LDRH (Load Register Halfword) instruction loads a halfword from the memory address calculated by
<addressing_mode>, zero-extends the halfword to a 32-bit word, and writes the word to
register <Rd>. If the address is not halfword-aligned, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

Syntax
LDR{<cond>}H

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the loaded value. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the
result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores on page A5-34. It
determines the P, U, I, W, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if address[0] == 0
data = Memory[address,2]
else /* address[0] == 1 */
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Rd = data

A4-44

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
Used with a suitable addressing mode, LDRH allows 16-bit memory data to be loaded into a general-purpose
register where its value can be manipulated.
Using the PC as the base register allows PC-relative addressing to facilitate position-independent code.

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <addressing_mode> specifies base register writeback, and the same register is
specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Non halfword-aligned addresses

If the load address is not halfword-aligned, the loaded value is UNPREDICTABLE.
Alignment

ARM DDI 0100E

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bit[0] != 0
causes an alignment exception.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-45

ARM Instructions

4.1.24

LDRSB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 P U I W 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

4 3

addr_mode 1 1 0 1 addr_mode

The LDRSB (Load Register Signed Byte) instruction loads a byte from the memory address calculated by
<addressing_mode>, sign-extends the byte to a 32-bit word, and writes the word to register <Rd>.

Syntax
LDR{<cond>}SB

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the loaded value. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the
result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores on page A5-34. It
determines the P, U, I, W, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
data = Memory[address,1]
Rd = SignExtend(data)

Usage
Used with a suitable addressing mode, LDRSB allows 8-bit signed memory data to be loaded into a
general-purpose register where it can be manipulated. Using the PC as the base register allows PC-relative
addressing, which facilitates position-independent code.

A4-46

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <addressing_mode> specifies base register writeback, and the same register is
specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

ARM DDI 0100E

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-47

ARM Instructions

4.1.25

LDRSH
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 P U I W 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

4 3

addr_mode 1 1 1 1 addr_mode

The LDRSH (Load Register Signed Halfword) instruction loads a halfword from the memory address
calculated by <addressing_mode>, sign-extends the halfword to a 32-bit word, and writes the word to
register <Rd>. If the address is not halfword-aligned, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

Syntax
LDR{<cond>}SH

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
<Rd>
Specifies the destination register for the loaded value. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the
result is UNPREDICTABLE.
<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores on page A5-34. It
determines the P, U, I, W, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if address[0] == 0
data = Memory[address,2]
else /* address[0] == 1 */
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Rd = SignExtend(data)

A4-48

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
Used with a suitable addressing mode, LDRSH allows 16-bit signed memory data to be loaded into
a general-purpose register where its value can be manipulated.
Using the PC as the base register allows PC-relative addressing, which facilitates position-independent
code.

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <addressing_mode> specifies base register writeback, and the same register is
specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Non halfword-aligned addresses

If the load address is not halfword-aligned, the loaded value is UNPREDICTABLE.
Alignment

ARM DDI 0100E

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bit[0] != 0
causes an alignment exception.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-49

ARM Instructions

4.1.26

LDRT
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 I 0 U 0 1 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addr_mode

The LDRT (Load Register with Translation) instruction loads a word from the memory address calculated
by <addressing_mode> and writes it to register <Rd>. If the address is not word-aligned, the loaded
data is rotated as for the LDR instruction (see LDR on page A4-37).
If the instruction is executed when the processor is in a privileged mode, the memory system is signaled to
treat the access as if the processor were in User mode.

Syntax
LDR{<cond>}T

<Rd>, <post_indexed_addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the loaded value. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the
result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<post_indexed_addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It determines the I, U, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction. Only post-indexed forms
of Addressing Mode 2 are available for this instruction. These forms have P == 0 and W ==
0, where P and W are bit[24] and bit[21] respectively. This instruction uses P == 0 and W
== 1 instead, but the addressing mode is the same in all other respects.
The syntax of all forms of <post_indexed_addressing_mode> includes a base
register <Rn>. All forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value
(this is known as base register writeback).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

A4-50

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if address[1:0] == 0b00
Rd = Memory[address,4]
else if address[1:0] == 0b01
Rd = Memory[address,4] Rotate_Right 8
else if address[1:0] == 0b10
Rd = Memory[address,4] Rotate_Right 16
else /* address[1:0] == 0b11 */
Rd = Memory[address,4] Rotate_Right 24

Usage
LDRT can be used by a (privileged) exception handler that is emulating a memory access instruction that
would normally execute in User mode. The access is restricted as if it had User mode privilege.

Notes
User mode

If this instruction is executed in User mode, an ordinary User mode access is performed.

Operand restrictions
If the same register is specified for <Rd> and <Rn> the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (See Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-51

ARM Instructions

4.1.27

MCR
31

28 27 26 25 24 23

cond

21 20 19

1 1 1 0 opcode_1 0

16 15

CRn

12 11

Rd

cp_num

4 3

opcode_2 1

CRm

The MCR (Move to Coprocessor from ARM Register) instruction passes the value of register <Rd> to the
coprocessor whose number is cp_num. If no coprocessors indicate that they can execute the instruction, an
Undefined Instruction exception is generated.

Syntax
MCR{<cond>}
MCR2

<coproc>, <opcode_1>, <Rd>, <CRn>, <CRm>{, <opcode_2>}

<coproc>, <opcode_1>, <Rd>, <CRn>, <CRm>{, <opcode_2>}

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

MCR2

Causes the condition field of the instruction to be set to 0b1111. This provides additional
opcode space for coprocessor designers. The resulting instructions can only be executed
unconditionally.

<coproc>

Specifies the name of the coprocessor, and causes the corresponding coprocessor number to
be placed in the cp_num field of the instruction. The standard generic coprocessor names
are p0, p1, ..., p15.

<opcode_1> Is a coprocessor-specific opcode.

<Rd>

Is the ARM register whose value is transferred to the coprocessor. If R15 is specified for
<Rd>, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<CRn>

Is the destination coprocessor register.

<CRm>

Is an additional destination or source coprocessor register.

<opcode_2> Is a coprocessor-specific opcode. If it is omitted, <opcode_2> is assumed to be 0.

Architecture version
MCR is in version 2 and above.
MCR2 is in version 5 and above.

Exceptions
Undefined Instruction

A4-52

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
send Rd value to Coprocessor[cp_num]

Usage
MCR is used to initiate coprocessor instructions that operate on values in ARM registers. An example is
a fixed-point to floating-point conversion instruction for a floating-point coprocessor.

Notes
Coprocessor fields

Only instruction bits[31:24], bit[20], bits[15:8], and bit[4] are defined by the ARM
architecture. The remaining fields are recommendations, for compatibility with
ARM Development Systems.

Unimplemented coprocessor instructions

Hardware coprocessor support is optional, regardless of the architecture version.
An implementation can choose to implement a subset of the coprocessor
instructions, or no coprocessor instructions at all. Any coprocessor instructions that
are not implemented instead cause an undefined instruction trap.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-53

ARM Instructions

4.1.28

MLA
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 S

16 15

Rd

12 11

Rn

Rs

4 3

1 0 0 1

Rm

The MLA (Multiply Accumulate) multiplies signed or unsigned operands to produce a 32-bit result, which
is then added to a third operand, and written to the destination register. The condition code flags are
optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
MLA{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>, <Rn>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR by setting the N and Z flags according to the result of the
multiply-accumulate. If S is omitted, the S bit of the instruction is set to 0 and the entire
CPSR is unaffected by the instruction.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Holds the value to be multiplied with the value of <Rs>.

<Rs>

Holds the value to be multiplied with the value of <Rm>.

<Rn>

Contains the value that is added to the product of <Rs> and <Rm>.

Architecture version
Version 2 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = (Rm * Rs + Rn)[31:0]
if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
/* See "C flag" note */
V Flag = unaffected

A4-54

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>, or <Rn> has UNPREDICTABLE
results.

Operand restriction Specifying the same register for <Rd> and <Rm> has UNPREDICTABLE results.
Early termination

If the multiplier implementation supports early termination, it must be implemented

on the value of the <Rs> operand. The type of early termination used (signed or
unsigned) is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Signed and unsigned Because the MLA instruction produces only the lower 32 bits of the 64-bit product,
MLA gives the same answer for multiplication of both signed and unsigned numbers.
C flag

ARM DDI 0100E

The MLAS instruction is defined to leave the C flag unchanged in ARM architecture
version 5 and above. In earlier versions of the architecture, the value of the C flag
was UNPREDICTABLE after a MLAS instruction.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-55

ARM Instructions

4.1.29

MOV
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 1 0 1 S

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The MOV (Move) instruction moves the value of <shifter_operand> to the destination register <Rd>.
The condition code flags are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
MOV{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Sets the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies that the instruction updates the
CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the instruction.
Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

<Rd>

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the value moved (post-shift
if a shift is specified), and the C flag is set to the carry output bit generated by the
shifter (see Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2). The V
flag and the rest of the CPSR are unaffected.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the operand for the operation. The options for this operand are described in
Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each option
causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not MOV.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
None

A4-56

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = shifter_operand
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = shifter_carry_out
V Flag = unaffected

Usage
MOV is used to:

Move a value from one register to another.

Put a constant value into a register.

Perform a shift without any other arithmetic or logical operation. A left shift by n can be used to

multiply by 2n.
When the PC is the destination of the instruction, a branch occurs. The instruction:
MOV PC, LR

ARM DDI 0100E

can therefore be used to return from a subroutine (see instructions B, BL on page A4-10). In T
variants of architecture 4 and in architecture 5 and above, the instruction BX LR must be used in place
of MOV PC, LR, as the BX instruction automatically switches back to Thumb state if appropriate.
When the PC is the destination of the instruction and the S bit is set, a branch occurs and the SPSR
of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This means that a MOVS PC, LR instruction can be used
to return from some types of exception (see Exceptions on page A2-13).

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-57

ARM Instructions

4.1.30

MRC
31

28 27 26 25 24 23

cond

21 20 19

1 1 1 0 opcode_1 1

16 15

CRn

12 11

Rd

cp_num

4 3

opcode_2 1

CRm

The MRC (Move to ARM Register from Coprocessor) instruction causes the coprocessor whose number is
cp_num to transfer a value to an ARM register or to the condition flags.
If no coprocessors indicate that they can execute the instruction an Undefined Instruction exception is
generated.

Syntax
MRC{<cond>}
MRC2

<coproc>, <opcode_1>, <Rd>, <CRn>, <CRm>{, <opcode_2>}

<coproc>, <opcode_1>, <Rd>, <CRn>, <CRm>{, <opcode_2>}

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined
in The condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always)
condition is used.

MRC2

Causes the condition field of the instruction to be set to 0b1111. This provides
additional opcode space for coprocessor designers. The resulting instructions can
only be executed unconditionally.

<coproc>

Specifies the name of the coprocessor, and causes the corresponding coprocessor
number to be placed in the cp_num field of the instruction. The standard generic
coprocessor names are p0, p1, ..., p15.

<opcode_1>

Is a coprocessor-specific opcode.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination ARM register for the instruction. If R15 is specified for
<Rd>, the condition code flags are updated instead of a general-purpose register.

<CRn>

Specifies the coprocessor register that contains the first operand for the instruction.

<CRm>

Is an additional coprocessor source or destination register.

<opcode_2>

Is a coprocessor-specific opcode. If it is omitted, <opcode_2> is assumed to be 0.

Architecture version
MRC is in version 2 and above.
MRC2 is in version 5 and above.

Exceptions
Undefined Instruction

A4-58

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
data = value from Coprocessor[cp_num]
if Rd is R15 then
N flag = data[31]
Z flag = data[30]
C flag = data[29]
V flag = data[28]
else /* Rd is not R15 */
Rd = data

Usage
MRC has two uses:
1.

If <Rd> specifies R15, the condition code flags bits are updated from the top four bits of the value
from the coprocessor specified by <coproc> (to allow conditional branching on the status of a
coprocessor) and the other 28 bits are ignored.
An example of this use would be to transfer the result of a comparison performed by a floating-point
coprocessor to the ARMs condition flags.

2.

Otherwise the instruction writes into register <Rd> a value from the coprocessor specified by
<coproc>.
An example of this use is a floating-point to integer conversion instruction in a floating-point
coprocessor.

Notes
Coprocessor fields

Only instruction bits[31:24], bit[20], bits[15:8] and bit[4] are defined by the ARM
architecture. The remaining fields are recommendations, for compatibility with
ARM Development Systems.

Unimplemented coprocessor instructions

Hardware coprocessor support is optional, regardless of the architecture version.
An implementation can choose to implement a subset of the coprocessor
instructions, or no coprocessor instructions at all. Any coprocessor instructions that
are not implemented instead cause an undefined instruction trap.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-59

ARM Instructions

4.1.31

MRS
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 R 0 0

16 15

SBO

12 11

Rd

SBZ

The MRS (Move PSR to General-purpose Register) instruction moves the value of the CPSR or the SPSR
of the current mode into a general-purpose register. In the general-purpose register, the value can be
examined or manipulated with normal data-processing instructions.

Syntax
MRS{<cond>}
MRS{<cond>}
where:
<cond>
<Rd>

<Rd>, CPSR
<Rd>, SPSR

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
Specifies the destination register of the instruction. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the result
is UNPREDICTABLE.

Architecture version
Version 3 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if R == 1 then
Rd = SPSR
else
Rd = CPSR

A4-60

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
The MRS instruction is commonly used for three purposes:

As part of a read/modify/write sequence for updating a PSR. For more details, see MSR on
page A4-62.

When an exception occurs and there is a possibility of a nested exception of the same type occurring,
the SPSR of the exception mode is in danger of being corrupted. To deal with this, the SPSR value
must be saved before the nested exception can occur, and later restored in preparation for the
exception return. The saving is normally done by using an MRS instruction followed by a store
instruction. Restoring the SPSR uses the reverse sequence of a load instruction followed by an MSR
instruction. For an example of this usage, see Interrupt prioritization on page A9-15.

In process swap code, the programmer's model state of the process being swapped out needs to be
saved, including relevant PSR contents, and similar state of the process being swapped in needs to be
restored. Again, this involves the use of MRS/store and load/MSR instruction sequences. For an
example of this usage, see Context switch on page A9-16.

Notes
Opcode [11:0]

Execution of MRS instructions with opcode[11:0] != 0x000 is UNPREDICTABLE.

Opcode [19:16]

Execution of MRS instructions with opcode[19:16] != 0b1111 is UNPREDICTABLE.

User mode SPSR

Accessing the SPSR when in User mode or System mode is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-61

ARM Instructions

4.1.32

MSR
Immediate operand:
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

16 15

0 0 1 1 0 R 1 0 field_mask

12 11

SBO

rotate_imm

8_bit_immediate

Register operand:
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

16 15

0 0 0 1 0 R 1 0 field_mask

12 11

SBO

SBZ

4 3

0 0 0 0

Rm

The MSR (Move to Status Register from ARM Register) instruction transfers the value of a general-purpose
register or immediate constant to the CPSR or the SPSR of the current mode.

Syntax
MSR{<cond>}
MSR{<cond>}
MSR{<cond>}
MSR{<cond>}

CPSR_<fields>,
CPSR_<fields>,
SPSR_<fields>,
SPSR_<fields>,

#<immediate>
<Rm>
#<immediate>
<Rm>

where:

A4-62

<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined
in The condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always)
condition is used.

<fields>

Is a sequence of one or more of the following:

c
sets the control field mask bit (bit 16)
x
sets the extension field mask bit (bit 17)
s
sets the status field mask bit (bit 18)
f
sets the flags field mask bit (bit 19).

<immediate>

Is the immediate value to be transferred to the CPSR or SPSR. Allowed immediate

values are 8-bit immediates (in the range 0x00 to 0xFF) and values that can be
obtained by rotating them right by an even amount in the range 030. These
immediate values are the same as those allowed in the immediate form as shown in
Data-processing operands - Immediate on page A5-6.

<Rm>

Is the general-purpose register to be transferred to the CPSR or SPSR.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Architecture version
Version 3 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if opcode[25] == 1
operand = 8_bit_immediate Rotate_Right (rotate_imm * 2)
else /* opcode[25] == 0 */
operand = Rm
if R == 0 then
if field_mask[0] == 1 and InAPrivilegedMode() then
CPSR[7:0] = operand[7:0]
if field_mask[1] == 1 and InAPrivilegedMode() then
CPSR[15:8] = operand[15:8]
if field_mask[2] == 1 and InAPrivilegedMode() then
CPSR[23:16] = operand[23:16]
if field_mask[3] == 1 then
CPSR[31:24] = operand[31:24]
else /* R == 1 */
if field_mask[0] == 1 and CurrentModeHasSPSR() then
SPSR[7:0] = operand[7:0]
if field_mask[1] == 1 and CurrentModeHasSPSR() then
SPSR[15:8] = operand[15:8]
if field_mask[2] == 1 and CurrentModeHasSPSR() then
SPSR[23:16] = operand[23:16]
if field_mask[3] == 1 and CurrentModeHasSPSR() then
SPSR[31:24] = operand[31:24]

Usage
This instruction is used to update the value of the condition code flags, interrupt enables, or the processor
mode.
The value of a PSR should normally be updated by moving the PSR to a general-purpose register (using the
MRS instruction), modifying the relevant bits of the general-purpose register, and restoring the updated
general-purpose register value back into the PSR (using the MSR instruction). For example, a good way to
switch the ARM to Supervisor mode from another privileged mode is:
MRS
BIC
ORR
MSR

ARM DDI 0100E

R0,CPSR
R0,R0,#0x1F
R0,R0,#0x13
CPSR_c,R0

;
;
;
;

Read CPSR
Modify by removing current mode
and substituting Supervisor mode
Write the result back to CPSR

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-63

ARM Instructions

For maximum efficiency, MSR instructions should only write to those fields that they can potentially change.
For example, the last instruction in the above code can only change the CPSR control field, as all bits in the
other fields are unchanged since they were read from the CPSR by the first instruction. So it writes to
CPSR_c, not CPSR_fsxc or some other combination of fields.
However, if the only reason that an MSR instruction cannot change a field is that no bits are currently
allocated to the field, then the field must be written, to ensure future compatibility. For example, when the
process swap code in Context switch on page A9-16 restores the new processs CPSR value, it writes to
SPSR_fsxc (which is later copied to the CPSR by the LDM instruction which restarts the process). There are
no bits allocated to the state or extension fields at present, so writing to SPSR_fc would work just as well
in current architecture versions (5 and below). However, writing to SPSR_fsxc will continue to work
correctly in future versions of the architecture that do have bits allocated in the state or extension fields,
while writing to SPSR_fc will not.

Note
Due to deficiencies in the handling of the state and extension fields in versions 2.50 and below of the ARM
Software Development Toolkit, only specify the flags and control fields when using these toolkit versions.
In cases where the above guidelines mean that the state and extension fields should have been written for
future compatibility, it is recommended that you keep a record of the need to change the set of fields
specified when it becomes possible to do so.
The immediate form of this instruction can be used to set any of the fields of a PSR, but you must take care
to adhere to the read-modify-write technique described above. The immediate form of the instruction is
equivalent to reading the PSR concerned, replacing all the bits in the fields concerned by the corresponding
bits of the immediate constant and writing the result back to the PSR. The immediate form must therefore
only be used when the intention is to modify all the bits in the specified fields and, in particular, must not
be used if the specified fields include any as-yet-unallocated bits. Failure to observe this rule might result
in code which has unanticipated side-effects on future versions of the ARM architecture.
As an exception to the above rule, it is legitimate to use the immediate form of the instruction to modify the
flags byte, despite the fact that bits[26:24] of the PSRs have no allocated function at present. For example,
this instruction can be used to set all four flags (and clear the Q flag if the processor implements the
Enhanced DSP extension):
MSR

CPSR_f,#0xF0000000

Any functionality allocated to bits[26:24] in a future version of the ARM architecture will be designed so
that such code does not have unexpected side effects.

A4-64

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
The R bit

Bit[22] of the instruction is 0 if the CPSR is to be written and 1 if the SPSR is to be written.

User mode CPSR

Any writes to CPSR[23:0] in User mode are ignored (so that User mode programs cannot
change to a privileged mode).
User mode SPSR
Accessing the SPSR when in User mode is UNPREDICTABLE.
System mode SPSR
Accessing the SPSR when in System mode is UNPREDICTABLE.
Obsolete field specification
The CPSR, CPSR_flg, CPSR_ctl, CPSR_all, SPSR, SPSR_flg, SPSR_ctl and
SPSR_all forms of PSR field specification have been superseded by the csxf format
shown on page A4-62.
CPSR, SPSR, CPSR_all and SPSR_all produce a field mask of 0b1001.
CPSR_flg and SPSR_flg produce a field mask of 0b1000.
CPSR_ctl and SPSR_ctl produce a field mask of 0b0001.
The T bit

The MSR instruction must not be used to alter the T bit in the CPSR. If such an attempt is
made, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.

Addressing modes
The immediate and register forms are specified in precisely the same way as the immediate
and unshifted register forms of Addressing Mode 1 (see Addressing Mode 1 Data-processing operands on page A5-2). All other forms of Addressing Mode 1 yield
UNPREDICTABLE results.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-65

ARM Instructions

4.1.33

MUL
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 S

16 15

Rd

12 11

SBZ

Rs

4 3

1 0 0 1

Rm

The MUL (Multiply) instruction is used to multiply signed or unsigned variables to produce a 32-bit result.
The condition code flags are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
MUL{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR by setting the N and Z flags according to the result of the multiplication.
If S is omitted, the S bit of the instruction is set to 0 and the entire CPSR is unaffected by
the instruction.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the register that contains the first value to be multiplied.

<Rs>

Holds the value to be multiplied with the value of <Rm>.

Architecture version
Version 2 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = (Rm * Rs)[31:0]
if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
/* See "C flag" note */
V Flag = unaffected

A4-66

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, or <Rs> has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction Specifying the same register for <Rd> and <Rm> has UNPREDICTABLE results.
Early termination

If the multiplier implementation supports early termination, it must be implemented

on the value of the <Rs> operand. The type of early termination used (signed or
unsigned) is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Signed and unsigned Because the MUL instruction produces only the lower 32 bits of the 64-bit product,
MUL gives the same answer for multiplication of both signed and unsigned numbers.
C flag

ARM DDI 0100E

The MULS instruction is defined to leave the C flag unchanged in ARM architecture
version 5 and above. In earlier versions of the architecture, the value of the C flag
was UNPREDICTABLE after a MULS instruction.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-67

ARM Instructions

4.1.34

MVN
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 1 1 1 S

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The MVN (Move Negative) instruction moves the logical ones complement of the value of
<shifter_operand> to the destination register <Rd>. The condition code flags are optionally updated,
based on the result.

Syntax
MVN{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Sets the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies that the instruction updates the
CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the instruction.
Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

<Rd>

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the operation,
and the C flag is set to the carry output bit generated by the shifter (see Addressing
Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2). The V flag and the rest of the
CPSR are unaffected.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the operand for the operation. The options for this operand are described in
Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each option
causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not MVN.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
None

A4-68

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = NOT shifter_operand
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = shifter_carry_out
V Flag = unaffected

Usage
MVN is used to:

write a negative value into a register

form a bit mask

take the ones complement of a value.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-69

ARM Instructions

4.1.35

ORR
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 1 0 0 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The ORR (Logical OR) instruction performs a bitwise (inclusive) OR of the value of register <Rn> with the
value of <shifter_operand>, and stores the result in the destination register <Rd>. The condition
code flags are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ORR{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Sets the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies that the instruction updates the
CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the instruction.
Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the operation,
and the C flag is set to the carry output bit generated by the shifter (see Addressing
Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2). The V flag and the rest of the
CPSR are unaffected.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the operation.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the operation. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not ORR.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-70

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Rn OR shifter_operand
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = shifter_carry_out
V Flag = unaffected

Usage
ORR can be used to set selected bits in a register. For each bit, OR with 1 sets the bit, and OR with 0 leaves
it unchanged.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-71

ARM Instructions

4.1.36

RSB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 0 0 1 1 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The RSB (Reverse Subtract) instruction subtracts the value of register <Rn> from the value of
<shifter_operand>, and stores the result in the destination register <Rd>. The condition code flags
are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
RSB{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Sets the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies that the instruction updates the
CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the instruction.
Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the subtraction,
and the C and V flags are set according to whether the subtraction generated a borrow
(unsigned underflow) and a signed overflow, respectively. The rest of the CPSR is
unchanged.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the second operand for the subtraction.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the first operand for the subtraction. The options for this operand are described in
Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each option
causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not RSB.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-72

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = shifter_operand - Rn
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(shifter_operand - Rn)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(shifter_operand - Rn)

Usage
The following instruction stores the negation (twos complement) of Rx in Rd:
RSB Rd, Rx, #0

Constant multiplication (of Rx) by 2n1 (into Rd) can be performed with:
RSB Rd, Rx, Rx, LSL #n

Notes
C flag

If S is specified, the C flag is set to:

1
if no borrow occurs
0
if a borrow does occur.
In other words, the C flag is used as a NOT(borrow) flag. This inversion of the borrow
condition is usually compensated for by subsequent instructions. For example:

ARM DDI 0100E

The SBC and RSC instructions use the C flag as a NOT(borrow) operand, performing
a normal subtraction if C == 1 and subtracting one more than usual if C == 0.

The HS (unsigned higher or same) and LO (unsigned lower) conditions are

equivalent to CS (carry set) and CC (carry clear) respectively.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-73

ARM Instructions

4.1.37

RSC
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 0 1 1 1 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The RSC (Reverse Subtract with Carry) instruction subtracts the value of register <Rn> and the value of
NOT(Carry flag) from the value of <shifter_operand>, and stores the result in the destination register
<Rd>. The condition code flags are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
RSC{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Sets the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies that the instruction updates the
CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the instruction.
Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the subtraction,
and the C and V flags are set according to whether the subtraction generated a borrow
(unsigned underflow) and a signed overflow, respectively. The rest of the CPSR is
unchanged.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the second operand for the subtraction.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the first operand for the subtraction. The options for this operand are described in
Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each option
causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not RSC.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-74

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = shifter_operand - Rn - NOT(C Flag)
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(shifter_operand - Rn - NOT(C Flag))
V Flag = OverflowFrom(shifter_operand - Rn - NOT(C Flag))

Usage
To negate the 64-bit value in R0,R1, use the following sequence (R0 holds the least significant word) which
stores the result in R2,R3:
RSBS
RSC

R2,R0,#0
R3,R1,#0

Notes
C flag

If S is specified, the C flag is set to:

1
if no borrow occurs
0
if a borrow does occur.
In other words, the C flag is used as a NOT(borrow) flag. This inversion of the borrow
condition is usually compensated for by subsequent instructions. For example:

ARM DDI 0100E

The SBC and RSC instructions use the C flag as a NOT(borrow) operand, performing
a normal subtraction if C == 1 and subtracting one more than usual if C == 0.

The HS (unsigned higher or same) and LO (unsigned lower) conditions are

equivalent to CS (carry set) and CC (carry clear) respectively.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-75

ARM Instructions

4.1.38

SBC
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 0 1 1 0 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The SBC (Subtract with Carry) instruction is used to synthesize multi-word subtraction. SBC subtracts the
value of <shifter_operand> and the value of NOT(Carry flag) from the value of register <Rn>, and
stores the result in the destination register <Rd>. The condition code flags are optionally updated, based on
the result.

Syntax
SBC{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Sets the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies that the instruction updates the
CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the instruction.
Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the subtraction,
and the C and V flags are set according to whether the subtraction generated a borrow
(unsigned underflow) and a signed overflow, respectively. The rest of the CPSR is
unchanged.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the subtraction.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the subtraction. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not SBC.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-76

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Rn - shifter_operand - NOT(C Flag)
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn - shifter_operand - NOT(C Flag))
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn - shifter_operand - NOT(C Flag))

Usage
If register pairs R0,R1 and R2,R3 hold 64-bit values (R0 and R2 hold the least significant words), the
following instructions leave the 64-bit difference in R4,R5:
SUBS
SBC

R4,R0,R2
R5,R1,R3

Notes
C flag

If S is specified, the C flag is set to:

1
if no borrow occurs
0
if a borrow does occur.
In other words, the C flag is used as a NOT(borrow) flag. This inversion of the borrow
condition is usually compensated for by subsequent instructions. For example:

ARM DDI 0100E

The SBC and RSC instructions use the C flag as a NOT(borrow) operand, performing
a normal subtraction if C == 1 and subtracting one more than usual if C == 0.

The HS (unsigned higher or same) and LO (unsigned lower) conditions are

equivalent to CS (carry set) and CC (carry clear) respectively.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-77

ARM Instructions

4.1.39

SMLAL
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 0 1 1 1 S

16 15

RdHi

12 11

RdLo

Rs

4 3

1 0 0 1

Rm

The SMLAL (Signed Multiply Accumulate Long) instruction multiplies the signed value of register <Rm>
with the signed value of register <Rs> to produce a 64-bit product. This product is added to the 64-bit value
held in <RdHi> and <RdLo>, and the sum is written back to <RdHi> and <RdLo>. The condition code
flags are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
SMLAL{<cond>}{S}

<RdLo>, <RdHi>, <Rm>, <Rs>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR by setting the N and Z flags according to the result of the
multiply-accumulate. If S is omitted, the S bit of the instruction is set to 0 and the entire
CPSR is unaffected by the instruction.

<RdLo>

Supplies the lower 32 bits of the value to be added to the product of <Rm> and <Rs>, and
is the destination register for the lower 32 bits of the result.

<RdHi>

Supplies the upper 32 bits of the value to be added to the product of <Rm> and <Rs>, and
is the destination register for the upper 32 bits of the result.

<Rm>

Holds the signed value to be multiplied with the value of <Rs>.

<Rs>

Holds the signed value to be multiplied with the value of <Rm>.

Architecture version
All M variants

Exceptions
None

A4-78

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
RdLo = (Rm * Rs)[31:0] + RdLo /* Signed multiplication */
RdHi = (Rm * Rs)[63:32] + RdHi + CarryFrom((Rm * Rs)[31:0] + RdLo)
if S == 1 then
N Flag = RdHi[31]
Z Flag = if (RdHi == 0) and (RdLo == 0) then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
/* See "C and V flags" note */
V Flag = unaffected
/* See "C and V flags" note */

Usage
SMLAL multiplies signed variables to produce a 64-bit result, which is added to the 64-bit value in the two
destination general-purpose registers. The result is written back to the two destination general-purpose
registers.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <RdHi>, <RdLo>, <Rm>, or <Rs> has

results.

UNPREDICTABLE

Operand restriction <RdHi>, <RdLo>, and <Rm> must be three distinct registers, or the results are
UNPREDICTABLE.
Early termination

If the multiplier implementation supports early termination, it must be implemented

on the value of the <Rs> operand. The type of early termination used (signed or
unsigned) is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

C and V flags

The SMLALS instruction is defined to leave the C and V flags unchanged in ARM
architecture version 5 and above. In earlier versions of the architecture, the values
of the C and V flags were UNPREDICTABLE after an SMLALS instruction.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-79

ARM Instructions

4.1.40

SMULL
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 0 1 1 0 S

16 15

RdHi

12 11

RdLo

Rs

4 3

1 0 0 1

Rm

The SMULL (Signed Multiply Long) instruction multiplies the signed value of register <Rm> with the signed
value of register <Rs> to produce a 64-bit result. The upper 32 bits of the result are stored in <RdHi>.
The lower 32 bits are stored in <RdLo>. The condition code flags are optionally updated, based on the
64-bit result.

Syntax
SMULL{<cond>}{S}

<RdLo>, <RdHi>, <Rm>, <Rs>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR by setting the N and Z flags according to the result of the multiplication.
If S is omitted, the S bit of the instruction is set to 0 and the entire CPSR is unaffected by
the instruction.

<RdLo>

Stores the lower 32 bits of the result.

<RdHi>

Stores the upper 32 bits of the result.

<Rm>

Holds the signed value to be multiplied with the value of <Rs>.

<Rs>

Holds the signed value to be multiplied with the value of <Rm>.

Architecture version
All M variants

Exceptions
None

A4-80

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
RdHi = (Rm * Rs)[63:32] /* Signed multiplication */
RdLo = (Rm * Rs)[31:0]
if S == 1 then
N Flag = RdHi[31]
Z Flag = if (RdHi == 0) and (RdLo == 0) then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
/* See "C and V flags" note */
V Flag = unaffected
/* See "C and V flags" note */

Usage
SMULL multiplies signed variables to produce a 64-bit result in two general-purpose registers.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <RdHi>, <RdLo>, <Rm>, or <Rs> has

results.

UNPREDICTABLE

Operand restriction <RdHi>, <RdLo>, and <Rm> must be three distinct registers, or the results are
UNPREDICTABLE.
Early termination

If the multiplier implementation supports early termination, it must be implemented

on the value of the <Rs> operand. The type of early termination used (signed or
unsigned) is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

C and V flags

The SMULLS instruction is defined to leave the C and V flags unchanged in ARM
architecture version 5 and above. In earlier versions of the architecture, the values
of the C and V flags were UNPREDICTABLE after an SMULLS instruction.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-81

ARM Instructions

4.1.41

STC
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 P U N W 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

CRd

cp_num

8_bit_word_offset

The STC (Store Coprocessor) instruction stores data from the coprocessor whose name is cp_num to the
sequence of consecutive memory addresses calculated by <addressing_mode>. If no coprocessors
indicate that they can execute the instruction, an Undefined Instruction exception is generated.

Syntax
STC{<cond>}{L}
STC2{L}

<coproc>, <CRd>, <addressing_mode>

<coproc>, <CRd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

STC2

Causes the condition field of the instruction to be set to 0b1111. This provides additional
opcode space for coprocessor designers. The resulting instructions can only be executed
unconditionally.

Sets the N bit (bit[22]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies a long store (for example,
double-precision instead of single-precision data transfer). If L is omitted, the N bit is 0 and
the instruction specifies a short store.

<coproc>

Specifies the name of the coprocessor, and causes the corresponding coprocessor number to
be placed in the cp_num field of the instruction. The standard generic coprocessor names
are p0, p1, ..., p15.

<CRd>

Specifies the coprocessor source register of the instruction.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 5 - Load and Store Coprocessor on page A5-56. It
determines the P, U, Rn, W and 8_bit_word_offset bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
STC is in version 2 and above.
STC2 is in version 5 and above.

A4-82

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
Undefined Instruction, Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
address = start_address
Memory[address,4] = value from Coprocessor[cp_num]
while (NotFinished(coprocessor[cp_num]))
address = address + 4
Memory[address,4] = value from Coprocessor[cp_num]
assert address == end_address

Usage
STC is useful for storing coprocessor data to memory. The L (long) option controls the N bit and could be
used to distinguish between a single- and double-precision transfer for a floating-point store instruction.

Notes
Coprocessor fields

Only instruction bits[31:23], bits[21:16} and bits[11:0] are defined by the ARM
architecture. The remaining fields (bit[22] and bits[15:12]) are recommendations,
for compatibility with ARM Development Systems.
In the case of the Unindexed addressing mode (P==0, U==1, W==0), instruction
bits[7:0] are also not ARM architecture-defined, and can be used to specify
additional coprocessor options.

Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of
data-aborted instructions on page A2-17.

Non word-aligned addresses

Store coprocessor register instructions ignore the least significant two bits of
address.
Alignment

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The

System Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with
bits[1:0] != 0b00 causes an alignment exception.

Unimplemented coprocessor instructions

Hardware coprocessor support is optional, regardless of the architecture version.
An implementation can choose to implement a subset of the coprocessor
instructions, or no coprocessor instructions at all. Any coprocessor instructions that
are not implemented instead cause an undefined instruction trap.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-83

ARM Instructions

4.1.42

STM(1)
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 P U 0 W 0

16 15

Rn

register_list

This form of the STM (Store Multiple) instruction stores a non-empty subset (or possibly all) of the
general-purpose registers to sequential memory locations.

Syntax
STM{<cond>}<addressing_mode>

<Rn>{!}, <registers>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined
in The condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always)
condition is used.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48. It
determines the P, U, and W bits of the instruction.
<Rn>

Specifies the base register used by <addressing_mode>. If R15 is specified as

<Rn>, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

Sets the W bit, causing the instruction to write a modified value back to its base
register Rn as specified in Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on
page A5-48. If ! is omitted, the W bit is 0 and the instruction does not change its
base register in this way.

<registers>

Is a list of registers, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }. It specifies

the set of registers to be stored by the STM instruction.
The registers are stored in sequence, the lowest-numbered register to the lowest
memory address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register to
the highest memory address (end_address).
For each of i=0 to 15, bit[i] in the register_list field of the instruction is 1 if Ri is in
the list and 0 otherwise. If bits[15:0] are all zero, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.
If R15 is specified in <registers>, the value stored is IMPLEMENTATION
DEFINED. For more details, see Reading the program counter on page A2-7.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

A4-84

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 15
if register_list[i] == 1
Memory[address,4] = Ri
address = address + 4
assert end_address == address - 4

Usage
STM is useful as a block store instruction (combined with LDM it allows efficient block copy) and for stack
operations. A single STM used in the sequence of a procedure can push the return address and
general-purpose register values on to the stack, updating the stack pointer in the process.

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <Rn> is specified as <registers> and base register writeback is specified:

Data abort

If <Rn> is the lowest-numbered register specified in <register_list>, the

original value of <Rn> is stored.

Otherwise, the stored value of <Rn> is UNPREDICTABLE.

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Non word-aligned addresses

STM instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address.
Alignment

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

Time order

The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this instruction
is only defined in some circumstances. See Data accesses to memory-mapped I/O on
page A2-32 for details.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-85

ARM Instructions

4.1.43

STM (2)
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 P U 1 0 0

16 15

Rn

register_list

This form of STM stores a subset (or possibly all) of the User mode general-purpose registers to sequential
memory locations.

Syntax
STM{<cond>}<addressing_mode>

<Rn>, <registers>^

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined
in The condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always)
condition is used.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48. It
determines the P and U bits of the instruction. Only the forms of this addressing
mode with W == 0 are available for this form of the STM instruction.
<Rn>

Specifies the base register used by <addressing_mode>. If R15 is specified as

the base register <Rn>, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<registers>

Is a list of registers, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }. It specifies

the set of registers to be stored by the STM instruction.
The registers are stored in sequence, the lowest-numbered register to the lowest
memory address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register to
the highest memory address (end_address).
For each of i=0 to 15, bit[i] in the register_list field of the instruction is 1 if Ri is in
the list and 0 otherwise. If bits[15:0] are all zero, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.
If R15 is specified in <registers> the value stored is IMPLEMENTATION
DEFINED. For more details, see Reading the program counter on page A2-7.

For an STM instruction, indicates that User mode registers are to be stored.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

A4-86

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 15
if register_list[i] == 1
Memory[address,4] = Ri_usr
address = address + 4
assert end_address == address - 4

Usage
STM is used to store the User mode registers when the processor is in a privileged mode (useful when
performing process swaps, and in instruction emulators).

Notes
Banked registers

This instruction must not be followed by an instruction which accesses banked

registers (a following NOP is a good way to ensure this).

Writeback

Setting bit 21 (the W bit) has UNPREDICTABLE results.

User and System mode

This instruction is UNPREDICTABLE in User or System mode.
Base register mode

For the purpose of address calculation, the base register is read from the current
processor mode registers, not the User mode registers.

Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of
data-aborted instructions on page A2-17.

Non word-aligned addresses

STM instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address.
Alignment

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The

System Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with
bits[1:0] != 0b00 causes an alignment exception.

Time order

The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this
instruction is only defined in some circumstances. See Data accesses to
memory-mapped I/O on page A2-32 for details.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-87

ARM Instructions

4.1.44

STR
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 I P U 0 W 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addr_mode

The STR (Store Register) instruction stores a word from register <Rd> to the memory address calculated
by <addressing_mode>.

Syntax
STR{<cond>}

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the source register for the operation. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the value stored
is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED. For more details, see Reading the program counter on
page A2-7.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It determines the I, P, U, W, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Memory[address,4] = Rd

Usage
Combined with a suitable addressing mode, STR stores 32-bit data from a general-purpose register into
memory. Using the PC as the base register allows PC-relative addressing, which facilitates
position-independent code.

A4-88

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <addressing_mode> specifies base register writeback, and the same register is
specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Non word-aligned addresses

STR instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address. So if these bits are not
0b00, the effects of STR are not precisely opposite to those of LDR.
Alignment

ARM DDI 0100E

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-89

ARM Instructions

4.1.45

STRB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 I P U 1 W 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addr_mode

The STRB (Store Register Byte) instruction stores a byte from the least significant byte of register <Rd> to
the memory address calculated by <addressing_mode>.

Syntax
STR{<cond>}B

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>
<Rd>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
Specifies the source register for the operation. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It determines the I, P, U, W, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Memory[address,1] = Rd[7:0]

Usage
Combined with a suitable addressing mode, STRB writes the least significant byte of a general-purpose
register to memory. Using the PC as the base register allows PC-relative addressing, which facilitates
position-independent code.

A4-90

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <addressing_mode> specifies base register writeback, and the same register is
specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

ARM DDI 0100E

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-91

ARM Instructions

4.1.46

STRBT
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 I 0 U 1 1 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addr_mode

The STRBT (Store Register Byte with Translation) instruction stores a byte from the least significant byte
of register <Rd> to the memory address calculated by <post_indexed_addressing_mode>. If the
instruction is executed when the processor is in a privileged mode, the memory system is signaled to treat
the access as if the processor were in User mode.

Syntax
STR{<cond>}BT

<Rd>, <post_indexed_addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>
<Rd>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
Specifies the source register for the operation. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

<post_indexed_addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It determines the I, U, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction. Only post-indexed forms
of Addressing Mode 2 are available for this instruction. These forms have P == 0 and W ==
0, where P and W are bit[24] and bit[21] respectively. This instruction uses P == 0 and W
== 1 instead, but the addressing mode is the same in all other respects.
The syntax of all forms of <post_indexed_addressing_mode> includes a base
register <Rn>. All forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value
(this is known as base register writeback).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Memory[address,1] = Rd[7:0]

A4-92

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
STRBT can be used by a (privileged) exception handler that is emulating a memory access instruction which
would normally execute in User mode. The access is restricted as if it had User mode privilege.

Notes
User mode

If this instruction is executed in User mode, an ordinary User mode access is performed.

Operand restrictions
If the same register is specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

ARM DDI 0100E

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-93

ARM Instructions

4.1.47

STRH
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 P U I W 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

4 3

addr_mode 1 0 1 1 addr_mode

The STRH (Store Register Halfword) instruction stores a halfword from the least significant halfword of
register <Rd> to the memory address calculated by <addressing_mode>. If the address is not
halfword-aligned, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

Syntax
STR{<cond>}H

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
<Rd>
Specifies the source register for the operation. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.
<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores on page A5-34. It
determines the P, U, I, W, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if address[0] == 0
data = Rd[15:0]
else /* address[0] == 1 */
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Memory[address,2] = data

A4-94

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
Combined with a suitable addressing mode, STRH allows 16-bit data from a general-purpose register to be
stored to memory. Using the PC as the base register allows PC-relative addressing, to facilitate
position-independent code.

Notes
Operand restrictions If <addressing_mode> specifies base register writeback, and the same register
is specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of
data-aborted instructions on page A2-17.

Non halfword-aligned addresses

If the store address is not halfword-aligned, the stored value is UNPREDICTABLE.
Alignment

ARM DDI 0100E

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The

System Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with
bit[0] != 0 causes an alignment exception.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-95

ARM Instructions

4.1.48

STRT
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 I 0 U 0 1 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

addr_mode

The STRT (Store Register with Translation) instruction stores a word from register <Rd> to the memory
address calculated by <post_indexed_addressing_mode>. If the instruction is executed when
the processor is in a privileged mode, the memory system is signaled to treat the access as if the processor
was in User mode.

Syntax
STR{<cond>}T

<Rd>, <post_indexed_addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the source register for the operation. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the value stored
is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED. For more details, see Reading the program counter on
page A2-7.

<post_indexed_addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It determines the I, U, Rn and addr_mode bits of the instruction. Only post-indexed forms
of Addressing Mode 2 are available for this instruction. These forms have P == 0 and W ==
0, where P and W are bit[24] and bit[21] respectively. This instruction uses P == 0 and W
== 1 instead, but the addressing mode is the same in all other respects.
The syntax of all forms of <post_indexed_addressing_mode> includes a base
register <Rn>. All forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value
(this is known as base register writeback).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Memory[address,4] = Rd

A4-96

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
STRT can be used by a (privileged) exception handler that is emulating a memory access instruction that
would normally execute in User mode. The access is restricted as if it had User mode privilege.

Notes
User mode

If this instruction is executed in User mode, an ordinary User mode access is performed.

Operand restrictions
If the same register is specified for <Rd> and <Rn>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-97

ARM Instructions

4.1.49

SUB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 0 0 1 0 S

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shifter_operand

The SUB (Subtract) instruction subtracts the value of <shifter_operand> from the value of register
<Rn>, and stores the result in the destination register <Rd>. The condition code flags are optionally
updated, based on the result.

Syntax
SUB{<cond>}{S}

<Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Sets the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to 1 and specifies that the instruction updates the
CPSR. If S is omitted, the S bit is set to 0 and the CPSR is not changed by the instruction.
Two types of CPSR update can occur when S is specified:

If <Rd> is not R15, the N and Z flags are set according to the result of the subtraction,
and the C and V flags are set according to whether the subtraction generated a borrow
(unsigned underflow) and a signed overflow, respectively. The rest of the CPSR is
unchanged.

If <Rd> is R15, the SPSR of the current mode is copied to the CPSR. This form of
the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE if executed in User mode or System mode, because
these modes do not have an SPSR.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the subtraction.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the subtraction. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not SUB.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

A4-98

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = Rn - shifter_operand
if S == 1 and Rd == R15 then
CPSR = SPSR
else if S == 1 then
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn - shifter_operand)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn - shifter_operand)

Usage
SUB is used to subtract one value from another to produce a third. To decrement a register value (in Rx) use:
SUBS Ri, Ri, #1

SUBS is useful as a loop counter decrement, as the loop branch can test the flags for the appropriate
termination condition, without the need for a compare instruction:
CMP Rx, #0

This both decrements the loop counter in Ri and checks whether it has reached zero.
The form of this instruction with the PC as its destination register and the S bit set can be used to return from
interrupts and various other types of exception. See Exceptions on page A2-13 for more details.

Notes
C flag

If S is specified, the C flag is set to:

1
if no borrow occurs
0
if a borrow does occur.
In other words, the C flag is used as a NOT(borrow) flag. This inversion of the borrow
condition is usually compensated for by subsequent instructions. For example:

ARM DDI 0100E

The SBC and RSC instructions use the C flag as a NOT(borrow) operand, performing
a normal subtraction if C == 1 and subtracting one more than usual if C == 0.

The HS (unsigned higher or same) and LO (unsigned lower) conditions are

equivalent to CS (carry set) and CC (carry clear) respectively.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-99

ARM Instructions

4.1.50

SWI
31

28 27 26 25 24 23

cond

1 1 1 1

immed_24

The SWI (Software Interrupt) instruction causes a SWI exception (see Exceptions on page A2-13).

Syntax
SWI{<cond>}

<immed_24>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<immed_24> Is a 24-bit immediate value that is put into bits[23:0] of the instruction. This value is ignored
by the ARM processor, but can be used by an operating system SWI exception handler to
determine what operating system service is being requested (see Usage on page A4-101
below for more details).

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
Software interrupt

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
R14_svc
= address of next instruction after the SWI instruction
SPSR_svc = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10011
/* Enter Supervisor mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF0008
else
PC
= 0x00000008

A4-100

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
The SWI instruction is used as an operating system service call. The method used to select which operating
system service is required is specified by the operating system, and the SWI exception handler for the
operating system determines and provides the requested service. Two typical methods are:

The 24-bit immediate in the instruction specifies which service is required, and any parameters
needed by the selected service are passed in general-purpose registers.

The 24-bit immediate in the instruction is ignored, general-purpose register R0 is used to select which
service is wanted, and any parameters needed by the selected service are passed in other
general-purpose registers.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-101

ARM Instructions

4.1.51

SWP
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

1 0 0 1

Rm

The SWP (Swap) instruction swaps a word between registers and memory. SWP loads a word from the
memory address given by the value of register <Rn>. The value of register <Rm> is then stored to the
memory address given by the value of <Rn>, and the original loaded value is written to register <Rd>. If
the same register is specified for <Rd> and <Rm>, this instruction swaps the value of the register and
the value at the memory address.

Syntax
SWP{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, [<Rn>]

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the instruction.

<Rm>

Contains the value that is stored to memory.

<Rn>

Contains the memory address to load from.

Architecture version
Version 3 and above, plus version 2a

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if Rn[1:0] == 0b00 then
temp = Memory[Rn,4]
else if Rn[1:0] == 0b01 then
temp = Memory[Rn,4] Rotate_Right 8
else if Rn[1:0] == 0b10 then
temp = Memory[Rn,4] Rotate_Right 16
else /* Rn[1:0] == 0b11 */
temp = Memory[Rn,4] Rotate_Right 24
Memory[Rn,4] = Rm
Rd = temp

A4-102

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Usage
The SWP instruction can be used to implement semaphores. For sample code, see Semaphore instructions
on page A9-11.

Notes
Non word-aligned addresses
If the address is not word-aligned, the loaded value is rotated right by 8 times the
value of Rn[1:0]. The stored value is not rotated.
Use of R15

If R15 is specified for <Rd>, <Rn>, or <Rm>, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

Operand restrictions If the same register is specified as <Rn> and <Rm>, or <Rn> and <Rd>, the result
is UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

If a data abort is signaled on either the load access or the store access, the loaded
value is not written to <Rd>. If a data abort is signaled on the load access, the store
access does not occur.

Alignment

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The

System Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with
bits[1:0] != 0b00 causes an alignment exception.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-103

ARM Instructions

4.1.52

SWPB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

1 0 0 1

Rm

The SWPB (Swap Byte) instruction swaps a byte between registers and memory. SWPB loads a byte from
the memory address given by the value of register <Rn>. The value of the least significant byte of register
<Rm> is stored to the memory address given by <Rn>, the original loaded value is zero-extended to a 32-bit
word, and the word is written to register <Rd>. If the same register is specified for <Rd> and <Rm>, this
instruction swaps the value of the least significant byte of the register and the byte value at the memory
address.

Syntax
SWP{<cond>}B

<Rd>, <Rm>, [<Rn>]

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register for the instruction.

<Rm>

Contains the value that is stored to memory.

<Rn>

Contains the memory address to load from.

Architecture version
Version 3 and above, plus version 2a

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
temp = Memory[Rn,1]
Memory[Rn,1] = Rm[7:0]
Rd = temp

Usage
The SWPB instruction can be used to implement semaphores, in a similar manner to that shown for SWP
instructions in Semaphore instructions on page A9-11.

A4-104

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Notes
Use of R15

If R15 is specified for <Rd>, <Rn>, or <Rm>, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

Operand restrictions If the same register is specified as <Rn> and <Rm>, or <Rn> and <Rd>, the result
is UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

ARM DDI 0100E

If a data abort is signaled on either the load access or the store access, the loaded
value is not written to <Rd>. If a data abort is signaled on the load access, the store
access does not occur.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-105

ARM Instructions

4.1.53

TEQ
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 0 0 1 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

SBZ

shifter_operand

The TEQ (Test Equivalence) instruction compares a register value with another arithmetic value. The
condition flags are updated, based on the result of logically exclusive-ORing the two values, so that
subsequent instructions can be conditionally executed.

Syntax
TEQ{<cond>}

<Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.
<Rn>
Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the comparison.
<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the comparison. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option sets the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) in the instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not TEQ.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
alu_out = Rn EOR shifter_operand
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = shifter_carry_out
V Flag = unaffected

Usage
TEQ is used to test if two values are equal, without affecting the V flag (as CMP does). The C flag is also
unaffected in many cases. TEQ is also useful for testing whether two values have the same sign. After the
comparison, the N flag is the logical Exclusive OR of the sign bits of the two operands.
A4-106

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

4.1.54

TST
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 0 0 0 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

SBZ

shifter_operand

The TST (Test) instruction compares a register value with another arithmetic value. The condition flags are
updated, based on the result of logically ANDing the two values, so that subsequent instructions can be
conditionally executed.

