Pic Architecture and Assembly Language Programming: Embedded System Design, Bahria University Islamabad

Chapter 2:
PIC ARCHITECTURE Embedded

AND ASSEMBLY System Design,
LANGUAGE
Bahria University
Islamabad
PROGRAMMING
“PIC Microcontroller and Embedded Systems”, Muhammad
Ali Mazidi, Rolin D. Mckinlay, Danny Causey Prentice Hall,
2008.
Embedded Systems, Bahria University Islamabad 1

• To program in assembly language, we must
understand the registers and architecture of a given
CPU.
• CPU includes
1. Arithmetic Logic unit (ALU)
2. Registers
Introduction 3. Control Unit

• ALU
CPU
1.
Arithmetic
Logic
Unit(ALU)

• Performs logical and arithmetic functions
• It has following registers
 WREG – stands for working register (acts as an accumulator) – 8 bit
CPU register used to perform arithmetic or logical functions
 Status register that stores flags – indicates the status of the operation
1. done by ALU
 Instruction decoder (ID)– when the instruction is fetched, it goes into the
Arithmetic ID to be interpreted – tell the processor what to do
Logic
Unit(ALU)
(1)

To understand use of WREG register, two instructions
are used
• MOVLW instruction
CPU MOVLW K ; move literal value K into WREG
1. K is an 8-bit value
L stands for literal which means, literally, a number
Arithmetic must be used
Logic Examples
Unit(ALU) • MOVLW 25H
(2) • MOVLW 87H

• ADDLW instruction
ADDLW K ; add literal value K to WREG
It add literal value k to register WREG and put the
CPU result back in the WREG register
1. MOVLW 25H
Arithmetic ADDLW 34H
Executing the above lines results in WREG=59H
Logic (25H+34H=59H)
Unit(ALU)
(3)

• This is the block diagram of ALU.
• Form above example
first instruction move 25H(8-bit literal) in WREG
CPU (via ALU).
1. Second instruction add 34H with content of WREG
(25H) and store result (59H) in WREG
Arithmetic
Logic MOVLW 25H
ADDLW 34H
Unit(ALU)
(4)

• Register
CPU
2. Registers

• Registers – hold memory address
• Bank Select Register (BSR)
4-bit register used in direct
addressing the data memory
• File Select Registers (FSRs)
CPU 16-bit registers used as memory
pointers in indirect addressing data
2. Registers memory
• Program Counter (PC)
21-bit register that holds the
program memory address while
executing programs

• Control Unit
CPU
3. Control
Unit

• Provides timing and control signals to various Read
and Write operations
CPU
3. Control
Unit

SECTION 2.2
THE PIC File Register

• PIC File Register / Data memory
PIC file
register

• PIC has many other registers in addition to the WREG
• They are called data memory space to distinguish
them form program(code)memory
• Data memory space is a read/write (static RAM)
• It is also called file register
PIC file • It is used by CPU for data storage, scratch pad and
register registers for internal use and functions
• In PIC it ranges from 32 bytes to several thousand
bytes depending on the chip

• It has maximum of 4096
(4K) bytes
• With 4096 bytes, it has
addresses of 000-FFF (12-
bit address bus )
• The file register (data RAM)
PIC file is divided into two section
register a) General-Purpose
Registers(GPR) or
General-Purpose RAM
(GP RAM)
b) Special function
Register (SFR)

• Special Function Registers (SFRs) are dedicated to
specific functions such as I/O ports, ADC, ALU status,
timer and so on
• The PIC SFRs are 8-bit register
• 128 bytes in RAM (F80h-FFFh)
PIC File
register
(SFR)

• Special Function Register (SFRs) of PIC18 we will study
it in late chapters
PIC File
register
(SFR)

• 128 bytes (000h-07Fh) of Storage are used for
read/write storage, normally called scratch pad.
• Location 080h – F7Fh to be used for general purpose
by various member of PIC18.
PIC File
register
(GP RAM)

SECTION 2.3
Assembly Language Instructions

• MOVWF instruction
MOVWF FileReg
We saw MOVLW instruction previous that move

Assembly literal (8-bits) to WREG
Language In MOVWF value of WREG is move to ( F ) means
file register
instructions The location in the file register can be one of SFRs
(MOVWF) or a location in the general-purpose register region
After execution of instruction location in the file
register will have the same value as WREG

• Location with SFR
Assembly • Location with General Purpose register

Language
instructions
(MOVWF)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(MOVWF)