Syntax
TST{<cond>}

<Rn>, <shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the comparison.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the comparison. The options for this operand are described
in Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each
option causes the I bit (bit[25]) and the shifter_operand bits (bits[11:0]) to be set in the
instruction.
If the I bit is 0 and both bit[7] and bit[4] of shifter_operand are 1, the instruction is not TST.
Instead, see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 to determine which instruction it is.

Architecture version
All

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
alu_out = Rn AND shifter_operand
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = shifter_carry_out
V Flag = unaffected

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-107

ARM Instructions

Usage
TST is used to determine whether a particular subset of register bits includes at least one set bit. A very
common use for TST is to test whether a single bit is set or clear.

A4-108

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

4.1.55

UMLAL
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 0 1 0 1 S

16 15

RdHi

12 11

RdLo

Rs

6 5

1 0 0 1

Rm

The UMLAL (Unsigned Multiply Accumulate Long) instruction multiplies the unsigned value of register
<Rm> with the unsigned value of register <Rs> to produce a 64-bit product. This product is added to the
64-bit value held in <RdHi> and <RdLo>, and the sum is written back to <RdHi> and <RdLo>. The
condition code flags are optionally updated, based on the result.

Syntax
UMLAL{<cond>}{S}

<RdLo>, <RdHi>, <Rm>, <Rs>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR by setting the N and Z flags according to the result of the
multiply-accumulate. If S is omitted, the S bit of the instruction is set to 0 and the entire
CPSR is unaffected by the instruction.

<RdLo>

Supplies the lower 32 bits of the value to be added to the product of <Rm> and <Rs>, and
is the destination register for the lower 32 bits of the result.

<RdHi>

Supplies the upper 32 bits of the value to be added to the product of <Rm> and <Rs>, and
is the destination register for the upper 32 bits of the result.

<Rm>

Holds the signed value to be multiplied with the value of <Rs>.

<Rs>

Holds the signed value to be multiplied with the value of <Rm>.

Architecture version
All M variants

Exceptions
None

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-109

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
RdLo = (Rm * Rs)[31:0] + RdLo
/* Unsigned multiplication */
RdHi = (Rm * Rs)[63:32] + RdHi + CarryFrom((Rm * Rs)[31:0] + RdLo)
if S == 1 then
N Flag = RdHi[31]
Z Flag = if (RdHi == 0) and (RdLo == 0) then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
/* See "C and V flags" note */
V Flag = unaffected
/* See "C and V flags" note */

Usage
UMLAL multiplies unsigned variables to produce a 64-bit result, which is added to the 64-bit value in the
two destination general-purpose registers. The result is written back to the two destination general-purpose
registers.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <RdHi>, <RdLo>, <Rm>, or <Rs> has

UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction <RdHi>, <RdLo>, and <Rm> must be three distinct registers, or the results are
UNPREDICTABLE.

A4-110

Early termination

If the multiplier implementation supports early termination, it must be implemented

on the value of the <Rs> operand. The type of early termination used (signed or
unsigned) is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

C and V flags

The UMLALS instruction is defined to leave the C and V flags unchanged in ARM
architecture version 5 and above. In earlier versions of the architecture, the values
of the C and V flags were UNPREDICTABLE after a UMLALS instruction.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

4.1.56

UMULL
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 S

16 15

RdHi

12 11

RdLo

Rs

6 5

1 0 0 1

Rm

The UMULL (Unsigned Multiply Long) instruction multiplies the unsigned value of register <Rm> with the
unsigned value of register <Rs> to produce a 64-bit result. The upper 32 bits of the result are stored in
<RdHi>. The lower 32 bits are stored in <RdLo>. The condition code flags are optionally updated, based
on the 64-bit result.

Syntax
UMULL{<cond>}{S}

<RdLo>, <RdHi>, <Rm>, <Rs>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

Causes the S bit (bit[20]) in the instruction to be set to 1 and specifies that the instruction
updates the CPSR by setting the N and Z flags according to the result of the multiplication.
If S is omitted, the S bit of the instruction is set to 0 and the entire CPSR is unaffected by
the instruction.

<RdLo>

Stores the lower 32 bits of the result.

<RdHi>

Stores the upper 32 bits of the result.

<Rm>

Holds the signed value to be multiplied with the value of <Rs>.

<Rs>

Holds the signed value to be multiplied with the value of <Rm>.

Architecture version
All M variants

Exceptions
None

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-111

ARM Instructions

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
RdHi = (Rm * Rs)[63:32]
/* Unsigned multiplication */
RdLo = (Rm * Rs)[31:0]
if S == 1 then
N Flag = RdHi[31]
Z Flag = if (RdHi == 0) and (RdLo == 0) then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
/* See "C and V flags" note */
V Flag = unaffected
/* See "C and V flags" note */

Usage
UMULL multiplies unsigned variables to produce a 64-bit result in two general-purpose registers.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <RdHi>, <RdLo>, <Rm>, or <Rs> has

UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction <RdHi>, <RdLo>, and <Rm> must be three distinct registers, or the results are
UNPREDICTABLE.

A4-112

Early termination

If the multiplier implementation supports early termination, it must be implemented

on the value of the <Rs> operand. The type of early termination used (signed or
unsigned) is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

C and V flags

The UMULLS instruction is defined to leave the C and V flags unchanged in ARM
architecture version 5 and above. In earlier versions of the architecture, the values
of the C and V flags were UNPREDICTABLE after a UMULLS instruction.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

4.2

ARM instructions and architecture versions

Table 4-1 shows which ARM instructions are present in each current ARM architecture version.
Table 4-1 ARM instructions by architecture version
Instruction

v3, v3M

v4, v4xM

v4T, v4TxM

v5, v5xM,
v5T, v5TxM

v5TE,
v5TExP

ADC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

ADD

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

AND

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

BIC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

BKPT

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

BL

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

BLX (both forms)

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

BX

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

CDP

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

CDP2

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

CLZ

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

CMN

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

CMP

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

EOR

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

LDC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

LDC2

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

LDM (all forms)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

LDR

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

LDRB

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

LDRD

No

No

No

No

Only v5TE

LDRBT

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-113

ARM Instructions

Table 4-1 ARM instructions by architecture version (Continued)

A4-114

Instruction

v3, v3M

v4, v4xM

v4T, v4TxM

v5, v5xM,
v5T, v5TxM

v5TE,
v5TExP

LDRH

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

LDRSB

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

LDRSH

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

LDRT

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

MCR

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

MCR2

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

MCRR

No

No

No

No

Only v5TE

MLA

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

MOV

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

MRC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

MRC2

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

MRRC

No

No

No

No

Only v5TE

MRS

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

MSR

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

MUL

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

MVN

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

ORR

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

PLD

No

No

No

No

Only v5TE

QADD

No

No

No

No

Yes

QDADD

No

No

No

No

Yes

QDSUB

No

No

No

No

Yes

QSUB

No

No

No

No

Yes

RSB

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

RSC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Instructions

Table 4-1 ARM instructions by architecture version (Continued)

Instruction

v3, v3M

v4, v4xM

v4T, v4TxM

v5, v5xM,
v5T, v5TxM

v5TE,
v5TExP

SBC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SMLAL

Only v3M

Only v4

Only v4T

Only v5/v5T

Yes

SMLA<x><y>

No

No

No

No

Yes

SMLAL<x><y>

No

No

No

No

Yes

SMLAW<y>

No

No

No

No

Yes

SMULL

Only v3M

Only v4

Only v4T

Only v5/v5T

Yes

SMUL<x><y>

No

No

No

No

Yes

SMULW<y>

No

No

No

No

Yes

STC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

STC2

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

STM (both forms)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

STR

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

STRB

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

STRBT

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

STRD

No

No

No

No

Only v5TE

STRH

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

STRT

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SUB

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SWI

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SWP

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SWPB

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

TEQ

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A4-115

ARM Instructions

Table 4-1 ARM instructions by architecture version (Continued)

A4-116

Instruction

v3, v3M

v4, v4xM

v4T, v4TxM

v5, v5xM,
v5T, v5TxM

v5TE,
v5TExP

TST

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

UMLAL

Only v3M

Only v4

Only v4T

Only v5/v5T

Yes

UMULL

Only v3M

Only v4

Only v4T

Only v5/v5T

Yes

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter A5
ARM Addressing Modes

This chapter describes each of the five addressing modes used with ARM instructions. The chapter contains
the following sections:

Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2

Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18

Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores on page A5-34

Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48

Addressing Mode 5 - Load and Store Coprocessor on page A5-56.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-1

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1

Addressing Mode 1 - Data-processing operands

There are 11 addressing modes used to calculate the <shifter_operand> in an ARM data-processing
instruction. The general instruction syntax is:
<opcode>{<cond>}{S} <Rd>, <Rn>, <shifter_operand>
where <shifter_operand> is one of the following 11 options:
1.

#<immediate>
See Data-processing operands - Immediate on page A5-6.

2.

<Rm>
See Data-processing operands - Register on page A5-8.

3.

<Rm>, LSL #<shift_imm>

See Data-processing operands - Logical shift left by immediate on page A5-9.

4.

<Rm>, LSL <Rs>

See Data-processing operands - Logical shift left by register on page A5-10.

5.

<Rm>, LSR #<shift_imm>

See Data-processing operands - Logical shift right by immediate on page A5-11.

6.

<Rm>, LSR <Rs>

See Data-processing operands - Logical shift right by register on page A5-12.

7.

<Rm>, ASR #<shift_imm>

See Data-processing operands - Arithmetic shift right by immediate on page A5-13.

8.

<Rm>, ASR <Rs>

See Data-processing operands - Arithmetic shift right by register on page A5-14.

9.

<Rm>, ROR #<shift_imm>

See Data-processing operands - Rotate right by immediate on page A5-15.

10.

<Rm>, ROR <Rs>

See Data-processing operands - Rotate right by register on page A5-16.

11.

<Rm>, RRX
See Data-processing operands - Rotate right with extend on page A5-17.

A5-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.1

Encoding
The following diagrams show the encodings for this addressing mode:

32-bit immediate
31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 1

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

rotate_imm

immed_8

Immediate shifts
31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

6 5

shift 0

Rm

Register shifts
31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

Rs

6 5

0 shift 1

Rm

opcode

Specifies the operation of the instruction.

S bit

Indicates that the instruction updates the condition codes.

Rd

Specifies the destination register.

Rn

Specifies the first source operand register.

Bits[11:0]

The fields within bits[11:0] are collectively called a shifter operand. This is described in The
shifter operand on page A5-4.

Bit[25]

Is referred to as the I bit, and is used to distinguish between an immediate shifter operand
and a register-based shifter operand.

If all three of the following bits have the values shown, the instruction is not a data-processing instruction,
but lies in the arithmetic or Load/Store instruction extension space:
bit[25]
bit[4]
bit[7]

== 0
== 1
== 1

See Extending the instruction set on page A3-27 for more information.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-3

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.2

The shifter operand

As well as producing the shifter operand, the shifter produces a carry-out which some instructions write into
the Carry Flag. The default register operand (register Rm specified with no shift) uses the form register shift
left by immediate, with the immediate set to zero.
The shifter operand takes one of the following three basic formats.

Immediate operand value

An immediate operand value is formed by rotating an 8-bit constant (in a 32-bit word) by an even number
of bits (0,2,4,8...26,28,30). Therefore, each instruction contains an 8-bit constant and a 4-bit rotate to be
applied to that constant.
Some valid constants are:
0xFF,0x104,0xFF0,0xFF00,0xFF000,0xFF000000,0xF000000F

Some invalid constants are:

0x101,0x102,0xFF1,0xFF04,0xFF003,0xFFFFFFFF,0xF000001F

For example:
MOV
ADD
CMP
BIC

R0,
R3,
R7,
R9,

#0
R3, #1
#1000
R8, #0xFF00

;
;
;
;

Move zero to R0
Add one to the value of register 3
Compare value of R7 with 1000
Clear bits 8-15 of R8 and store in R9

Register operand value

A register operand value is simply the value of a register. The value of the register is used directly as the
operand to the data-processing instruction. For example:
MOV
ADD
CMP

R2, R0
R4, R3, R2
R7, R8

; Move the value of R0 to R2

; Add R2 to R3, store result in R4
; Compare the value of R7 and R8

Shifted register operand value

A shifted register operand value is the value of a register, shifted (or rotated) before it is used as the
data-processing operand. There are five types of shift:

A5-4

ASR

Arithmetic shift right

LSL

Logical shift left

LSR

Logical shift right

ROR

Rotate right

RRX

Rotate right with extend.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

The number of bits to shift by is specified either as an immediate or as the value of a register. For example:
MOV
ADD
RSB
SUB
MOV

ARM DDI 0100E

R2,
R9,
R9,
R10,
R12,

R0,
R5,
R5,
R9,
R4,

LSL
R5,
R5,
R8,
ROR

#2
LSL #3
LSL #3
LSR #4
R3

;
;
;
;
;

Shift R0 left by 2, write to R2, (R2=R0x4)

R9 = R5 + R5 x 8 or R9 = R5 x 9
R9 = R5 x 8 - R5 or R9 = R5 x 7
R10 = R9 - R8 / 16
R12 = R4 rotated right by value of R3

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-5

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.3

Data-processing operands - Immediate

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 1

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

rotate_imm

immed_8

This data-processing operand provides a constant (defined in the instruction) operand to a data-processing
instruction.
The shifter_operand value is formed by rotating (to the right) an 8-bit immediate value to any even
bit position in a 32-bit word. If the rotate immediate is zero, the carry-out from the shifter is the value of the
C flag, otherwise, it is set to bit[31] of the value of <shifter_operand>.

Syntax
#<immediate>
where:
<immediate>

Specifies the immediate constant wanted. It is encoded in the instruction as an 8-bit

immediate (immed_8) and a 4-bit immediate (rotate_imm), so that <immediate>
is equal to the result of rotating immed_8 right by (2 * rotate_imm) bits.

Architecture version
All

Operation
shifter_operand = immed_8 Rotate_Right (rotate_imm * 2)
if rotate_imm == 0 then
shifter_carry_out = C flag
else /* rotate_imm != 0 */
shifter_carry_out = shifter_operand[31]

Notes
Legitimate immediates

Encoding

Not all 32-bit immediates are legitimate. Only those that can be formed by rotating an 8-bit
immediate right by an even amount are valid 32-bit immediates for this format.
Some values of <immediate> have more than one possible encoding. For example, a
value of 0x3F0 could be encoded as:
immed_8 == 0x3F, rotate_imm == 0xE
or as:
immed_8 == 0xFC, rotate_imm == 0xF
When more than one encoding is available, an assembler needs to choose the correct one to
use, as follows:

A5-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

If <immediate> lies in the range 0 to 0xFF, an encoding with rotate_imm == 0 is

available. The assembler must choose that encoding. (Choosing another encoding
would affect how some instructions set the C flag.)

Otherwise, it is recommended that the encoding with the smallest value of

rotate_imm is chosen. (This choice does not affect instruction functionality.)

For more precise control of the encoding, the instruction fields can be specified directly by
using the syntax:
#<immed_8>, <rotate_amount>
where <rotate_amount> = 2 * rotate_imm.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-7

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.4

Data-processing operands - Register

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Rm

This data-processing operand provides the value of a register directly. The carry-out from the shifter is the
C flag.

Syntax
<Rm>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is the instruction operand.

Architecture version
All

Operation
shifter_operand = Rm
shifter_carry_out = C Flag

Notes

A5-8

Encoding

This instruction is encoded as a logical shift left by immediate (see Data-processing

operands - Logical shift left by immediate on page A5-9) with a shift of zero (shift_imm ==
0).

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rm or Rn, the value used is the address of the current
instruction plus 8.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.5

Data-processing operands - Logical shift left by immediate

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

6 5

0 0 0

Rm

This data-processing operand is used to provide either the value of a register directly (lone register operand,
as described in Data-processing operands - Register on page A5-8), or the value of a register shifted left
(multiplied by a constant power of two).
This instruction operand is the value of register Rm, logically shifted left by an immediate value in the range
0 to 31. Zeros are inserted into the vacated bit positions. The carry-out from the shifter is the last bit shifted
out, or the C flag if no shift is specified.

Syntax
<Rm>, LSL #<shift_imm>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is to be shifted.

LSL

Indicates a logical shift left.

<shift_imm>

Specifies the shift. This is a value between 0 and 31.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if shift_imm == 0 then /* Register Operand */
shifter_operand = Rm
shifter_carry_out = C Flag
else /* shift_imm > 0 */
shifter_operand = Rm Logical_Shift_Left shift_imm
shifter_carry_out = Rm[32 - shift_imm]

Notes
Default shift

If the value of <shift_imm> == 0, the operand can be written as just <Rm> (see
Data-processing operands - Register on page A5-8).

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rm or Rn, the value used is the address of the current
instruction plus 8.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-9

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.6

Data-processing operands - Logical shift left by register

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

Rs

4 3

0 0 0 1

Rm

This data-processing operand is used to provide the value of a register multiplied by a variable power of two.
This instruction operand is the value of register Rm, logically shifted left by the value in the least significant
byte of register Rs. Zeros are inserted into the vacated bit positions. The carry-out from the shifter is the last
bit shifted out, which is zero if the shift amount is more than 32, or the C flag if the shift amount is zero.

Syntax
<Rm>, LSL <Rs>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is to be shifted.

LSL

Indicates a logical shift left.

<Rs>

Is the register containing the value of the shift.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if Rs[7:0] == 0 then
shifter_operand = Rm
shifter_carry_out = C Flag
else if Rs[7:0] < 32 then
shifter_operand = Rm Logical_Shift_Left Rs[7:0]
shifter_carry_out = Rm[32 - Rs[7:0]]
else if Rs[7:0] == 32 then
shifter_operand = 0
shifter_carry_out = Rm[0]
else /* Rs[7:0] > 32 */
shifter_operand = 0
shifter_carry_out = 0

Notes
Use of R15

A5-10

Specifying R15 as register Rd, register Rm, register Rn, or register Rs has UNPREDICTABLE
results.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.7

Data-processing operands - Logical shift right by immediate

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

6 5

0 1 0

Rm

This data-processing operand is used to provide the unsigned value of a register shifted right (divided by a
constant power of two).
This instruction operand is the value of register Rm, logically shifted right by an immediate value in the
range 1 to 32. Zeros are inserted into the vacated bit positions. The carry-out from the shifter is the last bit
shifted out.

Syntax
<Rm>, LSR #<shift_imm>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is to be shifted.

LSR

Indicates a logical shift right.

<shift_imm>

Specifies the shift. This is an immediate value between 1 and 32. (A shift by 32 is
encoded by shift_imm == 0.)

Architecture version
All

Operation
if shift_imm == 0 then
shifter_operand = 0
shifter_carry_out = Rm[31]
else /* shift_imm > 0 */
shifter_operand = Rm Logical_Shift_Right shift_imm
shifter_carry_out = Rm[shift_imm - 1]

Notes
Use of R15

ARM DDI 0100E

If R15 is specified as register Rm or Rn, the value used is the address of the current
instruction plus 8.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-11

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.8

Data-processing operands - Logical shift right by register

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

Rs

4 3

0 0 1 1

Rm

This data-processing operand is used to provide the unsigned value of a register shifted right (divided by a
variable power of two).
It is produced by the value of register Rm, logically shifted right by the value in the least significant byte of
register Rs. Zeros are inserted into the vacated bit positions. The carry-out from the shifter is the last bit
shifted out, which is zero if the shift amount is more than 32, or the C flag if the shift amount is zero.

Syntax
<Rm>, LSR <Rs>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is to be shifted.

LSR

Indicates a logical shift right.

<Rs>

Is the register containing the value of the shift.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if Rs[7:0] == 0 then
shifter_operand = Rm
shifter_carry_out = C Flag
else if Rs[7:0] < 32 then
shifter_operand = Rm Logical_Shift_Right Rs[7:0]
shifter_carry_out = Rm[Rs[7:0] - 1]
else if Rs[7:0] == 32 then
shifter_operand = 0
shifter_carry_out = Rm[31]
else /* Rs[7:0] > 32 */
shifter_operand = 0
shifter_carry_out = 0

Notes
Use of R15

A5-12

Specifying R15 as register Rd, register Rm, register Rn, or register Rs has UNPREDICTABLE
results.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.9

Data-processing operands - Arithmetic shift right by immediate

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

6 5

1 0 0

Rm

This data-processing operand is used to provide the signed value of a register arithmetically shifted right
(divided by a constant power of two).
This instruction operand is the value of register Rm, arithmetically shifted right by an immediate value in
the range 1 to 32. The sign bit of Rm (Rm[31]) is inserted into the vacated bit positions. The carry-out from
the shifter is the last bit shifted out.

Syntax
<Rm>, ASR #<shift_imm>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is to be shifted.

ASR

Indicates an arithmetic shift right.

<shift_imm>

Specifies the shift. This is an immediate value between 1 and 32. (A shift by 32 is
encoded by shift_imm == 0.)

Architecture version
All

Operation
if shift_imm == 0 then
if Rm[31] == 0 then
shifter_operand = 0
shifter_carry_out = Rm[31]
else /* Rm[31] == 1 */
shifter_operand = 0xFFFFFFFF
shifter_carry_out = Rm[31]
else /* shift_imm > 0 */
shifter_operand = Rm Arithmetic_Shift_Right <shift_imm>
shifter_carry_out = Rm[shift_imm - 1]

Notes
Use of R15

ARM DDI 0100E

If R15 is specified as register Rm or Rn, the value used is the address of the current
instruction plus 8.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-13

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.10

Data-processing operands - Arithmetic shift right by register

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

Rs

7 6 5

0 1 0 1

Rm

This data-processing operand is used to provide the signed value of a register arithmetically shifted right
(divided by a variable power of two).
This instruction operand is the value of register Rm arithmetically shifted right by the value in the least
significant byte of register Rs. The sign bit of Rm (Rm[31]) is inserted into the vacated bit positions. The
carry-out from the shifter is the last bit shifted out, which is the sign bit of Rm if the shift amount is more
than 32, or the C flag if the shift amount is zero.

Syntax
<Rm>, ASR <Rs>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is to be shifted.

ASR

Indicates an arithmetic shift right.

<Rs>

Is the register containing the value of the shift.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if Rs[7:0] == 0 then
shifter_operand = Rm
shifter_carry_out = C Flag
else if Rs[7:0] < 32 then
shifter_operand = Rm Arithmetic_Shift_Right Rs[7:0]
shifter_carry_out = Rm[Rs[7:0] - 1]
else /* Rs[7:0] >= 32 */
if Rm[31] == 0 then
shifter_operand = 0
shifter_carry_out = Rm[31]
else /* Rm[31] == 1 */
shifter_operand = 0xFFFFFFFF
shifter_carry_out = Rm[31]

Notes
Use of R15

A5-14

Specifying R15 as register Rd, register Rm, register Rn, or register Rs has UNPREDICTABLE
results.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.11

Data-processing operands - Rotate right by immediate

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

6 5

1 1 0

Rm

This data-processing operand is used to provide the value of a register rotated by a constant value.
This instruction operand is the value of register Rm rotated right by an immediate value in the range 1 to
31. As bits are rotated off the right end, they are inserted into the vacated bit positions on the left. The
carry-out from the shifter is the last bit rotated off the right end.

Syntax
<Rm>, ROR #<shift_imm>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is to be rotated.

ROR

Indicates a rotate right.

<shift_imm>

Specifies the rotation. This is an immediate value between 1 and 31. When
shift_imm == 0, an RRX operation (rotate right with extend) is performed. This is
described in Data-processing operands - Rotate right with extend on page A5-17.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if shift_imm == 0 then
See Data-processing operands - Rotate right with extend on page A5-17
else /* shift_imm > 0 */
shifter_operand = Rm Rotate_Right shift_imm
shifter_carry_out = Rm[shift_imm - 1]

Notes
Use of R15

ARM DDI 0100E

If R15 is specified as register Rm or Rn, the value used is the address of the current
instruction plus 8.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-15

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.12

Data-processing operands - Rotate right by register

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

Rs

4 3

0 1 1 1

Rm

This data-processing operand is used to provide the value of a register rotated by a variable value.
This instruction operand is produced by the value of register Rm rotated right by the value in the least
significant byte of register Rs. As bits are rotated off the right end, they are inserted into the vacated bit
positions on the left. The carry-out from the shifter is the last bit rotated off the right end, or the C flag if the
shift amount is zero.

Syntax
<Rm>, ROR <Rs>
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is to be rotated.

ROR

Indicates a rotate right.

<Rs>

Is the register containing the value of the rotation.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if Rs[7:0] == 0 then
shifter_operand = Rm
shifter_carry_out = C Flag
else if Rs[4:0] == 0 then
shifter_operand = Rm
shifter_carry_out = Rm[31]
else /* Rs[4:0] > 0 */
shifter_operand = Rm Rotate_Right Rs[4:0]
shifter_carry_out = Rm[Rs[4:0] - 1]

Notes
Use of R15

A5-16

Specifying R15 as register Rd, register Rm, register Rn, or register Rs has UNPREDICTABLE
results.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.1.13

Data-processing operands - Rotate right with extend

31

28 27 26 25 24

cond

0 0 0

21 20 19

opcode

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

7 6

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Rm

This data-processing operand can be used to perform a 33-bit rotate right using the Carry Flag as the 33rd
bit.
This instruction operand is the value of register Rm shifted right by one bit, with the Carry Flag replacing
the vacated bit position. The carry-out from the shifter is the bit shifted off the right end.

Syntax
<Rm>, RRX
where:
<Rm>

Specifies the register whose value is shifted right by one bit.

RRX

Indicates a rotate right with extend.

Architecture version
All

Operation
shifter_operand = (C Flag Logical_Shift_Left 31) OR (Rm Logical_Shift_Right 1)
shifter_carry_out = Rm[0]

Notes
Encoding

The instruction encoding is in the space that would be used for ROR #0.

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rm or Rn, the value used is the address of the current
instruction plus 8.

ADC instruction

A rotate left with extend can be performed with an ADC instruction.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-17

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2

Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte

There are nine addressing modes used to calculate the address for a Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte
instruction. The general instruction syntax is:
LDR|STR{<cond>}{B}{T}

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where <addressing_mode> is one of the nine options listed below.

All nine of the following options are available for LDR, LDRB, STR and STRB. For LDRBT, LDRT, STRBT
and STRBT, only the post-indexed options (the last three in the list) are available. For the PLD instruction
described in PLD on page A10-14, only the offset options (the first three in the list) are available.
1.

[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_12>]
See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Immediate offset on page A5-20.

2.

[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>]
See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Register offset on page A5-21.

3.

[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>, <shift> #<shift_imm>]

See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Scaled register offset on page A5-22.

4.

[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_12>]!
See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Immediate pre-indexed on page A5-24.

5.

[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>]!
See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Register pre-indexed on page A5-25.

6.

[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>, <shift> #<shift_imm>]!

See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Scaled register pre-indexed on page A5-26.

7.

[<Rn>], #+/-<offset_12>
See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Immediate post-indexed on page A5-28.

8.

[<Rn>], +/-<Rm>
See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Register post-indexed on page A5-30.

9.

[<Rn>], +/-<Rm>, <shift> #<shift_imm>

See Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Scaled register post-indexed on page A5-32.

A5-18

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.1

Encoding
The following three diagrams show the encodings for this addressing mode:

Immediate offset/index
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 0 P U B W L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

offset_12

Register offset/index
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 1 P U B W L

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Rm

Scaled register offset/index

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

The P bit

0 1 1 P U B W L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

6 5

shift 0

Rm

Has two meanings:

P == 0

Indicates the use of post-indexed addressing. The base register value is used for
the memory address, and the offset is then applied to the base register value and
written back to the base register.

P == 1

Indicates the use of offset addressing or pre-indexed addressing (the W bit

determines which). The memory address is generated by applying the offset to
the base register value.

The U bit

Indicates whether the offset is added to the base (U == 1) or is subtracted from the base
(U == 0).

The B bit

Distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B == 1) and a word (B == 0) access.

The W bit

Has two meanings:

The L bit

ARM DDI 0100E

P == 0

If W == 0, the instruction is LDR, LDRB, STR or STRB and a normal memory

access is performed. If W == 1, the instruction is LDRBT, LDRT, STRBT or
STRT and an unprivileged (User mode) memory access is performed.

P == 1

If W == 0, the base register is not updated (offset addressing). If W == 1, the

calculated memory address is written back to the base register (pre-indexed
addressing).

Distinguishes between a Load (L == 1) and a Store (L == 0).

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-19

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.2

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Immediate offset

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 0 1 U B 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

offset_12

This addressing mode calculates an address by adding or subtracting the value of an immediate offset to or
from the value of the base register Rn.

Syntax
[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_12>]
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_12>

Specifies the immediate offset used with the value of Rn to form the address.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + offset_12
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - offset_12

Usage
This addressing mode is useful for accessing structure (record) fields, and accessing parameters and local
variables in a stack frame. With an offset of zero, the address produced is the unaltered value of the base
register Rn.

Notes
Offset of zero The syntax [<Rn>] is treated as an abbreviation for [<Rn>, #0], unless the instruction
is one that only allows post-indexed addressing modes (LDRBT, LDRT, STRBT or STRT).

A5-20

The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rn, the value used is the address of the instruction plus 8.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.3

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Register offset

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 1 1 U B 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Rm

This addressing mode calculates an address by adding or subtracting the value of the index register Rm to
or from the value of the base register Rn.

Syntax
[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>]
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the value to add to or subtract from Rn.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + Rm
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - Rm

Usage
This addressing mode is used for pointer plus offset arithmetic, and accessing a single element of an array
of bytes.

Notes
Encoding

This addressing mode is encoded as an LSL scaled register offset, scaled by zero.

The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rn, the value used is the address of the instruction plus 8.
Specifying R15 as register Rm has UNPREDICTABLE results.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-21

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.4

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Scaled register offset

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 1 1 U B 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

4 3

shift 0

Rm

These five addressing modes calculate an address by adding or subtracting the shifted or rotated value of
the index register Rm to or from the value of the base register Rn.

Syntax
One of:
[<Rn>,
[<Rn>,
[<Rn>,
[<Rn>,
[<Rn>,

+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,

LSL #<shift_imm>]
LSR #<shift_imm>]
ASR #<shift_imm>]
ROR #<shift_imm>]
RRX]

where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the offset to add to or subtract from Rn.

LSL

Specifies a logical shift left.

LSR

Specifies a logical shift right.

ASR

Specifies an arithmetic shift right.

ROR

Specifies a rotate right.

RRX

Specifies a rotate right with extend.

<shift_imm>

Specifies the shift or rotation.

LSL

0 to 31, encoded directly in the shift_imm field.

LSR

1 to 32. A shift amount of 32 is encoded as shift_imm == 0. Other shift

amounts are encoded directly.

ASR

1 to 32. A shift amount of 32 is encoded as shift_imm == 0. Other shift

amounts are encoded directly.

ROR

1 to 31, encoded directly in the shift_imm field. (The shift_imm == 0

encoding is used to specify the RRX option.)

Architecture version
All

A5-22

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Operation
case shift of
0b00 /* LSL */
index = Rm Logical_Shift_Left shift_imm
0b01 /* LSR */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* LSR #32 */
index = 0
else
index = Rm Logical_Shift_Right shift_imm
0b10 /* ASR */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* ASR #32 */
if Rm[31] == 1 then
index = 0xFFFFFFFF
else
index = 0
else
index = Rm Arithmetic_Shift_Right shift_imm
0b11 /* ROR or RRX */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* RRX */
index = (C Flag Logical_Shift_Left 31) OR
(Rm Logical_Shift_Right 1)
else /* ROR */
index = Rm Rotate_Right shift_imm
endcase
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + index
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - index

Usage
These addressing modes are used for accessing a single element of an array of values larger than a byte.

Notes
The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rn, the value used is the address of the instruction plus 8.
Specifying R15 as register Rm has UNPREDICTABLE results.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-23

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.5

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Immediate pre-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 0 1 U B 1 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

offset_12

This addressing mode calculates an address by adding or subtracting the value of an immediate offset to or
from the value of the base register Rn.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the calculated address is
written back to the base register Rn. The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_12>]!
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_12>

Specifies the immediate offset used with the value of Rn to form the address.

Sets the W bit, causing base register update.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + offset_12
else /* if U == 0 */
address = Rn - offset_12
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rn = address

Usage
This addressing mode is used for pointer access to arrays with automatic update of the pointer value.

Notes
Offset of zero The syntax [<Rn>] must never be treated as an abbreviation for [<Rn>, #0]!.

A5-24

The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.6

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Register pre-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 1 1 U B 1 L

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Rm

This addressing mode calculates an address by adding or subtracting the value of an index register Rm to or
from the value of the base register Rn.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the calculated address is
written back to the base register Rn. The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>]!
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the offset to add to or subtract from Rn.

Sets the W bit, causing base register update.

Architecture version
All

Operation
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + Rm
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - Rm
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rn = address

Notes
Encoding

This addressing mode is encoded as an LSL scaled register offset, scaled by zero.

The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rm or Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction If the same register is specified for Rn and Rm, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-25

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.7

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Scaled register pre-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 1 1 U B 1 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

4 3

shift 0

Rm

These five addressing modes calculate an address by adding or subtracting the shifted or rotated value of
the index register Rm to or from the value of the base register Rn.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the calculated address is
written back to the base register Rn. The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
One of:
[<Rn>,
[<Rn>,
[<Rn>,
[<Rn>,
[<Rn>,

+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,

LSL #<shift_imm>]!
LSR #<shift_imm>]!
ASR #<shift_imm>]!
ROR #<shift_imm>]!
RRX]!

where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the offset to add to or subtract from Rn.

LSL

Specifies a logical shift left.

LSR

Specifies a logical shift right.

ASR

Specifies an arithmetic shift right.

ROR

Specifies a rotate right.

RRX

Specifies a rotate right with extend.

<shift_imm>

Specifies the shift or rotation.

A5-26

LSL

0 to 31, encoded directly in the shift_imm field.

LSR

1 to 32. A shift amount of 32 is encoded as shift_imm == 0. Other shift

amounts are encoded directly.

ASR

1 to 32. A shift amount of 32 is encoded as shift_imm == 0. Other shift

amounts are encoded directly.

ROR

1 to 31, encoded directly in the shift_imm field. (The shift_imm == 0

encoding is used to specify the RRX option.)

Sets the W bit, causing base register update.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Architecture version
All

Operation
case shift of
0b00 /* LSL */
index = Rm Logical_Shift_Left shift_imm
0b01 /* LSR */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* LSR #32 */
index = 0
else
index = Rm Logical_Shift_Right shift_imm
0b10 /* ASR */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* ASR #32 */
if Rm[31] == 1 then
index = 0xFFFFFFFF
else
index = 0
else
index = Rm Arithmetic_Shift_Right shift_imm
0b11 /* ROR or RRX */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* RRX */
index = (C Flag Logical_Shift_Left 31) OR
(Rm Logical_Shift_Right 1)
else /* ROR */
index = Rm Rotate_Right shift_imm
endcase
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + index
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - index
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rn = address

Notes
The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rm or Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction If the same register is specified for Rn and Rm, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-27

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.8

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Immediate post-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 0 0 U B 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

offset_12

This addressing mode uses the value of the base register Rn as the address for the memory access.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the value of the immediate
offset is added to or subtracted from the value of the base register Rn and written back to the base register
Rn. The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
[<Rn>], #+/-<offset_12>
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_12>

Specifies the immediate offset used with the value of Rn to form the address.

Architecture version
All

Operation
address = Rn
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if U == 1 then
Rn = Rn + offset_12
else /* U == 0 */
Rn = Rn - offset_12

Usage
This addressing mode is used for pointer access to arrays with automatic update of the pointer value.

A5-28

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
Post-indexed addressing modes
LDRBT, LDRT, STRBT, and STRT only support post-indexed addressing modes. They use
a minor modification of the above bit pattern, where bit[21] (the W bit) is 1, not 0 as shown.
Offset of zero The syntax [<Rn>] is treated as an abbreviation for [<Rn>],#0 for instructions that only
support post-indexed addressing modes (LDRBT, LDRT, STRBT, STRT), but not for other
instructions.
The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-29

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.9

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Register post-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 1 0 U B 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Rm

This addressing mode uses the value of the base register Rn as the address for the memory access.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the value of the index register
Rm is added to or subtracted from the value of the base register Rn and written back to the base register Rn.
The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
[<Rn>], +/-<Rm>
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the offset to add to or subtract from Rn.

Architecture version
All

Operation
address = Rn
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if U == 1 then
Rn = Rn + Rm
else /* U == 0 */
Rn = Rn - Rm

A5-30

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ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
Encoding

This addressing mode is encoded as an LSL scaled register offset, scaled by zero.

Post-indexed addressing modes

LDRBT, LDRT, STRBT, and STRT only support post-indexed addressing modes.
They use a minor modification of the above bit pattern, where bit[21] (the W bit) is
1, not 0 as shown.
The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B==1) and a word (B==0) access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rn or Rm has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction If the same register is specified for Rn and Rm, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-31

ARM Addressing Modes

5.2.10

Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte - Scaled register post-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 1 1 0 U B 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

shift_imm

4 3

shift 0

Rm

This addressing mode uses the value of the base register Rn as the address for the memory access.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the shifted or rotated value of
index register Rm is added to or subtracted from the value of the base register Rn and written back to the
base register Rn. The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
One of:
[<Rn>],
[<Rn>],
[<Rn>],
[<Rn>],
[<Rn>],

+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,
+/-<Rm>,

LSL
LSR
ASR
ROR
RRX

#<shift_imm>
#<shift_imm>
#<shift_imm>
#<shift_imm>

where:

A5-32

<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the offset to add to or subtract from Rn.

LSL

Specifies a logical shift left.

LSR

Specifies a logical shift right.

ASR

Specifies an arithmetic shift right.

ROR

Specifies a rotate right.

RRX

Specifies a rotate right with extend.

<shift_imm>

Specifies the shift or rotation.

LSL

0 to 31, encoded directly in the shift_imm field.

LSR

1 to 32. A shift amount of 32 is encoded as shift_imm == 0. Other shift

amounts are encoded directly.

ASR

1 to 32. A shift amount of 32 is encoded as shift_imm == 0. Other shift

amounts are encoded directly.

ROR

1 to 31, encoded directly in the shift_imm field. (The shift_imm == 0

encoding is used to specify the RRX option.)

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Architecture version
All

Operation
address = Rn
case shift of
0b00 /* LSL */
index = Rm Logical_Shift_Left shift_imm
0b01 /* LSR */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* LSR #32 */
index = 0
else
index = Rm Logical_Shift_Right shift_imm
0b10 /* ASR */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* ASR #32 */
if Rm[31] == 1 then
index = 0xFFFFFFFF
else
index = 0
else
index = Rm Arithmetic_Shift_Right shift_imm
0b11 /* ROR or RRX */
if shift_imm == 0 then /* RRX */
index = (C Flag Logical_Shift_Left 31) OR
(Rm Logical_Shift_Right 1)
else /* ROR */
index = Rm Rotate_Right shift_imm
endcase
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if U == 1 then
Rn = Rn + index
else /* U == 0 */
Rn = Rn - index

Notes
Post-indexed addressing modes
LDRBT, LDRT, STRBT, and STRT only support post-indexed addressing modes.
They use a minor modification of the above bit pattern, where bit[21] (the W bit) is
1, not 0 as shown.
The B bit

This bit distinguishes between an unsigned byte (B == 1) and a word (B == 0)

access.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L == 1) and a Store (L == 0) instruction.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rm or Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction If the same register is specified for Rn and Rm, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-33

ARM Addressing Modes

5.3

Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores

There are six addressing modes used to calculate the address for load and store (signed or unsigned)
halfword, load signed byte, or load and store doubleword instructions. The general instruction syntax is:
LDR|STR{<cond>}H|SH|SB|D

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where <addressing_mode> is one of the following six options:

1.

[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_8>]
See Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Immediate offset on page A5-36.

2.

[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>]
See Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Register offset on page A5-38.

3.

[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_8>]!
See Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Immediate pre-indexed on page A5-40.

4.

[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>]!
See Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Register pre-indexed on page A5-42.

5.

[<Rn>], #+/-<offset_8>
See Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Immediate post-indexed on page A5-44.

6.

[<Rn>], +/-<Rm>
See Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Register post-indexed on page A5-46.

5.3.1

Encoding
The following diagrams show the encodings for this addressing mode:

Immediate offset/index
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 P U 1 W L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

immedH

4 3

1 S H 1

ImmedL

Register offset/index
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

A5-34

0 0 0 P U 0 W L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

4 3

1 S H 1

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

The P bit

Has two meanings:

P == 0

Indicates the use of post-indexed addressing. The base register value is used for
the memory address, and the offset is then applied to the base register value and
written back to the base register.

P == 1

Indicates the use of offset addressing or pre-indexed addressing (the W bit

determines which). The memory address is generated by applying the offset to
the base register value.

The U bit

Indicates whether the offset is added to the base (U == 1) or subtracted from the base
(U == 0).

The W bit

Has two meanings:

P == 0

The W bit must be 0 or the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.

P == 1

W == 1 indicates that the memory address is written back to the base register
(pre-indexed addressing), and W == 0 that the base register is unchanged (offset
addressing).

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L == 1) and a Store (L == 0) instruction.

The S bit

This bit distinguishes between a signed (S == 1) and an unsigned (S == 0) halfword access.

The H bit

This bit distinguishes between a halfword (H == 1) and a byte (H == 0) access.

Unsigned bytes
If S == 0 and H == 0, apparently indicating an unsigned byte, the instruction is not one that
uses this addressing mode. Instead, it is a multiply instruction, a SWP or SWPB instruction,
or an unallocated instruction in the arithmetic or load/store instruction extension space (see
Extending the instruction set on page A3-27).
Unsigned bytes are accessed by the LDRB, LDRBT, STRB and STRBT instructions, which
use addressing mode 2 rather than addressing mode 3.
Signed stores If S == 1 and L == 0, apparently indicating a signed store instruction, the instruction is an
unallocated instruction in the load/store extension space (see Extending the instruction set
on page A3-27).
Signed bytes and halfwords can be stored with the same STRB and STRH instructions as are
used for unsigned quantities, so no separate signed store instructions are provided.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-35

ARM Addressing Modes

5.3.2

Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Immediate offset

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 U 1 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

immedH

4 3

1 S H 1

immedL

This addressing mode calculates an address by adding or subtracting the value of an immediate offset to or
from the value of the base register Rn.

Syntax
[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_8>]
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_8>

Specifies the immediate offset used with the value of Rn to form the address. The
offset is encoded in immedH (top 4 bits) and immedL (bottom 4 bits).

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Operation
offset_8 = (immedH << 4) OR immedL
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + offset_8
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - offset_8

Usage
This addressing mode is used for accessing structure (record) fields, and accessing parameters and locals
variable in a stack frame. With an offset of zero, the address produced is the unaltered value of the base
register Rn.

Notes

A5-36

Zero offset

The syntax [<Rn>] is treated as an abbreviation for [<Rn>,#0].

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

The S bit

This bit distinguishes between a signed (S==1) and an unsigned (S==0) halfword access.

The H bit

This bit distinguishes between a halfword (H==1) and a signed byte (H==0) access.

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rn, the value used is the address of the instruction plus 8.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Unsigned bytes
If S == 0 and H == 0, apparently indicating an unsigned byte, the instruction is not one that
uses this addressing mode. Instead, it is a multiply instruction, a SWP or SWPB instruction,
or an unallocated instruction in the arithmetic or load/store instruction extension space (see
Extending the instruction set on page A3-27).
Unsigned bytes are accessed by the LDRB, LDRBT, STRB and STRBT instructions, which
use addressing mode 2 rather than addressing mode 3.
Signed stores If S == 1 and L == 0, apparently indicating a signed store instruction, the instruction is an
unallocated instruction in the load/store extension space (see Extending the instruction set
on page A3-27).
Signed bytes and halfwords can be stored with the same STRB and STRH instructions as are
used for unsigned quantities, so no separate signed store instructions are provided.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-37

ARM Addressing Modes

5.3.3

Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Register offset

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 U 0 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

1 S H 1

Rm

This addressing mode calculates an address by adding or subtracting the value of the index register Rm to
or from the value of the base register Rn.

Syntax
[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>]
where:
<Rn>
<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

Specifies the register containing the offset to add to or subtract from Rn.

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Operation
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + Rm
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - Rm

Usage
This addressing mode is useful for pointer plus offset arithmetic and for accessing a single element of an
array.

Notes
The L bit

Distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

The S bit

Distinguishes between a signed (S==1) and an unsigned (S==0) halfword access.

The H bit

This bit distinguishes between a halfword (H==1) and a signed byte (H==0) access.

Unsigned bytes

If S == 0 and H == 0, apparently indicating an unsigned byte, the instruction is not

one that uses this addressing mode. Instead, it is a multiply instruction, a SWP or
SWPB instruction, or an unallocated instruction in the arithmetic or load/store
instruction extension space (see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27).
Unsigned bytes are accessed by the LDRB, LDRBT, STRB and STRBT instructions,
which use addressing mode 2 rather than addressing mode 3.

A5-38

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Signed stores

If S == 1 and L == 0, apparently indicating a signed store instruction, the instruction

is an unallocated instruction in the load/store extension space (see Extending the
instruction set on page A3-27).
Signed bytes and halfwords can be stored with the same STRB and STRH
instructions as are used for unsigned quantities, so no separate signed store
instructions are provided.

Use of R15

ARM DDI 0100E

If R15 is specified as register Rn, the value used is the address of the instruction plus
8. Specifying R15 as register Rm has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-39

ARM Addressing Modes

5.3.4

Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Immediate pre-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 U 1 1 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

immedH

4 3

1 S H 1

ImmedL

This addressing mode calculates an address by adding or subtracting the value of an immediate offset to or
from the value of the base register Rn.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the calculated address is
written back to the base register Rn. The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_8>]!
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_8>

Specifies the immediate offset used with the value of Rn to form the address. The
offset is encoded in immedH (top 4 bits) and immedL (bottom 4 bits).

Sets the W bit, causing base register update.

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Operation
offset_8 = (immedH << 4) OR immedL
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + offset_8
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - offset_8
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rn = address

Usage
This addressing mode gives pointer access to arrays, with automatic update of the pointer value.

A5-40

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
Offset of zero

The syntax [<Rn>] must not be treated as an abbreviation for [<Rn>,#0]!.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

The S bit

This bit distinguishes between a signed (S==1) and an unsigned (S==0) halfword
access.

The H bit

This bit distinguishes between a halfword (H==1) and a signed byte (H==0) access.

Unsigned bytes

If S == 0 and H == 0, apparently indicating an unsigned byte, the instruction is not

one that uses this addressing mode. Instead, it is a multiply instruction, a SWP or
SWPB instruction, or an unallocated instruction in the arithmetic or load/store
instruction extension space (see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27).
Unsigned bytes are accessed by the LDRB, LDRBT, STRB and STRBT instructions,
which use addressing mode 2 rather than addressing mode 3.

Signed stores

If S == 1 and L == 0, apparently indicating a signed store instruction, the instruction

is an unallocated instruction in the load/store extension space (see Extending the
instruction set on page A3-27).
Signed bytes and halfwords can be stored with the same STRB and STRH
instructions as are used for unsigned quantities, so no separate signed store
instructions are provided.

Use of R15

ARM DDI 0100E

Specifying R15 as register Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-41

ARM Addressing Modes

5.3.5

Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Register pre-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 U 0 1 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

1 S H 1

Rm

This addressing mode calculates an address by adding or subtracting the value of the index register Rm to
or from the value of the base register Rn.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the calculated address is
written back to the base register Rn. The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
[<Rn>, +/-<Rm>]!
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the offset to add to or subtract from Rn.

Sets the W bit, causing base register update.

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Operation
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + Rm
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - Rm
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rn = address

A5-42

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

The S bit

This bit distinguishes between a signed (S==1) and an unsigned (S==0) halfword
access.

The H bit

This bit distinguishes between a halfword (H==1) and a signed byte (H==0) access.

Unsigned bytes

If S == 0 and H == 0, apparently indicating an unsigned byte, the instruction is not

one that uses this addressing mode. Instead, it is a multiply instruction, a SWP or
SWPB instruction, or an unallocated instruction in the arithmetic or load/store
instruction extension space (see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27).
Unsigned bytes are accessed by the LDRB, LDRBT, STRB and STRBT instructions,
which use addressing mode 2 rather than addressing mode 3.

Signed stores

If S == 1 and L == 0, apparently indicating a signed store instruction, the instruction

is an unallocated instruction in the load/store extension space (see Extending the
instruction set on page A3-27).
Signed bytes and halfwords can be stored with the same STRB and STRH
instructions as are used for unsigned quantities, so no separate signed store
instructions are provided.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rm or Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction If the same register is specified for Rn and Rm, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-43

ARM Addressing Modes

5.3.6

Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Immediate post-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 0 U 1 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

immedH

4 3

1 S H 1

ImmedL

This addressing mode uses the value of the base register Rn as the address for the memory access.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the value of the immediate
offset is added to or subtracted from the value of the base register Rn and written back to the base
register Rn. The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
[<Rn>], #+/-<offset_8>
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_8>

Specifies the immediate offset used with the value of Rn to form the address. The
offset is encoded in immedH (top 4 bits) and immedL (bottom 4 bits).

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Operation
address = Rn
offset_8 = (immedH << 4) OR immedL
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if U == 1 then
Rn = Rn + offset_8
else /* U == 0 */
Rn = Rn - offset_8

Usage
This addressing mode gives pointer access to arrays, with automatic update of the pointer value.

A5-44

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
Offset of zero

The syntax [<Rn>] must not be treated as an abbreviation for [<Rn>],#0.

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

The S bit

This bit distinguishes between a signed (S==1) and an unsigned (S==0) halfword
access.

The H bit

This bit distinguishes between a halfword (H==1) and a signed byte (H==0) access.

Unsigned bytes

If S == 0 and H == 0, apparently indicating an unsigned byte, the instruction is not

one that uses this addressing mode. Instead, it is a multiply instruction, a SWP or
SWPB instruction, or an unallocated instruction in the arithmetic or load/store
instruction extension space (see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27).
Unsigned bytes are accessed by the LDRB, LDRBT, STRB and STRBT instructions,
which use addressing mode 2 rather than addressing mode 3.

Signed stores

If S == 1 and L == 0, apparently indicating a signed store instruction, the instruction

is an unallocated instruction in the load/store extension space (see Extending the
instruction set on page A3-27).
Signed bytes and halfwords can be stored with the same STRB and STRH
instructions as are used for unsigned quantities, so no separate signed store
instructions are provided.

Use of R15

ARM DDI 0100E

Specifying R15 as register Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-45

ARM Addressing Modes

5.3.7

Miscellaneous Loads and Stores - Register post-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 0 U 0 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

1 S H 1

Rm

This addressing mode uses the value of the base register Rn as the address for the memory access.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the value of the index register
Rm is added to or subtracted from the value of the base register Rn and written back to the base register Rn.
The conditions are defined in The condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
[<Rn>], +/-<Rm>
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the offset to add to or subtract from Rn.

Architecture version
Version 4 and above

Operation
address = Rn
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if U == 1 then
Rn = Rn + Rm
else /* U == 0 */
Rn = Rn - Rm

A5-46

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load (L==1) and a Store (L==0) instruction.

The S bit

This bit distinguishes between a signed (S==1) and an unsigned (S==0) halfword
access.

The H bit

This bit distinguishes between a halfword (H==1) and a signed byte (H==0) access.

Unsigned bytes

If S == 0 and H == 0, apparently indicating an unsigned byte, the instruction is not

one that uses this addressing mode. Instead, it is a multiply instruction, a SWP or
SWPB instruction, or an unallocated instruction in the arithmetic or load/store
instruction extension space (see Extending the instruction set on page A3-27).
Unsigned bytes are accessed by the LDRB, LDRBT, STRB and STRBT instructions,
which use addressing mode 2 rather than addressing mode 3.

Signed stores

If S == 1 and L == 0, apparently indicating a signed store instruction, the instruction

is an unallocated instruction in the load/store extension space (see Extending the
instruction set on page A3-27).
Signed bytes and halfwords can be stored with the same STRB and STRH
instructions as are used for unsigned quantities, so no separate signed store
instructions are provided.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rm or Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Operand restriction If the same register is specified for Rn and Rm, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-47

ARM Addressing Modes

5.4

Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple

Load Multiple instructions load a subset (possibly all) of the general-purpose registers from memory. Store
Multiple instructions store a subset (possibly all) of the general purpose registers to memory.
Load and Store Multiple addressing modes produce a sequential range of addresses. The lowest-numbered
register is stored at the lowest memory address and the highest-numbered register at the highest memory
address.
The general instruction syntax is:
LDM|STM{<cond>}<addressing_mode> <Rn>{!}, <registers>{^}
where <addressing_mode> is one of the following four addressing modes:
1.

IA (Increment After)
See Load and Store Multiple - Increment after on page A5-50.

2.

IB (Increment Before)
See Load and Store Multiple - Increment before on page A5-51.

3.

DA (Decrement After)
See Load and Store Multiple - Decrement after on page A5-52.

4.

DB (Decrement Before)
See Load and Store Multiple - Decrement before on page A5-53.

5.4.1

Encoding
The following diagram shows the encoding for this addressing mode:
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

The P bit

The U bit

A5-48

1 0 0 P U S W L

16 15

Rn

register list

Has two meanings:

P==1

indicates that the word addressed by Rn is included in the range of memory

locations accessed, lying at the top (U==0) or bottom (U==1) of that range.

P==0

indicates that the word addressed by Rn is excluded from the range of memory
locations accessed, and lies one word beyond the top of the range (U==0) or one
word below the bottom of the range (U==1).

Indicates that the transfer is made upwards (U==1) or downwards (U==0) from the base
register.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

The S bit

For LDMs that load the PC, the S bit indicates that the CPSR is loaded from the SPSR. For
LDMs that do not load the PC and all STMs, the S bit indicates that when the processor is in
a privileged mode, the User mode banked registers are transferred instead of the registers of
the current mode.

The W bit

Indicates that the base register is updated after the transfer. The base register is incremented
(U==1) or decremented (U==0) by four times the number of registers in the register list.

The L bit

Distinguishes between Load (L==1) and Store (L==0) instructions.

Register list

The register_list field of the instruction has one bit for each general-purpose register: bit[0]
for register zero through to bit[15] for register 15 (the PC). If no bits are set, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.
The instruction syntax specifies the registers to load or store in <registers>, which is a
comma-separated list of registers, surrounded by { and }.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-49

ARM Addressing Modes

5.4.2

Load and Store Multiple - Increment after

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 0 1 S W L

16 15

Rn

register list

This addressing mode is for Load and Store Multiple instructions, and forms a range of addresses.
The first address formed is the <start_address>, and is the value of the base register Rn. Subsequent
addresses are formed by incrementing the previous address by four. One address is produced for each
register that is specified in <registers>.
The last address produced is the <end_address>. Its value is four less than the sum of the value of the
base register and four times the number of registers specified in <registers>.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status and the W bit is set, Rn is
incremented by four times the number of registers in <registers>. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
IA
See also the alternative syntax described in Load and Store Multiple addressing modes (alternative names)
on page A5-54.

Architecture version
All

Operation
start_address = Rn
end_address = Rn + (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4) - 4
if ConditionPassed(cond) and W == 1 then
Rn = Rn + (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4)

Notes

A5-50

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load Multiple and a Store Multiple.

The S bit

For LDMs that load the PC, the S bit indicates that the CPSR is loaded from the SPSR. For
LDMs that do not load the PC and all STMs, the S bit indicates that when the processor is in
a privileged mode, the User mode banked registers are transferred instead of the registers of
the current mode.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.4.3

Load and Store Multiple - Increment before

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 1 1 S W L

16 15

Rn

register list

This addressing mode is for Load and Store Multiple instructions, and forms a range of addresses.
The first address formed is the <start_address>, and is the value of the base register Rn plus four.
Subsequent addresses are formed by incrementing the previous address by four. One address is produced
for each register that is specified in <registers>.
The last address produced is the <end_address>. Its value is the sum of the value of the base register
and four times the number of registers specified in <registers>.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status and the W bit is set, Rn is
incremented by four times the number of registers in <registers>. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
IB
See also the alternative syntax described in Load and Store Multiple addressing modes (alternative names)
on page A5-54.

Architecture version
All

Operation
start_address = Rn + 4
end_address = Rn + (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4)
if ConditionPassed(cond) and W == 1 then
Rn = Rn + (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4)

Notes
The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load Multiple and a Store Multiple.

The S bit

For LDMs that load the PC, the S bit indicates that the CPSR is loaded from the SPSR. For
LDMs that do not load the PC and all STMs, the S bit indicates that when the processor is in
a privileged mode, the User mode banked registers are transferred instead of the registers of
the current mode.

ARM DDI 0100E

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A5-51

ARM Addressing Modes

5.4.4

Load and Store Multiple - Decrement after

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 0 0 S W L

16 15

Rn

register list

This addressing mode is for Load and Store Multiple instructions, and forms a range of addresses.
The first address formed is the <start_address>, and is the value of the base register minus four times
the number of registers specified in <registers>, plus 4. Subsequent addresses are formed by
incrementing the previous address by four. One address is produced for each register that is specified in
<registers>.
The last address produced is the <end_address>. Its value is the value of the base register Rn.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status and the W bit is set, Rn is
decremented by four times the number of registers in <registers>. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
DA
See also the alternative syntax described in Load and Store Multiple addressing modes (alternative names)
on page A5-54.

Architecture version
All

Operation
start_address = Rn - (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4) + 4
end_address = Rn
if ConditionPassed(cond) and W == 1 then
Rn = Rn - (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4)

Notes

A5-52

The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load Multiple and a Store Multiple.

The S bit

For LDMs that load the PC, the S bit indicates that the CPSR is loaded from the SPSR. For
LDMs that do not load the PC and all STMs, the S bit indicates that when the processor is in
a privileged mode, the User mode banked registers are transferred instead of the registers of
the current mode.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

5.4.5

Load and Store Multiple - Decrement before

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 0 0 1 0 S W L

16 15

Rn

register list

This addressing mode is for Load and Store multiple instructions, and forms a range of addresses.
The first address formed is the <start_address>, and is the value of the base register minus four times
the number of registers specified in <registers>. Subsequent addresses are formed by incrementing the
previous address by four. One address is produced for each register that is specified in <registers>.
The last address produced is the <end_address>. Its value is the value of the base register Rn minus four.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status and the W bit is set, Rn is
decremented by four times the number of registers in <registers>. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5.

Syntax
DB
See also the alternative syntax described in Load and Store Multiple addressing modes (alternative names)
on page A5-54.

Architecture version
All

Operation
start_address = Rn - (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4)
end_address = Rn - 4
if ConditionPassed(cond) and W == 1 then
Rn = Rn - (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4)

Notes
The L bit

This bit distinguishes between a Load Multiple and a Store Multiple.

The S bit

For LDMs that load the PC, the S bit indicates that the CPSR is loaded from the SPSR. For
LDMs that do not load the PC and all STMs, the S bit indicates that when the processor is in
a privileged mode, the User mode banked registers are transferred instead of the registers of
the current mode.

ARM DDI 0100E

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A5-53

ARM Addressing Modes

5.4.6

Load and Store Multiple addressing modes (alternative names)

The four addressing mode names given in Addressing Mode 4 - Load and Store Multiple on page A5-48 (IA,
IB, DA, DB) are most useful when a load and Store Multiple instruction is being used for block data transfer,
as it is likely that the Load Multiple and Store Multiple have the same addressing mode, so that the data is
stored in the same way that it was loaded.
However, if Load Multiple and Store Multiple are being used to access a stack, the data is not loaded with
the same addressing mode that was used to store the data, because the load (pop) and store (push) operations
must adjust the stack in opposite directions.

Stack operations
Load Multiple and Store Multiple addressing modes can be specified with an alternative syntax, which is
more applicable to stack operations:
Full stacks

Have stack pointers that point to the last used (full) location.

Empty stacks

Have stack pointers that point to the first unused (empty) location.

Descending stacks

Grow towards decreasing memory addresses (towards the bottom of memory).

Ascending stacks

Grow towards increasing memory addresses (towards the top of memory).

Two attributes allow four types of stack to be defined:

Full Descending, with the syntax FD

Empty Descending, with the syntax ED

Full Ascending, with the syntax FA

Empty Ascending, with the syntax EA.

Note
When defining stacks on which coprocessor data is to be placed (or might be placed in the future),
programmers are advised to use the FD or EA stack types. This is because coprocessor data can be pushed
to these types of stack with a single STC instruction and popped from them with a single LDC instruction.
Multi-instruction sequences are required for coprocessor access to FA or ED stacks.
Table 5-1 and Table 5-2 on page A5-55 show the relationship between the four types of stack, the four types
of addressing mode shown above, and the L, U, and P bits in the instruction format.

A5-54

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Table 5-1 shows the relationship for LDM instructions.

Table 5-1 LDM addressing modes
Non-stack addressing mode

Stack addressing mode

L bit

P bit

U bit

LDMDA (Decrement After)

LDMFA (Full Ascending)

LDMIA (Increment After)

LDMFD (Full Descending)

LDMDB (Decrement Before)

LDMEA (Empty Ascending)

LDMIB (Increment Before)

LDMED (Empty Descending)

Table 5-2 shows the relationship for STM instructions.

Table 5-2 STM addressing modes
Non-stack addressing mode

Stack addressing mode

L bit

P bit

U bit

STMDA (Decrement After)

STMED (Empty Descending)

STMIA (Increment After)

STMEA (Empty Ascending)

STMDB (Decrement Before)

STMFD (Full Descending)

STMIB (Increment Before)

STMFA (Full Ascending)

ARM DDI 0100E

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A5-55

ARM Addressing Modes

5.5

Addressing Mode 5 - Load and Store Coprocessor

There are four addressing modes which are used to calculate the address of a Load or Store Coprocessor
instruction. The general instruction syntax is:
<opcode>{<cond>}{L}

<coproc>, <CRd>,<addressing_mode>

where <addressing_mode> is one of the following four options:

1.

[<Rn>,#+/-<offset_8>*4]
See Load and Store Coprocessor - Immediate offset on page A5-58.

2.

[<Rn>,#+/-<offset_8>*4]!
See Load and Store Coprocessor - Immediate pre-indexed on page A5-60.

3.

[<Rn>], #+/-<offset_8>*4
See Load and Store Coprocessor - Immediate post-indexed on page A5-62.

4.

[<Rn>],<option>
See Load and Store Coprocessor - Unindexed on page A5-64.

5.5.1

Encoding
The following diagram shows the encoding for this addressing mode:
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

The P bit

A5-56

1 1 0 P U N W L

16 15

Rn

12 11

CRd

cp#

offset_8

Has two meanings:

P == 1

Indicates the use of post-indexed addressing or unindexed addressing (the W bit

determines which). The base register value is used for the memory address.

P == 0

Indicates the use of offset addressing or pre-indexed addressing (the W bit

determines which). The memory address is generated by applying the offset to
the base register value.

The U bit

Has two meanings:

U == 1
Indicates that the offset is added to the base.
U == 0
Indicates that he offset is subtracted from the base

The N bit

The meaning of this bit is coprocessor-dependent. Its recommended use is to distinguish

between different-sized values to be transferred.

The W bit

Has two meanings:

W == 1
Indicates that the memory address is written back to the base register.
W == 0
Indicates that the base register value is unchanged.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Also:

The L bit

ARM DDI 0100E

If P == 0, this distinguishes unindexed addressing (W == 0) from post-indexed

addressing (W == 1). For unindexed addressing, U must equal 1 or the result is either
UNDEFINED or UNPREDICTABLE (see Coprocessor instruction extension space on
page A3-33).

If P == 1, this distinguishes offset addressing (W == 0) from pre-indexed addressing

(W == 1).

Distinguishes between Load (L == 1) and Store (L == 0) instructions.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-57

ARM Addressing Modes

5.5.2

Load and Store Coprocessor - Immediate offset

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 1 U N 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

CRd

cp_num

offset_8

This addressing mode produces a sequence of consecutive addresses. The first address is calculated by
adding or subtracting four times the value of an immediate offset to or from the value of the base register
Rn. The subsequent addresses in the sequence are produced by incrementing the previous address by four
until the coprocessor signals the end of the instruction. This allows a coprocessor to access data whose size
is coprocessor-defined.
The coprocessor must not request a transfer of more than 16 words.

Syntax
[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_8>*4]
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_8>

Specifies the immediate offset that is multiplied by 4, then added to or subtracted

from the value of Rn to form the address.

Architecture version
Version 2 and above

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if U == 1 then
address = Rn + offset_8 * 4
else /* U == 0 */
address = Rn - offset_8 * 4
start_address = address
while (NotFinished(coprocessor[cp_num]))
address = address + 4
end_address = address

A5-58

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
The N bit

Is coprocessor-dependent.

The L bit

Distinguishes between Load (L==1) and Store (L==0) instructions.

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rn, the value used is the address of the instruction plus 8.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-59

ARM Addressing Modes

5.5.3

Load and Store Coprocessor - Immediate pre-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 1 U N 1 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

CRd

cp_num

offset_8

This addressing mode produces a sequence of consecutive addresses. The first address is calculated by
adding or subtracting four times the value of an immediate offset to or from the value of the base register
Rn. If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the first address is written
back to the base register Rn. The subsequent addresses in the sequence are produced by incrementing the
previous address by four until the coprocessor signals the end of the instruction. This allows a coprocessor
to access data whose size is coprocessor-defined.
The coprocessor must not request a transfer of more than 16 words.

Syntax
[<Rn>, #+/-<offset_8>*4]!
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_8>

Specifies the immediate offset that is multiplied by 4, then added to or subtracted

from the value of Rn to form the address.

Sets the W bit, causing base register update.

Architecture version
Version 2 and above

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if U == 1 then
Rn = Rn + offset_8 * 4
else /* U == 0 */
Rn = Rn - offset_8 * 4
start_address = Rn
address = start_address
while (NotFinished(coprocessor[cp_num]))
address = address + 4
end_address = address

A5-60

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
The N bit

Is coprocessor-dependent.

The L bit

Distinguishes between Load (L==1) and Store (L==0) instructions.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-61

ARM Addressing Modes

5.5.4

Load and Store Coprocessor - Immediate post-indexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 0 U N 1 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

CRd

cp_num

offset_8

This addressing mode produces a sequence of consecutive addresses. The first address is the value of the
base register Rn. The subsequent addresses in the sequence are produced by incrementing the previous
address by four until the coprocessor signals the end of the instruction. This allows a coprocessor to access
data whose size is coprocessor-defined.
If the condition specified in the instruction matches the condition code status, the base register Rn is updated
by adding or subtracting four times the value of an immediate offset to or from the value of the base register
Rn.
The coprocessor must not request a transfer of more than 16 words.

Syntax
[<Rn>], #+/-<offset_8>*4
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<offset_8>

Specifies the immediate offset that is multiplied by 4, then added to or subtracted

from the value of Rn to form the address.

Architecture version
Version 2 and above

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
start_address = Rn
if U == 1 then
Rn = Rn + offset_8 * 4
else /* U == 0 */
Rn = Rn - offset_8 * 4
address = start_address
while (NotFinished(coprocessor[cp_num]))
address = address + 4
end_address = address

A5-62

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
The N bit

Is coprocessor-dependent.

The L bit

Distinguishes between Load (L==1) and Store (L==0) instructions.

Use of R15

Specifying R15 as register Rn has UNPREDICTABLE results.

ARM DDI 0100E

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A5-63

ARM Addressing Modes

5.5.5

Load and Store Coprocessor - Unindexed

31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 0 U N 0 L

16 15

Rn

12 11

CRd

cp_num

option

This addressing mode produces a sequence of consecutive addresses. The first address is the value of the
base register Rn. The subsequent addresses in the sequence are produced by incrementing the previous
address by four until the coprocessor signals the end of the instruction. This allows a coprocessor to access
data whose size is coprocessor-defined.
The base register Rn is not updated. Bits[7:0] of the instruction are therefore not used by the ARM, either
for the address calculation or to calculate a new value for the base register, and so can be used to specify
additional instruction options to the coprocessor.
The coprocessor must not request a transfer of more than 16 words.

Syntax
[<Rn>], <option>
where:
<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the base address.

<option>

Specifies additional instruction options to the coprocessor. The <option> is specified in

the instruction syntax as an integer in the range 0-255, surrounded by { and }.

Architecture version
Version 2 and above

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
start_address = Rn
address = start_address
while (NotFinished(coprocessor[cp_num]))
address = address + 4
end_address = address

A5-64

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Addressing Modes

Notes
The N bit

Is coprocessor-dependent.

The L bit

Distinguishes between Load (L==1) and Store (L==0) instructions.

Use of R15

If R15 is specified as register Rn, the value used is the address of the instruction plus 8.

The U bit

If bit[23] (the Up/down bit) is not set, the result is either UNDEFINED or UNPREDICTABLE (see
Coprocessor instruction extension space on page A3-33).

Option bits

Are unused by the ARM in this addressing mode, and therefore can be used to request
additional instruction options in a coprocessor-dependent fashion.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A5-65

ARM Addressing Modes

A5-66

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter A6
The Thumb Instruction Set

This chapter introduces the Thumb instruction set and describes how Thumb uses the ARM programmers
model. It contains the following sections:

About the Thumb instruction set on page A6-2

Instruction set encoding on page A6-4

Branch instructions on page A6-6

Data-processing instructions on page A6-8

Load and Store Register instructions on page A6-15

Load and Store Multiple instructions on page A6-18

Exception-generating instructions on page A6-20

Undefined instruction space on page A6-21.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-1

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.1

About the Thumb instruction set

The Thumb instruction set is a re-encoded subset of the ARM instruction set. Thumb is designed to increase
the performance of ARM implementations that use a 16-bit or narrower memory data bus and to allow better
code density than ARM. T variants of the ARM architecture incorporate both a full 32-bit ARM instruction
set and the 16-bit Thumb instruction set. Every Thumb instruction is encoded in 16 bits.
Thumb does not alter the underlying programmers model of the ARM architecture. It merely presents
restricted access to it. All Thumb data-processing instructions operate on full 32-bit values, and full 32-bit
addresses are produced by both data-access instructions and instruction fetches.
When the processor is executing Thumb instructions, eight general-purpose integer registers are available,
R0 to R7, which are the same physical registers as R0 to R7 when executing ARM instructions. Some
Thumb instructions also access the Program Counter (ARM Register 15), the Link Register
(ARM Register 14) and the Stack Pointer (ARM Register 13). Further instructions allow limited access to
ARM registers 8 to 15, which are know as the high registers.
When R15 is read, bit[0] is zero and bits[31:1] contain the PC. When R15 is written, bit[0] is IGNORED and
bits[31:1] are written to the PC. Depending on how it is used, the value of the PC is either the address of the
instruction plus 4 or is UNPREDICTABLE.
Thumb does not provide direct access to the CPSR or any SPSR (as the MSR and MRS instructions do in
the ARM instruction set)). Thumb execution is flagged by the T bit (bit[5]) in the CPSR:
T == 0

32-bit instructions are fetched (and the PC is incremented by four) and are executed as ARM
instructions.

T == 1

16-bit instructions are fetched (and the PC is incremented by two) and are executed as
Thumb instructions.

Note
The Thumb instruction set is only compatible with the 32-bit ARM architectures. Thumb is not
recommended for use with 26-bit architectures or with 26-bit compatibility options on 32-bit architectures.

6.1.1

Entering Thumb state

Thumb execution is normally entered by executing an ARM BX instruction (Branch and Exchange). This
instruction branches to the address held in a general-purpose register, and if bit[0] of that register is 1,
Thumb execution begins at the branch target address. If bit[0] of the target register is 0, ARM execution
continues from the branch target address. On architecture versions 5 and above, BLX instructions and
LDR/LDM instructions that load the PC can be used similarly.
Thumb execution can also be initiated by setting the T bit in the SPSR and executing an ARM instruction
which restores the CPSR from the SPSR (a data-processing instruction with the S bit set and the PC as the
destination, or a Load Multiple with Restore CPSR instruction). This allows an operating system to
automatically restart a process independent of whether that process is executing Thumb code or ARM code.
The result is UNPREDICTABLE if the T bit is altered directly by writing the CPSR.

A6-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.1.2

Exceptions
Exceptions generated during Thumb execution switch to ARM execution before executing the exception
handler (whose first instruction is at the hardware vector). The state of the T bit is preserved in the SPSR,
and the LR of the exception mode is set so that the normal return instruction performs correctly, regardless
of whether the exception occurred during ARM or Thumb execution. Table 6-1 lists the values of the
exception mode LR for exceptions generated during Thumb execution.
Table 6-1 Exception return instructions
Exception

Exception link register value

Reset

UNPREDICTABLE

Undefined

Address of undefined instruction + 2

MOVS PC, R14

SWI

Address of SWI instruction + 2

MOVS PC, R14

Prefetch Abort

Address of aborted instruction fetch + 4

SUBS PC, R14, #4

Data Abort

Address of the instruction that generated the abort + 8

SUBS PC, R14, #8

IRQ

Address of the next instruction to be executed + 4

SUBS PC, R14, #4

FIQ

Address of the next instruction to be executed + 4

SUBS PC, R14, #4

value

Return instruction
-

Note
For each exception, the return instruction indicated by Table 6-1 is the same as the return instruction
required if the exception occurred during ARM execution, for the primary or only method of return from
that instruction listed in Exceptions on page A2-13. However, the following two types of exception have a
secondary return method, for which different return instructions are needed depending on whether the
exception occurred during ARM or Thumb execution:

For the Data Abort exception, the primary method of return causes execution to resume at the aborted
instruction, which causes it to be re-executed. As described in Data Abort (data access memory
abort) on page A2-17, it is also possible to return to the next instruction after the aborted instruction,
using a SUBS PC,R14,#4 instruction. If this type of return is required for a data abort caused by
a Thumb instruction, use SUBS PC,R14,#6 for the return instruction.

For the Undefined Instruction exception, the primary method of return causes execution to resume at
the next instruction after the undefined instruction. As described in Undefined Instruction exception
on page A2-15, it is also possible to return to the undefined instruction itself, using the instruction
SUBS PC,R14,#4. If this type of return is required for a Thumb undefined instruction, use SUBS
PC,R14,#2 for the return instruction. However, the main use of this type of return is for some types
of coprocessor instruction, and as the Thumb instruction set does not contain any coprocessor
instructions, you are unlikely to need this secondary method of return for Thumb instructions.
When these secondary methods of return are used, the exception handler code must test the SPSR T bit in
order to determine which of the two return instructions to use.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-3

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.2

Instruction set encoding

Figure 6-1 shows the Thumb instruction set encoding. An entry in square brackets, for example [1],
indicates a note on the following page.

15

14

13

12

Shift by immediate

opcode [1]

11

10

Add/subtract register

opc

Add/subtract immediate

opc

Add/subtract/compare/move immediate

opcode

Data-processing register

Special data processing

Branch/exchange
instruction set [3]

Load from literal pool

Load/store register offset

Load/store word/byte immediate offset

Load/store halfword immediate offset

Load/store to/from stack

Rd

SP-relative offset

Add to SP or PC

SP

Rd

immediate

Miscellaneous:
See Figure 6-2

Load/store multiple

Conditional branch

Undefined instruction

Software interrupt

Unconditional branch

offset

BLX suffix [4]

offset

Undefined instruction

BL/BLX prefix

offset

BL suffix

offset

immediate

Rn

Rd

immediate

Rn

Rd

opcode [1]
1

Rm / Rs

Rd / Rn

H1

H2

Rm

Rd / Rn

H2

Rm

SBZ

PC-relative offset
Rm

Rn

Rd

offset

Rn

Rd

offset

Rn

Rd

opcode

Rn

register list

cond [2]

immediate
opcode

Rm

Rd

Rd

Rd / Rn

Rm

offset

immediate

0
x

Figure 6-1 Thumb instruction set overview

A6-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

1.
2.
3.
4.

6.2.1

The opc field is not allowed to be 11 in this line. Other lines deal with the case that the opc field is
11.
The cond field is not allowed to be 1110 or 1111 in this line. Other lines deal with the cases where
the cond field is 1110 or 1111.
The form with L==1 is UNPREDICTABLE prior to ARM architecture version 5.
This is an undefined instruction prior to ARM architecture version 5.

Miscellaneous instructions
Figure 6-2 lists miscellaneous Thumb instructions. An entry in square brackets, for example [1], indicates
a note below the figure.

15

14

13

12

11

10

Adjust stack pointer

Push/pop register list

register list

Software breakpoint [1]

immediate

opc

immediate

Figure 6-2 Miscellaneous Thumb instructions

1.

This is an undefined instruction prior to ARM architecture version 5.

Note
Any instruction with bits[15:12] = 1011, and which is not shown in Figure 6-2, is an undefined instruction.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-5

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.3

Branch instructions
Thumb supports six types of branch instruction:

an unconditional branch that allows a forward or backward branch of up to 2KB

a conditional branch to allow forward and backward branches of up to 256 bytes

a Branch with Link (subroutine call) is supported with a pair of instructions that allow forward and
backward branches of up to 4MB

a Branch and Exchange instruction branches to an address in a register and optionally switches to
ARM code execution

a Branch with Link and Exchange instruction performs a subroutine call to an address in a register
and optionally switches to ARM code execution

a second form of Branch with Link and Exchange uses a pair of instructions, similar to Branch with
Link, but additionally switches to ARM code execution.

The encoding for these instructions is given below.

6.3.1

Conditional branch
B<cond>

6.3.2

15

14

13

12

cond

8_bit_signed_offset

<target_address>
<target_address>
<target_address>

15

14

13

12

; Produces two 16-bit instructions

; Produces two 16-bit instructions
11

10

offset_11

Branch with exchange

BX
BLX

A6-6

11

Unconditional branch
B
BL
BLX

6.3.3

<target_address>

<Rm>
<Rm>

15

14

13

12

11

10

H2

Rm

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

SBZ

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.3.4

Examples
B

label

; unconditionally branch to label

BCC

label

; branch to label if carry flag is clear

BEQ

label

; branch to label if zero flag is set

BL

func

; subroutine call to function

func
...
...

6.3.5

; Include body of function here

MOV

PC, LR

; R15=R14, return to instruction after the BL

BX

R12

; branch to address in R12; begin ARM execution if

; bit 0 of R12 is zero; otherwise continue executing
; Thumb code

List of branch instructions

The following instructions follow the formats shown above.
B

Conditional Branch. See B (1) on page A7-18.

Unconditional Branch. See B (2) on page A7-20.

BL

Branch with Link. See BL, BLX(1) on page A7-26.

BX

Branch and Exchange instruction set. See BX on page A7-32.

BLX

Branch with Link and Exchange instruction set. See BL, BLX(1) on page A7-26 and BLX(2)
on page A7-30.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-7

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.4

Data-processing instructions
Thumb data-processing instructions are a subset of the ARM data-processing instructions, as shown in
Table 6-2. All Thumb data-processing instructions in this table set the condition codes.
Table 6-2 Thumb data-processing instructions

A6-8

Mnemonic

Operation

Action

ADC Rd, Rm

Add with Carry

Rd := Rd + Rm + Carry flag

ADD Rd, Rn, Rm

Add

Rd := Rn + Rm

ADD Rd, Rn, #0 to 7

Add

Rd := Rn + 3-bit immediate

ADD Rd, #0 to 255

Add

Rd := Rd + 8-bit immediate

AND Rd, Rm

Logical AND

Rd := Rd AND Rm

ASR Rd, Rm, #1 to 32

Arithmetic Shift Right

Rd := Rm ASR 5-bit immediate

ASR Rd, Rs

Arithmetic Shift Right

Rd := Rd ASR Rs

BIC Rd, Rm

Bit Clear

Rd := Rd AND NOT Rm

CMN Rn, Rm

Compare Negated

Update flags after Rn + Rm

CMP Rn, #0 to 255

Compare

Update flags after Rn - 8-bit immediate

CMP Rn, Rm

Compare

Update flags after Rn - Rm

EOR Rd, Rm

Logical Exclusive OR

Rd := Rd EOR Rm

LSL Rd, Rm, #0 to 31

Logical Shift Left

Rd := Rm LSL 5-bit immediate

LSL Rd, Rs

Logical Shift Left

Rd := Rd LSL Rs

LSR Rd, Rm, #1 to 32

Logical Shift Right

Rd := Rm LSR 5-bit immediate

LSR Rd, Rs

Logical Shift Right

Rd := Rd LSR Rs

MOV Rd, #0 to 255

Move

Rd := 8-bit immediate

MOV Rd, Rn

Move

Rd := Rn

MUL Rd, Rm

Multiply

Rd := Rm x Rd

MVN Rd, Rm

Move Not

Rd := NOT Rm

NEG Rd, Rm

Negate

Rd := 0 - Rm

ORR Rd, Rm

Logical (inclusive) OR

Rd := Rd OR Rm

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

Table 6-2 Thumb data-processing instructions (Continued)

Mnemonic

Operation

Action

ROR Rd, Rs

Rotate Right

Rd := Rd ROR Rs

SBC Rd, Rm

Subtract with Carry

Rd := Rd - Rm - NOT(Carry Flag)

SUB Rd, Rn, Rm

Subtract

Rd := Rn - Rm

SUB Rd, Rn, #0 to 7

Subtract

Rd := Rn - 3-bit immediate

SUB Rd, #0 to 255

Subtract

Rd := Rd - 8-bit immediate

TST Rn, Rm

Test

Update flags after Rn AND Rm

For example:
ADD

R0, R4, R7

; R0 = R4 + R7

SUB

R6, R1, R2

; R6 = R1 - R2

ADD

R0, #255

; R0 = R0 + 255

ADD

R1, R4, #4

; R1 = R4 + 4

NEG

R3, R1

; R3 = 0 - R1

AND

R2, R5

; R2 = R2 AND R5

EOR

R1, R6

; R1 = R1 EOR R6

CMP

R2, R3

; update flags after R2 - R3

CMP

R7, #100

; update flags after R7 - 100

MOV

R0, #200

; R0 = 200

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-9

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.4.1

High registers
There are seven types of data-processing instruction which operate on ARM registers 8 to 14 and the PC as
shown in Table 6-3. Apart from CMP, instructions in this table do not change the condition code flags.
Table 6-3 High register data-processing instructions
Mnemonic

Operation

Action

MOV Rd, Rn

Move

Rd := Rn

ADD Rd, Rm

Add

Rd := Rd + Rm

CMP Rn, Rm

Compare

Update flags after Rn - Rm

ADD SP, #0 to 508

Increment stack pointer

R13 = R13 + 4* (7-bit immediate)

SUB SP, #0 to 508

Decrement stack pointer

R13 = R13 - 4* (7-bit immediate)

ADD Rd, SP, #0 to 1020

Form Stack address

Rd = R13 + 4* (8-bit immediate)

ADD Rd, PC, #0 to 1020

Form PC address

Rd = PC + 4* (8-bit immediate)

For example:

A6-10

MOV

R0, R12

; R0 = R12

ADD

R10, R1, R2

; R6 = R1 - R2

MOV

PC, LR

; PC = R14

CMP

R10, R11

; update flags after R10 - R11

SUB

SP, #12

; increase stack size by 12 bytes

ADD

SP, #16

; decrease stack size by 16 bytes

ADD

R2, SP, #20

; R2 = SP + 20

ADD

R0, PC, #500

; R0 = PC + 500

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.4.2

Formats
Data-processing instructions use the following eight instruction formats:

Format 1
<opcode1> <Rd>, <Rn>, <Rm>
<opcode1> := ADD | SUB
15

14

13

12

11

10

op_1

Rm

Rn

Rd

Format 2
<opcode2> <Rd>, <Rn>, #<3_bit_immed>
<opcode2> := ADD | SUB
15

14

13

12

11

10

op_2 3_bit_immediate

Rn

Rd

Format 3
<opcode3> <Rd>|<Rn>, #<8_bit_immed>
<opcode3> := ADD | SUB | MOV | CMP
15

14

13

12

11

10

op_3

Rd|Rn

8_bit_immediate

Format 4
<opcode4> <Rd>, <Rm>, #<shift_imm>
<opcode4> := LSL | LSR | ASR
15

14

13

ARM DDI 0100E

12

11

op_4

10

shift_immediate

Rm

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rd

A6-11

The Thumb Instruction Set

Format 5
<opcode5> <Rd>|<Rn>, <Rm>|<Rs>
<opcode5> := MVN | CMP | CMN | TST | ADC | SBC | NEG | MUL |
LSL | LSR | ASR | ROR | AND | EOR | ORR | BIC
15

14

13

12

11

10

op_5

Rm|Rs

Rd|Rn

Format 6
ADD <Rd>, <reg>, #<8_bit_immed>
<reg> := SP | PC
15

14

13

12

11

reg

10

Rd

8_bit_immediate

Format 7
<opcode6> SP, SP, #<7_bit_immed>
<opcode6> := ADD | SUB
15

14

13

12

11

10

op_6

H1

H2

7_bit_immediate

Format 8
<opcode7> <Rd>|<Rn>, <Rm>
<opcode7> := MOV | ADD | CMP

A6-12

15

14

13

12

11

10

opcode

Rm

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rd|Rn

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.4.3

List of data-processing instructions

The following instructions follow the formats shown above.
ADC

Add with Carry. See ADC on page A7-4.

ADD

Add (immediate). See ADD (1) on page A7-5.

ADD

Add (large immediate). See ADD (2) on page A7-6.

ADD

Add (register). See ADD (3) on page A7-7.

ADD

Add high registers. See ADD (4) on page A7-8.

ADD

Add (immediate to program counter). See ADD (5) on page A7-10.

ADD

Add (immediate to stack pointer). See ADD (6) on page A7-11.

ADD

Increment stack pointer. See ADD (7) on page A7-12.

AND

Logical AND. See AND on page A7-13.

ASR

Arithmetic Shift Right (immediate). See ASR (1) on page A7-14.

ASR

Arithmetic Shift Right (register). See ASR (2) on page A7-16.

BIC

Bit Clear. See BIC on page A7-22.

CMN

Compare Negative (register). See CMN on page A7-34.

CMP

Compare (immediate). See CMP (1) on page A7-35.

CMP

Compare (register). See CMP (2) on page A7-36.

CMP

Compare high registers. See CMP (3) on page A7-37.

EOR

Exclusive OR. See EOR on page A7-39.

LSL

Logical Shift Left (immediate). See LSL (1) on page A7-59.

LSL

Logical Shift Left (register). See LSL (2) on page A7-60.

LSR

Logical Shift Right (immediate). See LSR (1) on page A7-62.

LSR

Logical Shift Right (register). See LSR (2) on page A7-64.

MOV

Move (immediate). See MOV (1) on page A7-66.

MOV

Move a low register to another low register. See MOV (2) on page A7-67.

MOV

Move high registers. See MOV (3) on page A7-68.

MUL

Multiply. See MUL on page A7-70.

MVN

Move NOT (register). See MVN on page A7-72.

NEG

Negate (register). See NEG on page A7-73.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-13

The Thumb Instruction Set

A6-14

ORR

Logical OR. See ORR on page A7-74.

ROR

Rotate Right (register). See ROR on page A7-80.

SBC

Subtract with Carry (register). See SBC on page A7-82.

SUB

Subtract (immediate). See SUB (1) on page A7-98.

SUB

Subtract (large immediate). See SUB (2) on page A7-99.

SUB

Subtract (register). See SUB (3) on page A7-100.

SUB

Decrement stack pointer. See SUB (4) on page A7-101.

TST

Test (register). See TST on page A7-103.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.5

Load and Store Register instructions

Thumb supports eight types of Load and Store Register instructions. Two basic addressing modes are
available. These allow the load and store of words, halfwords and bytes, and also the load of signed
halfwords and bytes:

register plus register

register plus 5-bit immediate (not available for signed halfword and signed byte loads).
If an immediate offset is used, it is scaled by 4 for word access and 2 for halfword accesses.
In addition, three special instructions allow:

6.5.1

words to be loaded using the PC as a base with a 1KB (word-aligned) immediate offset

words to be loaded and stored with the stack pointer (R13) as the base and a 1KB (word-aligned)
immediate offset.

Formats
Load and Store Register instructions have the following formats:

Format 1
<opcode1> <Rd>, [<Rn>, #<5_bit_offset>]
<opcode1> := LDR|LDRH|LDRB|STR|STRH|STRB
15

11

10

opcode1

5_bit_offset

Rn

Rd

Format 2
<opcode2> <Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]
<opcode2> := LDR|LDRH|LDRSH|LDRB|LDRSB|STR|STRH|STRB
15

opcode2

Rm

Rn

Rd

Format 3
LDR

<Rd>, [PC, #<8_bit_offset>]

15

14

13

12

11

ARM DDI 0100E

10

Rd

8_bit_immediate

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-15

The Thumb Instruction Set

Format 4
<opcode3>
<opcode3>

<Rd>, [SP, #<8_bit_offset>]

:= LDR | STR

15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

8_bit_immediate

For example:

A6-16

LDR

R4, [R2, #4]

; Load word into R4 from address R2 + 4

LDR

R4, [R2, R1]

; Load word into R4 from address R2 + R1

STR

R0, [R7, #0x7C]

; Store word from R0 to address R7 + 124

STRB

R1, [R5, #31]

; Store byte from R1 to address R5 + 31

STRH

R4, [R2, R3]

; Store halfword from R4 to R2 + R3

LDRH

R3, [R6, R5]

; Load word into R3 from R6 + R5

LDRB

R2, [R1, #5]

; Load byte into R2 from R1 + 5

LDR

R6, [PC, #0x3FC]

; Load R6 from PC + 0x3FC

LDR

R5, [SP, #64]

; Load R5 from SP + 64

STR

R4, [SP, #0x260]

; Load R5 from SP + 0x260

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.5.2

List of Load and Store Register instructions

The following instructions follow the formats shown above.
LDR

Load Word (immediate offset). See LDR (1) on page A7-42.

LDR

Load Word (register offset). See LDR (2) on page A7-44.

LDR

Load Word (PC-relative). See LDR (3) on page A7-46.

LDR

Load Word (SP-relative). See LDR (4) on page A7-48.

LDRB

Load Unsigned Byte (immediate offset). See LDRB (1) on page A7-50.

LDRB

Load Unsigned Byte (register offset). See LDRB (2) on page A7-51.

LDRH

Load Unsigned Halfword (immediate offset). See LDRH (1) on page A7-52.

LDRH

Load Unsigned Halfword (register offset). See LDRH (2) on page A7-54.

LDRSB

Load Signed Byte (register offset). See LDRSB on page A7-56.

LDRSH

Load Signed Halfword (register offset). See LDRSH on page A7-57.

STR

Store Word (immediate offset). See STR (1) on page A7-86.

STR

Store Word (register offset). See STR (2) on page A7-88.

STR

Store Word (SP-relative). See STR (3) on page A7-90.

STRB

Store Byte (immediate offset). See STRB (1) on page A7-92.

STRB

Store Byte (register offset). See STRB (2) on page A7-93.

STRH

Store Halfword (immediate offset). See STRH (1) on page A7-94.

STRH

Store Halfword (register offset). See STRH (2) on page A7-96.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-17

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.6

Load and Store Multiple instructions

Thumb supports four types of Load and Store Multiple instructions:

Two instructions, LDMIA and STMIA, are designed to support block copy. They have a fixed
Increment After addressing mode from a base register.

The other two instructions, PUSH and POP, also have a fixed addressing mode. They implement a
full descending stack and the stack pointer (R13) is used as the base register.

All four instructions update the base register after transfer and all can transfer any or all of the lower 8
registers. PUSH can also stack the return address, and POP can load the PC.

6.6.1

Formats
Load and Store Multiple instructions have the following formats:

Format 1
<opcode1>
<opcode1>

<Rn>!, <registers>
:= LDMIA | STMIA

15

14

13

12

11

10

Rn

register_list

Format 2
PUSH
POP

6.6.2

{<registers>}
{<registers>}

15

14

13

12

11

10

register_list

Examples
LDMIA
STMIA
function
PUSH

R7!, {R0-R3, R5}

R0!, {R3, R4, R5}

; Load R0 to R3-R5 from R7, add 20 to R7

; Store R3-R5 to R0: add 12 to R0

{R0-R7, LR}

; push onto the stack (R13) R0-R7 and

; the return address
; code of the function body

{R0-R7, PC}

; restore R0-R7 from the stack

; and the program counter, and return

...
...
POP

A6-18

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.6.3

List of Load and Store Multiple instructions

The following instructions follow the formats shown above.
LDMIA

Load Multiple. See LDMIA on page A7-40.

POP

Pop Multiple. See POP on page A7-75.

PUSH

Push Multiple. See PUSH on page A7-78.

STMIA

Store Multiple. See STMIA on page A7-84.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-19

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.7

Exception-generating instructions
The Thumb instruction set provides two types of instruction whose main purpose is to cause a processor
exception to occur:

The Software Interrupt (SWI) instruction is used to cause a SWI exception to occur (see Software
Interrupt exception on page A2-16). This is the main mechanism in the Thumb instruction set by
which User mode code can make calls to privileged Operating System code.

The Breakpoint (BKPT) instruction is used for software breakpoints in T variants of ARM
architecture versions 5 and above. Its default behavior is to cause a Prefetch Abort exception to occur
(see Prefetch Abort (instruction fetch memory abort) on page A2-16). A debug monitor program that
has previously been installed on the Prefetch Abort vector can handle this exception.
If debug hardware is present in the system, it is allowed to override this default behavior. Details of
whether and how this happens are IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

6.7.1

Instruction encodings
SWI

<immed_8>

15

14

13

12

11

10

BKPT

immed_8

<immed_8>

15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_8

In both SWI and BKPT, the immed_8 field of the instruction is ignored by the ARM processor. The SWI or
Prefetch Abort handler can optionally be written to load the instruction that caused the exception and extract
these fields. This allows them to be used to communicate extra information about the Operating System call
or breakpoint to the handler.

6.7.2

A6-20

List of exception-generating instructions

BKPT

Breakpoint. See BKPT on page A7-24.

SWI

Software Interrupt. See SWI on page A7-102.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The Thumb Instruction Set

6.8

Undefined instruction space

The following instructions are UNDEFINED in the Thumb instruction set:
15

14

13

12

11

10

In general, these instructions can be used to extend the Thumb instruction set in the future. However, it is
intended that the following group of instructions will not be used in this manner:
15

14

13

12

11

10

Use one of these instructions if you want to use an undefined instruction for software purposes, with
minimal risk that future hardware will treat it as a defined instruction.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A6-21

The Thumb Instruction Set

A6-22

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter A7
Thumb Instructions

This chapter describes the syntax and usage of every Thumb instruction, in the section:

Alphabetical list of Thumb instructions on page A7-2

Thumb instructions and architecture versions on page A7-104.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-1

Thumb Instructions

7.1

Alphabetical list of Thumb instructions

Every Thumb instruction is listed on the following pages. Each instruction description shows:

the instruction encoding

the instruction syntax

the versions of the ARM architecture where the instruction is valid

any exceptions that might apply

a pseudo-code specification of how the instruction operates

notes on usage and special cases

the equivalent ARM instruction encoding.

7.1.1

General notes
These notes explain the types of information and abbreviations used on the instruction pages.

Syntax abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in the instruction pages:
immed_<n> This is an <n>-bit immediate value. For example, an 8-bit immediate value is represented
by:
immed_8
signed_immed_<n>
This is a signed immediate. For example, an 8-bit signed immediate is represented by:
signed_immed_8

Architecture version
For the convenience of the reader, this section describes the version of the ARM instruction set that the
instruction is associated with, not the version of the Thumb instruction set. There have been two versions
of the Thumb instruction set architecture to date:
THUMBv1

This is used in T variants of version 4 of the ARM instruction set architecture.

THUMBv2

This is used in T variants of version 5 and above of the ARM instruction set architecture.

Instructions which are described as being in all T variants are therefore present in both THUMBv1 and
THUMBv2, while those that are described as being in T variants of version 5 and above are in THUMBv2
only.

A7-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

This section shows the syntax and encoding of an equivalent ARM instruction. When no precise equivalent
is available, a close equivalent is shown and the reasons why it is not a precise equivalent are explained.
A common reason for the instruction not being a precise equivalent is that it reads the value of the PC. This
produces the instructions own address plus N, where N is 8 for ARM instructions and 4 for Thumb
instructions. This difference can often be compensated for by adjusting an immediate constant in the
equivalent ARM instruction.
In the equivalent instruction encodings, named fields and bits must be filled in with the corresponding fields
and bits from the Thumb instruction, or in a few cases with values derived from the Thumb instruction as
described in the text.
The ARM instruction fields are normally the same length as the corresponding Thumb instruction fields,
with one important exception. Thumb register fields are normally 3 bits long, whereas ARM register fields
are normally 4 bits long. In these cases, the Thumb register field must be extended with a high-order 0 when
substituted into the ARM register field, so that the ARM instruction refers to the correct one of R0 to R7.

Information on usage
Usage information is only given for Thumb instructions where it differs significantly from ARM instruction
usage. If no Usage section appears for a Thumb instruction, see the equivalent ARM instruction page in
Chapter A4 ARM Instructions for usage information.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-3

Thumb Instructions

7.1.2

ADC
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The ADC (Add with Carry) instruction can be used to synthesize multi-word addition. The condition code
flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ADC

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Holds the first value for the addition, and is the destination register for the operation.

<Rm>

Specifies the register that contains the second operand for the addition.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd + Rm + C Flag
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = CarryFrom(Rd + Rm + C Flag)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rd + Rm + C Flag)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

ADCS

<Rd>, <Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1

A7-4

16 15

Rd

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.3

ADD (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_3

Rn

Rd

This form of ADD adds a small constant value to the value of a register and stores the result in a second
register. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ADD

<Rd>, <Rn>, #<immed_3>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the completed operation.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the operand for the addition.

<immed_3>

Specifies a 3-bit immediate value that is added to the value of <Rn>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rn + immed_3
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = CarryFrom(Rn + immed_3)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn + immed_3)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

ADDS

<Rd>, <Rn>, #<immed_3>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 immed_3

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-5

Thumb Instructions

7.1.4

ADD (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

immed_8

This form of ADD adds a large immediate value to the value of a register and stores the result back in the
same register. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ADD

<Rd>, #<immed_8>

where:
<Rd>

Holds the first operand for the addition, and is the destination register for the
completed operation.

<immed_8>

Specifies an 8-bit immediate value that is added to the value of <Rd>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd + immed_8
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = CarryFrom(Rd + immed_8)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rd + immed_8)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

ADDS

<Rd>, <Rd>, #<immed_8>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1

A7-6

16 15

Rd

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_8

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.5

ADD (3)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

This form of ADD adds the value of one register to the value of a second register, and stores the result in a
third register. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ADD

<Rd>, <Rn>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the completed operation.

<Rn>

Specifies the register containing the first value for the addition.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the second value for the addition.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rn + Rm
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = CarryFrom(Rn + Rm)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn + Rm)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

ADDS

<Rd>, <Rn>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-7

Thumb Instructions

7.1.6

ADD (4)
15

14

13

12

11

10

H1

H2

Rm

Rd

This form of ADD adds the values of two registers, one or both of which are high registers. Unlike the
low-register ADD instruction (ADD (3) on page A7-7), this instruction does not change the flags.

Syntax
ADD

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Specifies the register containing the first value, and is also the destination register. It can be
any of R0 to R15. The register number is encoded in the instruction in H1 (most significant
bit) and Rd (remaining three bits).

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the second value. It can be any of R0 to R15. Its number is
encoded in the instruction in H2 (most significant bit) and Rm (remaining three bits).

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd + Rm

Notes
Operand restriction If a low register is specified for <Rd> and Rm (H1==0 and H2==0), the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

A7-8

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

A close equivalent is:
ADD

<Rd>, <Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 H1

16 15 14

Rd

H1

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 H2

Rm

There are slight differences when the instruction accesses the PC, because of the different definitions of the
PC when executing ARM and Thumb code.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-9

Thumb Instructions

7.1.7

ADD (5)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

immed_8

This form of ADD adds an immediate value to the PC and writes the resulting PC-relative address to a
destination register. The immediate can be any multiple of 4 in the range 0 to 1020. The condition codes are
not affected.

Syntax
ADD

<Rd>, PC, #<immed_8> * 4

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the completed operation.

PC

Indicates PC-relative addressing.

<immed_8> Specifies an 8-bit immediate value that is quadrupled and added to the value of the PC.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = (PC AND 0xFFFFFFFC) + (immed_8 << 2)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

A close equivalent is:
ADD

<Rd>, PC, #<immed_8> * 4

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

1 1 1 1

immed_8

The definitions of the PC differ between ARM and Thumb code. This makes a difference between the
precise results of the instructions.

A7-10

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.8

ADD (6)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

immed_8

This form of ADD adds an immediate value to the SP and writes the resulting SP-relative address to a
destination register. The immediate can be any multiple of 4 in the range 0 to 1020. The condition codes are
not affected.

Syntax
ADD

<Rd>, SP, #<immed_8> * 4

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the completed operation.

SP

Indicates SP-relative addressing.

<immed_8> Specifies an 8-bit immediate value that is quadrupled and added to the value of the SP.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = SP + (immed_8 << 2)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

ADD

<Rd>, SP, #<immed_8> * 4

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

12 11 10 9

Rd

1 1 1 1

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_8

A7-11

Thumb Instructions

7.1.9

ADD (7)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_7

This form of ADD increments the SP by four times a 7-bit immediate (that is, by a multiple of 4 in the range
0 to 508). The condition codes are not affected.

Syntax
ADD

SP, #<immed_7> * 4

where:
Contains the first operand for the addition. SP is also the destination register for the
operation.

SP

<immed_7> Specifies the immediate value that is quadrupled and added to the value of the SP.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
SP = SP + (immed_7 << 2)

Usage
For the Full Descending stack which the Thumb instruction set is designed to use, incrementing the SP is
used to discard data on the top of the stack.

Notes
Alternative syntax

This instruction can also be written as ADD SP, SP, #(<immed_7> * 4).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

ADD

SP, SP, #<immed_7> * 4

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0

A7-12

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_7

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.10

AND
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The AND (Logical AND) instruction performs a bitwise AND of the values in two registers. The condition
code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
AND

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Specifies the register containing the first operand, and is also the destination register.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the second operand.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd AND Rm
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
V Flag = unaffected

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

ANDS

<Rd>, <Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rd

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-13

Thumb Instructions

7.1.11

ASR (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rm

Rd

This form of the ASR (Arithmetic Shift Right) instruction is used to provide the signed value of a register
divided by a constant power of 2. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ASR

<Rd>, <Rm>, #<immed_5>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the completed operation.

<Rm>

Specifies the register that contains the value to be shifted.

<immed_5>

Specifies the shift amount, in the range 1 to 32. Shifts by 1 to 31 are encoded directly
in immed_5. A shift by 32 is encoded as immed_5 == 0.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
if immed_5 == 0
C Flag = Rm[31]
if Rm[31] == 0 then
Rd = 0
else /* Rm[31] == 1 */]
Rd = 0xFFFFFFFF
else /* immed_5 > 0 */
C Flag = Rm[immed_5 - 1]
Rd = Rm Arithmetic_Shift_Right immed_5
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
V Flag = unaffected

A7-14

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MOVS

<Rd>, <Rm>, ASR #<immed_5>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

immed_5

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

1 0 0

Rm

A7-15

Thumb Instructions

7.1.12

ASR (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rs

Rd

This form of ASR is used to provide the signed value of a register divided by a variable power of 2. The
condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ASR

<Rd>, <Rs>

where:
<Rd>

Contains the value to be shifted, and is also the destination register for the completed
operation.

<Rs>

Specifies the register that contains the value of the shift.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
if Rs[7:0] == 0 then
C Flag = unaffected
Rd = unaffected
else if Rs[7:0] < 32 then
C Flag = Rd[Rs[7:0] - 1]
Rd = Rd Arithmetic_Shift_Right Rs[7:0]
else /* Rs[7:0] >= 32 */
C Flag = Rd[31]
if Rd[31] == 0 then
Rd = 0
else /* Rd[31] == 1 */
Rd = 0xFFFFFFFF
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
V Flag = unaffected

A7-16

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MOVS

<Rd>, <Rd>, ASR <Rs>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

Rs

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

0 1 0 1

Rd

A7-17

Thumb Instructions

7.1.13

B (1)
15

14

13

12

11

cond

signed_immed_8

This form of the B (Branch) instruction provides a conditional branch to a target address.

Syntax
B<cond>

<target_address>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5.

<target_address>
Specifies the address to branch to. The branch target address is calculated by:
1.
2.
3.

Shifting the 8-bit signed offset field of the instruction left by one bit.
Sign-extending the result to 32 bits.
Adding this to the contents of the PC (which contains the address of the branch
instruction plus 4).

The instruction can therefore specify a branch of approximately 256 bytes.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
PC = PC + (SignExtend(signed_immed_8) << 1)

A7-18

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Usage
To calculate the correct value of signed_immed_8, the assembler (or other toolkit component) needs to:
1.

Form the base address for the branch. This is the address of the branch instruction, plus 4. In other
words, the base address is equal to the PC value read by that instruction.
Subtract the base address from the target address to form a byte offset. This offset is always even,
because all Thumb instructions are halfword-aligned.
If the byte offset is outside the range -256 to +254, use an alternative code-generation strategy or
produce an error as appropriate.
Otherwise, set the signed_immed_8 field of the instruction to the byte offset divided by 2.

2.
3.
4.

Notes
Memory bounds

Branching backwards past location zero and forwards over the end of the 32-bit
address space is UNPREDICTABLE.

AL condition

If the condition field indicates AL (0b1110), the instruction is instead UNDEFINED.

When an unconditional branch is required, use the unconditional Branch instruction
described in B (2) on page A7-20.

NV condition

If the condition field indicates NV (0b1111), the instruction is a SWI instead (see
SWI on page A7-102).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

A close equivalent is:
B<cond>
31

<target_address>
28 27 26 25 24 23

cond

1 0 1 0

sign extension of signed_immed_8

signed_immed_8

This differs from the Thumb instruction, because the offset in the ARM instruction is shifted left by 2 before
being added to the PC, whereas the offset in the Thumb instruction is shifted left by 1. Also, the PC values
read by the ARM and Thumb instructions are different.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-19

Thumb Instructions

7.1.14

B (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

signed_immed_11

This form of B provides an unconditional branch to a target address.

Syntax
B

<target_address>

where:
<target_address>
Specifies the address to branch to. The branch target address is calculated by:
1.
2.
3.

Shifting the 11-bit signed offset of the instruction left one bit.
Sign-extending the result to 32 bits.
Adding this to the contents of the PC (which contains the address of the branch
instruction plus 4).

The instruction can therefore specify a branch of approximately 2048 bytes.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
PC = PC + (SignExtend(signed_immed_11) << 1)

Usage
To calculate the correct value of signed_immed_11, the assembler (or other toolkit component) needs to:
1.
2.
3.
4.

A7-20

Form the base address for the branch. This is the address of the branch instruction, plus 4. In other
words, the base address is equal to the PC value read by that instruction.
Subtract the base address from the target address to form a byte offset. This offset is always even,
because all Thumb instructions are halfword-aligned.
If the byte offset is outside the range -2048 to +2046, use an alternative code-generation strategy or
produce an error as appropriate.
Otherwise, set the signed_immed_11 field of the instruction to the byte offset divided by 2.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Memory bounds

Branching backwards past location zero and forwards over the end of the 32-bit
address space is UNPREDICTABLE.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

A close equivalent is:
B

<target_address>

31

28 27 26 25 24 23

1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0

11 10

sign extension of signed_immed_11

signed_immed_11

This differs from the Thumb instruction, because the offset in the ARM instruction is shifted left by 2 before
being added to the PC, whereas the offset in the Thumb instruction is shifted left by 1. Also, the PC values
read by the ARM and Thumb instructions are different.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-21

Thumb Instructions

7.1.15

BIC
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The BIC (Bit Clear) instruction performs a bitwise AND of the value of one register and the bitwise inverse
of the value of another register. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
BIC

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Is the register containing the value to be ANDed, and is also the destination register for the
completed operation.

<Rm>

Specifies the register that contains the value whose complement is ANDed with the value
in <Rd>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd AND NOT Rm
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
V Flag = unaffected

A7-22

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

BICS

<Rd>, <Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rd

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-23

Thumb Instructions

7.1.16

BKPT
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_8

The BKPT (Breakpoint) instruction causes a software breakpoint to occur. This breakpoint can be handled
by an exception handler installed on the prefetch abort vector. In implementations which also include debug
hardware, the hardware can optionally override this behavior and handle the breakpoint itself. When this
occurs, the prefetch abort vector is not entered.

Syntax
BKPT

<immed_8>

where:
<immed_8> Is an 8-bit immediate value, which is placed in bits[7:0] of the instruction. This value is
ignored by the ARM hardware, but can be used by a debugger to store additional
information about the breakpoint.

Architecture version
T variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
Prefetch Abort

Operation
if (not overridden by debug hardware)
R14_abt
= address of BKPT instruction + 4
SPSR_abt = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10111
/* Enter Abort mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF000C
else
PC
= 0x0000000C

A7-24

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Usage
The exact usage of the BKPT instruction depends on the debug system being used. A debug system can use
the BKPT instruction in two ways:

Debug hardware (if present) does not override the normal behavior of the BKPT instruction, and so
the prefetch abort vector is entered. If the system also allows real prefetch aborts to occur, the
prefetch abort handler determines (in a system-dependent manner) whether the vector entry occurred
as a result of a BKPT instruction or as a result of a real prefetch abort, and branches to debug code or
prefetch abort code accordingly. Otherwise, the prefetch abort handler just branches straight to debug
code.
When used in this manner, the BKPT instruction must be avoided within abort handlers, as it corrupts
R14_abt and SPSR_abt. For the same reason, it must also be avoided within FIQ handlers, as an FIQ
interrupt can occur within an abort handler.

Debug hardware overrides the normal behavior of the BKPT instruction and handles the software
breakpoint itself. When finished, it typically either resumes execution at the instruction following the
BKPT, or replaces the BKPT in memory with another instruction and resumes execution at that
instruction.
When BKPT is used in this manner, R14_abt and SPSR_abt are not corrupted, and so the above
restrictions about its use in abort and FIQ handlers do not apply.

Notes
Hardware override

Debug hardware in an implementation is specifically permitted to override the

normal behavior of the BKPT instruction. Because of this, software must not use this
instruction for purposes other than those permitted by the debug system being used
(if any). In particular, software cannot rely on the Prefetch Abort exception
occurring, unless either there is guaranteed to be no debug hardware in the system
or the debug system specifies that it will occur.
For more information, consult the documentation for the debug system being used.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

BKPT

<immed_8>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 10 19 18 17 6 15 14 13 12 11

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ARM DDI 0100E

immed_8
[7:4]

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

0 1 1 1

immed_8
[3:0]

A7-25

Thumb Instructions

7.1.17

BL, BLX(1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

offset_11

This form of the BL (Branch with Link) instruction provides an unconditional subroutine call to another
Thumb routine. The return from subroutine is typically performed by one of the following:

MOV PC,LR

BX LR

a POP instruction that loads the PC.

This form of the BLX (Branch with Link and Exchange instruction set) instruction provides an unconditional
subroutine call to an ARM routine. The return from subroutine is typically performed by a BX LR
instruction, or an LDR or LDM instruction that loads the PC.
To allow for a reasonably large offset to the target subroutine, each of these two instructions is automatically
translated by the assembler into a sequence of two 16-bit Thumb instructions:

The first Thumb instruction has H == 10 and supplies the high part of the branch offset. This
instruction sets up for the subroutine call and is shared between the BL and BLX forms.

The second Thumb instruction has H == 11 (for BL) or H == 01 (for BLX). It supplies the low part
of the branch offset and causes the subroutine call to take place.

Syntax
BL
BLX

<target_addr>
<target_addr>

where:
<target_addr>

Specifies the address to branch to. The branch target address is calculated by:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Shifting the offset_11 field of the first instruction left twelve bits.
Sign-extending the result to 32 bits.
Adding this to the contents of the PC (which contains the address of the first
instruction plus 4).
Adding twice the offset_11 field of the second instruction. For BLX, the
resulting address is forced to be word-aligned by clearing bit[1].

The instruction can therefore specify a branch of approximately 4MB.

Architecture version
BL (H == 10 and H == 11 forms) is in all T variants.
BLX (H == 01 form) is in T variants of version 5 and above.

A7-26

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Exceptions
None

Operation
if H == 10 then
LR = PC + (SignExtend(offset_11) << 12)
else if H == 11 then
PC = LR + (offset_11 << 1)
LR = (address of next instruction) | 1
else if H == 01 then
PC = (LR + (offset_11 << 1)) AND 0xFFFFFFFC
LR = (address of next instruction) | 1
T Flag = 0

Usage
To generate the correct pair of instructions, the assembler (or other toolkit component) must first generate
the branch offset, as follows:
1.

2.

3.

Form the base address for the branch. This is the address of the first of the two Thumb instructions
(the one with H == 10), plus 4. In other words, the base address is equal to the PC value read by that
instruction.
If the instruction is BLX, set bit[1] of the target address to be equal to bit[1] of the base address. This
is an exception to the normal rule that bits[1:0] of the address of an ARM instruction are 0b00. This
adjustment is required to ensure that the restrictions associated with the H == 01 form of the
instruction are obeyed.
Subtract the base address from the target address to form the offset.

The resulting offset is always even. If the offset lies outside the range:
-222 <= offset <= +222 - 2
the target address lies outside the addressing range of these instructions. This results in alternative code or
an error, as appropriate.
If the offset is in range, a sequence of two Thumb instructions must be generated, both using the above form:

The first with H == 10 and offset_11 = offset[22:12].

The second with H == 11 (for BL) or H== 01 (for BLX) and offset_11 = offset[11:1].

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-27

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Encoding

If H == 00, the instruction is an unconditional branch instruction instead (see the

Thumb instruction B (2) on page A7-20).

Bit[0] for BLX

If H == 01, then bit[0] of the instruction must be zero, or the instruction is

The offset calculation method described in Usage above ensures that
the offset calculated for a BLX instruction is a multiple of four, and that this
restriction is obeyed.
UNDEFINED.

Memory bounds

Branching backwards past location zero and forwards over the end of the 32-bit
address space is UNPREDICTABLE.

Instruction pairs

These Thumb instructions must always occur in the pairs described above.
Specifically:

If a Thumb instruction at address A is the H==10 form of this instruction, the

Thumb instruction at address A+2 must be either the H==01 or the H==11
form of this instruction.

If a Thumb instruction at address A is either the H==01 or the H==11 form

of this instruction, the Thumb instruction at address A-2 must be the H==10
form of this instruction.

Also, except as noted below under Exceptions, the second instruction of the pair
must not be the target of any branch, whether as the result of a branch instruction or
of some other instruction that changes the PC.
Failure to adhere to any of these restrictions can result in UNPREDICTABLE behavior.
Exceptions

A7-28

It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether processor exceptions can occur between

the two instructions of a BL or BLX pair. If they can, the ARM instructions designed
for use for exception returns must be capable of returning correctly to the second
instruction of the pair. So, exception handlers need take no special precautions
about returning to the second instruction of a BL or BLX pair.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

Close equivalents to these instruction pairs are as follows.
To call a Thumb subroutine:
BLX

<target_addr>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20

1 1 1 1 1 0 1 L offset sign

offset[22:2]

where L == offset[1].
To call an ARM routine:
BL

<target_addr>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20

1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 offset sign

offset[22:2]

These differ slightly from the Thumb instruction pairs because of the different values of the PC in ARM and
Thumb code. This can be compensated for by adjusting the offset by 4.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-29

Thumb Instructions

7.1.18

BLX(2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

H2

Rm

SBZ

This form of BLX is used to call an ARM or Thumb subroutine from the Thumb instruction set, at an address
specified in a register. This instruction branches and selects the instruction decoder to use to decode the
instructions at the branch destination.
The T flag is updated with bit[0] of the value of register Rm. To return from the subroutine to the caller, use
BX R14.

Syntax
BLX

<Rm>

where:
<Rm>

Is the register that contains the branch target address. It can be any of R0 to R14. The register
number is encoded in the instruction in H2 (most significant bit) and Rm (remaining three
bits). If R15 is specified for <Rm>, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.

Architecture version
T variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
LR = (address of the instruction after this BLX) | 1
T Flag = Rm[0]
PC = Rm[31:1] << 1

Notes
Encoding

Bit 7 is the H1 bit for some of the other instructions that access the high registers. If it is 0
for this instruction, rather than 1 as shown, the instruction is a BX instruction instead (see
BX on page A7-32).

ARM/Thumb state transfers

If Rm[1:0] == 0b10, the result is UNPREDICTABLE, as branches to non word-aligned
addresses are impossible in ARM state.

A7-30

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

BLX

<Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

SBO

12 11

SBO

SBO

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

0 0 1 1 H2

Rm

A7-31

Thumb Instructions

7.1.19

BX
15

14

13

12

11

10

H2

Rm

SBZ

The BX (Branch and Exchange) instruction is used to branch between ARM code and Thumb code.

Syntax
BX

<Rm>

where:
Is the register that contains the branch target address. It can be any of R0 to R15. The register
number is encoded in the instruction in H2 (most significant bit) and Rm (remaining three
bits).

<Rm>

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
T Flag = Rm[0]
PC = Rm[31:1] << 1

Usage
The normal subroutine return instruction in Thumb code is BX R14. The following subroutine call
instructions leave a suitable return value in R14:

ARM BLX instructions (See BLX (1) on page A4-16 and BLX (2) on page A4-18)

Thumb BL and BLX instructions (see BL, BLX(1) on page A7-26 and BLX(2) on page A7-30).

In T variants of ARM architecture version 4, a subroutine call to an ARM routine can be performed by a
code sequence of the form:
<Put address of routine to call in Ra>
MOV
LR,PC
; Return to second following instruction
BX
Ra

In T variants of ARM architecture 5 and above, a subroutine call to an ARM routine can be performed more
efficiently with a BLX instruction (see BL, BLX(1) on page A7-26 and BLX(2) on page A7-30).

A7-32

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Encoding

Bit 7 is the H1 bit for some of the other instructions that access the high registers. If it is 1
for this instruction, rather than 0 as shown, the instruction is:

a BLX instruction instead in ARM architecture version 5 and above (see BLX(2) on
page A7-30)

UNPREDICTABLE

prior to ARM architecture version 5.

ARM/Thumb state transfers

If Rm[1:0] == 0b10, the result is UNPREDICTABLE, as branches to non word-aligned
addresses are impossible in ARM state.
Use of R15

Register 15 can be specified for <Rm>. If this is done, R15 is read as normal for Thumb
code, that is, it is the address of the BX instruction itself plus 4. If the BX instruction is at a
word-aligned address, this results in a branch to the next word, executing in ARM state.
However, if the BX instruction is not at a word-aligned address, this means that the results
of the instruction are UNPREDICTABLE (because the value read for R15 has bits[1:0]==0b10).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

A close equivalent is:
BX

<Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

16 15

SBO

12 11

SBO

SBO

6 5

0 0 0 1 H2

Rm

This ARM instruction is not quite equivalent to the Thumb instruction, because their specified behavior
differs when <Rm> is R15.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-33

Thumb Instructions

7.1.20

CMN
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

The CMN (Compare Negative) instruction compares a register value with the negation of another register
value. The condition flags are updated, based on the result of adding the two register values, so that
subsequent instructions can be conditionally executed (using a conditional branch).

Syntax
CMN

<Rn>, <Rm>

where:
<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value for comparison.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value for comparison.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
alu_out = Rn + Rm
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn + Rm)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn + Rm)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

CMN

<Rn>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1

A7-34

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

SBZ

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.21

CMP (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rn

immed_8

This form of the CMP (Compare) instruction compares a register value with a large immediate value. The
condition flags are updated, based on the result of subtracting the constant from the register value, so that
subsequent instructions can be conditionally executed (using a conditional branch).

Syntax
CMP

<Rn>, #<immed_8>

where:
<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value for comparison.

<immed_8>

Is the 8-bit second value for comparison.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
alu_out = Rn - immed_8
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn - immed_8)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn - immed_8)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

CMP

<Rn>, #<immed_8>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

SBZ

0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_8

A7-35

Thumb Instructions

7.1.22

CMP (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

This form of CMP compares two register values. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result
of subtracting the second register value from the first, so that subsequent instructions can be conditionally
executed (using a conditional branch).

Syntax
CMP

<Rn>, <Rm>

where:
<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value for comparison.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value for comparison.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
alu_out = Rn - Rm
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn - Rm)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn - Rm)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

CMP

<Rn>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1

A7-36

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

SBZ

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.23

CMP (3)
15

14

13

12

11

10

H1

H2

Rm

Rn

This form of CMP compares the values of two registers, one or both of which are high registers. The
condition flags are updated, based on the result of subtracting the second register value from the first, so that
subsequent instructions can be conditionally executed (using a conditional branch).

Syntax
CMP

<Rn>, <Rm>

where:
<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value. It can be any of R0 to R15. Its number is encoded
in the instruction in H1 (most significant bit) and Rn (remaining three bits).

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value. It can be any of R0 to R15. Its number is encoded
in the instruction in H2 (most significant bit) and Rm (remaining three bits).

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
alu_out = Rn - Rm
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn - Rm)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn - Rm)

Notes
Operand restriction If a low register is specified for both <Rn> and <Rm> (H1==0 and H2==0), the
result is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-37

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

A close equivalent is:
CMP

<Rn>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 H1

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

SBZ

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 H2

Rm

There are slight differences when the instruction accesses the PC, because of the different definitions of the
PC when executing ARM and Thumb code.

A7-38

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.24

EOR
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The EOR (Exclusive OR) instruction performs a bitwise EOR of the values in two registers. The condition
code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
EOR

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Specifies the register containing the first operand, and is also the destination register.

<Rm>

Specifies the register containing the second operand.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd EOR Rm
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
V Flag = unaffected

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

EORS

<Rd>, <Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rd

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-39

Thumb Instructions

7.1.25

LDMIA
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rn

register_list

The LDMIA (Load Multiple Increment After) instruction loads a non-empty subset, or possibly all, of the
general-purpose registers from sequential memory locations.

Syntax
LDMIA

<Rn>!, <registers>

where:
<Rn>

Is the register containing the start address for the instruction.

Causes base register writeback, and is not optional.

<registers>

Is a list of registers to be loaded, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }.

The list is encoded in the register_list field of the instruction, by setting bit[i] to 1 if
register Ri is included in the list and to 0 otherwise, for each of i=0 to 7.
At least one register must be loaded. If bits[7:0] are all zero, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

The registers are loaded in sequence, the lowest-numbered register from the lowest
memory address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register
from the highest memory address (end_address).
The start_address is the value of the base register <Rn>. Subsequent
addresses are formed by incrementing the previous address by four. One address is
produced for each register that is specified in <registers>.
The end_address value is four less than the sum of the value of the base register
and four times the number of registers specified in <registers>.
Finally, the base register <Rn> is incremented by four times the numbers of
registers in <registers>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

A7-40

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Operation
start_address = Rn
end_address = Rn + (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4) - 4
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 7
if register_list[i] == 1
Ri = Memory[address,4]
address = address + 4
assert end_address == address - 4
Rn = Rn + (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4)

Usage
The LDMIA instruction is useful as a block load instruction. Combined with STMIA (Store Multiple), it
allows efficient block copy.

Notes
Operand restrictions
If the base register <Rn> is specified in <registers>, the final value of <Rn> is the
loaded value (not the written-back value).
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

Load Multiple instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

Time order

The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this instruction
is only defined in some circumstances. See Data accesses to memory-mapped I/O on
page A2-32 for details.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

If <Rn> is not in the register list (W == 1):
LDMIA

<Rn>!, <registers>

If <Rn> is in the register list (W == 0):

LDMIA

<Rn>, <registers>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 W 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

Rn

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

register_list

A7-41

Thumb Instructions

7.1.26

LDR (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rn

Rd

This form of the LDR (Load Register) instruction allows 32-bit memory data to be loaded into a
general-purpose register. The addressing mode is useful for accessing structure (record) fields.
With an offset of zero, the address produced is the unaltered value of the base register <Rn>.

Syntax
LDR

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5> * 4]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the word loaded from memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the base address for the instruction.

<immed_5> Is a 5-bit value that is multiplied by 4 and added to the value of <Rn> to form the memory
address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + (immed_5 * 4)
if address[1:0] == 0b00
data = Memory[address,4]
else
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Rd = data

A7-42

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not word-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written to the
destination register is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDR

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5> * 4]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_5

1 0

0 0

A7-43

Thumb Instructions

7.1.27

LDR (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

This form of LDR allows 32-bit memory data to be loaded into a general-purpose register. The addressing
mode is useful for pointer+large offset arithmetic and for accessing a single element of an array.

Syntax
LDR

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the word loaded from memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value used in forming the memory address.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value used in forming the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + Rm
if address[1:0] == 0b00
data = Memory[address,4]
else
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Rd = data

A7-44

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not word-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written to the
destination register is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDR

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-45

Thumb Instructions

7.1.28

LDR (3)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

immed_8

This form of LDR allows 32-bit memory data to be loaded into a general-purpose register. The addressing
mode is useful for accessing PC-relative data.

Syntax
LDR

<Rd>, [PC, #<immed_8> * 4]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the word loaded from memory.

PC

Is the program counter. Its value is used to calculate the memory address. Bit 1 of the PC
value is forced to zero for the purpose of this calculation, so the address is always
word-aligned.

<immed_8> Is an 8-bit value that is multiplied by 4 and added to the value of the PC to form the memory
address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = (PC[31:2] << 2) + (immed_8 * 4)
Rd = Memory[address, 4]

Notes
Data abort

A7-46

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

A close equivalent is:
LDR

<Rd>, [PC, #<immed_8> * 4]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1

12 11 10 9

Rd

0 0

immed_8

1 0

0 0

There are slight differences caused by the different definitions of the PC and the fact that the Thumb
instruction ignores bit[1] of the PC.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-47

Thumb Instructions

7.1.29

LDR (4)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

immed_8

This form of LDR allows 32-bit memory data to be loaded into a general-purpose register. The addressing
mode is useful for accessing stack data.

Syntax
LDR

<Rd>, [SP, #<immed_8> * 4]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the word loaded from memory.

SP

Is the stack pointer. Its value is used to calculate the memory address.

<immed_8> Is an 8-bit value that is multiplied by 4 and added to the value of the SP to form the memory
address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = SP + (immed_8 * 4)
if address[1:0] == 0b00
data = Memory[address,4]
else
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Rd = data

A7-48

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not word-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written to the
destination register is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDR

<Rd>, [SP, #<immed_8> * 4]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

12 11 10 9

Rd

0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_8

1 0

0 0

A7-49

Thumb Instructions

7.1.30

LDRB (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rn

Rd

This form of the LDRB (Load Register Byte) instruction loads a byte from memory and zero-extends it to
form a 32-bit word which is written to a general-purpose register. The addressing mode is useful for
accessing structure (record) fields. With an offset of zero, the address produced is the unaltered value of the
base register <Rn>.

Syntax
LDRB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the byte loaded from memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the base address for the instruction.

<immed_5> Is a 5-bit value that is added to the value of <Rn> to form the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + immed_5
Rd = Memory[address,1]

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDRB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1

A7-50

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_5

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.31

LDRB (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

This form of LDRB loads a byte from memory and zero-extends it to form a 32-bit word, which is written
to a general-purpose register. The addressing mode is useful for pointer+large offset arithmetic and for
accessing a single element of an array.

Syntax
LDRB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the byte loaded from memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value used in forming the memory address.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value used in forming the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + Rm
Rd = Memory[address,1]

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDRB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-51

Thumb Instructions

7.1.32

LDRH (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rn

Rd

This form of the LDRH (Load Register Halfword) instruction loads a halfword (16 bits) from memory and
zero-extends it to form a 32-bit word, which is written to a general-purpose register. The addressing mode
is useful for accessing structure (record) fields. With an offset of zero, the address produced is the unaltered
value of the base register <Rn>.

Syntax
LDRH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5> * 2]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the halfword loaded from memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the base address for the instruction.

<immed_5> Is a 5-bit value that is multiplied by 2, then added to the value of <Rn> to form the memory
address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + (immed_5 * 2)
if address[0] == 0
data = Memory[address,2]
else
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Rd = data

A7-52

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not halfword-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written
to the destination register is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bit[0] != 0 causes
an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDRH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5> * 2]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 10 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

7 6 5 4 3

immed
1 0 1 1
0 0
[4:3]

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

1 0

immed
[2:0]

A7-53

Thumb Instructions

7.1.33

LDRH (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

This form of LDRH loads a halfword (16 bits) from memory and zero-extends it to form a 32-bit word, which
is written to a general-purpose register. The addressing mode is useful for pointer + large offset arithmetic
and for accessing a single element of an array.

Syntax
LDRH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the halfword loaded from memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value used in forming the memory address.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value used in forming the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + Rm
if address[0] == 0
data = Memory[address,2]
else
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Rd = data

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not halfword-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written
to the destination register is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bit[0] != 0 causes
an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

A7-54

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDRH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

1 0 1 1

Rm

A7-55

Thumb Instructions

7.1.34

LDRSB
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

The LDRSB (Load Register Signed Byte) instruction loads a byte from memory and sign-extends it to form
a 32-bit word, which is written to a general-purpose register.

Syntax
LDRSB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the byte loaded from memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value used in forming the memory address.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value used in forming the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + Rm
Rd = SignExtend(Memory[address,1])

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDRSB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

A7-56

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

4 3

1 1 0 1

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.35

LDRSH
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

The LDRSH (Load Register Signed Halfword) instruction loads a halfword from memory and sign-extends
it to form a 32-bit word, which is written to a general-purpose register.

Syntax
LDRSH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the halfword loaded from memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value used in forming the memory address.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value used in forming the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + Rm
if address[0] == 0
data = Memory[address,2]
else
data = UNPREDICTABLE
Rd = SignExtend(data)

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not halfword-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written
to the destination register is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bit[0] != 0 causes
an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-57

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDRSH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

A7-58

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

4 3

1 1 1 1

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.36

LSL (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rm

Rd

This form of the LSL (Logical Shift Left) instruction is used to provide either the value of a register directly
(LSL #0), or the value of a register multiplied by a constant power of two. Zeros are inserted into the bit
positions vacated by the shift, and the condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
LSL

<Rd>, <Rm>, #<immed_5>

where:
<Rd>

Is the register that stores the result of the operation.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the value to be shifted.

<immed_5>

Specifies the shift amount, in the range 0 to 31.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
if immed_5 == 0
C Flag = unaffected
Rd = Rm
else /* immed_5 > 0 */
C Flag = Rm[32 - immed_5]
Rd = Rm Logical_Shift_Left immed_5
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
V Flag = unaffected

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MOVS

<Rd>, <Rm>, LSL #<immed_5>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

immed_5

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

0 0 0

Rm

A7-59

Thumb Instructions

7.1.37

LSL (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rs

Rd

This form of LSL is used to provide the value of a register multiplied by a variable power of two. Zeros are
inserted into the vacated bit positions. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
LSL

<Rd>, <Rs>

where:
<Rd>

Contains the value to be shifted, and is the destination register for the result of the operation.

<Rs>

Is the register containing the shift value. The value is held in the least significant byte.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
if Rs[7:0] == 0
C Flag = unaffected
Rd = unaffected
else if Rs[7:0] < 32 then
C Flag = Rd[32 - Rs[7:0]]
Rd = Rd Logical_Shift_Left Rs[7:0]
else if Rs[7:0] == 32 then
C Flag = Rd[0]
Rd = 0
else /* Rs[7:0] > 32 */
C Flag = 0
Rd = 0
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
V Flag = unaffected

A7-60

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MOVS

<Rd>, <Rd>, LSL <Rs>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

Rs

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

0 0 0 1

Rd

A7-61

Thumb Instructions

7.1.38

LSR (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rm

Rd

This form of the LSR (Logical Shift Right) instruction is used to provide the unsigned value of a register,
divided by a constant power of two. LSR performs a logical shift right of the value of register <Rm>, and
zeros are inserted into the vacated bit positions. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
LSR

<Rd>, <Rm>, #<immed_5>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the value to be shifted.

<immed_5>

Specifies the shift amount, in the range 1 to 32. Shifts by 1 to 31 are encoded directly
in immed_5. A shift by 32 is encoded as immed_5 == 0.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
if immed_5 == 0
C Flag = Rd[31]
Rd = 0
else /* immed_5 > 0 */
C Flag = Rd[immed_5 - 1]
Rd = Rm Logical_Shift_Right immed_5
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
V Flag = unaffected

A7-62

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MOVS

<Rd>, <Rm>, LSR #<immed_5>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

immed_5

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

0 1 0

Rm

A7-63

Thumb Instructions

7.1.39

LSR (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rs

Rd

This form of LSR is used to provide the unsigned value of a register divided by a variable power of two.
Zeros are inserted into the vacated bit positions. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
LSR

<Rd>, <Rs>

where:
<Rd>

Contains the value to be shifted, and is the destination register for the result of the operation.

<Rs>

Is the register containing the shift value. The value is held in the least significant byte.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
if Rs[7:0] == 0 then
C Flag = unaffected
Rd = unaffected
else if Rs[7:0] < 32 then
C Flag = Rd[Rs[7:0] - 1]
Rd = Rd Logical_Shift_Right Rs[7:0]
else if Rs[7:0] == 32 then
C Flag = Rd[31]
Rd = 0
else /* Rs[7:0] > 32 */
C Flag = 0
Rd = 0
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
V Flag = unaffected

A7-64

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MOVS

<Rd>, <Rd>, LSR <Rs>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

Rs

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

0 0 1 1

Rd

A7-65

Thumb Instructions

7.1.40

MOV (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

immed_8

This form of the MOV (Move) instruction moves a large immediate value to a register. The condition code
flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
MOV

<Rd>, #<immed_8>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation.

<immed_8>

Is an 8-bit immediate value, in the range 0 to 255, to move into <Rd>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = immed_8
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
V Flag = unaffected

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MOVS

<Rd>, #<immed_8>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1

A7-66

16 15

SBZ

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_8

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.41

MOV (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rn

Rd

This form of MOV is used to move a value from one low register to another, and the flags are set according
to that value.

Syntax
MOV

<Rd>, <Rn>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the value to be copied.

Architecture Version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rn
N Flag =
Z Flag =
C Flag =
V Flag =

Rd[31]
if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
0
0

Notes
Encoding

This instruction is encoded as ADD Rd, Rn, #0.

See also ADD (1) on page A7-5.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

ADDS

<Rd>, <Rn>, #0

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

1 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-67

Thumb Instructions

7.1.42

MOV (3)
15

14

13

12

11

10

H1

H2

Rm

Rd

This form of MOV is used to move a value to, from, or between high registers. Unlike the low register MOV
instruction described in MOV (2) on page A7-67, this instruction does not change the flags.

Syntax
MOV

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation. It can be any of R0 to R15, and its number is
encoded in the instruction in H1 (most significant bit) and Rd (remaining three bits).

<Rm>

Is the register containing the value to be copied. It can be any of R0 to R15, and its number
is encoded in the instruction in H2 (most significant bit) and Rm (remaining three bits).

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rm

Usage
The instruction MOV PC,R14 can be used as a subroutine return instruction if it is known that the caller is
also a Thumb routine. However, it is more usual to use BX R14 (see BX on page A7-32), which works
regardless of whether the caller is an ARM routine or a Thumb routine.
In T variants of ARM architecture 4, the instruction MOV R14,PC is often used to set up a return link value
in R14 for a call to an ARM routine. In T variants of ARM architecture 5 and above, there are more efficient
ways of doing this. See BX on page A7-32 for more details.

Notes
Operand restriction If a low register is specified for <Rd> and <Rm> (H1==0 and H2==0), the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

A7-68

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

A close equivalent is:
MOV

<Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0

16 15 14

SBZ

H1

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 H2

Rm

There are slight differences when the instruction accesses the PC, because of the different definitions of the
PC when executing ARM and THUMB code.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-69

Thumb Instructions

7.1.43

MUL
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The MUL (Multiply) instruction multiplies signed or unsigned variables to produce a 32-bit result. The
condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
MUL

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Contains the value to be multiplied with the value of <Rm>, and is also the destination
register for the operation.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the value to be multiplied with the value of <Rd>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = (Rm
N Flag =
Z Flag =
C Flag =
V Flag =

A7-70

* Rd)[31:0]
Rd[31]
if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
unaffected
/* See "C flag" note */
unaffected

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Operand restriction Specifying the same register for <Rd> and <Rm> has UNPREDICTABLE results.
Early termination

If the multiplier implementation supports early termination, it must be implemented

on the value of the <Rd> operand. The type of early termination used (signed or
unsigned) is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Signed and unsigned As the MUL instruction produces only the lower 32 bits of the 64-bit product, MUL
gives the same answer for multiplication of both signed and unsigned numbers.
C flag

The MUL instruction is defined to leave the C flag unchanged in ARM architecture
version 5 and above. In earlier versions of the architecture, the value of the C flag
was UNPREDICTABLE after a MUL instruction.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MULS

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rd>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

16 15

Rd

12 11

SBZ

Rd

6 5

1 0 0 1

Rm

Note
The following instruction is not a suitable alternative, as it violates the operand restriction on the ARM
instruction (see MUL on page A4-66) and might have the wrong early termination behavior:
MULS

ARM DDI 0100E

<Rd>, <Rd>, <Rm>

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-71

Thumb Instructions

7.1.44

MVN
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The MVN (Move NOT) instruction is used to complement a register value, often to form a bit mask. The
condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
MVN

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the value whose ones complement is written to <Rd>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = NOT
N Flag =
Z Flag =
C Flag =
V Flag =

Rm
Rd[31]
if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
unaffected
unaffected

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MVNS

<Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1

A7-72

16 15

SBZ

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.45

NEG
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The NEG (Negate) instruction negates the value of one register and stores the result in a second register. The
condition code flags are updated (based on the result).

Syntax
NEG

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the value that is subtracted from zero.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = 0
N Flag
Z Flag
C Flag
V Flag

=
=
=
=

Rm
Rd[31]
if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
NOT BorrowFrom(0 - Rm)
OverflowFrom(0 - Rm)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

RSBS

<Rd>, <Rm>, #0

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rm

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

1 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-73

Thumb Instructions

7.1.46

ORR
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The ORR (Logical OR) instruction performs a bitwise OR of the values in two registers. The condition code
flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ORR

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the value that is ORed with the value of <Rd>. The operation is a
bitwise inclusive OR.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd OR Rm
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
V Flag = unaffected

Operation
ORRS

<Rd>, <Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

A7-74

16 15

Rd

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.47

POP
15

14

13

12

11

10

register_list

The POP (Pop Multiple Registers) instruction loads a subset (or possibly all) of the general-purpose
registers R0-R7 and the PC from the stack.
The general-purpose registers loaded can include the PC. If they do, the word loaded for the PC is treated
as an address and a branch occurs to that address. In ARM architecture version 5 and above, bit[0] of the
loaded value determines whether execution continues after this branch in ARM state or in Thumb state, as
though the following instruction had been executed:
BX (loaded_value)

In T variants of architecture version 4, bit[0] of the loaded value is ignored and execution continues in
Thumb state, as though the following instruction had been executed:
MOV PC,(loaded_value)

Syntax
POP

<registers>

where:
<registers>

Is the list of registers, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }. The list is
encoded in the register_list field of the instruction, by setting bit[i] to 1 if register
Ri is included in the list and to 0 otherwise, for each of i=0 to 7. The R bit (bit[8])
is set to 1 if the PC is in the list and to 0 otherwise.
At least one register must be loaded. If bits[8:0] are all zero, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

The registers are loaded in sequence, the lowest-numbered register from the lowest
memory address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register
from the highest memory address (end_address). If the PC is specified in the
register list (opcode bit[8] is set), the instruction causes a branch to the address
(data) loaded into the PC.
The <start_address> is the value of the SP.
Subsequent addresses are formed by incrementing the previous address by four.
One address is produced for each register that is specified in <registers>.
The end_address value is four less than the sum of the value of the SP and four
times the number of registers specified in <registers>.
The SP register is incremented by four times the numbers of registers in
<registers>.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-75

Thumb Instructions

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
start_address = SP
end_address = SP + 4*(R + Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list))
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 7
if register_list[i] == 1 then
Ri = Memory[address,4]
address = address + 4
if R == 1 then
value = Memory[address,4]
PC = value AND 0xFFFFFFFE
if (architecture version 5 or above) then
T Bit = value[0]
address = address + 4
assert end_address = address
SP = end_address

Usage
The POP instruction is useful for stack operations. A POP instruction with the PC in the register list can be
used for an efficient procedure exit, as it restores saved registers, loads the PC with the return address, and
updates the stack pointer with a single instruction.

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

CPSR

The CPSR is not updated when POP loads the PC.

Alignment

POP instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address.

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

A7-76

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

ARM/Thumb state transfers

In ARM architecture 5 and above, if bits[1:0] of a value loaded for R15 are 0b10, the result
is UNPREDICTABLE, as branches to non word-aligned addresses are not possible in ARM
state.
Time order

The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this instruction
is only defined in some circumstances. See Data accesses to memory-mapped I/O on
page A2-32 for details.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

LDMIA

SP!, <registers>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 R 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

register_list

A7-77

Thumb Instructions

7.1.48

PUSH
15

14

13

12

11

10

register_list

The PUSH (Push Multiple Registers) instruction stores a subset (or possibly all) of the general-purpose
registers R0-R7 and the LR to the stack.

Syntax
PUSH

<registers>

where:
<registers>

Is the list of registers to be stored, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }.

The list is encoded in the register_list field of the instruction, by setting bit[i] to 1 if
register Ri is included in the list and to 0 otherwise, for each of i=0 to 7. The R bit
(bit[8]) is set to 1 if the LR is in the list and to 0 otherwise.
At least one register must be stored. If bits[8:0] are all zero, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

The registers are stored in sequence, the lowest-numbered register to the lowest
memory address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register to
the highest memory address (end_address)
The start_address is the value of the SP minus 4 times the number of registers
to be stored.
Subsequent addresses are formed by incrementing the previous address by four.
One address is produced for each register that is specified in <registers>.
The end_address value is four less than the original value of SP.
The SP register is decremented by four times the numbers of registers in
<registers>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

A7-78

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Operation
start_address = SP - 4*(R + Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list))
end_address = SP - 4
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 7
if register_list[i] == 1
Memory[address,4] = Ri
address = address + 4
if R == 1
Memory[address,4] = LR
address = address + 4
assert end_address == address - 4
SP = SP - 4*(R + Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list))

Usage
PUSH is useful for stack operations. A PUSH instruction with the LR in the register list can be used for an
efficient procedure entry, as it saves registers (including the return address) on the stack and updates the
stack pointer with a single instruction. A matching POP instruction can be used later to return from the
procedure.

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

PUSH instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address.

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

Time order

The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this instruction
is only defined in some circumstances. See Data accesses to memory-mapped I/O on
page A2-32 for details.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STMDB

SP!, <registers>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 R 0 0 0 0 0 0

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

register_list

A7-79

Thumb Instructions

7.1.49

ROR
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rs

Rd

The ROR (Rotate Right Register) instruction is used to provide the value of a register rotated by a variable
value (from another register). The bits that are rotated off the right end are inserted into the vacated bit
positions on the left. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
ROR

<Rd>, <Rs>

where:
<Rd>

Contains the value to be rotated, and is also the destination register for the operation.

<Rs>

Is the register containing the rotation applied to the value of <Rd>. The value of the rotation
is stored in the least significant byte.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
if Rs[7:0] == 0 then
C Flag = unaffected
Rd = unaffected
else if Rs[4:0] == 0 then
C Flag = Rd[31]
Rd = unaffected
else /* Rs[4:0] > 0 */
C Flag = Rd[Rs[4:0] - 1]
Rd = Rd Rotate_Right Rs[4:0]
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
V Flag = unaffected

A7-80

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

MOVS

<Rd>, <Rd>, ROR <Rs>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

SBZ

12 11

Rd

Rs

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

0 1 1 1

Rd

A7-81

Thumb Instructions

7.1.50

SBC
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rd

The SBC (Subtract with Carry) instruction can be used to synthesize multi-word subtraction. It subtracts the
value of register <Rm> and the value of NOT(Carry Flag) from the value of register <Rd>. The condition
code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
SBC

<Rd>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Contains the first operand for the subtraction, and is also the destination register for the
operation.

<Rm>

Contains the value to be subtracted from <Rd>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd - Rm - NOT(C Flag)
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rd - Rm - NOT(C Flag))
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rd - Rm - NOT(C Flag))

A7-82

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

SBCS

<Rd>, <Rd>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rd

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-83

Thumb Instructions

7.1.51

STMIA
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rn

register_list

The STMIA (Store Multiple Increment After) instruction stores a non-empty subset, or possibly all, of the
general-purpose registers to sequential memory locations.

Syntax
STMIA

<Rn>!, <registers>

where:
<Rn>

Is the register containing the start address for the instruction.

Causes base register writeback, and is not optional.

<registers>

Is a list of registers to be stored, separated by commas and surrounded by { and }.

The list is encoded in the register_list field of the instruction, by setting bit[i] to 1 if
register Ri is included in the list and to 0 otherwise, for each of i=0 to 7.
At least one register must be stored. If bits[7:0] are all zero, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

The registers are stored in sequence, the lowest-numbered register to the lowest
memory address (start_address), through to the highest-numbered register to
the highest memory address (end_address).
The start_address is the value of the base register <Rn>. Subsequent
addresses are formed by incrementing the previous address by four. One address is
produced for each register that is specified in <registers>.
The end_address value is four less than the sum of the value of the base register
and four times the number of registers specified in <registers>.
Finally, the base register <Rn> is incremented by 4 times the numbers of registers
in <registers>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

A7-84

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Operation
start_address = Rn
end_address = Rn + (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4) - 4
address = start_address
for i = 0 to 7
if register_list[i] == 1
Memory[address,4] = Ri
address = address + 4
assert end_address == address - 4
Rn = Rn + (Number_Of_Set_Bits_In(register_list) * 4)

Usage
STMIA is useful as a block store instruction. Combined with LDMIA (Load Multiple), it allows efficient
block copy.

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <Rn> is specified in <registers> and writeback is specified:

If <Rn> is the lowest-numbered register specified in <registers>, the original

value of <Rn> is stored.

Otherwise, the stored value of <Rn> is UNPREDICTABLE.

Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

Store Multiple instructions ignore the least significant two bits of address.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception.

Time order

The time order of the accesses to individual words of memory generated by this instruction
is only defined in some circumstances. See Data accesses to memory-mapped I/O on
page A2-32 for details.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STMIA

<Rn>!, <registers>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

Rn

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

register_list

A7-85

Thumb Instructions

7.1.52

STR (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rn

Rd

This form of the STR (Store Register) instruction allows 32-bit data from a general-purpose register to be
stored to memory. The addressing mode is useful for accessing structure (record) fields. With an offset of
zero, the address produced is the unaltered value of the base register <Rn>.

Syntax
STR

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5> * 4]

where:
<Rd>

Is the register that contains the word to be stored to memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the base address for the instruction.

<immed_5> Is a 5-bit value that is multiplied by 4 and added to the value of <Rn> to form the memory
address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + (immed_5 * 4)
if address[1:0] == 0b00
Memory[address,4] = Rd
else
Memory[address,4] = UNPREDICTABLE

A7-86

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not word-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written to
memory is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STR

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5> * 4]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_5

1 0

0 0

A7-87

Thumb Instructions

7.1.53

STR (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

This form of STR allows 32-bit data from a general-purpose register to be stored to memory. The addressing
mode is useful for pointer + large offset arithmetic, and for accessing a single element of an array.

Syntax
STR

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the register that contains the word to be stored to memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value used in forming the memory address.

<Rm>

Is the register containing the second value used in forming the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + Rm
if address[1:0] == 0b00
Memory[address,4] = Rd
else
Memory[address,4] = UNPREDICTABLE

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not word-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written to
memory is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

A7-88

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STR

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-89

Thumb Instructions

7.1.54

STR (3)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

immed_8

This form of STR allows 32-bit data from a general-purpose register to be stored to memory. The addressing
mode is useful for accessing stack data. In this case, STR stores a word from register <Rd> to memory.

Syntax
STR

<Rd>, [SP, #<immed_8> * 4]

where:
<Rd>

Is the register that contains the word to be stored to memory.

SP

Is the stack pointer. Its value is used to calculate the memory address.

<immed_8> Is an 8-bit value that is multiplied by 4 and added to the value of the SP to form the memory
address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = SP + (immed_8 * 4)
if address[1:0] == 0b00
Memory[address,4] = Rd
else
Memory[address,4] = UNPREDICTABLE

A7-90

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not word-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written to
memory is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00
causes an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STR

<Rd>, [SP, #<immed_8> * 4]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

12 11 10 9

Rd

0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_8

1 0

0 0

A7-91

Thumb Instructions

7.1.55

STRB (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rn

Rd

This form of the STRB (Store Register Byte) instruction allows 8-bit data from a general-purpose register
to be stored to memory. The addressing mode is useful for accessing structure (record) fields.
With an offset of zero, the address produced is the unaltered value of the base register <Rn>.

Syntax
STRB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the register whose least significant byte is stored to memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the base address for the instruction.

<immed_5> Is a 5-bit immediate value that is added to the value of <Rn> to form the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + immed_5
Memory[address,1] = Rd[7:0]

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STRB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0

A7-92

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_5

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.56

STRB (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

This form of STRB allows 8-bit data from a general-purpose register to be stored to memory. The
addressing mode is useful for pointer + large offset arithmetic, and for accessing a single element of an
array.

Syntax
STRB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the register whose least significant byte is stored to memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value used in forming the memory address.

<Rm>

Is the register whose value is added to <Rn> to form the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + Rm
Memory[address,1] = Rd[7:0]

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STRB

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-93

Thumb Instructions

7.1.57

STRH (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_5

Rn

Rd

This form of the STRH (Store Register Halfword) instruction allows 16-bit data from a general-purpose
register to be stored to memory. The addressing mode is useful for accessing structure (record) fields. With
an offset of zero, the address produced is the unaltered value of the base register <Rn>.

Syntax
STRH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5> * 2]

where:
<Rd>

Is the register whose least significant halfword is stored to memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the base address for the instruction.

<immed_5> Is a 5-bit immediate value that is multiplied by two and added to the value of <Rn> to form
the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + (immed_5 * 2)
if address[1:0] == 0
Memory[address,2] = Rd[15:0]
else
Memory[address,2] = UNPREDICTABLE

A7-94

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not halfword-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written
to memory is UNPREDICTABLE.
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bit[0] != 0 causes
an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STRH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, #<immed_5> * 2]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

Rd

0 0

7 6

4 3

1 0

immed
immed
1 0 1 1
0
[4:3]
[2:0]

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-95

Thumb Instructions

7.1.58

STRH (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

This form of STRH allows 16-bit data from a general-purpose register to be stored to memory. The
addressing mode is useful for pointer + large offset arithmetic and for accessing a single element of an array.

Syntax
STRH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

where:
<Rd>

Is the register whose least significant halfword is stored to memory.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first value used in forming the memory address.

<Rm>

Is the register whose value is added to <Rn> to form the memory address.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Data Abort

Operation
address = Rn + Rm
if address[1:0] == 0
Memory[address,2] = Rd[15:0]
else
Memory[address,2] = UNPREDICTABLE

Notes
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Alignment

If the memory address is not halfword-aligned and no data abort occurs, the value written
to memory is UNPREDICTABLE
If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor) and alignment checking is enabled, an address with bit[0] != 0 causes
an alignment exception (a type of data abort).

A7-96

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

STRH

<Rd>, [<Rn>, <Rm>]

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

6 5

1 0 1 1

1 0

Rm

A7-97

Thumb Instructions

7.1.59

SUB (1)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_3

Rn

Rd

This form of the SUB (Subtract) instruction subtracts a small constant value from the value of a register and
stores the result in a second register. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
SUB

<Rd>, <Rn>, #<immed_3>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first operand for the subtraction.

<immed_3>

Is a 3-bit immediate value (values 0 to 7) that is subtracted from <Rn>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rn - immed_3
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn - immed_3)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn - immed_3)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

SUBS

<Rd>, <Rn>, #<immed_3>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1

A7-98

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 immed_3

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.60

SUB (2)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rd

immed_8

This form of SUB subtracts a large immediate value from the value of a register and stores the result back
in the same register. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
SUB

<Rd>, #<immed_8>

where:
<Rd>

Is the register containing the first operand for the subtraction, and is also the
destination register for the operation.

<immed_8>

Is an 8-bit immediate value (values 0 to 255) that is subtracted from <Rd>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rd - immed_8
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rd - immed_8)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rd - immed_8)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

SUBS

<Rd, <Rd>, #<immed_8>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rd

12 11 10 9

Rd

0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_8

A7-99

Thumb Instructions

7.1.61

SUB (3)
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

Rd

This form of SUB subtracts the value of one register from the value of a second register and stores the result
in a third register. The condition code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
SUB

<Rd>, <Rn>, <Rm>

where:
<Rd>

Is the destination register for the operation.

<Rn>

Is the register containing the first operand for the subtraction.

<Rm>

Is the register whose value is subtracted from <Rn>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
Rd = Rn - Rm
N Flag = Rd[31]
Z Flag = if Rd == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = NOT BorrowFrom(Rn - Rm)
V Flag = OverflowFrom(Rn - Rm)

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

SUBS

<Rd>, <Rn>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

A7-100

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9 8

Rd

4 3

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.62

SUB (4)
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_7

This form of SUB decrements the SP by four times a 7-bit immediate (that is, by a multiple of 4 in the range
0 to 508). The condition codes are not affected.

Syntax
SUB

SP, #<immed_7> * 4

where:
SP

Indicates the stack pointer. The result of the operation is also stored in the SP.

<immed_7>

Is a 7-bit immediate value that is multiplied by 4 and then subtracted from the value
of the stack pointer.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
SP = SP - (immed_7 << 2)

Usage
For the Full Descending stack which the Thumb instruction set is designed to use, decrementing the SP is
used to allocate extra memory variables on the top of the stack.

Notes
Alternative syntax

This instruction can also be written as SUB SP, SP, #<immed_7> * 4.

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

SUB

SP, SP, #<immed_7> * 4

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_7

A7-101

Thumb Instructions

7.1.63

SWI
15

14

13

12

11

10

immed_8

The SWI (Software Interrupt) instruction is used as an operating system service call. A SWI exception is
generated, which is handled by an operating system to provide the requested service. See Exceptions on
page A2-13.

Syntax
SWI

<immed_8>

where:
<immed_8>

Is an 8-bit immediate value that is put into bits[7:0] of the instruction. This value is
ignored by the processor, but can be used by an operating systems SWI exception
handler to determine which operating system service is being requested.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
Software Interrupt

Operation
R14_svc
= address of next instruction after the SWI instruction
SPSR_svc = CPSR
CPSR[4:0] = 0b10011
/* Enter Supervisor mode */
CPSR[5]
= 0
/* Execute in ARM state */
/* CPSR[6] is unchanged */
CPSR[7]
= 1
/* Disable normal interrupts */
if high vectors configured then
PC
= 0xFFFF0008
else
PC
= 0x00000008

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

SWI

<immed_8>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8

1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

A7-102

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

immed_8

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

7.1.64

TST
15

14

13

12

11

10

Rm

Rn

The TST (Test) instruction is used to determine whether a particular subset of bits in a register includes at
least one set bit. A very common use for TST is to test whether a single bit is set or clear. The condition
code flags are updated, based on the result.

Syntax
TST

<Rn>, <Rm>

where:
<Rn>

Is the register containing the first operand for the instruction.

<Rm>

Is the register whose value is logically ANDed with the value of <Rn>.

Architecture version
All T variants

Exceptions
None

Operation
alu_out = Rn AND Rm
N Flag = alu_out[31]
Z Flag = if alu_out == 0 then 1 else 0
C Flag = unaffected
V Flag = unaffected

Equivalent ARM syntax and encoding

TST

<Rn>, <Rm>

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

ARM DDI 0100E

16 15

Rn

12 11 10 9

SBZ

6 5

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Rm

A7-103

Thumb Instructions

7.2

Thumb instructions and architecture versions

Table 7-1 shows which Thumb instructions are present in each current ARM architecture version that
supports Thumb.
Table 7-1 Thumb instructions by architecture

A7-104

Instruction

v4T, v4TxM

v5T, v5TxM

ADC

Yes

Yes

ADD (all forms)

Yes

Yes

AND

Yes

Yes

ASR (both forms)

Yes

Yes

B (both forms)

Yes

Yes

BIC

Yes

Yes

BKPT

No

Yes

BL

Yes

Yes

BLX (both forms)

No

Yes

BX

Yes

Yes

CMN

Yes

Yes

CMP (all forms)

Yes

Yes

EOR

Yes

Yes

LDMIA

Yes

Yes

LDR (all forms)

Yes

Yes

LDRB (both forms)

Yes

Yes

LDRH (both forms)

Yes

Yes

LDRSB

Yes

Yes

LDRSH

Yes

Yes

LSL (both forms)

Yes

Yes

LSR (both forms)

Yes

Yes

MOV (all forms)

Yes

Yes

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Thumb Instructions

Table 7-1 Thumb instructions by architecture (Continued)

ARM DDI 0100E

Instruction

v4T, v4TxM

v5T, v5TxM

MUL

Yes

Yes

MVN

Yes

Yes

NEG

Yes

Yes

ORR

Yes

Yes

POP

Yes

Yes

PUSH

Yes

Yes

ROR

Yes

Yes

SBC

Yes

Yes

STMIA

Yes

Yes

STR (all forms)

Yes

Yes

STRB (both forms)

Yes

Yes

STRH (both forms)

Yes

Yes

SUB (all forms)

Yes

Yes

SWI

Yes

Yes

TST

Yes

Yes

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A7-105

Thumb Instructions

A7-106

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter A8
The 26-bit Architectures

This chapter describes the differences between the 32-bit and 26-bit architectures. It contains the following
sections:

Overview of the 26-bit architectures on page A8-2

Format of register 15 on page A8-4

26-bit PSR update instructions on page A8-6

Address exceptions on page A8-8

Backwards compatibility from 32-bit architectures on page A8-9.

Note
The information in this chapter is to help with backwards-compatibility issues in existing systems.
Programmers starting new projects are strongly encouraged to use only the 32-bit facilities.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A8-1

The 26-bit Architectures

8.1

Overview of the 26-bit architectures

ARMv1, ARMv2, and ARMv2a are earlier versions of the ARM architecture which implement only a 26-bit
address space, and are known as 26-bit architectures.
ARM architecture version 3 and above implement a 32-bit address space and are known as 32-bit
architectures. For backwards compatibility:

except for ARMv3G, all variants of ARM architecture version 3 implement the 26-bit address space

all non-T variants of ARM architecture version 4 and above can optionally implement the 26-bit
address space.

This chapter describes the differences between the 26-bit and 32-bit architectures, and how the
backwards-compatibility features are used.
There are several differences between the 26-bit and the 32-bit architectures:
Program counter

The 26-bit architectures implement only a 24-bit program counter in R15, which
allows 64MB of program space. The 32-bit architectures have a 30-bit program
counter in R15 which allows 4GB of program space on 32-bit architectures.

Processor modes

Only four processor modes are supported on 26-bit architectures:

User (0b00)

FIQ (0b01)

IRQ (0b10)

Supervisor (0b11).

Register 15

In the 26-bit architectures, the following are also stored in register 15:

four condition flags (N, Z, C and V)

the interrupt disable flags (I and F)

two processor mode bits (M1 and M0).

CPSR/SPSR

The 26-bit architectures do not have a CPSR or any SPSRs.

Exceptions

An exception (called an address exception) is raised if a memory access instruction

uses an address that is greater than 2261 bytes.

Branches

In 26-bit architectures, there are no restrictions on branching backwards past

location 0x0000000 or forwards past location 0x3FFFFFF. Such branches wrap
around to the other end of the 26-bit address space, and so have a different target
address than they would have had in a 32-bit architecture.
As a result, the signed 24-bit word offset in the B and BL instructions allows any
instruction in the 26-bit address space to be branched to.

A8-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The 26-bit Architectures

Together, these differences make up the fundamental distinction between 26-bit and 32-bit architectures:
26-bit architectures
All process status (namely the condition flags, interrupt status and processor mode) can be
preserved across subroutine calls and nested exceptions without adding any instructions to
the entry or exit sequence.
32-bit architectures
This process status functionality is given up to allow 32-bit instruction addresses to be used.
For exceptions, processor status is preserved in the SPSRs, and if nested exceptions using
the same SPSR can occur, extra instructions are used to preserve this status in memory. For
subroutine calls, processor status can be preserved across the subroutine call by using extra
instructions, but this is not normally done.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A8-3

The 26-bit Architectures

8.2

Format of register 15
31 30 29 28 27 26 25

N Z C V I F

Program Counter

M1 M0

Bits[25:2] are collectively known as the Program Counter (PC). Because the PC occupies only 24 bits of
register 15, only 224 instructions (226 bytes) can be addressed, giving a maximum addressable program size
of 64MB.
Bits[31:26] and bits[1:0] are collectively known as the Program Status Register (PSR).
The N, Z, C, V, I, and F bits have the same meaning in both 26-bit and 32-bit architectures. M[1:0] also have
the same meaning in both architectures.
Abort, Undefined, and System mode are not supported in 26-bit architectures. Aborts and Undefined
Instruction exceptions have exactly the same actions in both modes, except that in 26-bit architectures,
Supervisor mode is entered instead of Abort or Undefined mode.
The precise effect of an exception on a 26-bit architecture can be derived from the rules in Exceptions on
page A2-13, as follows:

The banked version of R14 has bits[25:2] set to the specified address, and bits[31:26, 1, 0] set to
copies of the corresponding bits in R15.

The I, F, M1, and M0 bits are modified in the same way as CPSR[7], CPSR[6], CPSR[1], and
CPSR[0] respectively, on a 32-bit architecture.

The I, F and M[1:0] bits cannot be written directly when the processor is in User mode. In User mode they
are only changed by an exception occurring.

8.2.1

Reading register 15
In 26-bit architectures, the value of R15 is read in five different ways:

Most importantly, if R15 has an UNPREDICTABLE value in the 32-bit architecture, it also has an
when used in the same way in the 26-bit architecture.

UNPREDICTABLE value

A8-4

If R15 is specified in bits[19:16] of an instruction (and its value is not UNPREDICTABLE), only the PC
(bits[25:2]) is used. All other bits read as zero.

If R15 is specified in bits[3:0] of an instruction (and its value is not UNPREDICTABLE), all 32 bits are
used.

If R15 is stored using STR or STM, the value of the PC (bits[25:2]) is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED, but
all 32 bits of the register are stored.

All 32 bits are stored in the Link register (R14) after a Branch with Link instruction or an exception
entry.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The 26-bit Architectures

8.2.2

Writing register 15
In 26-bit architectures, the value of R15 is written in three different ways:

The following instructions only write the PC part of R15, leaving the PSR part unchanged:

Data-processing instructions without the S bit set

LDR instructions

LDM instructions, other than Load Multiple with Restore CPSR.

The following instructions write both the PC and the PSR part of R15:

Data-processing instructions with the S bit set

Load Multiple with Restore CPSR.

Variants of the CMP, CMN, TST, and TEQ instructions write just the PSR part of R15 and leave the
PC part unchanged. These instruction variants are described 26-bit PSR update instructions on
page A8-6.

These read/write rules mean that R15 is used in three basic ways:

When it is the Rn specifier in data-processing instructions, or the base address for load and store
instructions, only the value of the program counter is used, to simplify PC-relative addressing and
position-independent code.

When it is the Rm specifier in data-processing instructions, all 32 bits are used in order to allow all
process status to be restored after a subroutine call or exception by subroutine-return instructions
such as:
MOVS PC, LR and LDM..., PC}^

These instructions are UNPREDICTABLE in User mode on 32-bit architectures, but are legal on 26-bit
architectures, as they are used to restore the condition code flags on procedure exit.

ARM DDI 0100E

All 32 bits are saved in the Link register, to preserve the PC and the PSR across subroutine calls and
exceptions.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A8-5

The 26-bit Architectures

8.3

26-bit PSR update instructions

31

27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 I 1 0

opc

16 15

Rn

12 11

1 1 1 1

shifter_operand

In 26-bit architectures, the MSR and MRS instructions are not supported. Instead, variants of the CMN, CMP,
TEQ and TST instructions are used to write just the PSR part of R15 without affecting the PC part. These
26-bit-only variants are called CMNP, CMPP, TEQP and TSTP, and are distinguished by having instruction
bits[15:12] equal to 0b1111. These bits are equal to 0b0000 in the normal variants of these instructions.
These instructions write their ALU result directly to the PSR part of register 15 (only N, Z, C, and V are
affected in User mode).
When the processor is in User mode, only the condition codes are affected. All other modes allow all PSR
bits to be altered.

8.3.1

Syntax
CMN{<cond>}P
CMP{<cond>}P
TEQ{<cond>}P
TST{<cond>}P

Rn,
Rn,
Rn,
Rn,

<shifter_operand>
<shifter_operand>
<shifter_operand>
<shifter_operand>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the instruction.

<shifter_operand>
Specifies the second operand for the instruction. Its options are described in Addressing
Mode 1 - Data-processing operands on page A5-2, including how each option causes the I
bit (bit 25) and the <shifter_operand> bits (bits 11:0) to be set in the instruction.

8.3.2

Exceptions
None

A8-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The 26-bit Architectures

8.3.3

Operation
if ConditionPassed(<cond>) then
case <opc> of
0b00 /* TSTP */
<alu_out> = Rn AND <shifter_operand>
0b01 /* TEQP */
<alu_out> = Rn EOR <shifter_operand>
0b10 /* CMPP */
<alu_out> = Rn - <shifter_operand>
0b11 /* CMNP */
<alu_out> = Rn + <shifter_operand>
endcase
if R15[1:0] == 0b00 then
/* M[1:0] == 0b00, User mode */
R15[31:28] = <alu_out>[31:28]
/* update just NZCV */
else
/* a privileged mode */
R15[31:26] = <alu_out>[31:26]
/* update NZCVIF and ... */
R15[1:0] = <alu_out>[1:0]
/* ... update M[1:0] */

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A8-7

The 26-bit Architectures

8.4

Address exceptions
In 26-bit architectures, all data addresses are checked to ensure that they are between 0 and 64MB. If a data
address is produced with a 1 in any of the top 6 bits, an address exception is generated. When an address
exception is generated, the following actions are performed:
R14_svc[25:2]
=
R14_svc[31:26,1,0]
=
M[1:0] =
0b11
F
=
unchanged
I
=
1
PC
=
0x14

address of instruction + 8
R15[31:26,1,0]
; Supervisor mode
; (normal) interrupts disabled

The address of the instruction which caused the address exception is the value in R14 minus 8.

8.4.1

Returning from an address exception

As this exception implies a programming error, it is not usual to return from address exceptions, but if a
return is required, use:
SUBS PC,R14,#8

This restores both the PC and PSR (from R14_svc) and returns to the instruction that generated the address
exception.

A8-8

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The 26-bit Architectures

8.5

Backwards compatibility from 32-bit architectures

As described in Overview of the 26-bit architectures on page A8-2, some 32-bit architectures include
mandatory or optional backwards-compatibility support for 26-bit architectures. Architecture versions with
this support implement the four 26-bit modes described in Overview of the 26-bit architectures on
page A8-2. When the processor is in one of these modes, the PC behaves as explained in Format of register
15 on page A8-4 and the instructions described in 26-bit PSR update instructions on page A8-6 are
available. This allows older 26-bit programs to be executed in a suitable 26-bit mode.
In architecture versions without 26-bit backwards-compatibility support, CPSR bit[4] (M[4]) always reads
as 1, and all writes to it are ignored.
The complete list of processor modes is shown in Table 8-1.
Table 8-1 32-bit and 26-bit modes
M[4:0]

Mode

Accessible registers

0b00000

User_26

R0 to R14, PC, (CPSR)

0b00001

FIQ_26

R0 to R7, R8_fiq to R14_fiq, PC, (CPSR, SPSR_fiq)

0b00010

IRQ_26

R0 to R12, R13_irq, R14_irq, PC, (CPSR, SPSR_irq)

0b00011

SVC_26

R0 to R12, R13_svc, R14_svc, PC, (CPSR, SPSR_svc)

0b10000

User_32

R0 to R14, PC, CPSR

0b10001

FIQ_32

R0 to R7, R8_fiq to R14_fiq, PC, CPSR, SPSR_fiq

0b10010

IRQ_32

R0 to R12, R13_irq, R14_irq, PC, CPSR, SPSR_irq

0b10011

SVC_32

R0 to R12, R13_svc, R14_svc, PC, CPSR, SPSR_svc

0b10111

Abort_32

R0 to R12, R13_abt, R14_abt, PC, CPSR, SPSR_abt

0b11011

Undef_32

R0 to R12, R13_und, R14_und, PC, CPSR, SPSR_und

0b11111

System_32

R0 to R14, PC, CPSR (architecture version 4 and above)

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A8-9

The 26-bit Architectures

Note
The MRS and MSR instructions are supported in all cases, despite the fact that they do not exist in pure 26-bit
architectures. This is to assist conversion to a 32-bit architecture, as the CMNP, CMPP, TEQP, and TSTP
instructions cannot enter a 32-bit mode from a 26-bit mode.
If an MSR instruction which lies outside the 26-bit address space is used to switch into a 26-bit mode, the
results are UNPREDICTABLE.
The results of an MSR instruction which switches between a 32-bit mode and a 26-bit mode (in either
direction) are also UNPREDICTABLE if it is executed at any point where predictable subsequent execution can
reach either of the following:

the end of the 26-bit address space

a branch instruction whose target addresses in the 26-bit and 32-bit address spaces are different.
For this purpose, predictable subsequent execution is as defined in Other uses for IMBs on page A2-30.

8.5.1

32-bit and 26-bit configuration

Architecture versions with 26-bit backwards compatibility support optionally incorporate two hardware
signals that control 32-bit instruction accesses and 32-bit data accesses. The signals are mapped to two bits
in register 1 of the system control coprocessor. These signals are:

PROG32

DATA32.

Note
If an implementation does not support these signals but does provide 32-bit modes, it must behave as though
both signals were 1.

32-bit configuration
1.

If PROG32 is active and DATA32 is active, the processor switches to a 32-bit mode when
processing exceptions (including Reset), using the _32 modes for handling all exceptions. This is
called a 32-bit configuration. Abort_32 mode is used for handling memory aborts, and Undef_32 for
handling Undefined Instruction exceptions. A 26-bit mode can be selected by putting a 26-bit mode
number into the M[4:0] bits of the CPSR (either using MSR or an exception return sequence). A
32-bit mode can also be entered from a 26-bit mode using the MSR instruction. Once in a 26-bit mode,
another 26-bit mode can be entered using one of the CMNP, CMPP, TEQP and TSTP instructions, or
the MSR instruction.
If an exception occurs when the processor is in a 26-bit mode, only the PC bits from R15[25:2] are
copied to the link register. The remaining bits in the link register are zeroed. The PSR bits from
R15[31:26] and R15[1:0] are copied into the SPSR, ready for a normal 32-bit return sequence.

2.

If PROG32 is active and DATA32 is not active (32-bit programs with 26-bit data), the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

A8-10

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The 26-bit Architectures

26-bit configuration

8.5.2

1.

If PROG32 is not active, the processor is locked into 26-bit modes (that is, cannot be placed into a
32-bit mode by any means) and handles exceptions in 26-bit modes. This is called a 26-bit
configuration. In this configuration, CMNP, CMPP, TEQP and TSTP instructions, or the MSR
instruction can be used to switch to 26-bit modes. Attempts to write CPSR bits[4:2] (M[4:2]) are
ignored, stopping any attempts to switch to a 32-bit mode, and SVC_26 mode is used to handle
memory aborts and Undefined Instruction exceptions. The PC is limited to 24 bits, limiting the
addressable program memory to 64MB.

2.

If PROG32 is not active, DATA32 has the following actions:

If DATA32 is not active, all data addresses are checked to ensure that they are between 0 and
64MB. If a data address is produced with a 1 in any of the top 6 bits, an address exception is
generated.

If DATA32 is active, full 32-bit addresses can be produced and are not checked for address
exceptions. This allows 26-bit programs to access data in the full 32-bit address space.

Vector exceptions
When the processor is in a 32-bit configuration (PROG32 is active) and in a 26-bit mode (CPSR[4] == 0),
data access (but not instruction fetches) to the exception vectors (address 0x0 to 0x1F) causes a data abort.
This is known as a vector exception.
Vector exceptions are always produced if the exception vectors are written in a 32-bit configuration and a
26-bit mode. It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether reading the exception vectors in a 32-bit
configuration and a 26-bit mode also causes a vector exception.
Vector exceptions are provided to support 26-bit backwards compatibility. When a vector exception is
generated, it indicates that a 26-bit mode process is trying to install a (26-bit) vector handler. Because the
processor is in a 32-bit configuration, exceptions are handled in a 32-bit mode, so a veneer must be used to
change from the 32-bit exception mode to a 26-bit mode before calling the 26-bit exception handler.
This veneer can be installed on each vector and can switch to a 26-bit mode before calling any 26-bit
handlers.
The return from the 26-bit exception handler might also need to be veneered. Some SWI handlers return
status information in the processor flags, and this information needs to be transferred from the link register
to the SPSR with a return veneer for the SWI handler.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A8-11

The 26-bit Architectures

A8-12

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter A9
ARM Code Sequences

The ARM instruction set is a powerful tool for generating high-performance microprocessor systems. Used
to its full extent, the ARM instruction set allows algorithms to be coded in a very compact and efficient way.
This chapter describes some sample routines that provide insight into the ARM instruction set. It contains
the following sections:

Arithmetic instructions on page A9-2

Branch instructions on page A9-5

Load and Store instructions on page A9-7

Load and Store Multiple instructions on page A9-10

Semaphore instructions on page A9-11

Other code examples on page A9-12.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-1

ARM Code Sequences

9.1

Arithmetic instructions
The following subsections illustrate some ways of using ARM data-processing instructions. The examples
illustrate:

Bit field manipulation

Multiplication by constant

Multi-precision arithmetic on page A9-3

Swapping endianness on page A9-4.

9.1.1

Bit field manipulation

The ARM shift and logical instructions can be used for bit field manipulation:
; Extract 8 bits from the top of R2
; the bottom of R3, shifting up the
; R0 is a temporary value
MOV
R0, R2, LSR #24
ORR
R3, R0, R3, LSL #8

9.1.2

and insert them into

data in R3
; extract top bits from R2 into R0
; shift up R3 and insert R0

Multiplication by constant
Combinations of shifts, add with shifts, and reverse subtract with shift can be used to perform
multiplications by constants:

A9-2

; multiplication of R0 by 2^n
MOV
R0, R0, LSL #n

; R0 = R0 << n

; multiplication of R0 by 2^n + 1
ADD
R0, R0, R0, LSL #n

; R0 = R0 + (R0 << n)

; multiplication of R0 by 2^n - 1
RSB
R0, R0, R0, LSL #n

; R0 = (R0 << n) - R0

; R0 = R0 * 10 + R1
ADD
R0, R0, R0, LSL #2
ADD
R0, R1, R0, LSL #1

; R0 = R0 * 5
; R0 = R1 + R0 * 2

; R0 = R0 * 100 + R1
ADD
R0, R0, R0, LSL #2
ADD
R0, R0, R0, LSL #2
ADD
R0, R1, R0, LSL #2

; R0 = R0 * 5
; R0 = R0 * 5 (R0 = R0 * 25)
; R0 = R1 + R0 * 4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Code Sequences

9.1.3

Multi-precision arithmetic
Arithmetic instructions allow efficient arithmetic on 64-bit or larger objects:

Add, and Add with Carry perform multi-precision addition

Subtract, and Subtract with Carry perform subtraction

Compare can be used for comparison.

; On entry
;
;
; On exit

:
:
:
:

R0 and
(R0 is
R2 and
R0 and

R1 hold a 64-bit number

least significant)
R3 hold a second 64-bit number
R1 hold 64-bit sum (or difference) of the 2 numbers

add64

ADDS
ADC

R0, R0, R2
R1, R1, R3

; add lower halves and update Carry flag

; add the high halves and Carry flag

sub64

SUBS
SBC

R0, R0, R2
R1, R1, R3

; subtract lower halves, update Carry

; subtract high halves and Carry

; This routine compares two 64-bit numbers

; On entry
: As above
; On exit
: N, Z, and C flags updated correctly
cmp64
CMP
R1, R3
; compare high halves, if they are
CMPEQ
R0, R2
; equal, then compare lower halves

Be aware that in the above example, the V flag is not updated correctly. For example:
R1 = 0x00000001,
R3 = 0x00000001,

R0 = 0x80000000
R2 = 0x7FFFFFFF

R0 R2 overflows as a 32-bit signed number, so the CMPEQ instruction sets the V flag. But (R1, R0)
(R3, R2) does not overflow as a 64-bit number.
An alternative routine exists which updates the V flag correctly, but not the Z flag:
; This routine compares two 64-bit numbers
; On entry: as above
; On exit: N, V and C set correctly
cmp64
SUBS
R4, R0, R2
SBCS
R4, R1, R3

ARM DDI 0100E

; R4 is destroyed

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-3

ARM Code Sequences

9.1.4

Swapping endianness
Swapping the order of bytes in a word (the endianness) can be performed in two ways:

This method is best for single words:

; On entry
; On exit
byteswap
EOR
BIC
MOV
EOR

:
:

R1,
R1,
R0,
R0,

R0,
R1,
R0,
R0,

R0 holds the word to be swapped

R0 holds the swapped word, R1 is destroyed

R0, ROR #16

#0xFF0000
ROR #8
R1, LSR #8

;
;
;
;
;

R0
R1
R1
R0
R0

=
=
=
=
=

A , B , C , D
A^C,B^D,C^A,D^B
A^C, 0 ,C^A,D^B
D , A , B , C
D , C , B , A

This method is best for swapping the endianness of a large number of words:
; On entry
; On exit
;
byteswap
MOV
ORR

: R0 holds the word to be swapped

: R0 holds the swapped word,
: R1, R2 and R3 are destroyed

R2, #0xFF
R2, R2, #0xFF0000

; first the two-instruction initialization

; R2 = 0xFF
; R2 = 0x00FF00FF

; repeat the following code for each word to swap

; R0 = A
B
C
D
AND
R1, R2, R0
; R1 = 0
B
0
D
AND
R0, R2, R0, ROR #24 ; R0 = 0
C
0
A
ORR
R0, R0, R1, ROR #8
; R0 = D
C
B
A

A9-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Code Sequences

9.2

Branch instructions
The following subsections show some different ways of controlling the flow of execution in ARM code.

9.2.1

Procedure call and return

The BL (Branch and Link) instruction makes a procedure call by preserving the address of the instruction
after the BL in R14 (the link register, LR), and then branching to the target address. Returning from a
procedure is achieved by moving R14 to the PC:
....
BL
....
....
function
....
....
MOV

function

; call function
; procedure returns to here
; function body

PC, LR

; Put R14 into PC to return

Another method to return from a called procedure is given in Procedure entry and exit on page A9-10.

9.2.2

Conditional execution
Conditional execution allows if-then-else statements to be collapsed into sequences that do not require
forward branches:
/* C code for Euclids Greatest Common Divisor (GCD)*/
/* Returns the GCD of its two parameters */
int gcd(int a, int b)
{
while (a != b)
if (a > b )
a = a - b ;
else
b = b - a ;
return a ;
}
; ARM assembler code for Euclids Greatest Common Divisor
; On entry: R0 holds a, R1 holds b
; On exit : R0 hold GCD of A and B
gcd
CMP
R0, R1
; compare a and b
SUBGT
R0, R0, R1
; if (a>b) a=a-b (if a==b do nothing)
SUBLT
R1, R1, R0
; if (b>a) b=b-a (if a==b do nothing)
BNE
gcd
; if (a!=b) then keep going
MOV
PC, LR
; return to caller

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-5

ARM Code Sequences

9.2.3

Conditional compare instructions

Compare instructions can be conditionally executed to implement more complicated expressions:
if (a==0 || b==1)
c = d + e ;
CMP
CMPNE
ADDEQ

9.2.4

R0, #0
R1, #1
R2, R3, R4

; compare a with 0
; if a is not 0, compare b to 1
; if either was true c = d + e

Loop variables
The Subtract instruction can be used to both decrement a loop counter and set the condition codes to test for
a zero:
MOV

R0, #loopcount

; initialize the loop counter

; loop body

....
SUBS

R0, R0, #1

; subtract 1 from counter

; and set condition codes
; if not zero, continue looping

loop

BNE
....

9.2.5

loop

Multi-way branch
A very simple multi-way branch can be implemented with a single instruction. The following code
dispatches the control of execution to any number of routines, with the restriction that the code to handle
each case of the multi-way branch is the same size, and that size is a power of two bytes:
; Multi-way branch
; On entry: R0 holds the branch index
CMP
ADDLO

R0, #maxindex
; checks the index is in range
PC, PC, R0, LSL #RoutineSizeLog2
; scale index by the log of the size of
; each handler, add to the PC, which points
; 2 instructions beyond this one
; (at Index0Handler), then jump there
IndexOutOfRange
; jump to the error handler

Index0Handler
....
....
Index1Handler
....
....
Index2Handler
....

A9-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Code Sequences

9.3

Load and Store instructions

Load and Store instructions are the best way to load or store a single word. They are also the only
instructions that can load or store a byte or halfword.

9.3.1

Linked lists
The following code searches for an element in a linked list that has two elements (a single byte value and a
pointer to the next record) in each record. A null next pointer indicates this is the last element in the list:
; Linked list
; On entry
;
;
; On exit
;
;
llsearch
CMP
LDRNEB
CMPNE
LDRNE
BNE
MOV

9.3.2

search
: R0 holds a pointer to the first record in the list
: R1 holds the byte we are searching for
: Call this code with a BL
: R0 holds the address of the first record matched
: or a null pointer if no match was found
: R2 is destroyed

R0, #0
R2, [R0]
R1, R2
R0, [R0, #4]
llsearch
PC, LR

;
;
;
;
;
;

null pointer?
load the byte value from this record
compare with the looked-for value
if not found, follow the link to the
next record and then keep looking
return with pointer in R0

Simple string compare

The following code performs a very simple string compare on two zero-terminated strings:
; String compare
; On entry
: R0 points to the first string
;
: R1 points to the second string
;
: Call this code with a BL
; On exit
: R0 is < 0 if the first string is less than the second
;
: R0 is = 0 if the first string is equal to the second
;
: R0 is > 0 if the first string is greater than the second
;
: R1, R2 and R3 are destroyed
strcmp
LDRB
LDRB
CMP
CMPNE
BEQ
CMP
BEQ
return
SUB
MOV

ARM DDI 0100E

R2, [R0], #1
R3, [R1], #1
R2, #0
R3, #0
return
R2, R3
strcmp

;
;
;
;
;
;
;

Get a byte from the first string

Get a byte from the second string
Have we reached the end of either
string?
Go to return code if so
Are the strings the same so far?
Repeat for next character if so

R0, R2, R3
PC, LR

; Calculate result value and return

; by copying R14 (LR) into the PC

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-7

ARM Code Sequences

The following code performs a more optimized string compare:

int strcmp(char *s1, char *s2)
{
unsigned int ch1, ch2;
do
{
ch1 = *s1++;
ch2 = *s2++;
} while (ch1 >= 1 && ch1 == ch2);
return ch1 - ch2;
}

This code uses an unsigned comparison with 1 to test for a null character, rather than the normal comparison
with 0.
The corresponding ARM code is:
strcmp
LDRB
LDRB
CMP
CMPCS
BEQ
SUB
MOV

R2,[R0],#1
R3,[R1],#1
R2,#1
R2,R3
strcmp
R0,R2,R3
PC,LR

The change in the way that null characters are detected allows the condition tests to be combined:

If R2 == 0, the CMP instruction sets Z = 0, C = 0. Neither the CMPCS instruction nor the BEQ
instruction is executed, and the loop terminates.

If R2 != 0 and R3 == 0, the CMP instruction sets C = 1, then the CMPCS instruction is executed and
sets Z = 0. So, the BEQ instruction is not executed and the loop terminates.

If R2 != 0 and R3 != 0, the CMP instruction sets C = 1, then the CMPCS instruction is executed and
sets Z according to whether R2 == R3. So, the BEQ instruction is executed if R2 == R3 and the loop
terminates if R2 != R3.

Much faster string comparison routines are possible by loading one word of each string at a time and
comparing all four bytes.

A9-8

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Code Sequences

9.3.3

Long branch
A Load instruction can be used to generate a branch to anywhere in the 4GB address space. By manually
setting the value of the link register (R14), a subroutine call can be made to anywhere in the address space.
; Long branch (and link)
ADD
LR, PC, #4
LDR
DCD

PC, [PC, #-4]

function

return_here

;
;
;
;
;
;

set the return address to be 8 bytes

after the next instruction
get the address from the next word
store the address of the function
(DCD is an assembler directive)
return to here

This code uses the location after the load to hold the address of the function to call. In practice, this location
can be anywhere as long as it is within 4KB of the load instruction. Notice also that this code is
position-independent except for the address of the function to call. Full position-independence can be
achieved by storing the offset of the branch target after the load, and using an ADD instruction to add it to
the PC.

9.3.4

Multi-way branches
The following code improves on the multi-way branch code shown above by using a table of addresses of
functions to call:
; Multi-way branch
; On entry: R0 holds the branch index

ARM DDI 0100E

CMP

R0, #maxindex

LDRLO

PC, [PC, R0, LSL #2]

B
DCD
DCD
DCD
DCD
....

IndexOutOfRange
Handler0
Handler1
Handler2
Handler3

;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;

checks the index is in the range

by using an unsigned compare.
convert the index to a word offset
do a look up in the table put the loaded
value into the PC and jump there
jump to the error handler
DCD is an assembler directive to
store a word (in this case an
address in memory).

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-9

ARM Code Sequences

9.4

Load and Store Multiple instructions

Load and Store Multiple instructions are the most efficient way to manipulate blocks of data.

9.4.1

Simple block copy

This code performs a very simple block copy, 48 bytes at a time, and approaches the maximum throughput
for a particular machine:
;
;
;
;

Simple block copy

R12 points to the
R13 points to the
R14 points to the

loop

LDMIA
STMIA
CMP
BLO

function
start of the source block
start of the destination block
end of the source block

R12!, (R0-R11}
R13!, {R0-R11}
R12, R14
loop

;
;
;
;

load 48 bytes
store 48 bytes
reached the end yet?
branch to the top of the loop

The source and destination must be word-aligned, and if the object to be copied is not a multiple of 48 bytes
long, extra bytes are copied to bring the total to the next multiple of 48 bytes. A more sophisticated routine
is needed if this extra copying is to be avoided.

9.4.2

Procedure entry and exit

This code uses Load and Store Multiple to preserve and restore the processor state during a procedure. The
code assumes that registers R0 to R3 are argument registers, preserved by the caller of the function, so do
not need to be preserved. R13 is also assumed to point to a full descending stack.
function
STMFD

R13!, {R4 - R12, R14}

; preserve all the local registers

; and the return address, and
; update the stack pointer.

....
Insert the function body here
....
LDMFD

R13!, {R4 - R12, PC}

; restore the local register, load

; the PC from the saved return
; update the stack pointer.

Notice that this code restores all saved registers, updates the stack pointer, and returns the caller (by loading
the PC value) in a single instruction. This allows very efficient conditional return for exceptional cases from
a procedure (by checking the condition with a compare instruction and then conditionally executing the
Load Multiple).

A9-10

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Code Sequences

9.5

Semaphore instructions
This code controls the entry and exit from a critical section of code. The semaphore instruction (SWP) does
not provide a compare and conditional write facility, so this must be done explicitly. The following code
achieves this by using a semaphore value to indicate that the lock is being inspected.
The code below causes the calling process to busy-wait until the lock is free. To ensure progress, three OS
calls need to be made (one before each loop branch) to sleep the process if the lock cannot be accessed.
;
;
;
;
;
;

Critical section entry and exit

The code uses a process ID to identify the lock owner
An ID of zero indicates the lock is free
An ID of -1 indicates the lock is being inspected
On entry:
R0 holds the address of the semaphore
R1 holds the ID of the process requesting the lock

spinin

spinout

ARM DDI 0100E

MVN
SWP
CMN
....
Insert
....
BEQ
CMP
STRNE
....
Insert
....
BNE
STR
.....
Insert
.....
SWP
CMN
....
Insert
....
BEQ
CMP
BNE
MOV
STR

R2, #0
R3, R2, [R0]
R3, #1

; load the looking value (-1) in R2

; look at the lock, and lock others out
; anyone else trying to look?

conditional OS call to sleep process here

spinin
R3, #0
R3, [R0]

; yes, so wait our turn

; no-one looking, is the lock free?
; no, then restore the previous owner

conditional OS call to sleep process here

spinin
R1, [R0]

; and wait again

; otherwise grab the lock

critical code here

R3, R2, [R0]
R3, #1

; look at the lock, and lock others out

; anyone else trying to look ?

conditional OS call to sleep process here

spinout
R3, R1
CorruptSemaphore
R2, #0
R2, [R0]

;
;
;
;
;

yes, so wait our turn

check we own it
we should have been the owner!
load the free value
and open the lock

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-11

ARM Code Sequences

9.6

Other code examples

The following sequences illustrate some other applications of ARM assembly language.

9.6.1

Software interrupt dispatch

This code segment dispatches software interrupts (SWIs) to individual handlers. For it to work, the
instruction at the software interrupt vector (memory location 0x00000008) must branch to the first
instruction of this code. The SWI instruction has a 24-bit field that can be used for specific SWI functions.
This code also handles the 16-bit Thumb SWI instruction, which has an 8-bit SWI number field rather than
a 24-bit field.
This example assumes that the code to handle each of the individual SWIs only modifies r0-r3, r12, lr and
the PC. If more registers are needed, the example should be modified to include the extra registers needed
in the register lists of the STMFD and LDMFD instructions. This makes the extra registers available to all of
the SWI handlers, but the code will typically take longer to execute because of the extra memory accesses.
Alternatively, if only a few of the individual SWI handlers require extra registers, use extra STMFD and
LDMFD instructions within those handlers. This ensures that SWIs which do not require the extra registers
are not slowed down.
SWIHandler
STMFD
MRS

sp!, {r0-r3,r12,lr}
r0, spsr

TST

r0, #0x20

LDRNEH
BICNE

r0, [lr, #-2]

r0, r0, #0xff00

;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;

Store the registers

Move SPSR into general purpose
register
Test the SPSR T bit to discover
ARM/Thumb state when SWI occurred
T bit set so load halfword (Thumb)
and clear top 8 bits of halfword
(LDRH clears top 16 bits of word)
T bit clear so load word (ARM)
and clear top 8 bits of word
Check the SWI number is in range
If so, jump to the correct routine

LDREQ
r0, [lr, #-4]
BICEQ
r0, r0, #0xff000000
CMP
r0, #MaxSWI
LDRLS
pc, [pc, r0, LSL #2]
B
SWIOutOfRange
switable
DCD
do_swi_0
DCD
do_swi_1
:
:
do_swi_0
.....
Insert code to handle SWI 0 here
.....
LDMFD
sp!, {r0-r3,r12,pc}^ ; Restore the registers and return.
do_swi_1
:

A9-12

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Code Sequences

9.6.2

Single-channel DMA transfer

The following code is an interrupt handler to perform interrupt driven input/output to memory transfers
(soft DMA). The code is written as an FIQ handler, and uses the banked FIQ registers to maintain state
between interrupts. Therefore this code is best situated at location 0x1C. The entire sequence to handle a
normal transfer is just four instructions. Code situated after the conditional return is used to signal that the
transfer is complete.
LDR
STR
CMP
SUBLTS
; Insert

r11, [r8, #IOData]

; load port data from the I/O device
r11, [r9], #4
; store it to memory: update the pointer
r9, r10
; reached the end?
pc, lr, #4
; no, so return
transfer complete code here

where:
R8

Points to the base address of the input/output device that data is read from.

IOData

Is the offset from the base address to the 32-bit data register that is read. Reading this
register disables the interrupt.

R9

Points to the memory location where data is being transferred.

R10

Points to the last address to transfer to.

Of course, byte transfers can be made by replacing the load and store instructions with Load and Store byte
instructions, and changing the offset in the store instruction from 4 to 1. Transfers from memory to an
input/output device are made by swapping the addressing modes between the Load instruction and the Store
instruction.

9.6.3

Dual-channel DMA transfer

This code is similar to the example in Single-channel DMA transfer on page A9-13, except that it handles
two channels (which can be the input and output side of the same channel). Again, this code is written as an
FIQ handler, and uses the banked FIQ registers to maintain state between interrupts. Therefore this code is
best situated at location 0x1C.
The entire sequence to handle a normal transfer is just nine instructions. Code situated after the conditional
return is used to signal that the transfer is complete.
LDR
r13, [r8, #IOStat]
; load status register to find ....
TST
r13, #IOPort1Active
; .... which port caused the interrupt?
LDREQ
r13, [r8, #IOPort1]
; load port 1 data
LDRNE
r13, [r8, #IOPort2]
; load port 2 data
STREQ
r13, [r9], #4
; store to buffer 1
STRNE
r13, [r10], #4
; store to buffer 2
CMP
r9, r11
; reached the end?
CMPNE
r10, r12
; on either channel?
SUBNES pc, lr, #4
; return
; Insert transfer complete code here

where:

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-13

ARM Code Sequences

R8

Points to the base address of the input/output device that data is read from.

IOStat

Is the offset from the base address to a register indicating which of two ports caused the
interrupt.

IOPort1Active
Is a bit mask indicating if the first port caused the interrupt (otherwise it is assumed that the
second port caused the interrupt).
IOPort1,IOPort2
Are offsets to the two data registers to be read. Reading a data register disables the interrupt
for that port.
R9

Points to the memory location that data from the first port is being transferred to.

R10

Points to the memory location that data from the second port is being transferred to.

R11,R12

Point to the last address to transfer to (R11 for the first port, R12 for the second).

Again, byte transfers can be made by suitably replacing the load and store instructions. Transfers from
memory to an input/output device are made by swapping the addressing modes between the conditional load
instructions and the conditional store instructions.

A9-14

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Code Sequences

9.6.4

Interrupt prioritization
This code dispatches up to 32 interrupt sources to their appropriate handler routines. This code is intended
to use the normal interrupt vector, so memory location 0x00000018 must contain an instruction that
branches to the first instruction of this code.
External hardware is used to prioritize the interrupt and present the number of the highest-priority active
interrupt in an input register. Interrupts are re-enabled after 10 instructions (including the branch to this
code).
; first save the critical state
;
SUB
r14, r14, #4
; adjust return address before saving it
STMFD r13!, {r12, r14}
; stack return address and working register
MRS
r12, SPSR
; get the SPSR ...
STMFD r13!, {r12}
; ... and stack that too
;
; now get the priority level of the highest priority active interrupt
MOV
r12, #IntBase
; get interrupt controllers base address
LDR
r12, [r12, #IntLevel]
; get the interrupt level (0 to 31)
;
; now read-modify-write the CPSR to enable interrupts
MRS
r14, CPSR
; read the status register
BIC
r14, r14, #0x80
; clear the I bit (use 0x40 for the F bit)
MSR
CPSR_c, r14
; write it back to re-enable interrupts
; jump to the correct handler
LDR
PC, [PC, r12, LSL #2]
; and jump to the correct handler. PC base
; address points to this instruction + 8
NOP
; pad so the PC indexes this table
;
; table of handler start addresses
;
DCD
Priority0Handler
DCD
Priority1Handler ........
Priority0Handler
STMFD r13!, {r0 - r11}
; save working registers
;
; insert handler code here
;
........
MRS
r12, CPSR
; Read-modify-write the CPSR to disable
ORR
r12, r12, #0x80
; interrupts (use 0x40 instead for FIQs)
MSR
CPSR_c, r12
; Note: Do not use r14 instead of r12. It
; will be corrupted if an interrupt occurs
LDMFD r13!, {r0-r12}
; Recover the working registers and SPSR
MSR
SPSR_cxsf, r12
; Put the SPSR back
LDMFD r13!, {r12, PC}^
; Restore last working register and return
Priority1Handler
........

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-15

ARM Code Sequences

where:

9.6.5

R13

Is assumed to point to a small Full Descending stack. The stack space required is 60 bytes
times the maximum level to which interrupts can possibly be nested.

IntBase

Holds the base address of the interrupt handler.

IntLevel

Holds the offset (from IntBase) of the register containing the highest priority active
interrupt.

Context switch
This section gives a very simple example of how to perform context switches between User mode processes,
in order to illustrate some of the instructions used for this purpose. It makes the following assumptions about
the system design:

A9-16

Context switches are performed by an IRQ handler. This handler first performs normal interrupt
processing to identify the source of the interrupt and deal with it. The details of this are
system-specific and are not described here. At the end of normal interrupt processing, the interrupt
handler can choose either to return to the interrupted process, or to switch to another process.

Only User mode context switches are to be supported. If an IRQ is allowed to occur in a privileged
process, the IRQ handler always returns to the interrupted process.

The normal interrupt processing code requires registers R0-R3, R12 and R14_irq to be preserved
around it. It leaves R4-R11 unchanged, and uses R13_irq as a Full Descending stack pointer. (These
assumptions basically mean that it can call subroutines that adhere to the standard ARM Procedure
Calling Standard.)

The normal interrupt processing code does not re-enable interrupts, change SPSR_irq or change to
another processor mode, and FIQ handlers also do not re-enable interrupts. As a result, neither
SPSR_irq nor the banked versions of R13, R14 and the SPSR belonging to the interrupted process
are changed by execution of the normal interrupt processing code.

Each User mode process has an associated Process Control Block (PCB), which stores its register
values while it is not running. The format of a PCB is shown in Figure 9-1.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

ARM Code Sequences

CPSR
Increasing
addresses

Restart address
R0
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
R8
R9
R10
R11
R12
R13
R14

Figure 9-1 PCB layout

On entry to the IRQ handler, the following code is used to calculate the correct return address and to
preserve the registers required by the normal interrupt processing code:
SUB
STMFD

R14, R14, #4
R13!, {R0-R3, R12, R14}

This is followed by the normal interrupt processing code. If this code decides to return to the interrupted
process, it executes the instruction:
LDMFD

R13!, {R0-R3, R12, PC}^

This instruction is the form of LDM described in LDM (3) on page A4-34, and causes:

Registers R0-R3 and R12 to be reloaded with their values on entry to the IRQ handler, which were
stored by the STMFD instruction.

The PC to be reloaded with the R14 value stored by the STMFD instruction, which is 4 less than the
value of R14_irq on entry to the IRQ handler and so is the address of the next instruction to be
executed in the interrupted process (see Interrupt request (IRQ) exception on page A2-19).

The CPSR to be reloaded from SPSR_irq, which was set to the CPSR of the interrupted process on
interrupt entry and has remained unchanged since.

The values of all other registers belonging to the interrupted process were left unchanged by interrupt entry
and by execution of the normal interrupt processing code, so this fully restores the context of the interrupted
process.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A9-17

ARM Code Sequences

If the normal interrupt processing code instead switches to another User mode process, it puts pointers to
the PCBs of the old and new processes in R0 and R1 respectively and branches to the following code:
; First store the old processs User mode state to the PCB pointed to by R0.
MRS
R12, SPSR
; Get CPSR of interrupted process
STR
R12, [R0], #8
; Store CPSR to PCB, point R0 at
;
PCB location for R0 value
LDMFD
R13!, {R2, R3}
; Reload R0/R1 of interrupted
; process from stack
STMIA
R0!, {R2, R3}
; Store R0/R1 values to PCB, point
;
R0 at PCB location for R2 value
LDMFD
R13!, {R2, R3, R12, R14} ; Reload remaining stacked values
STR
R14, [R0, #-12]
; Store R14_irq, the interrupted
;
processs restart address
STMIA
R0, {R2-R14}^
; Store user R2-R14 - see Note 1
; Then load the new processs User mode state and return to it.
LDMIA
R1!, {R12, R14}
; Put interrupted processs CPSR
MSR
SPSR_fsxc, R12
;
and restart address in SPSR_irq
;
and R14_irq
LDMIA
R1, {R0-R14}^
; Load user R0-R14 - see Note 2
NOP
; Note: Cannot use banked register
;
immediately after User mode LDM
MOVS
PC, R14
; Return to address in R14_irq,
;
with SPSR_irq -> CPSR transfer

Note

A9-18

1.

This instruction is an example of the form of STM described in STM (2) on page A4-86. It stores the
registers R2, R3, ..., R12, R13_usr, R14_usr to the correct places in the PCB.

2.

This instruction is an example of the form of LDM described in LDM (2) on page A4-32. It loads the
registers R0, R1, ..., R12, R13_usr, R14_usr from the correct places in the PCB.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter A10
Enhanced DSP Extension

This chapter describes the enhanced DSP additions to the ARM programmers model and instruction set,
included in E variants of ARM architecture versions 5 and above. It contains the following sections:

About the enhanced DSP instructions on page A10-2

Saturated integer arithmetic on page A10-3

Saturated Q15 and Q31 arithmetic on page A10-4

The Q flag on page A10-5

Enhanced DSP instructions on page A10-6

Alphabetical list of enhanced DSP instructions on page A10-8.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-1

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.1

About the enhanced DSP instructions

Many digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms operate on arrays of 16-bit data, where the 16-bit value is
to be interpreted as a signed fixed-point number with 15 binary places. Such values are sometimes called
Q15 numbers, and represent numeric values ranging from 1 up to +1 215.
To preserve accuracy, intermediate values in these algorithms are often calculated as Q31 numbers, which
are similar but have 32 bits and 31 binary places. Also, in order to avoid spikes in the output from the
algorithm if numeric overflow occurs, arithmetic on Q15 and Q31 values is normally saturated. This means
that if overflow occurs, the result is set to the most positive or most negative possible value depending on
the direction of overflow. In contrast, normal integer arithmetic will wrap around modulo 232.
Performing saturated arithmetic on Q15 and Q31 numbers is possible using the standard ARM instruction
set, but takes roughly 5-10 instructions per arithmetic operation. The enhanced DSP instructions described
in this chapter include instructions to perform such arithmetic considerably more quickly, using 1-2
instructions per arithmetic operation.
In order to maximize the performance of DSP algorithms, it is also important that data and coefficient values
should be loaded and stored efficiently. The enhanced DSP instructions therefore also include instructions
to assist with this loading and storing.
Finally, the enhanced DSP instructions include coprocessor instructions which transfer 64 bits of data
directly between the ARM processor and the coprocessor, in order to assist the design of coprocessors which
will further improve the performance of DSP algorithms.

A10-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.2

Saturated integer arithmetic

When viewed as a signed number, the value of a general-purpose register lies in the range from 231 (or
0x80000000) to +231 1 (or 0x7FFFFFFF). If an addition or subtraction is performed on such numbers
and the correct mathematical result lies outside this range, it would require more than 32 bits to represent.
In these circumstances, the surplus bits are normally discarded, which has the effect that the result obtained
is equal to the correct mathematical result reduced modulo 232.
For example, 0x60000000 could be used to represent +3 229 as a signed integer. If you add this number
to itself, you get +3 230, which lies outside the representable range, but could be represented as the 33-bit
signed number 0x0C0000000. The actual result obtained will be the rightmost 32 bits of this, which are
0xC0000000. This represents 230, which is smaller than the correct mathematical result by 232, and does
not even have the same sign as the correct result.
This kind of inaccuracy is unacceptable in many DSP applications. For example, if it occurred while
processing an audio signal, the abrupt change of sign would be likely to result in a loud click. To avoid this
sort of effect, many DSP algorithms use saturated signed arithmetic. This modifies the way normal integer
arithmetic behaves as follows:

If the correct mathematical result lies within the available range from 231 to +231 1, the result of
the operation is equal to the correct mathematical result.

If the correct mathematical result is greater than +231 1 and so overflows the upper end of the
representable range, the result of the operation is equal to +231 1.

If the correct mathematical result is less than 231 and so overflows the lower end of the representable
range, the result of the operation is equal to 231.

Put another way, the result of a saturated arithmetic operation is the closest representable number to the
correct mathematical result of the operation.
The enhanced DSP instructions support saturated signed 32-bit integer additions and subtractions, by use of
the QADD and QSUB instructions. Variants of these instructions (QDADD and QDSUB) perform a saturated
doubling of one of the operands before the saturated addition or subtraction.
Saturated integer multiplications are not supported, because the product of two values of widths A and B
bits never overflows an (A+B)-bit destination.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-3

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.3

Saturated Q15 and Q31 arithmetic

A 32-bit signed value can be treated as having a binary point immediately after its sign bit. This is equivalent
to dividing its signed integer value by 231, so that it can now represent numbers from 1 to +1 231. When
a 32-bit value is used to represent a fractional number in this fashion, it is known as a Q31 number.
Saturated additions, subtractions, and doublings can be performed on Q31 numbers using the same
instructions as are used for saturated integer arithmetic, since everything is simply scaled down by a factor
of 231.
Similarly, a 16-bit value can be treated as having a binary point immediately after its sign bit, which
effectively divides its signed integer value by 215. When a 16-bit value is used in this fashion, it can
represent numbers from 1 to +1 215 and is known as a Q15 number.
If two Q15 numbers are multiplied together as integers, the resulting integer needs to be scaled down by a
factor of 215 215 == 230. For example, multiplying the Q15 number 0x8000 (representing 1) by itself
using an integer multiplication instruction yields the value 0x40000000, which is 230 times the desired
result of +1.
This means that the result of the integer multiplication instruction is not quite in Q31 form. To get it into
Q31 form, it must be doubled, so that the required scaling factor becomes 231. Furthermore, it is possible
that the doubling will cause integer overflow, so the result should in fact be doubled with saturation. In
particular, the result 0x40000000 from the multiplication of 0x8000 by itself should be doubled with
saturation to produce 0x7FFFFFFF (the closest possible Q31 number to the correct mathematical result of
1 1 == +1). If it were doubled without saturation, it would instead produce 0x80000000, which is the
Q31 representation of 1.
To implement a saturated Q15 Q15 Q31 multiplication, therefore, an integer multiply instruction
should be followed by a saturated integer doubling. The latter can be performed by a QADD instruction
adding the multiply result to itself.
Similarly, a saturated Q15 Q15 + Q31 Q31 multiply-accumulate can be performed using an integer
multiply instruction followed by the use of a QDADD instruction.
Some other examples of arithmetic on Q15 and Q31 numbers are described in the Usage sections for the
individual instructions.

A10-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.4

The Q flag
The enhanced DSP extension incorporates a mechanism to determine whether saturation or overflow has
occurred in the course of a calculation. Bit[27] of the CPSR is a sticky overflow flag, also known as the Q
flag. This flag is set to 1 if any of the following occurs:

Saturation of the addition result in a QADD or QDADD instruction

Saturation of the subtraction result in a QSUB or QDSUB instruction

Saturation of the doubling intermediate result in a QDADD or QDSUB instruction

Signed overflow during an SMLA<x><y> or SMLAW<y> instruction.

Note
The Q flag is not affected by overflow during any other arithmetic instruction, such as ADD, SUB, or MLA.
The Q flag is sticky in that once it has been set to 1, it is not affected by whether subsequent calculations
saturate and/or overflow. Its intended usage is:
1.

Use an MSR CPSR_f,#0 instruction to clear the Q flag (this also clears the condition code flags).

2.

Perform a sequence of calculations.

3.

Use an MRS Rn,CPSR instruction to read the CPSR, then test the value of the Q flag. If it is still 0,
none of the above types of saturation or overflow occurred during step 2. Otherwise, at least one
instance of saturation or overflow occurred.

Each SPSR also has a Q flag into which the CPSR Q flag is copied when an exception occurs as part of the
general CPSR SPSR copy performed on exception entry. Similarly, the exception return instructions
which atomically return to the correct address and perform an SPSR CPSR transfer will copy the SPSR
Q flag back to the CPSR. Between them, these ensure that the value of the Q flag is not changed by an
interrupt or other exception. For more details of this, see Exceptions on page A2-13.
Except as described above, the only instructions that affect or are affected by the Q flags are MSR
instructions which write to the flags byte of the destination PSR, and MRS instructions.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-5

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.5

Enhanced DSP instructions

The enhanced DSP instructions can be divided into the following groups:

Integer multiply and multiply-accumulate instructions on page A10-6

Saturated addition and subtraction instructions on page A10-7

Two-word load and store instructions on page A10-7

Cache preload instruction on page A10-7

Two-word coprocessor register transfer instructions on page A10-7.

10.5.1

Integer multiply and multiply-accumulate instructions

The enhanced DSP instructions augment the normal integer multiply and multiply-accumulate instructions
with versions designed to work on 16-bit signed data. These form one or both of the operands to the
multiplication by taking either the bottom half (bits[15:0]) or the top half (bits[31:16]) of a source register
and sign-extending it, while ignoring the other half of the source register.
These instructions allow multiplications to be performed on 16-bit data values that are held packed in
registers, without the need to unpack them. The data values can be loaded in this format by LDR or LDM
instructions, which generally results in more efficient use of memory bandwidth than would be obtained by
the use of LDRH or LDRSH instructions.
The instructions available are:

16 16 32 bit signed multiply instructions SMUL<x><y>. These instructions are very similar to
the normal MUL instruction, apart from the fact that their operands are generated as described above.

16 16 + 32 32 bit signed multiply-accumulate instructions SMLA<x><y>. These instructions

are very similar to the normal MLA instruction, apart from the fact that their operands are generated
as described above.

32 16 32 bit signed multiply instructions SMULW<y>. These instructions produce the upper 32
bits of the 48-bit product.

32 16 + 32 32 bit signed multiply-accumulate instructions SMLAW<y>. The multiplication in

these instructions produces the upper 32 bits of the 48-bit product, and these 32 bits are then added
to the accumulate value.

16 16 + 64 64 bit signed multiply instructions SMLAL<x><y>. These instructions are very

similar to the normal SMLAL instruction, apart from the fact that their operands are generated as
described above.

In all cases, <y> is either the letter B or T, depending on whether the bottom or top half of the second
operand register should be used. Where the first operand is a sign-extended 16-bit value, <x> specifies
whether the bottom or top half of the first operand register should be used in a similar fashion.

A10-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.5.2

Saturated addition and subtraction instructions

Instructions are provided to perform saturated integer addition and subtraction, with an optional saturated
doubling of one operand. These instructions can be used to perform saturated integer, Q15, and Q31
arithmetic, as described in Saturated integer arithmetic on page A10-3 and Saturated Q15 and Q31
arithmetic on page A10-4.
The instructions are:

10.5.3

QADD

Performs a saturated integer addition.

QDADD

Performs a saturated integer doubling of one operand followed by a saturated integer

addition with the other operand.

QSUB

Performs a saturated integer subtraction.

QDSUB

Performs a saturated integer doubling of one operand followed by a saturated integer

subtraction from the other operand.

Two-word load and store instructions

Load and store instructions are provided which can be used to transfer two adjacent words of memory to or
from any of the register pairs {R0,R1}, {R2,R3}, {R4,R5}, {R6,R7}, {R8,R9}, {R10,R11}, or {R12,R13}.
These instructions use the same addressing modes as LDRH, LDRSB, LDRSH, and STRH, and thus allow a
larger addressing range than is possible with the LDM and STM instructions. A restriction is that the
doubleword formed by the two adjacent words of memory is required to be doubleword-aligned.
The instructions are:

10.5.4

LDRD

Loads two words.

STRD

Stores two words.

Cache preload instruction

The PLD instruction can be used to tell the memory system that an access to the data at a specified memory
address is likely to occur soon. A memory system that recognizes this request will bring the data into cache,
so that when the access actually occurs, any delay caused by a cache miss is reduced or eliminated.

10.5.5

Two-word coprocessor register transfer instructions

Two additional generic coprocessor instructions are defined. These are similar to the normal MCR and MRC
generic coprocessor instructions, but transfer two ARM register values to or from the coprocessor rather
than just one. They can be used when designing coprocessors which require more ARM-coprocessor
bandwidth than is available from the MCR and MRC instructions.
The instructions are:
MCRR

Transfers two ARM register values to a coprocessor.

MRRC

Transfers values from a coprocessor to two ARM registers.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-7

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6

Alphabetical list of enhanced DSP instructions

This section describes each enhanced DSP instruction in alphabetical order, using the same format and
conventions as are used in the descriptions of normal ARM instructions (see Alphabetical list of ARM
instructions on page A4-2).

10.6.1

LDRD
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 P U I W 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

4 3

addr_mode 1 1 0 1 addr_mode

The LDRD instruction loads a pair of ARM registers from two consecutive words of memory. The pair of
registers is restricted to being an even-numbered register and the odd-numbered register that immediately
follows it (for example, R10 and R11).
A greater variety of addressing modes is available than for a 2-register LDM. However, the address of the
first of the two words is required to be doubleword-aligned (that is, the address must be divisible by 8).

Syntax
LDR{<cond>}D

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the even-numbered destination register for the memory word addressed by
<addressing_mode>. The immediately following odd-numbered register is the
destination register for the next memory word. If <Rd> is R14, which would specify R15
as the second destination register, the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE. If <Rd> specifies an
odd-numbered register, the instruction is UNDEFINED.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores on page A5-34. It
determines the P, U, I, W, Rn, and addr_mode bits of the instruction. The syntax of all forms
of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some forms also specify that
the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base register writeback).
The address generated by <addressing_mode> is the address of the lower of the two
words loaded by the LDRD instruction. The address of the higher word is generated by
adding 4 to this address.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above, excluding ARMv5TExP

A10-8

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Exceptions
Data abort

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if (Rd is even-numbered) then
if (address[2:0] == 0b000) and (Rd is not R14) then
Rd = Memory[address,4]
R(d+1) = Memory[address+4,4]
else
UNPREDICTABLE
else
UNDEFINED

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <addressing_mode> performs base register writeback and the base register <Rn> is
one of the two destination registers of the instruction, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
If <addressing_mode> specifies an index register <Rm> and <Rm> is one of the two
destination registers of the instruction, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Non doubleword-aligned addresses

If the load address is not doubleword-aligned, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Alignment

Time order

ARM DDI 0100E

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, then:

an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00 causes an alignment exception

an address with bits[2:0] == 0b000 does not cause an alignment exception

it is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether an address with bits[2:0] == 0b100 causes

an alignment exception.

The time order of the accesses to the two memory words is not architecturally defined. In
particular, an implementation is allowed to perform the two 32-bit memory accesses in
either order, or to combine them into a single 64-bit memory access.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-9

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.2

MCRR
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

cp_num

4 3

opcode

CRm

The MCRR instruction passes the values of ARM registers <Rd> and <Rn> to the coprocessor whose
number is cp_num. If no coprocessors indicate that they can execute the instruction, an undefined
instruction exception is generated.

Syntax
MCRR{<cond>}

<coproc>, <opcode>, <Rd>, <Rn>, <CRm>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<coproc>

Specifies the name of the coprocessor, and causes the corresponding coprocessor number to
be placed in the cp_num field of the instruction. The standard generic coprocessor names
are p0, p1, , p15.

<opcode>

Is a coprocessor-specific opcode.

<Rd>

Is the first ARM register whose value is transferred to the coprocessor. If R15 is specified
for <Rd>, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<Rn>

Is the second ARM register whose value is transferred to the coprocessor. If R15 is specified
for <Rn>, the result is UNPREDICTABLE.

<CRm>

Is the destination coprocessor register.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above, excluding ARMv5TExP

Exceptions
Undefined instruction

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
send Rd value to Coprocessor[cp_num]
send Rn value to Coprocessor[cp_num]

A10-10

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Usage
MCRR is used to initiate coprocessor operations that depend on values in two ARM registers. An example
for a floating-point coprocessor is an instruction to transfer a double-precision floating-point number held
in two ARM registers to a floating-point register.

Notes
Coprocessor fields
Only instruction bits[31:8] are defined by the ARM architecture. The remaining fields are
recommendations, for compatibility with ARM Development Systems.
Unimplemented coprocessor instructions
Hardware coprocessor support is optional, regardless of the architecture version. An
implementation may choose to implement a subset of the coprocessor instructions, or no
coprocessor instructions at all. Any coprocessor instructions that are not implemented
instead cause an undefined instruction trap.
Order of transfers
If a coprocessor uses these instructions, it will define how each of the values of <Rd> and
<Rn> is used. There is no architectural requirement for the two register transfers to occur
in any particular time order. It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether Rd is transferred
before Rn, after Rn, or at the same time as Rn.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-11

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.3

MRRC
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

cp_num

4 3

opcode

CRm

The MRRC instruction causes the coprocessor whose number is cp_num to transfer values to two ARM
registers <Rd> and <Rn>. If no coprocessors indicate that they can execute the instruction, an undefined
instruction exception is generated.

Syntax
MRRC{<cond>}

<coproc>, <opcode>, <Rd>, <Rn>, <CRm>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<coproc>

Specifies the name of the coprocessor, and causes the corresponding coprocessor number to
be placed in the cp_num field of the instruction. The standard generic coprocessor names
are p0, p1, , p15.

<opcode>

Is a coprocessor-specific opcode.

<Rd>

Is the first destination ARM register. If R15 is specified for <Rd>, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

<Rn>

Is the second destination ARM register. If R15 is specified for <Rn>, the result is
UNPREDICTABLE.

<CRm>

Is the coprocessor register which supplies the data to be transferred.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above, excluding ARMv5TExP

Exceptions
Undefined instruction

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = first value from Coprocessor[cp_num]
Rn = second value from Coprocessor[cp_num]

A10-12

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Usage
MRRC is used to initiate coprocessor operations that write values to two ARM registers. An example for a
floating-point coprocessor is an instruction to transfer a double-precision floating-point number held in a
floating-point register to two ARM registers.

Notes
Operand restrictions
Specifying the same register for <Rd> and <Rn> has UNPREDICTABLE results.
Coprocessor fields
Only instruction bits[31:8] are defined by the ARM architecture. The remaining fields are
recommendations, for compatibility with ARM Development Systems.
Unimplemented coprocessor instructions
Hardware coprocessor support is optional, regardless of the architecture version. An
implementation may choose to implement a subset of the coprocessor instructions, or no
coprocessor instructions at all. Any coprocessor instructions that are not implemented
instead cause an undefined instruction trap.
Order of transfers
If a coprocessor uses these instructions, it will define which value is written to <Rd> and
which value to <Rn>. There is no architectural requirement for the two register transfers to
occur in any particular time order. It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether Rd is transferred
before Rn, after Rn, or at the same time as Rn.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-13

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.4

PLD
31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

1 1 1 1 0 1 I 1 U 1 0 1

16 15 14 13 12 11

Rn

1 1 1 1

addr_mode

The PLD instruction signals the memory system that memory accesses from a specified address are likely
in the near future. The memory system can respond by taking actions which are expected to speed up the
memory accesses when they do occur, such as pre-loading the cache line containing the specified address
into the cache. PLD is a hint instruction, aimed at optimizing memory system performance. It has no
architecturally defined effect, and memory systems that do not support this optimization can ignore it. On
such memory systems, PLD acts as a NOP.

Syntax
PLD

<addressing_mode>

where:
<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 2 - Load and Store Word or Unsigned Byte on page A5-18.
It specifies the I, U, Rn, and addr_mode bits of the instruction. Only addressing modes with
P == 1 and W == 0 are available for this instruction. Pre-indexed and post-indexed
addressing modes have P == 0 or W == 1 and so are not available.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above, excluding ARMv5TExP

Exceptions
None

Operation
/* No change occurs to programmers model state, but where
* appropriate, the memory system is signalled that memory accesses
* to the specified address are likely in the near future.
*/

A10-14

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Notes
Condition

Unlike most other ARM instructions, this instruction cannot be executed conditionally.

Writeback

Clearing bit[24] (the P bit) or setting bit[21] (the W bit) has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Data aborts

This instruction never generates a data abort, nor does it signal any sort of memory system
exception detected for the address generated by <addressing_mode> in any other way.
All such memory system exceptions must be ignored by the memory system. Typically, the
memory system does this by treating the PLD instruction as a NOP if any exceptional case
is encountered while handling it.

Alignment

There are no alignment restrictions on the address generated by <addressing_mode>.

If an implementation contains a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System
Control Coprocessor), it will not generate an alignment exception for any PLD instruction.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-15

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.5

QADD
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

0 1 0 1

Rm

The QADD instruction performs integer addition, saturating the result to the 32-bit signed integer range 2 31
x 231 1. If saturation actually occurs, the instruction sets the Q flag in the CPSR.

Syntax
QADD{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rn>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the saturated addition.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the second operand for the saturated addition.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = SignedSat(Rm + Rn, 32)
if SignedDoesSat(Rm + Rn, 32) then
Q Flag = 1

A10-16

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Usage
As well as performing saturated integer and Q31 additions, this instruction can be used in combination with
an SMUL<x><y>, SMULW<y>, or SMULL instruction to produce multiplications of Q15 and Q31 numbers.
Three examples are:

To multiply the Q15 numbers in the bottom halves of R0 and R1 and place the Q31 result in R2, use:
SMULBB
QADD

To multiply the Q31 number in R0 by the Q15 number in the top half of R1 and place the Q31 result
in R2, use:
SMULWT
QADD

R2, R0, R1
R2, R2, R2

R2, R0, R1
R2, R2, R2

To multiply the Q31 numbers in R0 and R1 and place the Q31 result in R2, use:
SMULL
QADD

R3, R2, R0, R1

R2, R2, R2

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, or <Rn> has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Condition flags

The QADD instruction does not affect the N, Z, C, or V flags.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-17

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.6

QDADD
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

0 1 0 1

Rm

The QDADD instruction doubles its second operand, then adds the result to its first operand. Both the
doubling and the addition have their results saturated to the 32-bit signed integer range 231 x 231 1.
If saturation actually occurs in either operation, the instruction sets the Q flag in the CPSR.

Syntax
QDADD{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rn>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the saturated addition.

<Rn>

Specifies the register whose value is to be doubled, saturated, and used as the second
operand for the saturated addition.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = SignedSat(Rm + SignedSat(Rn*2, 32), 32)
if SignedDoesSat(Rm + SignedSat(Rn*2, 32), 32) or
SignedDoesSat(Rn*2, 32) then
Q Flag = 1

A10-18

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Usage
The primary use for this instruction is to generate multiply-accumulate operations on Q15 and Q31
numbers, by placing it after an integer multiply instruction. Three examples are:

To multiply the Q15 numbers in the top halves of R4 and R5 and add the product to the Q31 number
in R6, use:
SMULTT
QDADD

To multiply the Q15 number in the bottom half of R2 by the Q31 number in R3 and add the product
to the Q31 number in R7, use:
SMULWB
QDADD

R0, R4, R5
R6, R6, R0

R0, R3, R2
R7, R7, R0

To multiply the Q31 numbers in R2 and R3 and add the product to the Q31 number in R4, use:
SMULL
QDADD

R0, R1, R2, R3

R4, R4, R1

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, or <Rn> has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Condition flags

The QDADD instruction does not affect the N, Z, C, or V flags.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-19

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.7

QDSUB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

0 1 0 1

Rm

The QDSUB instruction doubles its second operand, then subtracts the result from its first operand. Both the
doubling and the subtraction have their results saturated to the 32-bit signed integer range
231 x 231 1. If saturation actually occurs in either operation, the instruction sets the Q flag in the
CPSR.

Syntax
QDSUB{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rn>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the saturated subtraction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register whose value is to be doubled, saturated, and used as the second
operand for the saturated subtraction.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = SignedSat(Rm - SignedSat(Rn*2, 32), 32)
if SignedDoesSat(Rm - SignedSat(Rn*2, 32), 32) or
SignedDoesSat(Rn*2, 32) then
Q Flag = 1

A10-20

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Usage
The primary use for this instruction is to generate multiply-subtract operations on Q15 and Q31 numbers,
by placing it after an integer multiply instruction. Three examples are:

To multiply the Q15 numbers in the top half of R4 and the bottom half of R5, and subtract the product
from the Q31 number in R6, use:
SMULTB
QDSUB

To multiply the Q15 number in the bottom half of R2 by the Q31 number in R3 and subtract the
product from the Q31 number in R7, use:
SMULWB
QDSUB

R0, R4, R5
R6, R6, R0

R0, R3, R2
R7, R7, R0

To multiply the Q31 numbers in R2 and R3 and subtract the product from the Q31 number in R4, use:
SMULL
QDSUB

R0, R1, R2, R3

R4, R4, R1

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, or <Rn> has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Condition flags

The QDSUB instruction does not affect the N, Z, C, or V flags.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-21

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.8

QSUB
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

SBZ

4 3

0 1 0 1

Rm

The QSUB instruction performs integer subtraction, saturating the result to the 32-bit signed integer range
231 x 231 1. If saturation actually occurs, the instruction sets the Q flag in the CPSR.

Syntax
QSUB{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rn>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the register that contains the first operand for the saturated subtraction.

<Rn>

Specifies the register that contains the second operand for the saturated subtraction.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
Rd = SignedSat(Rm - Rn, 32)
if SignedDoesSat(Rm - Rn, 32) then
Q Flag = 1

Notes

A10-22

Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, or <Rn> has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Condition flags

The QSUB instruction does not affect the N, Z, C, or V flags.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.9

SMLA<x><y>
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

16 15

Rd

12 11

Rn

Rs

6 5

1 y x 0

Rm

The SMLA<x><y> instructions (SMLABB, SMLABT, SMLATB and SMLATT) perform a signed
multiply-accumulate operation. The multiply acts on two signed 16-bit quantities, taken from either the
bottom or the top half of their respective source registers. The other halves of these source registers are
ignored. The 32-bit product is added to a 32-bit accumulate value and the result is written to the destination
register.
If overflow occurs during the addition of the accumulate value, the instruction sets the Q flag in the CPSR.
It is not possible for overflow to occur during the multiplication.

Syntax
SMLA<x><y>{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>, <Rn>

where:
<x>

Specifies which half of the source register <Rm> is used as the first multiply operand. If <x>
is B, then x == 0 in the instruction encoding and the bottom half (bits[15:0]) of <Rm> is
used. If <x> is T, then x == 1 in the instruction encoding and the top half (bits[31:16]) of
<Rm> is used.

<y>

Specifies which half of the source register <Rs> is used as the second multiply operand. If
<y> is B, then y == 0 in the instruction encoding and the bottom half (bits[15:0]) of <Rs>
is used. If <y> is T, then y == 1 in the instruction encoding and the top half (bits[31:16]) of
<Rs> is used.

<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the source register whose bottom or top half (selected by <x>) is the first multiply
operand.

<Rs>

Specifies the source register whose bottom or top half (selected by <y>) is the second
multiply operand.

<Rn>

Specifies the register which contains the accumulate value.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-23

Enhanced DSP Extension

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if (x == 0) then
operand1 = SignExtend(Rm[15:0])
else /* x == 1 */
operand1 = SignExtend(Rm[31:16])
if (y == 0) then
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[15:0])
else /* y == 1 */
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[31:16])
Rd = (operand1 * operand2) + Rn
if OverflowFrom((operand1 * operand2) + Rn) then
Q Flag = 1

Usage
In addition to its straightforward uses for integer multiply-accumulates, these instructions sometimes
provide a faster alternative to Q15 Q15 + Q31 Q31 multiply-accumulates synthesized from
SMUL<x><y> and QDADD instructions. The main circumstances under which this is possible are:

if it is known that saturation and/or overflow cannot occur during the calculation

if saturation and/or overflow can occur during the calculation but the Q flag is going to be used to
detect this and take remedial action if it does occur.

For example, the following code produces the dot product of the four Q15 numbers in R0 and R1 by the four
Q15 numbers in R2 and R3:
SMULBB
QADD
SMULTT
QDADD
SMULBB
QDADD
SMULTT
QDADD

R4,
R4,
R5,
R4,
R5,
R4,
R5,
R4,

R0,
R4,
R0,
R4,
R1,
R4,
R1,
R4,

R2
R4
R2
R5
R3
R5
R3
R5

In the absence of saturation, the following code provides a faster alternative:

A10-24

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

SMULBB
SMLATT
SMLABB
SMLATT
QADD

R4,
R4,
R4,
R4,
R4,

R0,
R0,
R1,
R1,
R4,

R2
R2, R4
R3, R4
R3, R4
R4

Furthermore, if saturation and/or overflow occurs in this second sequence, it will set the Q flag. This allows
remedial action to be taken, such as scaling down the data values and repeating the calculation.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>, or <Rn> has UNPREDICTABLE
results.

Condition flags

The SMLA<x><y> instructions do not affect the N, Z, C, or V flags.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-25

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.10 SMLAL<x><y>
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

16 15

RdHi

12 11

RdLo

Rs

4 3

1 y x 0

Rm

The SMLAL<x><y> instructions (SMLALBB, SMLALBT, SMLALTB and SMLALTT) perform a signed
multiply-accumulate operation. The multiply acts on two signed 16-bit quantities, taken from either the
bottom or the top half of their respective source registers. The other halves of these source registers are
ignored. The 32-bit product is sign-extended and added to the 64-bit accumulate value held in <RdHi> and
<RdLo>, and the result is written back to <RdHi> and <RdLo>.
Overflow is possible during this instruction, but only as a result of the 64-bit addition. This overflow is not
detected if it occurs. Instead, the result wraps around modulo 264.

Syntax
SMLAL<x><y>{<cond>}

<RdLo>, <RdHi>, <Rm>, <Rs>

where:
<x>

Specifies which half of the source register <Rm> is used as the first multiply operand. If <x>
is B, then x == 0 in the instruction encoding and the bottom half (bits[15:0]) of <Rm> is
used. If <x> is T, then x == 1 in the instruction encoding and the top half (bits[31:16]) of
<Rm> is used.

<y>

Specifies which half of the source register <Rs> is used as the second multiply operand. If
<y> is B, then y == 0 in the instruction encoding and the bottom half (bits[15:0]) of <Rs>
is used. If <y> is T, then y == 1 in the instruction encoding and the top half (bits[31:16]) of
<Rs> is used.

<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<RdLo>

Supplies the lower 32 bits of the 64-bit accumulate value to be added to the product, and is
the destination register for the lower 32 bits of the 64-bit result.

<RdHi>

Supplies the upper 32 bits of the 64-bit accumulate value to be added to the product, and is
the destination register for the upper 32 bits of the 64-bit result.

<Rm>

Specifies the source register whose bottom or top half (selected by <x>) is the first multiply
operand.

<Rs>

Specifies the source register whose bottom or top half (selected by <y>) is the second
multiply operand.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

A10-26

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Exceptions
None

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if (x == 0) then
operand1 = SignExtend(Rm[15:0])
else /* x == 1 */
operand1 = SignExtend(Rm[31:16])
if (y == 0) then
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[15:0])
else /* y == 1 */
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[31:16])
RdLo = RdLo + (operand1 * operand2)
RdHi = RdHi + (if (operand1*operand2) < 0 then 0xFFFFFFFF else 0)
+ CarryFrom(RdLo + (operand1 * operand2))

Usage
These instructions allow a long sequence of multiply-accumulates of signed 16-bit integers or Q15 numbers
to be performed, with sufficient guard bits to ensure that the result cannot overflow the 64-bit destination
in practice. It would take more than 233 consecutive multiply-accumulates to cause such overflow.
If the overall calculation does not overflow a signed 32-bit number, then <RdLo> will hold the result of the
calculation.
A simple test to determine whether such a calculation has overflowed <RdLo> is to execute the instruction:
CMP

<RdHi>, <RdLo>, ASR #31

at the end of the calculation. If the Z flag is set, <RdLo> holds an accurate final result. If the Z flag is clear,
the final result has overflowed a signed 32-bit destination.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <RdLo>, <RdHi>, <Rm>, or <Rs> has

results.

UNPREDICTABLE

Operand restriction If <RdLo> and <RdHi> are the same register, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Condition flags

ARM DDI 0100E

The SMLAL<x><y> instructions do not affect the N, Z, C, V, or Q flags.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-27

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.11 SMLAW<y>
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

16 15

Rd

12 11

Rn

Rs

4 3

1 y 0 0

Rm

The SMLAW<y> instructions (SMLAWB and SMLAWT) perform a signed multiply-accumulate operation. The
multiply acts on a signed 32-bit quantity and a signed 16-bit quantity, with the latter being taken from either
the bottom or the top half of its source register. The other half of the second source register is ignored. The
top 32 bits of the 48-bit product are added to a 32-bit accumulate value and the result is written to the
destination register. The bottom 16 bits of the 48-bit product are ignored. If overflow occurs during the
addition of the accumulate value, the instruction sets the Q flag in the CPSR. No overflow can occur during
the multiplication, because of the use of the top 32 bits of the 48-bit product.

Syntax
SMLAW<y>{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>, <Rn>

where:
<y>

Specifies which half of the source register <Rs> is used as the second multiply operand. If
<y> is B, then y == 0 in the instruction encoding and the bottom half (bits[15:0]) of <Rs>
is used. If <y> is T, then y == 1 in the instruction encoding and the top half (bits[31:16]) of
<Rs> is used.

<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the source register which contains the 32-bit first multiply operand.

<Rs>

Specifies the source register whose bottom or top half (selected by <y>) is the second
multiply operand.

<Rn>

Specifies the register which contains the accumulate value.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

A10-28

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if (y == 0) then
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[15:0])
else /* y == 1 */
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[31:16])
Rd = (Rm * operand2)[47:16] + Rn
/* Signed multiplication */
if OverflowFrom((Rm * operand2)[47:16] + Rn) then
Q Flag = 1

Usage
In addition to its straightforward uses for integer multiply-accumulates, these instructions sometimes
provide a faster alternative to Q31 Q15 + Q31 Q31 multiply-accumulates synthesized from
SMULW<y> and QDADD instructions. The circumstances under which this is possible and the benefits it
provides are very similar to those for the SMLA<x><y> instructions. See Usage on page A10-24 for more
details.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>, or <Rn> has UNPREDICTABLE
results.

Condition flags

The SMLAW<y> instructions do not affect the N, Z, C, or V flags.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-29

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.12 SMUL<x><y>
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

16 15

Rd

12 11

SBZ

Rs

4 3

1 y x 0

Rm

The SMUL<x><y> instructions (SMULBB, SMULBT, SMULTB, and SMULTT) perform a signed multiply
operation. The multiply acts on two signed 16-bit quantities, taken from either the bottom or the top half of
their respective source registers. The other halves of these source registers are ignored. No overflow is
possible during this instruction.

Syntax
SMUL<x><y>{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>

where:
<x>

Specifies which half of the source register <Rm> is used as the first multiply operand. If <x>
is B, then x == 0 in the instruction encoding and the bottom half (bits[15:0]) of <Rm> is
used. If <x> is T, then x == 1 in the instruction encoding and the top half (bits[31:16]) of
<Rm> is used.

<y>

Specifies which half of the source register <Rs> is used as the second multiply operand. If
<y> is B, then y == 0 in the instruction encoding and the bottom half (bits[15:0]) of <Rs>
is used. If <y> is T, then y == 1 in the instruction encoding and the top half (bits[31:16]) of
<Rs> is used.

<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the source register whose bottom or top half (selected by <x>) is the first multiply
operand.

<Rs>

Specifies the source register whose bottom or top half (selected by <y>) is the second
multiply operand.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

A10-30

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if (x == 0) then
operand1 = SignExtend(Rm[15:0])
else /* x == 1 */
operand1 = SignExtend(Rm[31:16])
if (y == 0) then
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[15:0])
else /* y == 1 */
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[31:16])
Rd = operand1 * operand2

Usage
In addition to its straightforward uses for integer multiplies, this instruction can be used in combination with
the QADD, QDADD, and QDSUB instructions to perform multiplies, multiply-accumulates, and
multiply-subtracts on Q15 numbers. See the Usage sections on page A10-17, page A10-19, and
page A10-21 for examples.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, or <Rs> has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Condition flags

The SMUL<x><y> instructions do not affect the N, Z, C, V, or Q flags.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-31

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.13 SMULW<y>
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

16 15

Rd

12 11

SBZ

Rs

4 3

1 y 1 0

Rm

The SMULW<y> instructions (SMULWB and SMULWT) perform a signed multiply operation. The multiply
acts on a signed 32-bit quantity and a signed 16-bit quantity, with the latter being taken from either the
bottom or the top half of its source register. The other half of the second source register is ignored. The top
32 bits of the 48-bit product are written to the destination register. The bottom 16 bits of the 48-bit product
are ignored.
No overflow is possible during this instruction.

Syntax
SMULW<y>{<cond>}

<Rd>, <Rm>, <Rs>

where:
<y>

Specifies which half of the source register <Rs> is used as the second multiply operand. If
<y> is B, then y == 0 in the instruction encoding and the bottom half (bits[15:0]) of <Rs>
is used. If <y> is T, then y == 1 in the instruction encoding and the top half (bits[31:16]) of
<Rs> is used.

<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the destination register of the instruction.

<Rm>

Specifies the source register which contains the 32-bit first operand.

<Rs>

Specifies the source register whose bottom or top half (selected by <y>) is the second
operand.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above

Exceptions
None

A10-32

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if (y == 0) then
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[15:0])
else /* y == 1 */
operand2 = SignExtend(Rs[31:16])
Rd = (Rm * operand2)[47:16] /* Signed multiplication */

Usage
In addition to its straightforward uses for integer multiplies, this instruction can be used in combination with
the QADD, QDADD, and QDSUB instructions to perform multiplies, multiply-accumulates and
multiply-subtracts between Q31 and Q15 numbers. See the Usage sections on page A10-17, page A10-19,
and page A10-21 for examples.

Notes
Use of R15

Specifying R15 for register <Rd>, <Rm>, or <Rs> has UNPREDICTABLE results.

Condition flags

The SMULW<y> instructions do not affect the N, Z, C, V, or Q flags.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-33

Enhanced DSP Extension

10.6.14 STRD
31

28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

cond

0 0 0 P U I W 0

16 15

Rn

12 11

Rd

4 3

addr_mode 1 1 1 1 addr_mode

The STRD instruction stores a pair of ARM registers to two consecutive words of memory. The pair of
registers is restricted to being an even-numbered register and the odd-numbered register that immediately
follows it (for example, R10 and R11).
A greater variety of addressing modes is available than for a 2-register STM. However, the address of the
first of the two words is required to be doubleword-aligned (that is, the address must be divisible by 8).

Syntax
STR{<cond>}D

<Rd>, <addressing_mode>

where:
<cond>

Is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are defined in The
condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always) condition is used.

<Rd>

Specifies the even-numbered register which will be stored to the memory word addressed
by <addressing_mode>. The immediately following odd-numbered register will be
stored to the next memory word. If <Rd> is R14, which would specify R15 as the second
source register, the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.
If <Rd> specifies an odd-numbered register, the instruction is UNDEFINED.

<addressing_mode>
Is described in Addressing Mode 3 - Miscellaneous Loads and Stores on page A5-34. It
determines the P, U, I, W, Rn, and addr_mode bits of the instruction.
The syntax of all forms of <addressing_mode> includes a base register <Rn>. Some
forms also specify that the instruction modifies the base register value (this is known as base
register writeback).
The address generated by <addressing_mode> is the address of the lower of the two
words stored by the STRD instruction. The address of the higher word is generated by
adding 4 to this address.

Architecture version
E variants of version 5 and above, excluding ARMv5TExP

Exceptions
Data abort

A10-34

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Enhanced DSP Extension

Operation
if ConditionPassed(cond) then
if (Rd is even-numbered) then
if (address[2:0] == 0b000) and (Rd is not R14) then
Memory[address,4] = Rd
Memory[address+4,4] = R(d+1)
else
UNPREDICTABLE
else
UNDEFINED

Notes
Operand restrictions
If <addressing_mode> performs base register writeback and the base register <Rn> is
one of the two source registers of the instruction, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Data abort

For details of the effects of the instruction if a data abort occurs, see Effects of data-aborted
instructions on page A2-17.

Non doubleword-aligned addresses

If the store address is not doubleword-aligned, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Alignment

Time order

ARM DDI 0100E

If an implementation includes a System Control coprocessor (see Chapter B2 The System

Control Coprocessor), and alignment checking is enabled, then:

an address with bits[1:0] != 0b00 causes an alignment exception

an address with bits[2:0] == 0b000 does not cause an alignment exception

it is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether an address with bits[2:0] == 0b100 causes

an alignment exception.

The time order of the accesses to the two memory words is not architecturally defined. In
particular, an implementation is allowed to perform the two 32-bit memory accesses in
either order, or to combine them into a single 64-bit memory access.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

A10-35

Enhanced DSP Extension

A10-36

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Part B
Memory and System Architectures

Chapter B1
Introduction to Memory and System
Architectures

This chapter provides a high-level overview of memory and system architectures. It contains the following
sections:

About the memory system on page B1-2

System-level issues on page B1-4.

ARM DDI 0100E

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B1-1

Introduction to Memory and System Architectures

1.1

About the memory system

ARM processors are used in a wide range of embedded systems and other applications. The memory system
requirements of these applications vary considerably, from simple memory blocks with a flat address map,
to systems using any or all of the following to optimize their use of memory resources:

multiple types of memory

caches

write buffers

virtual memory and other memory remapping techniques.

The range of memory-mapped I/O devices that can be used adds further to the variety of systems based on
ARM processors.
Most systems need to initialize and control their memory system facilities in various ways, such as:

Enabling a cache, to ensure that its performance benefits are realized.

Setting up the virtual-to-physical address mapping for a virtual memory system.

Restricting access to memory regions.

Ensuring that the correct accesses to memory-mapped I/O devices occur, and that they occur at the
correct times. (This usually happens automatically in the simplest memory systems, but caches and
other facilities in more complex systems can interfere with it.)

The standard way to perform memory system control in ARM-based systems is to use coprocessor 15
(CP15), which is also known as the System Control coprocessor. Chapter B2 The System Control
Coprocessor provides a top-level overview of this coprocessor.
The rest of Part B (Chapter B3 through Chapter B6) describes standardized ways to perform a variety of
memory system control operations using CP15:
Chapter B3 Memory Management Unit
Describes a sophisticated system to control virtual-to-physical address mapping, access
permissions to memory, and other memory attributes, based on the use of a Memory
Management Unit (MMU).
Chapter B4 Protection Unit
Describes a simpler Protection Unit system which is suitable for many applications which
do not require the full facilities provided by the MMU memory system.
Chapter B5 Caches and Write Buffers
Describes facilities to control caches and write buffers. These are common to the MMU and
Protection Unit systems
Chapter B6 Fast Context Switch Extension
Describes the Fast Context Switch Extension, which facilitates fast switching between up
to 128 processes executing in separate process blocks, each of size up to 32MB.

B1-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Introduction to Memory and System Architectures

Note
Because of the wide variety of systems based on ARM processors, all functionality described in Part B
might be inappropriate to any given system. Furthermore, some ARM processors have implemented
functions in a different manner to the one described here. Because of this, the datasheet or Technical
Reference Manual for a particular ARM processor is the definitive source for its memory and system control
facilities.
Part B therefore does not attempt to specify absolute requirements on the functionality of the System
Control coprocessor or other memory system components. Instead, it contains guidelines which, if
followed:

mean that the system is more likely to be compatible with existing and future ARM software.

probably make it easier to port incompatible software to the system.

In order to provide an adequate description of the range of memory and system facilities on existing ARM
implementations, Part B describes a number of options that will not be used on new ARM implementations.
For information on the rules that must be followed by new implementations of the memory and system
architectures, contact ARM Ltd.
The fact that Part B describes a broad range of facilities, many of which are used only on some existing
ARM implementations, also means that architecture version numbers for the memory and system
architectures would not be helpful or descriptive. They are therefore not used.

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B1-3

Introduction to Memory and System Architectures

1.2

System-level issues
This section lists a number of general and operating-system issues that the system designer needs to address
when using an ARM processor.

1.2.1

Memory systems, write buffers and caches

ARM processors and software are designed to be connected to a byte-addressed memory. Word and
halfword accesses to the memory ignore the alignment of the address and access the naturally-aligned value
that is addressed (so a memory access ignores address bits 0 and 1 for word access, and ignores bit 0 for
halfword accesses). The endianness of the ARM processor should normally match that of the memory
system, or be configured to match it before any non-word accesses occur (when the endianness is
configurable and CP15 is implemented, bit[7] of CP15 register 1 controls the endianness).
Memory that is used to hold programs and data should be marked as follows:

Main (RAM) memory is normally set as cachable and bufferable.

ROM memory is normally set as cachable, and should be marked as read only, so the bufferable
attribute is not used and should be 1.

Write buffers
Some ARM implementations incorporate a merging write buffer that subsumes multiple writes to the same
location into a single write to main memory. Furthermore, some write buffers re-order writes, so that writes
are issued to memory in a different order to the order in which they are issued by the processor. Therefore,
I/O locations should not normally be marked as bufferable, to ensure all writes are issued to the I/O device
in the correct order.
For writes to bufferable areas of memory, memory aborts can only be signaled to the processor as a result
of conditions that are detectable at the time the data is placed in the write buffer. Conditions that can only
be detected when the data is later written to main memory (such as a parity error from main memory) must
be handled by other methods (typically by raising an interrupt).

Caches
Frame buffers can be cachable, but frame buffers on writeback cache implementations must be copied back
to memory after the frame buffer has been updated. Frame buffers can be bufferable, but again the write
buffer must be written back to memory after the frame buffer has been updated.
ARM processors do not normally support cache coherence between the ARM and other system bus masters.
Bus snooping is not supported. If memory data is to be shared between multiple bus masters without taking
special software measures to ensure coherency, then the data must be mapped as:

B1-4

uncachable to ensure that all reads access main memory

unbufferable to ensure that all write access main memory.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Introduction to Memory and System Architectures

Alternatively, using software, you can manage the coherence of data buffers that are read or written by
another bus master by:

cleaning data from writeback caches and write buffers to memory when the processor has written to
the data buffer and before the other bus master reads the buffer

flushing relevant data from caches when the buffer is being read after the other bus master has written
the buffer.

You can use an uncached, unbuffered semaphore to maintain synchronization between multiple bus masters
(see Semaphores on page B1-6).
For implementations with writeback caches, all dirty cache data must be written back before any alterations
are made to the MMU page tables, to ensure that cache line write back can use the page tables to form the
correct physical address for the transfer.
You can index caches using either virtual or physical addresses. Physical pages must only be mapped into
a single virtual page, otherwise the result is UNPREDICTABLE. ARM processors do not normally provide
coherence between multiple virtual copies of a single physical page.
Some ARM implementations support separate instruction and data caches. Coherence between the data and
instruction caches is not necessarily maintained in hardware, so if the instruction stream is written, the
instruction cache and data cache must be made coherent. This can entail:

cleaning the data cache (storing dirty data to memory)

draining the write buffer (completing all buffered writes)

flushing the instruction cache.

Instruction and data memory incoherence occurs after a program has been loaded (and therefore treated as
data) and is about to be executed. It also occurs if self-modifying code is used or generated.

1.2.2

Interrupts
ARM processors implement fast and normal levels of interrupt. Both interrupts are signaled externally, and
many implementations synchronize interrupts before an exception is raised.
Fast interrupt request (FIQ)
Disables subsequent normal and fast interrupts by setting the I and F bits in the CPSR.
Normal interrupt request (IRQ)
Disables subsequent normal interrupts by setting the I bit in the CPSR.
For more information, see Exceptions on page A2-13.

Canceling interrupts
It is the responsibility of software (the interrupt handler) to ensure that the cause of an interrupt is canceled
(no longer signaled to the processor) before interrupts are re-enabled (by clearing the I and/or F bit in the
CPSR). Interrupts can be canceled with any instruction that might make an external data bus access,
meaning any load or store, a swap, or any coprocessor instruction.

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B1-5

Introduction to Memory and System Architectures

Canceling an interrupt via an instruction fetch is UNPREDICTABLE.

Canceling an interrupt with a load multiple that restores the CPSR and re-enables interrupts is
UNPREDICTABLE.

Devices that do not instantaneously cancel an interrupt (that is, they do not cancel the interrupt before letting
the access complete) must be probed by software to ensure that interrupts have been canceled before
interrupts are re-enabled. This allows a device connected to a remote I/O bus to operate correctly.

1.2.3

Semaphores
The Swap and Swap Byte instructions have predictable behavior when used in two ways:

Systems with multiple bus masters that use the Swap instructions to implement semaphores to control
interaction between different bus masters.
In this case, the semaphores must be placed in an uncached and unbufferable region of memory. The
Swap instruction then causes a (locked) read-write bus transaction.
This type of semaphore can be externally aborted.

Systems with multiple threads running on a uniprocessor that use the Swap instructions to implement
semaphores to control interaction of the threads.
In this case, the semaphores can be placed in a cached and bufferable region of memory, and a
(locked) read-write bus transaction might or might not occur. The Swap and Swap Byte instructions
are likely to have better performance on such a system than they do on a system with multiple bus
masters (as described above).
This type of semaphore has UNPREDICTABLE behavior if it is externally aborted.

Semaphores placed in uncachable/bufferable memory regions have UNPREDICTABLE results. Semaphores

placed in cachable/unbufferable memory regions have UNPREDICTABLE results.

B1-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter B2
The System Control Coprocessor

This chapter describes coprocessor 15, the System Control coprocessor. It contains the following sections:

About the System Control coprocessor on page B2-2

Registers on page B2-3

Register 0: ID codes on page B2-6

Register 1: Control register on page B2-13

Registers 2-15 on page B2-17.

ARM DDI 0100E

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B2-1

The System Control Coprocessor

2.1

About the System Control coprocessor

All of the standard memory and system facilities are controlled by coprocessor 15 (CP15), which is
therefore called the System Control coprocessor. Some also use other methods of control, which are
described in the chapters describing the facilities concerned. For example, the Memory Management Unit
described in Chapter B3 Memory Management Unit is also controlled by page tables in memory.
If none of the standard memory and system facilities are implemented in a system, the System Control
coprocessor might not be present. In this case, no coprocessor accepts CP15 instructions, and so all such
instructions are UNDEFINED.
However, new implementations of the memory and system architectures must implement the System
Control coprocessor, and must follow some additional rules about which facilities are implemented. For
details of these rules, contact ARM Ltd.
This chapter describes the overall design of the System Control coprocessor and how its registers are
accessed. Detailed information is given on some of its registers. Other registers are allocated to facilities
described in detail in other chapters and are only summarized in this chapter.

B2-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The System Control Coprocessor

2.2

Registers
The System Control coprocessor can contain up to 16 primary registers, each of which is 32 bits long. For
some of these, additional bits in the register access instructions are used to identify a specific version of the
register and/or specific types of access to the register, so the number of physical 32-bit registers in CP15
can be more than 16. However, the 4-bit primary register number is used to identify registers in descriptions
of the System Control coprocessor, because it is the primary factor determining the function of the register.
CP15 registers can be read-only, write-only or read/write. The detailed descriptions of the registers specify:

2.2.1

what types of access are allowed

what functionality is invoked by each type of access

whether a primary register identifies more than one physical register, and if so, how they are
distinguished

any other details that are relevant to the use of the register.

Register access instructions

The only defined System Control coprocessor instructions are:

MCR instructions to write an ARM register to a CP15 register

MRC instructions to read the value of a CP15 register into an ARM register.
All CP15 CDP, LDC and STC instructions are UNDEFINED.
31

28 27 26 25 24 23

21 20 19

1 1 1 0

cond

SBZ

16 15

CRn

12 11

Rd

1 1 1 1 opcode2 1

CRm

The MCR and MRC instructions to access the CP15 registers use the generic syntax for those instructions:
MCR{<cond>}
MRC{<cond>}

p15, 0, <Rd>, <CRn>, <CRm>{, <opcode2>}

p15, 0, <Rd>, <CRn>, <CRm>{, <opcode2>}

where:
<cond>

This is the condition under which the instruction is executed. The conditions are
defined in The condition field on page A3-5. If <cond> is omitted, the AL (always)
condition is used.

Bits[23:21]

These bits of the instruction, which are the <opcode1> field in generic MRC and
MCR instructions, are always 0b000 in valid CP15 instructions. If they are not
0b000, the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.

<Rd>

This is the ARM register involved in the transfer (the source register for MCR and
the destination register for MRC). This register must not be R15, even though MCR
instructions normally allow it to be R15. If R15 is specified for <Rd> in a CP15 MRC
or MCR instruction, the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.

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B2-3

The System Control Coprocessor

<CRn>

This is the primary CP15 register involved in the transfer (the destination register
for MCR and the source register for MRC). The standard generic coprocessor register
names are c0, c1, ..., c15.

<CRm>

This is an additional coprocessor register name which is used for accesses to some
primary registers to specify additional information about the version of the register
and/or the type of access.
When the description of a primary register does not specify <CRm>, c0 must be
specified. If another register is specified, the instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.

<opcode2>

This is an optional 3-bit number which is used for accesses to some primary
registers to specify additional information about the version of the register and/or
the type of access. If it is omitted, 0 is used.
When the description of a primary register does not specify <opcode2>, it must
be omitted or 0 must be specified. If another value is specified, the instruction is
UNPREDICTABLE.

These MCR and MRC instructions can only be used while the processor is in a privileged mode. If they are
executed while the processor is in User mode, an Undefined Instruction exception occurs.

Note
If access to some System Control coprocessor functionality by User mode programs is required, the usual
solution is that the operating system defines one or more SWIs to supply it. As the precise set of memory
and system facilities available on different processors can vary considerably, it is recommended that all such
SWIs are implemented in an easily replaceable module and that the SWI interface of this module is defined
to be as independent of processor details as possible.
The IMB and IMB_Range SWIs described in Instruction Memory Barriers (IMBs) on page A2-28 are
examples of such SWIs.

B2-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The System Control Coprocessor

2.2.2

Primary register allocation

Table 2-1 shows the allocation of the primary registers of the System Control coprocessor.
Table 2-1 Primary register allocation

Reg

Generic use

Specific uses

Details in

ID codes (read-only)

ID and Cache type

Register 0: ID codes on page B2-6

Control bits (read/write)

Miscellaneous control bits

Register 1: Control register on page B2-13

Memory protection and

control

MMU: Translation table

base
PU: Cachability bits

Register 2: Translation table base on

page B3-23
Register 2: Cachability bits on page B4-6

Memory protection and

control

MMU: Domain access

control
PU: Bufferability bits

Register 3: Domain access control on

page B3-24
Register 3: Bufferability bits on page B4-6

Memory protection and

control

MMU: Reserved
PU: Reserved

Register 4: Reserved on page B3-24

Registers 4, 8, 10: Reserved on page B4-7

Memory protection and

control

MMU: Fault status

PU: Access permission bits

Register 5: Fault status on page B3-24

Register 5: Access permission bits on
page B4-7

Memory protection and

control

MMU: Fault address

PU: Protection area control

Register 6: Fault address on page B3-25

Register 6: Protection area control on
page B4-8

Cache and write buffer

Cache/write buffer control

Register 7: Cache functions on page B5-15

Memory protection and

control

MMU: TLB control

PU: Reserved

Register 8: TLB functions on page B3-25

Registers 4, 8, 10: Reserved on page B4-7

Cache and write buffer

Cache lockdown

Register 9: Cache lockdown on page B5-18

10

Memory protection and

control

MMU: TLB lockdown

PU: Reserved

Register 10: TLB lockdown on page B3-27

Registers 4, 8, 10: Reserved on page B4-73

11

Reserved

12

Reserved

13

Process ID

Process ID

Register 13: Process ID on page B6-6

14

Reserved

15

IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED

IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED

Implementation documents

ARM DDI 0100E

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B2-5

The System Control Coprocessor

2.3

Register 0: ID codes
CP15 register 0 contains one or more identification codes for the ARM and system implementation. When
this register is read, the opcode2 field of the MRC instruction selects which identification code is wanted, as
shown in Table 2-2, and the CRm field must be specified as c0 (if it is not, the instruction is
UNPREDICTABLE). Writing to CP15 register 0 is UNPREDICTABLE.
Table 2-2 System Control coprocessor ID registers
opcode2

Register

Details in

0b000

Main ID register

Main ID register

0b001

Cache Type register

Cache Type register on page B2-9

other

Reserved (see main text)

It is recommended that all the ID registers in Table 2-2 are implemented, but only the main ID register
(<opcode2> == 0) is mandatory. Whether or not other ID registers are implemented is IMPLEMENTATION
DEFINED.
If an <opcode2> value corresponding to an unimplemented or reserved ID register is encountered, the
System Control coprocessor returns the value of the main ID register.
ID registers other than the main ID register are defined so that when implemented, their value cannot be
equal to that of the main ID register. Software can therefore determine whether they exist by reading both
the main ID register and the desired register and comparing their values. If the two values are not equal, the
desired register exists.

2.3.1

Main ID register
When CP15 register 0 is read with <opcode2> == 0, an identification code is returned from which, among
other things, the ARM architecture version number can be determined, as well as whether or not the Thumb
instruction set has been implemented.

Note
Only some of the fields in CP15 register 0 are architecturally defined. The rest are IMPLEMENTATION
DEFINED and provide more detailed information about the exact processor variant. Consult individual
datasheets for the precise identification codes used for each processor.
For historical reasons, there are three distinct ways in which the CP15 register 0 ID code might need to be
interpreted. To determine which to use, look at bits[15:12] of the ID code:

if they are 0x0, this indicates a pre-ARM7 processor

if they are 0x7, this indicates that the processor is in the ARM7 family

otherwise, a more recent processor family than ARM7 is involved.

B2-6

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ARM DDI 0100E

The System Control Coprocessor

Post-ARM7 processors
If bits[15:12] of the ID code are neither 0x0 nor 0x7, the ID code is interpreted as follows:
31

24 23

Implementor

20 19

Variant

16 15

Architecture

Primary part number

Revision

Bits[3:0]

Contain the IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED revision number for the processor.

Bits[15:4]

Contain an IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED representation of the primary part number for the
processor. The top four bits of this number are not allowed to be 0x0 or 0x7.

Bits[19:16]

Contain an architecture code. The following architecture codes are defined (all other values
of the architecture code are reserved by ARM Ltd):
0x1
Architecture 4
0x2
Architecture 4T
0x3
Architecture 5
0x4
Architecture 5T
0x5
Architecture 5TE.

Bits[23:20]

Contain an IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED variant number. This is typically used to distinguish

two variants of the same primary part, for example, two different cache size variants.

Bits[31:24]

Contain an implementor code. The following codes are defined (all other values of the
architecture code are reserved by ARM Ltd):
0x41
= A (ARM Ltd)
0x44
= D (Digital Equipment Corporation).
0x69
= i (Intel Corporation).

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B2-7

The System Control Coprocessor

ARM7 family processors

If bits[15:12] of the ID code are 0x7, the ID code is interpreted as follows:
31

24 23 22

Implementor

16 15

Variant

4 3

Primary part number

Revision

Bits[3:0]

Contain the IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED revision number for the processor.

Bits[15:4]

Contain an IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED representation of the primary part number for the
processor. The top four bits of this number are 0x7.

Bits[22:16]

Contain an IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED variant number.

Bit[23]

Indicates which of the two possible architectures for an ARM7-based processor is involved:
0
Architecture 3
1
Architecture 4T.

Bits[31:24]

Contain an implementor code. See Post-ARM7 processors for these codes.

Pre-ARM7 processors
Four processors prior to ARM7 use ID codes in which bits[15:12] are 0x0, and no further processors will
be allocated such ID codes. They are interpreted as a 28-bit processor ID and a 4-bit revision number:
31

Processor ID

Revision

The processor ID values are as follows:

B2-8

0x4156030

ARM3 (Architecture 2)

0x4156060

ARM600 (Architecture 3)

0x4156061

ARM610 (Architecture 3)

0x4156062

ARM620 (Architecture 3).

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The System Control Coprocessor

2.3.2

Cache Type register

If present, the Cache Type register supplies the following details about the cache:

whether it is a unified cache or separate instruction and data caches

its size, line length and associativity

whether it is a write-through cache or a write-back cache

how it can be cleaned efficiently (in the case of a write-back cache)

whether cache lock-down is supported.

See Types of cache on page B5-5 for a discussion of these details.
The format of the Cache Type register is:
31

29 28

0 0 0

25 24 23

ctype

12 11

Dsize

Isize

ctype

Specifies details of the cache not specified by the S bit and the Dsize and Isize fields. See
Table 2-3 on page B2-9 for details of the encoding. All values not specified in the table are
reserved for future expansion.

S bit

Specifies whether the cache is a unified cache (S == 0), or separate instruction and data
caches (S == 1). If S == 0, the Isize and Dsize fields both describe the unified cache, and
must be identical.

Dsize

Specifies the size, line length and associativity of the data cache, or of the unified cache if
S == 0. See Cache size fields on page B2-10 for details of the encoding.

Isize

Specifies the size, line length and associativity of the instruction cache, or of the unified
cache if S == 0. See Cache size fields on page B2-10 for details of the encoding.

Table 2-3 Cache type values

ctype field

Method

Cache cleaning

Cache lock-down

0b0000

Write-through

Not needed

Not supported

0b0001

Write-back

Read data block

Not supported

0b0010

Write-back

Register 7 operations

Not supported

0b0110

Write-back

Register 7 operations

Supported, format A

0b0111

Write-back

Register 7 operations

Supported, format B

ARM DDI 0100E

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B2-9

The System Control Coprocessor

The Read data block method of cleaning write-back caches encoded by ctype == 0b0001 consists of loading
a sequential block of data with size equal to that of the cache, and which is known not to be in the cache
already. It is only suitable for use when the cache organization guarantees that this causes the entire cache
to be reloaded. (For example, direct-mapped caches normally have this property, as do caches using some
types of round-robin replacement.)

Note
This method of cache cleaning must only be used if the Cache Type register has ctype == 0b0001, or if
implementation documentation states that it is a valid method for the implementation.
Register 7: Cache functions on page B5-15 gives details of the register 7 operations used for cleaning other
write-back caches.
For an explanation of cache lockdown and of the formats referred to in Table 2-3, see Register 9: Cache
lockdown on page B5-18.

2.3.3

Cache size fields

The Dsize and Isize fields in the Cache Type register have the same format, as follows:
11

9 8

0 0 0

size

3 2

assoc

1 0

M len

Bits[11:9] are reserved for future expansion.

The size of the cache is determined by the size field and M bit, as shown in Table 2-4.
Table 2-4 Cache sizes

B2-10

size field

Size if M == 0

Size if M == 1

0b000

0.5KB

0.75KB

0b001

1KB

1.5KB

0b010

2KB

3KB

0b011

4KB

6KB

0b100

8KB

12KB

0b101

16KB

24KB

0b110

32KB

48KB

0b111

64KB

96KB

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The System Control Coprocessor

The line length of the cache is determined by the len field, as shown in Table 2-5.
Table 2-5 Cache line lengths
len field

Cache line length

0b00

2 words (8 bytes)

0b01

4 words (16 bytes)

0b10

8 words (32 bytes)

0b11

16 words (64 bytes)

The associativity of the cache is determined by the assoc field and M bit, as shown in Table 2-6.
Table 2-6 Cache associativity
assoc
field

Associativity if
M == 0

Associativity
if M == 1

0b000

1-way
(direct-mapped)

cache absent

0b001

2-way

3-way

0b010

4-way

6-way

0b011

8-way

12-way

0b100

16-way

24-way

0b101

32-way

48-way

0b110

64-way

96-way

0b111

128-way

192-way

The cache absent encoding overrides all other data in the cache size field.
Alternatively, the following formulae can be used to determine the values LINELEN, ASSOCIATIVITY
and NSETS, defined in Cache size on page B5-4, once the cache absent case (assoc == 0b000, M == 1) has
been checked for and eliminated:
LINELEN

= 1 << (len+3)

MULTIPLIER
ASSOCIATIVITY

= 2 + M
= MULTIPLIER << (assoc-1)

NSETS

= 1 << (size + 6 - assoc - len)

ARM DDI 0100E

/* In bytes */

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B2-11

The System Control Coprocessor

Multiplying these together gives the overall cache size as:

CACHE_SIZE

= MULTIPLIER << (size+8)

/* In bytes */

Note
Cache length fields with (size + 6 - assoc - len) < 0 are invalid, as they correspond to impossible
combinations of line length, associativity and overall cache size. So the formula for NSETS never involves
a negative shift amount.

B2-12

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ARM DDI 0100E

The System Control Coprocessor

2.4

Register 1: Control register

This register contains:

Enable/disable bits for the caches, MMUs, and other memory system blocks that are primarily
controlled by other CP15 registers. This allows these memory system blocks to be programmed
correctly before they are enabled.

Various configuration bits for memory system blocks and for the ARM processor itself.

Note
Extra bits of both varieties might be added in the future. Because of this, this register should normally be
updated using read/modify/write techniques, to ensure that currently unallocated bits are not needlessly
modified. Failure to observe this rule might result in code which has unexpected side-effects on future
processors. One exception that may be useful in some circumstances is that 0 can be written to this register
to restore it to its reset state.
31

16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

UNP/SBZP

6 5

1 0

L4RR V I Z F R S B L D P W C A M

Reading from CP15 register 1 reads the control bits. The <CRm> and <opcode2> fields are ignored when
reading CP15 register 1, and should be zero.
Writing to CP15 register 1 sets the control bits. The <CRm> and <opcode2> fields are not used when
writing CP15 register 1, and should be zero.
When a control bit in CP15 register 1 is not applicable to a particular implementation, it reads as the value
that most closely reflects that implementation, and ignores writes. (Specific examples of this general rule
are documented in the individual bit descriptions below.) Apart from bits that read as 1 according to this
rule, all bits in CP15 register 1 are set to 0 on reset.
M (bit[0])

This is the enable/disable bit for the MMU or Protection Unit:

0 = MMU or Protection Unit disabled
1 = MMU or Protection Unit enabled.
On systems without an MMU or Protection Unit, this bit reads as 0 and ignores writes.

A (bit[1])

For memory systems which optionally allow the alignment of data memory accesses to be
checked, this bit enables and disables alignment fault checking:
0 = Alignment fault checking disabled
1 = Alignment fault checking enabled.
For other memory systems, this bit ignores writes, and reads as 1 or 0 according to whether
the memory system does or does not check the alignment of data memory accesses.

ARM DDI 0100E

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B2-13

The System Control Coprocessor

C (bit[2])

If a unified cache is used, this is the enable/disable bit for the unified cache. If separate
caches are used, this is the enable/disable bit for the data cache. In either case:
0 = Cache disabled
1 = Cache enabled.
If the cache is not implemented, this bit reads as 0 and ignores writes. If the cache cannot
be disabled, this bit reads as 1 and ignores writes.

W (bit[3])

This is the enable/disable bit for the write buffer:

0 = Write buffer disabled
1 = Write buffer enabled.
If the write buffer is not implemented, this bit reads as 0 and ignores writes. If the write
buffer cannot be disabled, this bit reads as 1 and ignores writes.

P (bit[4])

On ARM processors which support 26-bit backwards-compatibility configurations, this bit

controls the PROG32 configuration signal:
0 = Exception handlers entered in 26-bit modes
1 = Exception handlers entered in 32-bit modes.
For details, see 32-bit and 26-bit configuration on page A8-10.
On ARM processors which do not support 26-bit backwards-compatibility configurations,
this bit reads as 1 and ignores writes.

D (bit[5])

On ARM processors which support 26-bit backwards-compatibility configurations, this bit

controls the DATA32 configuration signal:
0 = 26-bit address exception checking enabled
1 = 26-bit address exception checking disabled.
For details, see 32-bit and 26-bit configuration on page A8-10.
On ARM processors which do not support 26-bit backwards-compatibility configurations,
this bit reads as 1 and ignores writes.

L (bit[6])

In some ARMv3 and earlier implementations, the abort model of the processor could be
configured:
0 = Early Abort Model selected (now obsolete)
1 = Late Abort Model selected (same as Base Updated Abort Model).
For details, see Effects of data-aborted instructions on page A2-17.
On later processors, this bit reads as 1 and ignores writes.

B (bit[7])

On ARM processors which support both little-endian and big-endian memory systems, this
bit is used to configure the ARM processor to the endianness of the memory system:
0 = Configured for little-endian memory system
1 = Configured for big-endian memory system.
For details, see Endianness on page A2-23.

B2-14

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The System Control Coprocessor

On ARM processors that support only little-endian memory systems, this bit reads as 0 and
ignores writes. On ARM processors that support only big-endian memory systems, this bit
reads as 1 and ignores writes.
S (bit[8])

System protection bit (in an MMU-based memory system). The effect of this bit is described
in Access permissions on page B3-16.

R (bit[9])

ROM protection bit (in an MMU-based memory system). The effect of this bit is described
in Access permissions on page B3-16.

F (bit[10])

The meaning of this bit is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Z (bit[11])

On ARM processors which support branch prediction, this is the enable/disable bit for
branch prediction:
0 = Branch prediction disabled
1 = Branch prediction enabled.
If branch prediction cannot be disabled, this bit reads as 1 and ignores writes.
On ARM processors that do not support branch prediction, this bit reads as 0 and ignores
writes.

I (bit[12])

If separate caches are used, this is the enable/disable bit for the instruction cache:
0 = Instruction cache disabled
1 = Instruction cache enabled.
If a unified cache is used or the instruction cache is not implemented, this bit reads as 0 and
ignores writes. If the instruction cache cannot be disabled, this bit reads as 1 and ignores
writes.

V (bit[13])

On ARM processors which support the alternative high vectors described in High vectors
on page A2-21, this bit is used to select the location of the exception vector:
0 = Normal exception vectors selected (address range 0x00000000 - 0x0000001C)
1 = High exception vectors selected (address range 0xFFFF0000 - 0xFFFF001C).
On ARM processors that do not support high vectors, this bit reads as 0 and ignores writes.

RR (bit[14])

If the cache allows an alternative replacement strategy to be used which has more easily
predictable worst-case performance, this bit selects it:
0 = Normal replacement strategy (for example, random replacement)
1 = Predictable strategy (for example, round-robin replacement).
If the cache does not allow a choice of replacement strategy this bit should ignore writes,
and read as 0 or 1 according to whether the replacement strategy has a reasonably easily
predictable worst-case performance.

L4 (bit[15])

For some ARM processors that support architecture version 5 or above, this bit controls a
backwards-compatibility feature with previous versions of the architecture.
0 = normal behaviour for the architecture

ARM DDI 0100E

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B2-15

The System Control Coprocessor

1 = load instructions that load the PC and use bit[0] of the loaded value to determine whether
to enter ARM or Thumb state (that is, to set the new value of the CPSR T bit) instead ignore
bit[0] of the T bit and stay in the current execution state.
The instructions affected by this are:

LDM (1) on page A4-30

LDR on page A4-37

POP on page A7-75

For ARM processors that support architecture versions prior to version 5, this bit should be
treated as UNP/SBZP. For ARM processors that support architecture versions 5 or above,
but which do not support this backwards-compatibility feature, this bit reads as zero and
ignores writes.
Bits[31:16]

B2-16

When these bits are read, they return an UNPREDICTABLE value. When they are written, the
value written must either be zero or a value previously read from the same bits.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

The System Control Coprocessor

2.5

Registers 2-15
System Control coprocessor registers other than registers 0 and 1 are allocated to specific areas as follows:

CP15 registers 2-6, 8 and 10 are allocated to the memory protection system. See Chapter B3 Memory
Management Unit and Chapter B4 Protection Unit for details of these registers.

CP15 registers 7 and 9 are allocated to the control of caches and write buffers. See Chapter B5 Caches
and Write Buffers for details of these registers.

CP15 register 13 is allocated to the process ID of the Fast Context Switch Extension. See Chapter B6
Fast Context Switch Extension for details of this register.

CP15 register 15 is reserved for IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED purposes. See the technical reference
manual for the implementation or other implementation-specific documentation for details of the
facilities available through this register.

CP15 registers 11, 12 and 14 are reserved for future expansion. Accessing (reading or writing) any
of these registers is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B2-17

The System Control Coprocessor

B2-18

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter B3
Memory Management Unit

This chapter describes the memory system architecture based on a Memory Management Unit (MMU). It
contains the following sections:

About the MMU architecture on page B3-2

Memory access sequence on page B3-4

Translation process on page B3-6

Access permissions on page B3-16

Domains on page B3-17

Aborts on page B3-18

CP15 registers on page B3-23.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-1

Memory Management Unit

3.1

About the MMU architecture

The Memory Management Unit (MMU) memory system architecture allows fine-grained control of a
memory system. Most of the detailed control is provided through translation tables held in memory. Entries
in these tables define the properties of memory areas of various sizes from 1KB to 1MB. The properties
include:
Virtual-to-physical address mapping
An address generated by the ARM processor is called a virtual address. The MMU allows
this address to be mapped to a different physical address. This physical address identifies
which main memory location is being accessed.
This can be used to manage the allocation of physical memory in many ways. For example,
it can be used to allocate memory to different processes with potentially conflicting address
maps, or to allow an application with a sparse address map to use a contiguous region of
physical memory.

Note
If the Fast Context Switch Extension is being used (see Chapter B6 Fast Context Switch
Extension), all references to virtual addresses in this chapter mean the modified virtual
address that it generates.
Memory access permissions
These control whether a program has no access, read-only access or read/write access to the
memory area. When an access is not permitted, a memory abort is signaled to the ARM
processor.
The level of access allowed can also be affected by whether the program is running in User
mode or a privileged mode, and by the use of domains (see Domains on page B3-17).
Cachability and bufferability bits (C and B)
These are described in Cachability and bufferability on page B5-8.
System Control coprocessor registers allow high-level control of this system, such as the location of the
translation tables. They are also used to provide status information about memory aborts to the ARM.
The process of doing a full translation table lookup is known as a translation table walk. It is performed
automatically by hardware, and has a significant execution time cost (at least one main memory access, and
often two). To reduce the average cost of a memory access, the results of translation table walks are cached
in one or more structures known as Translation Lookaside Buffers (TLBs). Usually, there is a TLB for each
memory interface of the ARM implementation:

a system with a single memory interface normally has a single unified TLB

a system with separate instruction and data memory interfaces normally has separate instruction and
data TLBs.

If the system also contains a cache or caches, the number of caches is usually determined in the same way
(see Unified or separate caches on page B5-5). So in cached systems, there is normally one TLB per cache.

B3-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

When translation tables in memory are changed or a different translation table is selected (by writing to
CP15 register 2), previously cached translation table walk results in the TLBs are likely to cease to be valid.
The MMU architecture therefore supplies operations to flush TLBs.
The MMU architecture also allows specific translation table walk results to be locked down in a TLB. This
ensures that accesses to the associated memory areas never cause a translation table walk, and has similar
benefits for real-time code to those of locking down instructions and data in the cache (see Register 9: Cache
lockdown on page B5-18).

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-3

Memory Management Unit

3.2

Memory access sequence

When the ARM generates a memory access, the MMU first looks up the virtual address of the access in the
TLB. If the implementation has separate data and instruction TLBs, it uses:

the instruction TLB for an instruction fetch

the data TLB for all other types of access.

If the TLB does not contain an entry for the virtual address, translation table walk hardware is invoked to
retrieve the translation and access permission information from the translation table held in main memory.
Once retrieved, the information is placed in the TLB, either in a currently unused entry or overwriting an
existing entry. See Translation process on page B3-6 for a description of translation tables and of how the
translation table walk is performed.
Once the TLB entry for a memory access is obtained, the information it contains is used as follows:
1.

The C (cachable) and B (bufferable) bits are used to control the cache and write buffer and to
determine whether the access is cached or uncached, as described in Cachability and bufferability on
page B5-8. (If the system does not contain a cache and/or a write buffer, the relevant bits are ignored.)

2.

The access permission bits and domain are used to determine whether the access is permitted. If the
access is not permitted, the MMU signals a memory abort to the ARM processor. Otherwise, the
access is allowed to proceed.
The sections Access permissions on page B3-16, Domains on page B3-17 and Aborts on page B3-18
describe in more detail how this is done.

3.

For an uncached memory access (including all memory accesses in an uncached system), the physical
address is used as the address for the main memory access.
For a cached memory access, the physical address is used as the address for the line fetch in the event
of a cache miss. If a cache hit occurs, the physical address is ignored.

Figure 3-1 illustrates this for a cached system:

Access
control
hardware

Access bits,
domain

Translation
table walk
hardware
TLB

Abort

Physical address
(PA)

Main
memory

C, B bits

ARM

Virtual address
(VA)

Cache
and
write buffer

Cache
line fetch
hardware

Figure 3-1 Cached MMU memory system overview

B3-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.2.1

Enabling and disabling the MMU

The MMU can be enabled and disabled by writing bit[0] of register 1 of the System Control coprocessor.
On reset, this bit is cleared to 0, so the MMU is disabled after a reset.
When the MMU is disabled, memory accesses are treated as follows:

It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether caches and write buffers are allowed to be enabled while the
MMU is disabled.

For caches and write buffers which are not allowed to be enabled while the MMU is disabled,
the values of the C and B bits for a memory access are irrelevant.

For caches and write buffers which are allowed to be enabled while the MMU is disabled, a
data access is treated as uncachable and unbufferable (C == 0, B == 0). An instruction fetch is
treated as uncachable (C == 0) in a system with a unified TLB, and as cachable (C == 1) in a
system with a separate instruction TLB.

No memory access permission checks are performed, and no aborts are generated by the MMU.

The physical address for every access is equal to its virtual address (this is known as a flat address
mapping).

Before the MMU is enabled, suitable translation tables must be set up in memory and all relevant CP15
registers must be programmed.

Note
Enabling or disabling the MMU effectively changes the virtual-to-physical address mapping (unless the
translation tables are set up to implement a flat address mapping). It is therefore likely that any caches, for
example, that are enabled at the time will need to be flushed (see Address mapping changes on page B5-10).
In addition, if the physical address of the code that enables or disables the MMU differs from its virtual
address, instruction prefetching can cause complications (see Prefetching and self-modifying code on
page A2-27). It is therefore strongly recommended that code which enables or disables the MMU has
identical virtual and physical addresses.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-5

Memory Management Unit

3.3

Translation process
The MMU supports memory accesses based on sections or pages:
Sections

Are comprised of 1MB blocks of memory.

Three different page sizes are supported:

Tiny pages

Consist of 1KB blocks of memory.

Small pages

Consist of 4KB blocks of memory.

Large pages

Consist of 64KB blocks of memory.

Sections and large pages are supported to allow mapping of a large region of memory while using only a
single entry in the TLB. Additional access control mechanisms are extended within small pages to 1KB
subpages, and within large pages to 16KB subpages. There are no similar subpages for tiny pages, so access
controls for tiny pages apply to the entire page.
The translation table held in main memory has two levels:
First-level table

Holds both section translations and pointers to second-level tables.

Second-level tables

Hold both large and small page translations. One type of second-level table can also
hold tiny page translations.

The MMU translates virtual addresses generated by the CPU into physical addresses to access external
memory, and also derives and checks the access permission. There are four routes by which the address
translation (and therefore permission check) takes place. The route taken depends on whether the address
in question has been marked as a section-mapped access or a page-mapped access. A page-mapped access
can be a large, small, or tiny page access.
However, the translation process always starts out in the same way, as described below, with a first-level
fetch. A section-mapped access only requires a first level fetch, but a page-mapped access also requires a
second-level fetch.

3.3.1

Translation table base

The translation process is initiated when the on-chip TLB does not contain an entry for the requested virtual
address. The Translation Table Base Register (CP15 register 2) holds the physical address of the base of the
first-level table. Only bits[31:14] of the Translation Table Base Register are significant, and bits[13:0]
should be zero. Therefore, the first-level page table must reside on a 16KB boundary.

3.3.2

First-level fetch
Bits[31:14] of the Translation Table Base register are concatenated with bits[31:20] of the virtual address
and two zero bits to produce a 32-bit physical address as illustrated in Figure 3-2. This address selects a
four-byte translation table entry which is a first-level descriptor for a section or a pointer to a second-level
page table.

B3-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

31

14 13

Translation base

SBZ

31

20 19

Table index

31

14 13

2 1

Translation base

Table index

00

Figure 3-2 Accessing the translation table first-level descriptors

3.3.3

First-level descriptors
Each entry in the first-level table is a descriptor of how its associated 1MB virtual address range is mapped.
There are the following possibilities, selected by bits[1:0] of the descriptor as shown in Table 3-1:

If bits[1:0] == 0b00, the associated virtual addresses are unmapped, and attempts to access them
generate a translation fault (see Aborts on page B3-18). Software can use bits[31:2] for its own
purposes in such a descriptor, as they are ignored by the hardware. Where appropriate, it is suggested
that bits[31:2] continue to hold valid access permissions for the descriptor.

If bits[1:0] == 0b10, the entry is a section descriptor for its associated virtual addresses. See Section
descriptor and translating section references on page B3-8 for details of how it is interpreted.

If bit[0] == 1, the entry gives the physical address of a coarse second-level table (if bit[1] == 0) or of
a fine second-level table (if bit[1] == 1). Each type of table specifies how the associated 1MB virtual
address range is mapped. Coarse tables are smaller, at 1KB per table (compared with 4KB per table
for fine tables). However, coarse tables can only map large pages and small pages, while fine tables
can map large, small and tiny pages. The two types of table are described in Coarse page table
descriptor on page B3-9 and Fine page table descriptor on page B3-10.
Table 3-1 First-level descriptor format
31

20 19

Fault
Coarse
page table
Section
Fine page
table

ARM DDI 0100E

12 11 10 9

Coarse page table base address

Fine page table base address

SBZ

1 0

0 0

IGN

Section base address

AP

S
B
Z
S
B
Z

SBZ

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

Domain
Domain
Domain

IMP

0 1

I
M C B 1 0
P
IMP

1 1

B3-7

Memory Management Unit

3.3.4

Section descriptor and translating section references

If the first-level descriptor is a section descriptor, the fields have the following meanings:
Bits[1:0]

Identify the type of descriptor (0b10 marks a section descriptor).

Bits[3:2]

The cachable and bufferable bits (see Cachability and bufferability on page B5-8).

Bit[4]

The meaning of this bit is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Bits[8:5]

The domain field specifies one of the sixteen possible domains for the section controlled by
this descriptor.

Bit[9]

This bit is not currently used, and should be zero.

Bits[11:10]

Access permissions. These bits control the access to the section. See Table 3-3 on
page B3-16 for the interpretation of these bits.

Bits[19:12]

These bits are not currently used, and should be zero.

Bits[31:20]

The Section Base Address forms the top 12 bits of the physical address.

Figure 3-3 illustrates the complete section translation sequence.

Note
The access permissions in the first-level descriptor must be checked before the physical address is
generated. The sequence for checking access permissions is given in Access permissions on page B3-16.

Translation
table base

31

SBZ

Virtual
address

Address of
first-level descriptor

14 13

Translation base

31

31

20 19

Table index

14 13

Translation base

Section index

2 1

Table index

00

First-level fetch

31

First-level descriptor

20 19

Physical
address

31

12 11 10 9 8

SBZ

Section base address

20 19

Section base address

5 4 3 2 1

I
S
AP B Domain M C B 1 0
P
Z

Section index

Figure 3-3 Section translation

B3-8

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.3.5

Coarse page table descriptor

If the first-level descriptor is a coarse page table descriptor, the fields have the following meanings:
Bits[1:0]

Identify the type of descriptor (0b01 marks a coarse page table descriptor).

Bits[4:2]

The meaning of these bits is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Bits[8:5]

The domain field specifies one of the sixteen possible domains for all the pages controlled
by this descriptor.

Bit[9]

This bit is not currently used, and should be zero.

Bits[31:10]

The Page Table Base Address is a pointer to a coarse second-level page table, giving the
base address for a second-level fetch to be performed. Coarse second-level page tables must
be aligned on a 1KB boundary.

If a coarse page table descriptor is returned from the first-level fetch, a second-level fetch is initiated to
retrieve a second-level descriptor, as shown in Figure 3-4.

Translation
table base

31

14 13

Translation base

SBZ

31

Virtual
address

Address of
first-level descriptor

31

20 19

First-level
table index

14 13

Translation base

12 11

Second-level
table index

2 1 0

First-level
table index

0 0

First-level fetch
10 9 8

31

First-level descriptor

Address of
second-level descriptor

Page table base address

31

5 4

S
B Domain
Z

IMP

10 9

Page table base address

2 1 0

0 1

2 1 0

Second-level
table index

0 0

Figure 3-4 Accessing coarse page table second-level descriptors

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-9

Memory Management Unit

3.3.6

Fine page table descriptor

If the first-level descriptor is a fine page table descriptor, the fields have the following meanings:
Bits[1:0]

Identify the type of descriptor (0b11 marks a fine page table descriptor).

Bits[4:2]

The meaning of these bits is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Bits[8:5]

The domain field specifies one of the sixteen possible domains for all the pages controlled
by this descriptor.

Bit[11:9]

These bits are not currently used, and should be zero.

Bits[31:12]

The Page Table Base Address is a pointer to a fine second-level page table, giving the base
address for a second-level fetch to be performed. Fine second-level page tables must be
aligned on a 4KB boundary.

If a fine page table descriptor is returned from the first-level fetch, a second-level fetch is initiated to retrieve
a second-level descriptor, as shown in Figure 3-5.

Translation
table base

31

14 13

Translation base

SBZ

31

Virtual
address

Address of
first-level descriptor

31

20 19

Second-level
table index

14 13

Translation base

10 9

First-level
table index

2 1 0

First-level
table index

0 0

First-level fetch
31

First-level descriptor

Address of
second-level descriptor

12 11

Page table base address

31

SBZ

9 8

5 4

Domain

IMP

12 11

Page table base address

2 1 0

1 1

2 1 0

Second-level
table index

0 0

Figure 3-5 Accessing fine page table second-level descriptors

B3-10

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.3.7

Second-level descriptor
Each entry in a coarse second-level table corresponds to how a 4KB virtual address range is mapped, and
each entry in a fine second-level table corresponds to how a 1KB virtual address range is mapped. The
entries are page descriptors, and can describe a page which is larger than 4KB or 1KB respectively. When
this happens, the descriptor must be repeated enough times in the second-level table to ensure that the same
descriptor is always used for the page, regardless of which virtual address is being accessed within the page.
There are four possibilities for a second-level descriptor, selected by bits[1:0] of the descriptor as shown in
Table 3-2:

If bits[1:0] == 0b00, the associated virtual addresses are unmapped, and attempts to access them
generate a translation fault (see Aborts on page B3-18). Software can use bits[31:2] for its own
purposes in such a descriptor, as they are ignored by the hardware. Where appropriate, it is suggested
that bits[31:2] continue to hold valid access permissions for the descriptor.

If bits[1:0] == 0b01, the entry is a large page descriptor, describing 64KB of virtual addresses. See
Translating large page references on page B3-13 for details.
A large page descriptor must be repeated 64 times in a fine second-level table or 16 times in a coarse
second-level table to ensure that all of its virtual addresses are described.

If bits[1:0] == 0b10, the entry is a small page descriptor, describing 4KB of virtual addresses. See
Translating small page references on page B3-14 for details.
A small page descriptor must be repeated four times in a fine second-level table to ensure that all of
its virtual addresses are described. In a coarse second-level table, only one instance of each small
page descriptor is needed.

If bits[1:0] == 0b11, the entry is a tiny page descriptor, describing 1KB of virtual addresses. See
Translating tiny page references on page B3-15 for details.
Only one instance of each tiny page descriptor is needed in a fine second-level table. Tiny page
descriptors must not appear in coarse second-level tables. If they do, the results are UNPREDICTABLE.
Table 3-2 Second-level descriptor format

31

16 15

Fault
Large page
Small page
Tiny page

ARM DDI 0100E

12 11 10 9

6 5

IGN
Large table base address
Small page base address
Tiny page base address

1 0

0 0
SBZ

AP3 AP2 AP1 AP0 C B 0 1

AP3 AP2 AP1 AP0 C B 1 0
SBZ

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

AP

C B 1 1

B3-11

Memory Management Unit

Large page descriptor fields

The fields in a large page descriptor have the following meanings:
Bits[1:0]

Identify the type of descriptor.

Bits[3:2]

Are the cachable and bufferable bits (see Cachability and bufferability on page B5-8).

Bits[11:4]

Are the access permission bits. These bits control access to the page. See Table 3-3 on
page B3-16 for the interpretation of these bits. Large pages are split into four subpages:
AP0
Encodes the access permissions for the first subpages.
AP1
Encodes the access permissions for the second subpages.
AP2
Encodes the access permissions for the third subpages.
AP3
Encodes the access permissions for the fourth (last) subpages.

Bits[15:12]

Are not currently used, and must be zero.

Bits[31:16]

Are used to form the corresponding bits of the physical address.

Small page descriptor fields

The fields in a small page descriptor have the following meanings:
Bits[1:0]

Identify the type of descriptor.

Bits[3:2]

Are the cachable and bufferable bits (see Cachability and bufferability on page B5-8).

Bits[11:4]

Are the access permission bits. These bits control access to the page. See Table 3-3 on
page B3-16 for the interpretation of these bits. Small pages are split into four subpages:
AP0
Encodes the access permissions for the first subpages.
AP1
Encodes the access permissions for the second subpages.
AP2
Encodes the access permissions for the third subpages.
AP3
Encodes the access permissions for the fourth (last) subpages.

Bits[31:12]

Are used to form the corresponding bits of the physical address.

Tiny page descriptor fields

The fields in a tiny page descriptor have the following meanings:

B3-12

Bits[1:0]

Identify the type of descriptor.

Bits[3:2]

Are the cachable and bufferable bits (see Cachability and bufferability on page B5-8).

Bits[5:4]

Are the access permission bits. See Table 3-3 on page B3-16 for the interpretation of these
bits, which apply to the entire tiny page.

Bits[9:6]

Are not currently used, and must be zero.

Bits[31:10]

Are used to form the corresponding bits of the physical address.

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.3.8

Translating large page references

Figure 3-6 shows the complete translation sequence for a 64KB large page in a coarse second-level table.
The translation sequence for a large page in a fine second-level table is similar, but with the address of the
second-level descriptor being determined as shown in Fine page table descriptor on page B3-10.

Note
As the upper four bits of the Page Index and low-order four bits of the Second-level Table Index overlap,
each page table entry for a large page must be repeated 16 times (in consecutive memory locations) in a
coarse page table. Similarly, each page table entry for a large page must be repeated 64 times in a fine page
table.

Translation
table base

31

14 13

Translation base

SBZ

31

Virtual
address

Address of
first-level descriptor

31

20 19

First-level
table index

14 13

Page index

2 1 0

First-level
table index

Translation base

12 11

16 15

Secondlevel table index

0 0

First-level fetch
31

First-level descriptor

Address of
second-level descriptor

10 9 8

Page table base address

31

5 4

S
B Domain
Z

IMP

10 9

Page table base address

2 1 0

0 1

2 1 0

Second-level
table index

0 0

Second-level fetch
16 15

31

Second-level descriptor

Large page base address

AP3 AP2 AP1 AP0 C B 0 1

16 15

31

Physical address

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

SBZ

Large page base address

Page index

Figure 3-6 Large page translation in a coarse second-level table

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-13

Memory Management Unit

3.3.9

Translating small page references

Figure 3-7 shows the complete translation sequence for a 4KB small page in a coarse second-level table.
The translation sequence for a small page in a fine second-level table is similar, but with the address of the
second-level descriptor being determined as shown in Fine page table descriptor on page B3-10.

Note
When a small page appears in a fine second-level table, the upper two bits of the Page Index and the
low-order two bits of the Second-level Table Index overlap. So each page table entry for a small page must
be repeated four times (in consecutive memory locations) in a fine page table.

Translation
table base

31

14 13

Translation base

SBZ

31

Virtual
address

Address of
first-level descriptor

31

20 19

First-level
table index

14 13

Page index

2 1 0

First-level
table index

Translation base

12 11

Second-level
table index

0 0

First-level fetch
31

First-level descriptor

Address of
second-level descriptor

10 9 8

Page table base address

31

5 4

S
B Domain
Z

IMP

10 9

Page table base address

2 1 0

0 1

2 1 0

Second-level
table index

0 0

Second-level fetch
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

31

Second-level descriptor

Small page base address

12 11

31

Physical address

AP3 AP2 AP1 AP0 C B 1 0

Small page base address

Page index

Figure 3-7 Small page translation in a coarse second-level table

B3-14

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.3.10

Translating tiny page references

Figure 3-8 shows the complete translation sequence for a 1KB tiny page in a fine second-level table.

Note
Tiny pages can not appear in a coarse second-level table.

Translation
table base

31

14 13

Translation base

SBZ

31

Virtual
address

Address of
first-level descriptor

31

20 19

Second-level
table index

14 13

Page index

2 1 0

First-level
table index

Translation base

10 9

First-level
table index

0 0

First-level fetch
31

First-level descriptor

Address of
second-level descriptor

12 11

Page table base address

31

SBZ

9 8

5 4

Domain

1 1

2 1

12 11

Page table base address

2 1

IMP

Second-level
table index

0 0

Second-level fetch
10 9

31

Second-level descriptor

Tiny page base address

31

Physical address

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

SBZ

AP C B 1 1

10 9

Tiny page base address

Page index

Figure 3-8 Tiny page translation in a fine second-level table

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-15

Memory Management Unit

3.4

Access permissions
The access permission bits in section and page descriptors control access to the corresponding section or
page. The access permissions are modified by the System (S) and ROM (R) control bits in CP15 register 1.
Table 3-3 describes the meaning of the access permission bits in conjunction with the S and R bits. If an
access is made to an area of memory without the required permission, a Permission Fault is raised (see
Aborts on page B3-18).
Table 3-3 MMU access permissions

B3-16

AP

Privileged
permissions

User
permissions

0b00

No access

No access

0b00

Read only

No access

0b00

Read only

Read only

0b00

UNPREDICTABLE

UNPREDICTABLE

0b01

Read/write

No access

0b10

Read/write

Read only

0b11

Read/write

Read/write

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.5

Domains
A domain is a collection of sections, large pages and small pages. The ARM architecture supports 16
domains. Access to each domain is controlled by a 2-bit field in the Domain Access Control Register. Each
field allows the access to an entire domain to be enabled and disabled very quickly, so that whole memory
areas can be swapped in and out of virtual memory very efficiently. Two kinds of domain access are
supported:
Clients

Are users of domains (execute programs, access data), and are guarded by the access
permissions of the individual sections and pages that make up the domain.

Managers

Control the behavior of the domain (the current sections and pages in the domain, and the
domain access), and are not guarded by the access permissions of individual sections and
pages in the domain.

One program can be a client of some domains, and a manager of some other domains, and have no access
to the remaining domains. This allows very flexible memory protection for programs that access different
memory resources. Table 3-4 illustrates the encoding of the bits in the Domain Access Control Register.
Table 3-4 Domain Access Values
Value

Access types

Description

0b00

No access

Any access generates a domain fault

0b01

Client

Accesses are checked against the access permission bits in the

section or page descriptor

0b10

Reserved

Using this value has UNPREDICTABLE results

0b11

Manager

Accesses are not checked against the access permission bits in the
section or page descriptor, so a permission fault cannot be generated

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-17

Memory Management Unit

3.6

Aborts
Mechanisms that can cause the ARM processor to halt execution because of memory access restrictions are:
MMU fault

The MMU detects the restriction and signals the processor.

External abort

The external memory system signals an illegal memory access.

Collectively, MMU faults and external aborts are just called aborts. Accesses that cause aborts are said to
be aborted.
If the memory request that is aborted is an instruction fetch, then a Prefetch Abort exception is raised if and
when the processor attempts to execute the instruction corresponding to the illegal access. If the aborted
access is a data access, a Data Abort exception is raised. See Exceptions on page A2-13 for more
information about Prefetch and Data Aborts.

3.6.1

MMU faults
The MMU generates four types of fault:

alignment fault

translation fault

domain fault

permission fault.
The memory system can abort three types of access:

line fetches

memory accesses (uncached or unbuffered accesses)

translation table accesses.

Aborts that are detected by the MMU are stopped before any external memory access takes place. It is the
responsibility of the external system to stop external accesses that cause external aborts.
The System Control coprocessor contains two registers which are updated when a data access is aborted.
These registers are not updated for Prefetch Aborts, as the aborted instruction might not be executed due to
changes in program flow.

Fault Address Register (FAR) and Fault Status Register (FSR)

Aborts resulting from data accesses (Data Aborts) are immediately acted upon by the CPU. The Fault Status
Register (FSR) is updated with a 4-bit Fault Status (FS[3:0]) and the domain number of the access. In
addition, the virtual address which caused the Data Abort is written into the Fault Address Register (FAR).
If a data access simultaneously generates more than one type of Data Abort, they are prioritized in the order
given in Table 3-5 on page B3-19.
Aborts arising from instruction fetches are flagged as the instruction enters the instruction pipeline. Only
when (and if) the instruction is executed does it cause a Prefetch Abort exception. An abort resulting from
an instruction fetch is not acted upon if the instruction is not used (for example, if it is branched around).
Normally, the fault address associated with a Prefetch Abort exception is determined from the value saved
in R14_abt when the Prefetch Abort exception vector is entered. It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether
B3-18

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

the FSR and FAR are updated for an abort arising from an instruction fetch, and if so, what useful
information they contain about the fault. However, an abort arising from an instruction fetch will never
update the FSR and the FAR between the time that an abort arising from a data access updates them and the
time of the corresponding entry into the Data Abort exception vector. In other words, a Data Abort handler
can rely upon its FAR and FSR values not being corrupted by an abort arising from an instruction fetch that
was not acted upon.
Table 3-5 Priority encoding of fault status
Priority

Sources

FS
[3:0]

Domain
[3:0]

FAR

Highest

Terminal Exception

0b0010

Invalid

IMPLEMENTATION
DEFINED

Lowest

Vector Exception

0b0000

Invalid

Valid

Alignment

0b00x1

Invalid

Valid

External Abort on Translation

First level
Second level

0b1100
0b1110

Invalid
Valid

Valid
Valid

Translation

Section
Page

0b0101
0b0111

Invalid
Valid

Valid
Valid

Domain

Section
Page

0b1001
0b1011

Valid
Valid

Valid
Valid

Permission

Section
Page

0b1101
0b1111

Valid
Valid

Valid
Valid

External Abort on Linefetch

Section
Page

0b0100
0b0110

Valid
Valid

Valid
Valid

External Abort on
Non-linefetch

Section
Page

0b1000
0b1010

Valid
Valid

Valid
Valid

Note
Alignment faults can write either 0b0001 or 0b0011 into FS[3:0].
Invalid values in Domain[3:0] occur because the fault is raised before a valid domain field has been loaded.
Any abort masked by the priority encoding can be regenerated by fixing the primary abort and restarting the
instruction.
The FS[3:0] encoding for Vector Exception breaks from the pattern that FS[0] is zero for all external aborts.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-19

Memory Management Unit

Fault-checking sequence
The sequence by which the MMU checks for access faults is slightly different for Sections and Pages. Figure
3-9 illustrates the sequence for both types of access.

Virtual address

Yes

Checking
alignment?

Check address alignment

No
No

Misaligned?

Get first-level descriptor

No

Translation
external
abort

Yes

Alignment
fault

External
abort
No

Section
translation
fault

Yes

Section

Descriptor
fault

Section or page?

Page

Get second-level descriptor

External
abort

Yes

Translation
external
abort

No

Invalid
descriptor?

Yes

Page
translation
fault

No

Check domain

Section
domain
fault

No
access

Access
type

Check domain
Manager

Access
type

Client

Section
permission
fault

Yes

No
access

Page
domain
fault

Client

Check access permissions

Check access permissions

Violation?

Violation?

No

Yes

Sub-page
permission
fault

No

Physical address

Figure 3-9 Sequence for checking faults

B3-20

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

Terminal exception
This indicates that an irrecoverable fault has occurred. The circumstances under which this can happen (if
at all) are IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Vector exception
When the processor is in a 32-bit configuration (PROG32 is active) and in a 26-bit mode (CPSR[4] == 0),
data access (but not instruction fetches) to the normal exception vectors (address 0x0 to 0x1F) cause a Data
Abort, known as a vector exception. It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED if vector exceptions are generated when
the MMU is not enabled. For more information, see Vector exceptions on page A8-11.

Alignment fault
If alignment faults are enabled, an alignment fault is generated on any data word access whose address is
not word-aligned (virtual address bits [1:0] != 0b00), or any halfword access that is not halfword-aligned
(virtual address bit[0] != 0). Alignment faults are not generated on any instruction fetch, or on any byte
access.

Note
If the access generates an alignment fault, it is aborted without reference to further permission checks. It is
IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED if alignment exceptions are generated when the MMU is not enabled.

Translation fault
There are two types of translation fault:
Section

This is generated if the first-level descriptor is marked as invalid. This happens if bits[1:0]
of the descriptor are both 0.

Page

This is generated if the second-level descriptor is marked as invalid. This happens if

bits[1:0] of the descriptor are both 0.

Domain fault
There are two types of domain fault:

Section

Page.
In both cases, the first descriptor holds the 4-bit Domain field which selects one of the sixteen 2-bit domains
in the Domain Access Control Register. The two bits of the specified domain are then checked for access
permissions as detailed in Table 3-4 on page B3-17:

In the case of a section, the domain is checked when the first-level descriptor is returned.

In the case of a page, the domain is checked when the second-level descriptor is returned.
If the specified access is marked as No Access in the Domain Access Control Register, either a Section
Domain Fault or Page Domain Fault occurs.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-21

Memory Management Unit

Permission fault
There are section permission faults and subpage permission faults.
Permission faults are checked at the same time as domain faults. If the 2-bit domain field returns client (01),
the permission access check is invoked as follows:
Section

If the first-level descriptor defines a section access, the AP bits of the descriptor define
whether or not the access is allowed, according to Table 3-3 on page B3-16. If the access is
not allowed, a section permission fault is generated.

Subpages

If the first-level descriptor defines a page-mapped access, the second-level descriptor can
define a tiny page, a small page or a large page. If the second-level descriptor defines a tiny
page, it contains a single access permission field (AP), which applies to the whole page.
Otherwise, the second-level descriptor contains four access permission fields (AP3, AP2,
AP1, AP0), each corresponding to one quarter of the page.
For small pages, AP3 is selected by the top 1KB of the page, and AP0 is selected by the
bottom 1KB of the page. For large pages, AP3 is selected by the top 16KB of the page, and
AP0 is selected by the bottom 16KB of the page. The selected AP bits are then interpreted
in exactly the same way as for a section, (see Table 3-3 on page B3-16) the only difference
being that the fault generated is a subpage permission fault.

3.6.2

External aborts
In addition to the MMU faults, the ARM architecture defines an external abort pin which can be used to flag
an error on an external memory access. However, not all accesses can be aborted in this way, so this pin
must be used with great care. The following accesses can be externally aborted and restarted safely:

reads

unbuffered writes

first-level descriptor fetch

second-level descriptor fetch

semaphores in uncachable/unbufferable memory areas.

A linefetch can be safely aborted on any word in the line transfer. If the abort happens on data that has been
requested by the processor (rather than data that is being fetched as the remainder of a cache line), the access
is aborted. Any data transferred that is not immediately accessed (the remainder of the cache line) is only
aborted when it is accessed.
It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED if the FAR points to the start address of the cache line, or the address that
generated the abort.
Buffered writes cannot be externally aborted. Therefore, the system must be configured so that it does not
do buffered writes to areas of memory which are capable of flagging an external abort, or a different
mechanism needs to be used to signal the abort (an interrupt for example).
The value of a memory location that causes an abort is UNPREDICTABLE after the abort.

B3-22

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.7

CP15 registers
The MMU is controlled with the System Control coprocessor registers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10, and some bits
of register 1.

3.7.1

MMU control bits in register 1

The following bits in the System Control coprocessor register 1 are used to control the MMU:
M (bit[0])

This is the enable/disable bit for the MMU:

0 = MMU disabled
1 = MMU enabled.
On systems without an MMU or Protection Unit, this bit must read as zero and ignore
writes.

A (bit[1])

This bit enables and disables alignment fault checking (see Alignment fault on page B3-21):
0 = Alignment fault checking disabled
1 = Alignment fault checking enabled.

3.7.2

S (bit[8])

This is the system protection bit. The effect of this bit is described in Access permissions on
page B3-16.

R (bit[9])

This is the ROM protection bit. The effect of this bit is described in Access permissions on
page B3-16.

Register 2: Translation table base

31

14 13

Translation Table Base

UNP/SBZP

Reading from CP15 register 2 returns the physical address of the currently active first-level translation table
in bits[31:14] and an UNPREDICTABLE value in bits[13:0]. The CRm and opcode2 fields are ignored when
reading CP15 register 2 and should be zero.
Writing to CP15 register 2 updates the physical address of the currently active first-level translation table
from the value in bits[31:14] of the written value. Bits[13:0] must be written as zero or as a value previously
read from bits[13:0] of this register. The CRm and opcode2 fields are ignored when writing CP15 register 2
and should be zero.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-23

Memory Management Unit

3.7.3

Register 3: Domain access control

31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8

D15 D14 D13 D12 D11 D10

D9

D8

D7

D6

D5

D4

D3

4 3

D2

D1

D0

Reading from CP15 register 3 returns the value of the Domain Access Control Register. The CRm and
opcode2 fields are ignored when reading CP15 register 3 and should be zero.
Writing to CP15 register 3 writes the value of the Domain Access Control Register. The CRm and opcode2
fields are ignored when writing CP15 register 3 and should be zero.
The Domain Access Control Register consists of sixteen 2-bit fields (see Domains on page B3-17), each
defining the access permissions for one of the sixteen Domains (D15D0).

3.7.4

Register 4: Reserved
Reading and writing CP15 register 4 is UNPREDICTABLE.

3.7.5

Register 5: Fault status

31

9 8

UNP/SBZP

4 3

Domain

Status

Reading CP15 register 5 returns the value of the Fault Status Register (FSR). The FSR contains the source
of the last data fault. Only the bottom nine bits are returned. The upper 23 bits are UNPREDICTABLE. The
FSR indicates the domain and type of access being attempted when an abort occurred.
Bit[8]

Returns zero.

Bits[7:4]

Specify which of the sixteen domains (D15D0) was being accessed when a fault occurred.

Bits[3:0]

Indicate the type of access being attempted. The encoding of these bits is shown in Table
3-5 on page B3-19.

The FSR is updated for data faults. It is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED whether the FSR is updated for prefetch
faults (for details, see Fault Address Register (FAR) and Fault Status Register (FSR) on page B3-18). The
CRm and opcode2 fields are ignored when reading CP15 register 5 and should be zero.
Writing CP15 register 5 sets the Fault Status Register to the value of the data written. This is useful for a
debugger to restore the value of the FSR. The upper 24 bits written should be zero or a value previously read
from the FSR. The CRm and opcode2 fields are ignored when writing CP15 register 5 and should be zero.

B3-24

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.7.6

Register 6: Fault address

31

Fault address

Reading CP15 register 6 returns the value of the FAR. The FAR holds the virtual address of the access
which was attempted when a fault occurred. The FAR is updated for data faults. It is IMPLEMENTATION
DEFINED whether the FAR is updated for prefetch faults (for details see Fault Address Register (FAR) and
Fault Status Register (FSR) on page B3-18). The CRm and opcode2 fields are ignored when reading CP15
register 6 and should be zero.
Writing CP15 register 6 sets the Fault Address Register to the value of the data written. This is useful for a
debugger to restore the value of the FAR. The CRm and opcode2 fields are ignored when writing CP15
register 6 and should be zero.

Note
If the Fast Context Switch Extension (FCSE) described in Chapter B6 is being used, then:

3.7.7

When the FAR is updated for a memory fault, the modified virtual address is written to the FAR.

When the FAR is read by an MRC instruction or written by an MCR instruction, its value is being
treated as data and so no address modification is performed by the FCSE.

Register 8: TLB functions

CP15 register 8 is a write-only register which is used to control TLBs. Table 3-6 on page B3-26 shows the
defined TLB operations and the values of <CRm> and <opcode2> used in the MCR instruction for each of
them. The results of using any combination of <CRm> and <opcode2> not specified in the table are
UNPREDICTABLE.
If any of the following operations are used on an implementation with a unified TLB, the equivalent
function is performed on the unified TLB:

invalidate instruction TLB

invalidate instruction single entry

invalidate entire data TLB

invalidate data single entry.

Otherwise, if a function not relevant to a particular implementation is performed, the results are
UNPREDICTABLE.

Attempting to read CP15 register 8 with an MRC instruction is UNPREDICTABLE.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B3-25

Memory Management Unit

The invalidate single entry operations can be used to improve performance on some implementations when
only a small amount of memory is being remapped. For each remapped memory area (section, small page
or large page), the invalidate single entry operation needs to be performed on a virtual address in the
memory area. The performance improvement comes from not having to subsequently reload TLB entries
relating to memory areas that were not remapped.

Note
The performance improvement for the invalidate single entry operations is not guaranteed. Implementations
are free to invalidate more than the single requested entry, up to and including invalidating the entire TLB.

Caution
When memory is remapped, all TLB entries relating to the old mapping must be invalidated. If this is not
done, it is possible to get into a state where two TLB entries relate to overlapping ranges of virtual addresses.
Any attempt to address the overlapped virtual memory addresses results in UNPREDICTABLE behavior at
best, and might even physically damage the MMU on some implementations.
It is therefore strongly recommended that great care is taken to invalidate the TLB appropriately whenever
memory is remapped.

Table 3-6 TLB functions

Function

<opcode2>

<CRm>

Data

Instruction

Invalidate entire unified TLB

or both instruction and data
TLBs

0b000

0b0111

SBZ

MCR p15, 0, Rd, c8, c7, 0

Invalidate unified single entry

0b001

0b0111

Virtual
address

MCR p15, 0, Rd, c8, c7, 1

Invalidate entire instruction

TLB

0b000

0b0101

SBZ

MCR p15, 0, Rd, c8, c5, 0

Invalidate instruction single

entry

0b001

0b0101

Virtual
address

MCR p15, 0, Rd, c8, c5, 1

Invalidate entire data TLB

0b000

0b0110

SBZ

MCR p15, 0, Rd, c8, c6, 0

Invalidate data single entry

0b001

0b0110

Virtual
address

MCR p15, 0, Rd, c8, c6, 1

Note
If the Fast Context Switch Extension (FCSE) described in Chapter B6 is being used, the virtual addresses
passed to CP15 by some of the functions in Table 3-6 are passed as data. This means that no address
modification is performed for them by the FCSE.

B3-26

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

3.7.8

Register 10: TLB lockdown

Translation table walks can take a considerable amount of time, especially as they involve potentially slow
main memory accesses. In real-time interrupt handlers, translation table walks caused by the TLB not
containing translations for the handler and/or the data it accesses can increase interrupt latency significantly.
TLB lockdown is a feature of some ARM memory systems which allows the results of specified translation
table walks to be loaded into the TLB, in such a way that they are not overwritten by the results of
subsequent translation table walks. It is programmed via CP15 register 10.
If W is the logarithm base 2 of the number of TLB entries, rounded up to an integer if necessary, then the
format of CP15 register 10 is:
31

32-W 31-W

base

32-2W 31-2W

victim

UNP/SBZP

If the implementation has separate instruction and data TLBs, there are two variants of this register, selected
by the <opcode2> field of the MCR or MRC instruction used to access register 10:
<opcode2> == 0

Selects the data TLB lockdown register.

<opcode2> == 1

Selects the instruction TLB lockdown register.

If the implementation has a unified TLB, only one variant of this register exists, and <opcode2> should
be zero.
<CRm> must always be c0 for MCR and MRC instructions that access register 10.
Writing register 10 has the following effects:

The victim field specifies which TLB entry is replaced by the translation table walk result generated
by the next TLB miss.

The base field constrains the TLB replacement strategy to only use the TLB entries numbered from
(base) to (number of TLB entries)-1, provided the victim field is already in that range.

Any translation table walk results written to TLB entries while P == 1 are protected from being
invalidated by the register 8 invalidate entire TLB operations. Ones written while P == 0 are
invalidated normally by these operations.

Note
If the number of TLB entries is not a power of two, writing a value to either the base or victim fields which
is greater than or equal to the number of TLB entries has UNPREDICTABLE results.
Reading register 10 returns the last values written to the base field and the P bit, and the number of the next
TLB entry to be replaced in the victim field.

ARM DDI 0100E

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B3-27

Memory Management Unit

TLB lockdown procedure

The normal procedure to lock down N TLB entries is as follows:
1.

Ensure that no processor exceptions can occur during the execution of this procedure, by disabling
interrupts, and so on.

2.

If an instruction TLB or unified TLB is being locked down, write the appropriate version of register
10 with base == N, index == N, and P == 0. If appropriate, also turn off facilities like branch
prediction that make instruction prefetching harder to understand.

3.

Invalidate the entire TLB to be locked down.

4.

If an instruction TLB is being locked down, ensure that all TLB entries are loaded which relate to any
instruction that could be prefetched by the rest of the lockdown procedure. (Provided care is taken
about where the lockdown procedure starts, it is normally possible for one TLB entry to cover all of
these, in which case the first instruction prefetch after the TLB is invalidated can do this job.)
If a data TLB is being locked down, ensure that all TLB entries are loaded which relate to any data
accessed by the rest of the lockdown procedure, including any inline literals used by its code. (This
is usually best done by avoiding the use of inline literals in the lockdown procedure and by putting
all other data used by it in an area covered by a single TLB entry, then loading one data item.)
If a unified TLB is being locked down, do both of the above.

5.

For each of i = 0 to N-1:

a.
b.

6.

Write to register 10 with base == i, victim == i, and P == 1.

Force a translation table walk to occur for the area of memory whose translation table walk
result is to be locked into TLB entry i, by:

If a data TLB or unified TLB is being locked down, loading an item of data from the
area of memory.

If an instruction TLB is being locked down, using the register 7 prefetch instruction
cache line operation defined in Register 7: Cache functions on page B5-15 to cause an
instruction to be prefetched from the area of memory.

Write to register 10 with base == N, victim == N, and P == 0.

Note
If you are using the Fast Context Switch Extension (FCSE) (see Chapter B6), take care in step 5b, because:

If a data TLB or a unified TLB is being locked down, the address used for the load instruction is
subject to modification by the FCSE.

If an instruction TLB is being locked down, the address used for the register 7 operation is being
treated as data and so is not subject to modification by the FCSE.
To minimise the possible confusion caused by this, it is recommended that the lockdown procedure should:

start by disabling the FCSE (by setting the PID to zero)

where appropriate, generate modified virtual addresses itself by ORing the appropriate PID value into
the top 7 bits of the virtual addresses it uses.

B3-28

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Memory Management Unit

TLB unlock procedure

To unlock the locked-down portion of the TLB after it has been locked down using the above procedure:
1.

Use register 8 operations to invalidate each single entry that was locked down.

2.

Write to register 10 with base == 0, victim == 0, and P == 0.

Note
Step 1 is used in order to ensure that P == 1 entries are not left in the TLB. If they were left in the TLB, the
entire TLB invalidation step (step 3) of a subsequent TLB lockdown procedure would not have the desired
effect.

ARM DDI 0100E

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B3-29

Memory Management Unit

B3-30

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter B4
Protection Unit

This chapter describes the ARM Protection Unit. It contains the following sections:

About the Protection Unit on page B4-2

Overlapping regions on page B4-5

CP15 registers on page B4-6.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B4-1

Protection Unit

4.1

About the Protection Unit

The Protection Unit memory system architecture provides a considerably simpler alternative to the MMU
memory system architecture described in Chapter B3 Memory Management Unit. This allows both
hardware and software to be simplified in systems which do not require all facilities of the MMU.
The main simplification is that the Protection Unit does not use translation tables. Instead, up to eight
protection regions can be defined by writing to Protection Unit registers. This eliminates the need for
hardware to do translation table walks, and for software to set up and maintain the translation tables. The
cost of this simplification is that the level of control over memory behavior is considerably less fine-grained.
MMU translation tables can define many thousands of memory regions with different attributes,
considerably more than are possible with the Protection Unit.
A second simplification is that virtual-to-physical address mapping is not supported. The physical memory
address is always the same as the virtual address generated by the ARM processor (except that if the Fast
Context Switch Extension is used, as described in Chapter B6 Fast Context Switch Extension, the physical
address is the same as the modified virtual address that it generates).

4.1.1

Protection regions
The sizes and starting addresses of the eight protection regions are defined using CP15 register 6. The size
of a region must be a power of two, and can range from 4KB up to 4GB. The starting address of a region
must be a multiple of its size. For example, a 4KB region (size 0x1000) can start at address 0x12345000,
but an 8KB region (size 0x2000) or larger can not.
The cachable bits (C), bufferable bits (B) and Access Permission (AP) bits of the eight protection regions
are defined by CP15 registers 2, 3 and 5 respectively. These behave similarly to the corresponding bits in
the MMU memory system architecture, except that the interpretation of the AP bits is not modified by the
System (S) and ROM (R) bits in CP15 register 1. (These bits are therefore not normally implemented in
Protection Unit systems.)
Protection regions can legitimately overlap each other. If an address lies within more than one protection
region, the attributes of the highest-numbered protection region apply to it. For more details, see
Overlapping regions on page B4-5.
Some implementations (typically those with separate instruction and data caches) provide two separate sets
of eight protection regions, with one set being used for instruction fetches and the other set for data accesses.

Note
It is possible to program the instruction and data protection regions differently in these implementations, but
some care needs to be taken. In particular, most ARM and Thumb code areas include inline literals, which
are constant addresses and other data items held in the same area as the code itself. Inline literals are
automatically generated by compilers, and can also appear in assembler code. (For ARM Development
Systems, they are typically generated by the use of DCD, DCB and related assembler directives, or by the use
of the construction LDR Rn,=expression together with an LTORG directive.) Inline literals are
typically accessed by LDR instructions with base register R15. Such instructions generate a data access to
the code area, so it does not normally make sense to program an instruction protection region without
programming a corresponding data protection region to allow the code to access its inline literals.

B4-2

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ARM DDI 0100E

Protection Unit

4.1.2

Memory access sequence

When the ARM processor generates a memory access, the Protection Unit checks whether the address lies
within the range of each of the eight protection regions (using the appropriate set of eight regions if the
implementation has separate sets for instruction and data accesses):

If the address does not lie in any protection region, the memory access is aborted.

If the address lies in one or more protection regions, the access is controlled by the highest-numbered
of those regions. The C, B and AP bits associated with that region are used by the access as follows:
1.

2.

The C (cachable) and B (bufferable) bits are used to control the cache and write buffer and to
determine whether the access is cached or uncached, as described in Cachability and
bufferability on page B5-8. (If the system does not contain a cache and/or a write buffer, the
relevant bits are ignored.)
The AP (access permission) bits are used to determine whether the access is permitted. If the
access is not permitted, the Protection Unit signals a memory abort to the ARM processor.
Otherwise, the access is allowed to proceed.
Register 5: Access permission bits on page B4-7 and Exceptions on page A2-13 describe this
in more detail.

Figure 4-1 illustrates the memory access sequence for a cached system:

Register 5

Selected region

Registers 2, 3

AP bits

C, B bits
Priority encoder

Access
control
hardware
Region address
comparators
Abort

Cache
and
write buffer

ARM

Cache
line fetch
hardware

Main
memory

Virtual/physical address

Figure 4-1 Cached Protection Unit memory system overview

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B4-3

Protection Unit

4.1.3

Enabling the Protection Unit

The Protection Unit can be enabled by writing 1 to CP15 register 1 bit[0], and can be disabled by writing 0
to the same bit. On reset, this bit is cleared and all protection regions are invalidated.
Before the Protection Unit is enabled, at least one valid protection region must be specified and its C, B and
AP bits must be set. In the case of a Protection Unit with separate sets of protection regions for instruction
and data accesses, at least one valid protection region in each of the two sets must be programmed in this
manner.
Furthermore, the code that enables the Protection Unit must lie within a valid (instruction) protection region.
Enabling the Protection Unit without adhering to these rules can result in behavior which is at best
UNPREDICTABLE, and can even result in a hung state which can only be recovered from by resetting the
system.
While the Protection Unit is disabled, all memory accesses are treated as uncachable, unbufferable and
non-aborting.

B4-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Protection Unit

4.2

Overlapping regions
The Protection Unit can be programmed with two or more overlapping regions. When overlapping regions
are programmed, a fixed priority scheme is applied to determine the region whose attributes are applied to
the memory access.
Attributes for region 7 take highest priority and those for region 0 take lowest priority. For example:

Data region 2 is programmed to be 4KB in size, starting from address 0x3000 with AP == 0b10
(Privileged mode full access, User mode read only).

Data region 1 is programmed to be 16KB in size, starting from address 0x0 with AP == 0b01
(Privileged mode access only).

When the processor performs a data load from address 0x3010 while in User mode, the address falls into
both region 1 and region 2, as shown in Figure 4-2. Because there is a clash, the attributes associated with
region 2 are applied. In this case, the load would not abort.

0x4000
Region 2

0x3010
0x3000

Region 1

0x0

Figure 4-2 Overlapping memory regions

4.2.1

Background regions
Overlapping regions increase the flexibility of how the eight regions can be mapped onto physical memory
devices in the system. The overlapping properties can also be used to specify a background region. For
example, there might be a number of physical memory areas sparsely distributed across the 4GB address
space. If a programming error occurs therefore, it might be possible for the processor to issue an address
which does not fall into any defined region.
If the address issued by the processor falls outside of any of the defined regions, the Protection Unit is
hard-wired to abort the access. This behavior can be overridden by programming region 0 to be a 4GB
background region. In this way, if the address does not fall into any of the other seven regions, the access is
controlled by the attributes the user has specified for region 0.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B4-5

Protection Unit

4.3

CP15 registers
The Protection Unit is controlled with the System Control coprocessor registers 2, 3, 5, and 6, and one or
two bits of register 1.

4.3.1

Protection Unit control bits in register 1

M(bit[0]) in the System Control coprocessor register 1 is the enable/disable bit for the Protection Unit:
0 = Protection Unit disabled
1 = Protection Unit enabled.
On systems without a Protection Unit or MMU, this bit must read as zero and ignore writes.
A Protection Unit memory system can optionally implement alignment checking, as described in Alignment
fault on page B3-21. If it does, the A bit (bit[1]) of register 1 behaves as described there and in MMU control
bits in register 1 on page B3-23. Otherwise, the A bit should be zero.

4.3.2

Register 2: Cachability bits

31

UNP/SBZP

4 3

C7 C6 C5 C4 C3 C2 C1 C0

Reading from CP15 register 2 returns the cachable (C) bits for the eight protection regions in bits[7:0], with
bit[n] corresponding to region n, and an UNPREDICTABLE value in bits[31:8].
Writing to CP15 register 2 updates the cachable (C) bits of the eight protection regions, with the C bit of
region n being set to bit[n] of the value written. Bits[31:8] must be written as zero or as a value previously
read from bits[31:8] of this register.
In each case, the <CRm> field of the MRC or MCR instruction is ignored and must be c0. If the
implementation only has one set of eight protection regions, the <opcode2> field should be zero. If it has
separate sets of protection regions for instruction and data accesses, <opcode2> must be specified as 0 to
select the data protection regions and 1 to select the instruction protection regions.
For details of how the C bit affects cache and write buffer behavior, see Cachability and bufferability on
page B5-8.

4.3.3

Register 3: Bufferability bits

31

UNP/SBZP

4 3

B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0

Reading from CP15 register 3 returns the bufferable (B) bits for the eight protection regions in bits[7:0],
with bit[n] corresponding to region n, and an UNPREDICTABLE value in bits[31:8].

B4-6

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Protection Unit

Writing to CP15 register 3 updates the bufferable (B) bits of the eight regions, with the B bit of region n
being set to bit[n] of the value written. Bits[31:8] must be written as zero or as a value previously read from
bits[31:8] of this register.
In each case, the <CRm> and <opcode2> fields of the MRC or MCR instruction are ignored and must be c0
and zero respectively.
For details of how the B bit affects cache and write buffer behavior, see Cachability and bufferability on
page B5-8.

4.3.4

Registers 4, 8, 10: Reserved

Accessing (reading or writing) any of these registers is UNPREDICTABLE.

4.3.5

Register 5: Access permission bits

31

16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9

UNP/SBZP

6 5

1 0

AP7 AP6 AP5 AP4 AP3 AP2 AP1 AP0

Reading from CP15 register 3 returns the AP bits for the eight protection regions in bits[15:0], with
bits[2n+1:2n] corresponding to region n, and an UNPREDICTABLE value in bits[31:16].
Writing to CP15 register 3 updates the AP bits of the eight regions, with the AP bits of region n being set to
bits[2n+1:2n] of the value written. Bits[31:16] must be written as zero or as a value previously read from
bits[31:16] of this register.
In each case, the <CRm> field of the MRC or MCR instruction is ignored and must be c0. If the
implementation only has one set of eight protection regions, the <opcode2> field should be zero. If it has
separate sets of protection regions for instruction and data accesses, <opcode2> must be specified as 0 to
select the data protection regions and 1 to select the instruction protection regions.
The interpretation of each set of AP bits is as shown in Table 4-1 on page B4-7. If the requested type of
access is not permitted, an abort is signaled to the ARM processor.
Table 4-1 Protection Unit access permissions

ARM DDI 0100E

AP

Privileged
permissions

User
permissions

0b00

No access

No access

0b01

Read/write

No access

0b10

Read/write

Read only

0b11

Read/write

Read/write

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B4-7

Protection Unit

4.3.6

Register 6: Protection area control

31

12 11

Base address

UNP/SBZP

Size

Reading from CP15 register 6 returns the current base address, size and enabled/disabled status of a
protection region, in the format shown in the above diagram. The value read for bits[11:6] is
UNPREDICTABLE.
Writing to CP15 register 6 sets the base address, size and enabled/disabled status of a protection region, in
the format shown in the above diagram. The value written to bits[11:6] must either be zero or a value
previously read from bits[11:6] of CP15 register 6.
There is one version of register 6 for each protection region in the Protection Unit. The version used (and
therefore the protection region affected) is selected by the <CRm> and <opcode2> fields of the MCR or
MRC instruction used to access the register:

<CRm> is used to select the number of the protection region, by specifying c0 to select protection
region 0, c1 to select protection region 1, and so on, through to c7 to select protection region 7.

If the implementation only has one set of eight protection regions, the <opcode2> field should be
zero.

If the implementation has separate sets of protection regions for instruction and data accesses,
<opcode2> must be specified as 0 to select a data protection region and 1 to select an instruction
protection region.

The meaning of the fields in the value read from or written to register 6 is as follows:

The E bit enables or disables the associated protection region:

0 = protection region disabled
1 = protection region enabled.
A disabled protection region never matches any addresses, and therefore does not affect the memory
access sequence in any way. All protection regions are disabled on reset.

The Size field selects the associated protection region's size, which can vary from 4KB to 4GB. The
encoding is shown in Table 4-2 on page B4-9.

The Base address field specifies bits[31:12] of the address of the first byte in the associated protection
region.
The address of this first byte is required to be a multiple of the region size, so its bits[11:0] are always
zero and do not need to be programmed. Also, because of this requirement for the region to be aligned
to a multiple of its size, one or more further bits of the base address may also be constrained to be
zero. These additional constraints are shown in Table 4-2 on page B4-9. If they are broken, the
protection region is misaligned, and UNPREDICTABLE behavior might result.

B4-8

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Protection Unit

Table 4-2 Region size encoding

Size field

Area size

Base area constraints

0b00000 to 0b01010

UNPREDICTABLE

0b01011

4KB

None

0b01100

8KB

Bit[12] must be zero

0b01101

16KB

Bits[13:12] must be zero

0b01110

32KB

Bits[14:12] must be zero

0b01111

64KB

Bits[15:12] must be zero

0b10000

128KB

Bits[16:12] must be zero

0b10001

256KB

Bits[17:12] must be zero

0b10010

512KB

Bits[18:12] must be zero

0b10011

1MB

Bits[19:12] must be zero

0b10100

2MB

Bits[20:12] must be zero

0b10101

4MB

Bits[21:12] must be zero

0b10110

8MB

Bits[22:12] must be zero

0b10111

16MB

Bits[23:12] must be zero

0b11000

32MB

Bits[24:12] must be zero

0b11001

64MB

Bits[25:12] must be zero

0b11010

128MB

Bits[26:12] must be zero

0b11011

256MB

Bits[27:12] must be zero

0b11100

512MB

Bits[28:12] must be zero

0b11101

1GB

Bits[29:12] must be zero

0b11110

2GB

Bits[30:12] must be zero

0b11111

4GB

Bits[31:12] must be zero

ARM DDI 0100E

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B4-9

Protection Unit

B4-10

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Chapter B5
Caches and Write Buffers

This chapter describes cache and write buffer control functions that are common to both the MMU-based
memory system and the Protection Unit-based memory system. It contains the following sections:

About caches and write buffers on page B5-2

Cache organization on page B5-3

Types of cache on page B5-5

Cachability and bufferability on page B5-8

Memory coherency on page B5-10

CP15 registers on page B5-14.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B5-1

Caches and Write Buffers

5.1

About caches and write buffers

Caches and write buffers can be used in ARM memory systems to improve their average performance.
A cache is a block of high-speed memory locations whose addresses can be changed, and whose purpose is
to increase the average speed of a memory access. Each memory location of a cache is known as a cache
line.
Normally, changes to the address of a cache line occur automatically. Whenever the processor loads data
from a memory address and no cache line currently holds that data, a cache line is allocated to that address
and the data is read into the cache line. If data at the same address is accessed again before the cache line is
re-allocated to another address, the cache can process the memory access at high speed. So a cache typically
speeds up the second and subsequent accesses to the data. In practice, these second and subsequent accesses
are common enough for this is to produce a significant performance gain. This effect is known as temporal
locality.
To reduce the percentage overhead of storing the current addresses of the cache lines, each cache line
normally consists of several memory words. This increases the cost of the first access to a cache line, since
several words need to be loaded from main memory to satisfy a request for just one word. However, it also
means that a subsequent access to another word in the same cache line can be processed by the cache at high
speed. This sort of access is also common enough to increase performance significantly. This effect is
known as spatial locality.
A memory access which can be processed at high speed because the data it addresses is already in the cache
is known as a cache hit. Other memory accesses are called cache misses.
A write buffer is a block of high-speed memory whose purpose is to optimize stores to main memory. When
a store occurs, its data, address and other details (such as data size) are written to the write buffer at high
speed. The write buffer then completes the store at main memory speed, which is typically much slower
than the speed of the ARM processor. In the meantime, the ARM processor can proceed to execute further
instructions at full speed.
Write buffers and caches introduce a number of potential problems, mainly due to:

memory accesses occurring at times other than when the programmer would normally expect them

there being multiple physical locations where a data item can be held.
This chapter discusses these problems, and describes cache and write buffer control facilities that can be
used to work around them. They are common to the Memory Management Unit system architecture
described in Chapter B3 Memory Management Unit and the Protection Unit system architecture described
in Chapter B4 Protection Unit.

Note
The caches described in this chapter are accessed using the virtual address of the memory access. This
implies that they will need to be invalidated and/or cleaned when the virtual-to-physical address mapping
changes or in certain other circumstances, as described in Memory coherency on page B5-10.
If the Fast Context Switch Extension (FCSE) described in Chapter B6 is being used, all references to virtual
addresses in this chapter mean the modified virtual address that it generates.

B5-2

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Caches and Write Buffers

5.2

Cache organization
The basic unit of storage in a cache is the cache line. A cache line is said to be valid when it contains cached
data or instructions, and invalid when it does not. All cache lines in a cache are invalidated on reset. A cache
line becomes valid when data or instructions are loaded into it from memory.
When a cache line is valid, it contains up-to-date values for a block of consecutive main memory locations.
The length of this block (and therefore the length of the cache line) is always a power of two, and is typically
16 bytes (4 words) or 32 bytes (8 words). If the cache line length is 2L bytes, the block of main memory
locations is always 2L-byte aligned. Such blocks of main memory locations are called memory cache lines
or (loosely) just cache lines.
Because of this alignment requirement, virtual address bits[31:L] are identical for all bytes in a cache line.
A cache hit occurs when bits[31:L] of the virtual address supplied by the ARM processor match the same
bits of the virtual address associated with a valid cache line.
To simplify and speed up the process of determining whether a cache hit occurs, a cache is usually divided
into a number of cache sets. The number of cache sets is always a power of two. If the cache line length is
2L bytes and there are 2S cache sets, bits[L+S-1:L] of the virtual address supplied by the ARM processor
are used to select a cache set. Only the cache lines in that set are allowed to hold the data or instructions at
the address.
The remaining bits of the virtual address (bits[31:L+S]) are known as its tag bits. A cache hit occurs if the
tag bits of the virtual address supplied by the ARM processor match the tag bits associated with a valid line
in the selected cache set.
Figure 5-1 illustrates how the virtual address is used to look up data or instructions in the cache.
31

Virtual address

L+S

L+S-1

tag

L L-1

set

0
pos

Select one of 2S
cache sets

Look for cache line with

tag in selected cache set
if found

if not found
Cache miss
Get data from
main memory

Cache hit
Return data at position pos
in cache line

Figure 5-1 Cache look-up

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B5-3

Caches and Write Buffers

5.2.1

Set-associativity
The set-associativity of a cache is the number of cache lines in each of its cache sets. It can be any number
1, and is not restricted to being a power of two.
Low set-associativity generally simplifies cache look-up. However, if the number of frequently-used
memory cache lines that use a particular cache set exceeds the set-associativity, main memory activity goes
up and performance drops. This is known as cache contention, and becomes more likely as the set
associativity is decreased.
The two extreme cases are fully associative caches and direct-mapped caches:

A fully associative cache has just one cache set, which consists of the entire cache. It is N-way
set-associative, where N is the total number of cache lines in the cache. Any cache look-up in a fully
associative cache needs to check every cache line.

A direct-mapped cache is a one-way set-associative cache. Each cache set consists of a single cache
line, so cache look-up just needs to select and check one cache line. However, cache contention is
particularly likely to occur in direct-mapped caches.

Within each cache set, the cache lines are numbered from 0 to (set associativity)-1. The number associated
with each cache line is known as its index. Some cache operations take a cache line index as a parameter,
to allow a software loop to work systematically through a cache set.

5.2.2

Cache size
Generally, as the size of a cache increases, a higher percentage of memory accesses are cache hits. This
reduces the average time per memory access and so improves performance. However, a large cache
typically uses a significant amount of silicon area and power. Different sizes of cache can therefore be used
in an ARM memory system, depending on the relative importance of performance, silicon area, and power
consumption.
The cache size can be broken down into a product of three factors:

The cache line length LINELEN, measured in bytes.

The set-associativity ASSOCIATIVITY. A cache set consists of ASSOCIATIVITY cache lines, so

the size of a cache set is ASSOCIATIVITY LINELEN.

The number NSETS of cache sets making up the cache.

If separate data and instruction caches are used, different values of these parameters can be used for each,
and the resulting cache sizes can be different.
If the System Control coprocessor supports the Cache Type register, it can be used to determine these cache
size parameters (see Cache Type register on page B2-9).

B5-4

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Caches and Write Buffers

5.3

Types of cache
There are many different possible types of cache, which can be distinguished by implementation choices
such as:

how big they are

how they handle instruction fetches

how they handle data writes

how much of the cache is eligible to hold any particular item of data.
A number of these implementation choices are detailed in the subsections below. Also see Cache Type
register on page B2-9 for details of how most of these choices can be determined for implementations which
include a Cache Type register.

Note
A high-performance memory system can contain more than one level of cache, with the first level being
small and very high speed, the next level being bigger and slower, and so on, out to main memory, which
is the largest and slowest component of the memory system. Furthermore, different cache levels can be of
different types.
This chapter only describes the first (or only) level of cache, as does the Cache Type register. If a memory
system implementation provides facilities to control second or higher level caches, details of those facilities
are IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.
Accordingly, all references to main memory in the rest of this chapter refer to all of the memory system
beyond the first level cache, including any further levels of cache.

5.3.1

Unified or separate caches

A memory system can use the same cache when processing instruction fetches as it does when processing
data loads and stores. Such a cache is known as a unified cache.
Alternatively, a memory system can use a different cache to process instruction fetches to the cache it uses
to process data loads and stores. In this case, the two caches are known collectively as separate caches and
individually as the instruction cache and data cache respectively.
The use of separate caches has the advantage that the memory system can often process both an instruction
fetch and a data load/store in the same clock cycle, without a need for the cache memory to be multi-ported.
The main disadvantage is that care must be taken to avoid problems caused by the instruction cache
becoming out-of-date with respect to the data cache and/or main memory (see Memory coherency on
page B5-10).
It is also possible for a memory system to have an instruction cache but no data cache, or vice versa. For the
purpose of the memory system architectures, such a system is treated as having separate caches, where one
cache is not present or has zero size.

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5.3.2

Write-through or write-back caches

When a cache hit occurs for a data store access, the cache line containing the data is updated to contain its
new value. As this cache line will eventually be re-allocated to another address, the main memory location
for the data also needs to have the new value written to it. There are two common techniques for handling
this:

In a write-through cache, the new data is also immediately written to the main memory location.
(This is usually done though a write buffer, to avoid slowing down the processor.)

In a write-back cache, the cache line is marked as dirty, which means that it contains data values
which are more up-to-date than those in main memory. Whenever a dirty cache line is selected to be
re-allocated to another address, the data currently in the cache line is written back to main memory.
Writing back the contents of the cache line in this manner is known as cleaning the cache line.
Another common term for a write-back cache is a copy-back cache.

The main disadvantage of write-through caches is that if the processor speed becomes high enough relative
to that of main memory, it generates data stores faster than they can be processed by the write buffer. The
result is that the processor is slowed down by having to wait for the write buffer to be able to accept more
data.
Because a write-back cache only stores to main memory once when a cache line is re-allocated, even if many
stores have occurred to the cache line, write-back caches normally generate fewer stores to main memory
than write-through caches. This helps to alleviate the problem described above for write-through caches.
However, write-back caches have a number of drawbacks, including:

longer-lasting discrepancies between cache and main memory contents (see Memory coherency on
page B5-10)

a longer worst-case sequence of main memory operations before a data load can be completed, which
can increase the system's worst-case interrupt latency

increased complexity of implementation.

Some write-back caches allow a choice to be made between write-back and write-through behavior (see
Cachability and bufferability on page B5-8).

5.3.3

Read-allocate or write-allocate caches

There are two common techniques to deal with a cache miss on a data store access:

B5-6

In a read-allocate cache, the data is simply stored to main memory. Cache lines are only allocated to
memory locations when data is read/loaded, not when it is written/stored.

In a write-allocate cache, a cache line is allocated to the data and the current contents of main
memory are read into it, then the data is written to the cache line. (It can also be written to main
memory, depending on whether the cache is write-through or write-back.)

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The main advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are performance-related. Compared with a
read-allocate cache, a write-allocate cache can generate extra main memory read accesses that would not
have otherwise occurred and/or save main memory accesses on subsequent stores because the data is now
in the cache. The balance between these depends mainly on the number and type of the load/store accesses
to the data concerned, and on whether the cache is write-through or write-back.
Whether write-allocate or read-allocate caches are used in an ARM memory system is IMPLEMENTATION
DEFINED.

5.3.4

Replacement strategies
If a cache is not direct-mapped, a cache miss for a memory address requires one of the cache lines in the
cache set associated with the address to be re-allocated. The way in which this cache line is chosen is known
as the replacement strategy of the cache.
Two typical replacement strategies are:
Random replacement
The cache control logic contains a pseudo-random number generator, the output of which is
used to select the cache line to be re-allocated.
Round-robin replacement
The cache control logic contains a counter which is used to select the cache line to be
re-allocated. Each time this is done, the counter is incremented, so that a different choice is
made next time.
Some caches allow a choice of the replacement strategy in use. Typically, one choice is a simple, easily
predictable strategy like round-robin replacement, which allows the worst-case cache performance for a
code sequence to be determined reasonably easily. The main drawback of such strategies is that their
average performance can change abruptly when comparatively minor details of the program change.
For example, suppose a program is accessing data items D1, D2, ..., Dn cyclically and that all of these data
items happen to use the same cache set. With round-robin replacement in an m-way set-associative cache,
the program is liable to get:

nearly 100% cache hits on these data items when n m

0% cache hits as soon as n becomes m+1 or greater.

In other words, a minor increase in the amount of data being processed can lead to a major change in how
effective the cache is.
When a cache allows a choice of replacement strategies, the second choice is normally a strategy like
random replacement which has less easily predictable behavior. This makes the worst-case behavior harder
to determine, but also makes the average performance of the cache vary more smoothly with parameters like
working set size.

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5.4

Cachability and bufferability

Because caches and write buffers change the number, type and timing of accesses to main memory, they are
not suitable for some types of memory location. In particular, caches rely on normal memory characteristics
such as:

A load from a memory location returns the last value stored to the location, with no side-effects.

A store to a memory location has no side-effects other than to change the memory location value.

Two consecutive loads from a memory location both get the same value.

Two consecutive stores to a memory location result in its value becoming the second value stored,
and the first value stored is discarded.

Memory-mapped I/O locations usually lack one or more of these characteristics, and so are unsuitable for
caching.
Also, write buffers and write-back caches rely on it being possible to delay a store to main memory so that
it actually occurs at a later time than the store instruction was executed by the ARM processor. Again, this
might not be valid for memory-mapped I/O locations. A typical example is an ARM interrupt handler which
stores to an I/O device to acknowledge an interrupt it is generating, and then re-enables interrupts (either
explicitly or as a result of the SPSR CPSR transfer performed on return from the interrupt handler).
If the actual store to the I/O device occurs when the ARM store instruction is executed, the I/O device is no
longer requesting an interrupt by the time that interrupts are re-enabled. But if a write buffer or write-back
cache delays the store, the I/O device might still be requesting the interrupt. If so, this results in a spurious
extra call to the interrupt handler.
Because of problems like these, both the Memory Management Unit and the Protection Unit architectures
allow a memory area to be designated as uncachable, unbufferable or both. This is done by using the
memory address to generate two bits (C and B) for each memory access. Details of how the C and B bits
are produced for each architecture can be found in Chapter B3 Memory Management Unit and Chapter B4
Protection Unit.
Table 5-1 shows how the C and B bits are interpreted for write-through caches, write-back caches without
selectable write-through behavior, and write-back caches with selectable write-through behavior.
Table 5-1 Interpretation of Cachable and Bufferable bits

B5-8

Write-through
cache

Write-back only
cache

Write-back/write-through
cache

Uncached/unbuffered

Uncached/unbuffered

Uncached/unbuffered

Uncached/buffered

Uncached/buffered

Uncached/buffered

Cached/unbuffered

UNPREDICTABLE

Write-through cached/buffered

Cached/buffered

Cached/buffered

Write-back cached/buffered

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The purpose of making a memory area unbufferable is to prevent stores to it being delayed. However, if the
area is cachable and a write-back cache is in use, stores can be delayed anyway. This means that the obvious
interpretation of C == 1, B == 0 as cached/unbuffered is not useful for write-back caches. It therefore only
has this interpretation in write-through caches. In write-back caches, it instead results in UNPREDICTABLE
behavior or selects write-through caching, as shown in Table 5-1 on page B5-8.

Note

The reason that a memory-mapped I/O location generally needs to be marked as uncachable is
effectively to prevent the memory system hardware from incorrectly optimizing away loads and
stores to the location. If the I/O system is being programmed in a high-level language, this is not
enough. The compiler also needs to be told not to optimize away these loads and stores. In C and
related languages, the way to do this is to use the volatile qualifier in the declaration of the
memory-mapped I/O location.

It can also be desirable to mark a memory area as uncachable for performance reasons. This typically
occurs for large arrays which are used frequently, but whose access pattern contains little temporal
or spatial locality. Making such arrays uncachable avoids the cost of loading a whole cache line when
only a single access is typically going to occur. It also means that other data items are evicted from
the cache less frequently, which increases the effectiveness of the cache on the rest of the data.

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Caches and Write Buffers

5.5

Memory coherency
When a cache and/or a write buffer is used, the system can hold multiple versions of the value of a memory
location. Possible physical locations for these values are main memory, the write buffer and the cache. If
separate caches are used, either or both of the instruction cache and the data cache can contain a value for
the memory location.
Not all of these physical locations necessarily contain the value most recently written to the memory
location. The memory coherency problem is to ensure that when a memory location is read (either by a data
read or an instruction fetch), the value actually obtained is always the value that was most recently written
to the location.
In the ARM memory system architectures, some aspects of memory system coherency are required to be
provided automatically by the system. Other aspects are dealt with by memory coherency rules, which are
limitations on how programs must behave if memory coherency is to be maintained. The behavior of a
program that breaks a memory coherency rule is UNPREDICTABLE.
The following subsections discuss particular aspects of memory coherency in more detail:

5.5.1

Address mapping changes

Instruction cache coherency on page B5-11

Direct Memory Access (DMA) operations on page B5-12

Other memory coherency issues on page B5-13.

Address mapping changes

In an ARM memory system that implements virtual-to-physical address mapping (such as the MMU-based
memory system described in Chapter B3 Memory Management Unit), there are two implementation choices
for the address associated with a cache line:

It can be the virtual address of the data in the cache line. This is the more usual choice, because it
allows cache line look-up to proceed in parallel with address translation.

It can be the physical address of the data in the cache line.

If an implementation is designed to use the virtual address, a change to the virtual-to-physical address
mapping can cause major memory coherency problems, as any data in the remapped address range which
is in the cache ceases to be associated with the correct physical memory location.
Similarly, the data in a write buffer can have virtual or physical addresses associated with it, depending on
whether the address mapping is done when data is placed in the write buffer or when it is stored from the
write buffer to main memory. If a write buffer is designed to use the virtual address, a change to the
virtual-to-physical address mapping can again cause memory coherency problems.
These problems can be avoided by performing an IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED sequence of cache and/or
write buffer operations before a change of virtual-to-physical address mapping. Typically, this sequence
contains one or more of the following:

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cleaning the data cache if it is a write-back cache

invalidating the data cache
invalidating the instruction cache
draining the write buffer.

There might also be requirements for the code that performs the change of address mapping and any data it
accesses to be uncachable, unbufferable or both.

5.5.2

Instruction cache coherency

A memory system is permitted to satisfy an instruction fetch request from a separate instruction cache. An
instruction cache line fetch can be satisfied from main memory, and there is no requirement for data stores
to update a separate instruction cache. This means that the following sequence of events causes a potential
memory coherency problem:
1.

An instruction is fetched from an address A1, causing the cache line containing that address to be
loaded into the instruction cache.

2.

A data store occurs to an address A2 in the same cache line as A1, causing an update to one or more
of the data cache, the write buffer and main memory, but not to the instruction cache. (A2 might be
the same address as A1, or a different address in the same cache line. The same considerations apply
in both cases.)

3.

An instruction is executed from the address A2. This could result in either the old contents or the new
contents of the memory location being executed, depending on whether the cache line is still present
in the instruction cache or needs to be reloaded.

This problem can be avoided by performing an IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED sequence of cache control
operations between steps 2 and 3. Typically, this sequence consists of:

nothing at all for an implementation with a unified cache

invalidating the instruction cache for an implementation with separate caches and a write-through
data cache

cleaning the data cache followed by invalidating the instruction cache for an implementation with
separate caches and a write-back data cache.

Therefore, the memory coherency rule to maintain instruction cache coherency is that: if a data store writes
an instruction to memory, this IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED sequence must be executed before the instruction
is executed. A typical case where this needs to be done is when an executable file is loaded into memory.
After loading the file and before branching to the entry point of the newly loaded code, the
IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED sequence must be executed to ensure that the newly loaded program executes
correctly.
The performance cost of the cache cleaning and invalidating required when this happens can be large, both
as a direct result of executing the cache control operations and indirectly because the instruction cache needs
to be reloaded. This means that programming techniques that involve frequent real-time generation and
execution of small code fragments must be treated with care, as porting them to a new memory system can
require careful redesign and re-optimization to avoid excessive performance loss.
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Note

The sequence required to maintain instruction cache coherency is part of the sequence executed by
an Instruction Memory Barrier, but not necessarily all of it. See Instruction Memory Barriers (IMBs)
on page A2-28 for more details.

On some implementations, it is possible to exploit knowledge of the range of addresses occupied by

newly stored instructions to reduce the cost of the required cache operations. For example, it might
be possible to restrict the cache cleaning and invalidating to that address range. Whether this is
possible is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

If it is known that none of the range of addresses containing newly stored instructions is in the
instruction cache, the memory coherency problem described above cannot occur. However, it is
difficult to be certain of this across all ARM implementations because:

A fetch of any instruction in a cache line causes all of the instructions in that cache line to be
loaded into the instruction cache.

Typically, some instructions are fetched but never executed, so it is possible for an instruction
cache line to have been loaded but not to contain any executed instructions. Also, although
instructions that are fetched but not executed are typically close to instructions that have been
executed, this need not be the case in implementations that use branch prediction or similar
techniques.
As a result, code that uses this technique to avoid the instruction cache coherency problem is not fully
implementation-independent.

5.5.3

Direct Memory Access (DMA) operations

I/O devices can perform Direct Memory Access (DMA) operations, in which they access main memory
directly, without the processor performing any accesses to the data concerned.
If a DMA operation stores to main memory without updating the cache and/or write buffer, some rules
normally relied upon to simplify memory coherency issues might be violated. For example, it is normally
the case that if a data item is in the cache, the copy of it in main memory is not newer than the copy in the
cache. This allows the value in the cache to be returned for a data load without explicitly checking whether
there is a more recently written version in main memory. However, a DMA store to main memory can cause
the main memory value to be more recently written than the cache value.
Similarly, if a DMA operation loads data from main memory without also checking the cache and/or write
buffer to see whether they contain more recent versions, it might get an out-of-date version of the data.
In both cases, a possible solution would be for DMA to also access the cache and write buffer. However,
this would significantly complicate the memory system.
So, a memory system implementation can have IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED memory coherency rules for
handling DMA operations.
Typically, these involve one or more of the following:

B5-12

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5.5.4

cleaning and/or invalidating the data cache, at least with respect to the address range involved in the
DMA operation

draining the write buffer

restrictions on processor accesses to the address range involved in the DMA operation until it is
known that the DMA operation is complete.

Other memory coherency issues

Memory coherency issues not covered above are those involving the data cache, main memory and/or the
write buffer, and which do not involve a change of virtual-to-physical address mapping or a DMA operation.
All such issues must be dealt with automatically by the memory system, so that the value returned to the
ARM processor is the most up-to-date of the values in the possible physical locations.

Note
This requirement applies to a single processor only. If a system contains multiple ARM processors, all
issues relating to memory coherency between the separate processors are system-dependent.

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Caches and Write Buffers

5.6

CP15 registers
Caches and write buffers are controlled with System Control coprocessor registers 7 and 9, and some bits
of register 1.

5.6.1

Cache and write buffer control bits in register 1

The following bits in register 1 of the System Control Coprocessor control caches and write buffers:
C (bit[2])

If a unified cache is used, this is the enable/disable bit for the unified cache. If separate
caches are used, this is the enable/disable bit for the data cache. In either case:
0 = Cache disabled
1 = Cache enabled.
If the cache is not implemented, this bit reads as 0 and ignores writes. If the cache cannot
be disabled, this bit reads as 1 and ignores writes.

W (bit[3])

This is the enable/disable bit for the write buffer:

0 = Write buffer disabled
1 = Write buffer enabled.
If the write buffer is not implemented, this bit reads as 0 and ignore writes. If the write buffer
cannot be disabled, this bit reads as 1 and ignores writes.

I (bit[12])

If separate caches are used, this is the enable/disable bit for the instruction cache:
0 = Cache disabled
1 = Cache enabled.
If a unified cache is used or the instruction cache is not implemented, this bit reads as 0 and
ignores writes. If the instruction cache cannot be disabled, this bit reads as 1 and ignores
writes.

RR (bit[14])

If the cache allows an alternative replacement strategy to be used which has a more easily
predictable worst-case performance, this bit selects it:
0 = Normal replacement strategy (for example, random replacement)
1 = Predictable strategy (for example, round-robin replacement).

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5.6.2

Register 7: Cache functions

The System Control coprocessor register 7 is a write-only register which is used to control caches and write
buffers. It is also used to implement some similar functions on prefetch buffers and branch target caches, if
they exist, and to implement the wait for interrupt clock control function. Table 5-2 lists the functions
available by using an MCR p15,0,<Rd>,c7,<CRm>,<opcode2> instruction to write to register 7.
Writing to register 7 with a combination of <CRm> and <opcode2> which is not listed in Table 5-2 has
UNPREDICTABLE results.
Not all functions listed in Table 5-2 are necessarily relevant to or supported by an implementation.
Attempting to perform a function which is not supported by the implementation has UNPREDICTABLE results.
Reading register 7 with an MRC instruction has UNPREDICTABLE results.
In Table 5-2, the following terms apply:
Clean

Applies to write-back data caches, and means that if the cache line contains stored
data that has not yet been written out to main memory, it is written to main memory
now.

Invalidate

Means that the cache line (or all the lines in the cache) is marked as invalid, so that
no cache hits occur for that line until it is re-allocated to an address.
For write-back data caches, this does not include cleaning the cache line unless that
is also stated.

Prefetch

Means the memory cache line at the specified virtual address (which must be cache
line aligned) is loaded into the cache.

Drain write buffer

Stops the ARM from executing further until all data in the write buffer has been
stored to main memory. It can be used instead of unbufferable memory when the
timing of specific main memory stores needs to be controlled (for example, when a
store to an interrupt acknowledge location needs to complete before interrupts are
enabled).

Wait for interrupt

Puts the ARM into a low power state and stops it executing further until an interrupt
occurs.
When an interrupt does occur, the MCR instruction completes and the IRQ or FIQ
handler is entered as normal. The return link in R14_irq or R14_fiq contains the
address of the MCR instruction plus 8, so that the normal instruction used for
interrupt return (SUBS PC,R14,#4) returns to the instruction following the MCR.

Prefetch buffer

Operations are IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Branch target cache Operations are IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED.

Data

Is the value that is written to register 7, which is the value in the register <Rd>
specified in the MCR instruction.
If the data is stated to be a virtual address, it must be cache line aligned. This means
that if the cache line length is 2L bytes, bits[L-1:0] of the address must be zero. This
address is looked up in the cache. If a cache hit occurs, the specified operation

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Caches and Write Buffers

occurs on the cache line it identifies. If a cache miss occurs, nothing more is done.
A loop of operations of this type can be used to clean and/or invalidate all cache
lines relating to a specified range of addresses.

Note
If the Fast Context Switch Extension (FCSE) described in Chapter B6 is being used,
the virtual addresses passed to CP15 by some of the functions in Table 5-2 on
page B5-16 are passed as data. This means that no address modification is
performed for them by the FCSE.
If the data is stated to be set/index, it identifies the cache line that the operation is to
be applied to by specifying which cache set it belongs to and what its index is within
the set. A loop of operations of this type can be used to clean and/or invalidate an
entire cache, or all of the non-locked down portion of the cache (see Register 9:
Cache lockdown on page B5-18).
If L, A, and S are the logarithms base 2 of the cache size parameters LINELEN,
ASSOCIATIVITY and NSETS, rounded up to an integer in the case of A, the
format of set/index data is:
31

32-A 31-A

index

L+S L+S-1

SBZ

set

L-1

SBZ

For the definitions of the cache size parameters, see Cache size on page B5-4. If the
implementation includes a Cache Type register, these parameters can be determined
from it (see Cache Type register on page B2-9).
Table 5-2 Cache and similar functions

B5-16

<CRm>

<opcode2>

Function

Data

c0

Wait for interrupt

SBZ

c5

Invalidate entire instruction cache

SBZ

c5

Invalidate instruction cache line

Virtual address

c5

Invalidate instruction cache line

Set/index

c5

Flush prefetch buffer

SBZ

c5

Flush entire branch target cache

SBZ

c5

Flush branch target cache entry

IMP

c6

Invalidate entire data cache

SBZ

c6

Invalidate data cache line

Virtual address

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Table 5-2 Cache and similar functions (Continued)

<CRm>

<opcode2>

Function

Data

c6

Invalidate data cache line

Set/index

c7

Invalidate entire unified cache or both instruction and

data caches

SBZ

c7

Invalidate unified cache line

Virtual address

c7

Invalidate unified cache line

Set/index

c8

Wait for interrupt (alternative, deprecated encoding)

SBZ

c10

Clean data cache line

Virtual address

c10

Clean data cache line

Set/index

c10

Drain write buffer

SBZ

c11

Clean unified cache line

Virtual address

c11

Clean unified cache line

Set/index

c13

Prefetch instruction cache line

Virtual address

c14

Clean and invalidate data cache line

Virtual address

c14

Clean and invalidate data cache line

Set/index

c15

Clean and invalidate unified cache line

Virtual address

c15

Clean and invalidate unified cache line

Set/index

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Caches and Write Buffers

5.6.3

Register 9: Cache lockdown

One problem with caches is that while they normally improve average access time to data and instructions,
they usually make the worst-case access time worse. This occurs for a number of reasons, including:

There is a delay before the system determines that a cache miss has occurred and starts the main
memory access.

If a write-back cache is being used, there might be a further delay due to the need to store the contents
of the cache line that is being re-allocated.

A whole cache line is loaded from main memory, not just the data requested by the ARM processor.
In real-time applications, this increase in the worst-case access time can be very significant.
Cache lockdown is a feature of some ARM memory systems designed to alleviate this. It allows critical code
and data (such as high-priority interrupt routines and the data they access) to be loaded into the cache in
such a way that the cache lines containing them are not subsequently re-allocated. This ensures that all
subsequent accesses to the code and data concerned are cache hits and therefore complete quickly.
In the description that follows, LINELEN, ASSOCIATIVITY and NSETS are the cache size parameters
described in Cache size on page B5-4.
For lockdown purposes, the cache is divided into lockdown blocks, each of which consists of one line from
each cache set. The lockdown blocks are indexed from 0 to ASSOCIATIVITY-1. The cache lines in a
lockdown block are chosen to have the same index as the lockdown block (see Set-associativity on
page B5-4). So lockdown block 0 consists of the cache line with index 0 from each cache set, etc.
Cache lockdown can be performed with a granularity of a lockdown block. Any number of lockdown blocks
from 1 to ASSOCIATIVITY-1 can be chosen. If N lockdown blocks are locked down, they have indices 0
to N-1, and lockdown blocks N to ASSOCIATIVITY-1 are available for normal cache operation.

Note
You cannot lock down the entire cache. At least one lockdown block must be left for normal cache
operation.
Each lockdown block can hold NSETS memory cache lines, provided each of the memory cache lines is
associated with a different cache set. It is recommended that systems are designed so that each lockdown
block contains a set of NSETS consecutive memory cache lines. This is NSETS LINELEN consecutive
memory locations, starting at a cache line boundary. (Such sets are easily identified and are guaranteed to
consist of one cache line associated with each cache set.)
The System Control coprocessor primary register 9 is used to control cache lockdown. If separate caches
are used, there are two variants of this register, selected by the <opcode2> field of the MCR or MRC
instruction used to access register 9:
<opcode2> == 0

Selects the data cache lockdown register.

<opcode2> == 1

Selects the instruction cache lockdown register.

If a unified cache is used, there is only one variant of this register and <opcode2> should be 0.
<CRm> must always be c0 for MCR and MRC instructions that access register 9.

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Formats for the cache lockdown register

There are two possible formats for the cache lockdown register. These are shown in the following text as
Format A and Format B, and it is IMPLEMENTATION DEFINED which one an implementation uses.
Both formats include an index field, which is chosen to be wide enough to hold a lockdown block index.
So, its width W is the logarithm base 2 of ASSOCIATIVITY, rounded up to an integer if necessary.
If the implementation includes a Cache Type register, it can be used to determine the register 9 format (see
Cache Type register on page B2-9).
Format A:
31

32-W 31-W

index

UNP/SBZ

Reading a Format A register returns the value last written to it.

Writing a Format A register has the following effects:

The next cache miss in each cache set replaces the cache line with the specified index in that cache
set.

The replacement strategy for the cache is constrained so that it can only select cache lines with the
specified index and higher, until the register is written again.

Format B:
31 30

W W-1

UNP/SBZ

index

Reading a Format B register returns the value last written to it.

Writing a Format B register has the following effects:

If L == 1, all cache misses replace the cache line with the specified index in the relevant cache set
until the register is written again.

If L == 0, then:

If the previous value of L was 0 and the previous value of index is smaller than the new value,
the behavior is UNPREDICTABLE.

Otherwise, the replacement strategy for the cache is constrained so that it can only select cache
lines with the specified index and higher, until the register is written again.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B5-19

Caches and Write Buffers

Cache lockdown procedure

The procedure to lock down N lockdown blocks is as follows:
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Ensure that no processor exceptions can occur during the execution of this procedure, by disabling
interrupts, for example. If for some reason this is not possible, all code and data used by any exception
handlers that can get called must be treated as code and data used by this procedure for the purpose
of steps 2 and 3.
If an instruction cache or a unified cache is being locked down, ensure that all the code executed by
this procedure is in an uncachable area of memory.
If a data cache or a unified cache is being locked down, ensure that all data used by the following
code is in an uncachable area of memory, apart from the data which is to be locked down.
Ensure that the data/instructions that are to be locked down are in a cachable area of memory.
Ensure that the data/instructions that are to be locked down are not already in the cache, using cache
clean and/or invalidate instructions as appropriate.
For each of i = 0 to N-1:
a.
Write to register 9 with index == i (for Formats A and B), and L == 1 (for Format B).
b.
For each of the cache lines to be locked down in lockdown block i:
If a data cache or a unified cache is being locked down, use an LDR instruction to load a word
from the memory cache line, which ensures that the memory cache line is loaded into the
cache.

7.

If an instruction cache is being locked down, use the register 7 prefetch instruction cache line
operation (<CRm> == c13, <opcode2> == 1) to fetch the memory cache line into the cache.
Write to register 9 with index == N (for Formats A and B), and L == 0 (for Format B).

Note
If the Fast Context Switch Extension (FCSE) described in Chapter B6 is being used, care needs to be taken
in step 6b. This is because:

If a data cache or a unified cache is being locked down, the address used for the LDR instruction is
subject to modification by the FCSE.

If an instruction cache is being locked down, the address used for the register 7 operation is being
treated as data and so is not subject to modification by the FCSE.

To minimise the possible confusion caused by this, it is recommended that the lockdown procedure should:

start by disabling the FCSE (by setting the PID to zero)

where appropriate, generate modified virtual addresses itself by ORing the appropriate PID value into
the top 7 bits of the virtual addresses it uses.

Cache unlock procedure

To unlock the locked-down portion of the cache, write to register 9 with index == 0 (for Formats A and B),
and L == 0 (for Format B).

B5-20

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

ARM DDI 0100E

Caches and Write Buffers

Interactions with register 7 operations

Cache lockdown only prevents the normal replacement strategy used on cache misses from choosing to
re-allocate cache lines in the locked-down region. Register 7 operations that invalidate cache contents affect
locked-down cache lines as normal. If such operations are used, ensure that they do not use virtual addresses
or cache set/index combinations that affect the locked-down cache lines. (Or if it is difficult to avoid
affecting the locked-down cache lines, repeat the cache lockdown procedure afterwards.)
Also, on some implementations and under some circumstances, the clean single Dcache line and clean and
invalidate single Dcache line register 7 operations (see Table 5-2 on page B5-16) which identify a cache
line by set/index can disrupt the constraints on the normal replacement strategy. To avoid this affecting the
locked-down area of the cache, read register 9 immediately before code that uses these operations, and write
the value read back to register 9 immediately afterwards.

ARM DDI 0100E

Copyright 1996-2000 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.

B5-21