• ADDWF instruction
It add the content of WREG and file register.
File register can be one of SFRs or a General-
purpose register.
The destination can be WREG or the File register
Assembly
Format for this instruction is
Language
instructions
(ADDWF) fileReg is the file register location
D indicate destination bit (D=0 for WREG, D=1 for
file register)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(ADDWF)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(ADDWF)

• We can also write w or f instead of 0 or 1
• Rewrite of the last program

Assembly
Language
instructions
(ADDWF)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(ADDWF)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(ADDWF)

Assembly
Language
instructions

• COMF instruction
This instruction complement (inverts) the content

Assembly of fileReg and place result in WREG or fileReg.
Language
instructions
(COMF)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(COMF)

• DECF instruction
 This instruction Decrements (subtracts one from)

the contents of fileReg and place the result in
Assembly WREG or fileReg
Language
instructions
(DECF)

• MOVF instruction
It intended to perform MOVFW

Assembly If D=0, it copies content of fileReg to WREG
Language If D=1, the content of fileReg is copied to itself
It is used to bring data into WREG from I/O ports
instructions Sometimes it is used to copy fileReg to itself for
(MOVF) the purpose of testing fileReg contents.

Assembly
Language
instructions
(MOVF)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(MOVF)

• MOVFF instruction
It copies data from one location of fileReg to

another location in fileReg.
Assembly fileReg location for source and destination can be
any of 4096 location of RAM
Language MOVFF allows us to move data within RAM
instructions without going through the WREG register
(MOVFF)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(MOVFF)

Assembly
Language
instructions
(MOVFF)

• So far, we have done following instructions
MOVLW value
ADDLW value
MOVWF fileReg
ADDWF fileReg, D
Assembly COMF fileReg, D
Language DECF fileReg, D
instructions MOVF fileReg, D
MOVFF fileReg, fileReg

Assembly
Language
instructions

Assembly
Language
instructions

SECTION 2.4
PIC STATUS REGISTER

• The status register is an 8-bit register
• It is also referred as flag register
• Only 5 bits used by PIC18
• The three unused bits are unimplemented and read as
0.
PIC • The five flags called conditional flags, meaning that
STATUS they indicated some conditions after an instruction is
REGISTER executed

• These five flags are
C (Carry)
DC (Digital carry)
Z (Zero)
OV (overflow)
PIC N (negative)
STATUS
REGISTER

• C (the carry flag)
This is set whenever there is a carry out from D7
bit. This flag bit is affected after an 8-bit addition or
subtraction.
• DC (the digital carry flag)
PIC If there is a carry form D3 to D4 during an ADD or
STATUS SUB operation, this bit is set; otherwise, it is
cleared. This is used to perform BCD arithmetic.
REGISTER • Z (the zero flag)
It reflects the result of arithmetic or logical
operations. Z=1 if result is zero, If not Z=0.

• OV (The overflow flag)
This flag is set whenever the result of a signed
number operation is too large, causing the high-
order bit to overflow into the sign bit.
The OV and N flag bits are used for the signed
PIC number arithmetic operations.
• N (The negative flag)
STATUS Binary representation of signed numbers uses D7 as
REGISTER the sign bit.
The negative flag reflects the result of an arithmetic
operation.
If the D7 bit of the result is zero, then N = 0 and the
result is positive. If the D7 bit is 1, then N = 1 and the
result is negative.
• Some instructions affect all the five flag bits.
• But some instructions affect no flag bits at all. The
move instructions are in this category (except MOVF)
• Some instructions affect only the Z or N flag bits or
both. The logic instructions are in this category (e.g.
PIC ANDWL)
STATUS
REGISTER

PIC
STATUS
REGISTER

PIC
STATUS
REGISTER

PIC
STATUS
REGISTER

PIC
STATUS
REGISTER

SECTION 2.5
PIC DATA FORMAT AND
DIRECTIVES

• The PIC microcontroller has only one data type.
• It is 8 bits, and the size of each register is also 8 bits.
• The programmer break down data larger than 8 bits,
00 to FFH, or 0 to 255 in decimal to be processed by
the CPU.
PIC data • The data types used by the PIC can be positive or
negative.
type

• There are 4 ways to represent a byte of data in the PIC
assembler. The numbers can be in
1. hex,
2. binary,
Data 3. decimal or
4. ASCII formats.
Format
Representat
ion

• 1. Hex Numbers
There are 4 ways to show hex numbers:
1.Can use 'h' or 'H' right after the number like this: MOVLW 88H
or MOVLW 88h
Data 2.Put 0x or 0X in front of the number like this: MOVLW 0x88 or

MOVLW 0X88
Format 3.Put nothing in front or back of the number like this:
MOVLW 88
Representat 4.Put 'h' in front of the number, but with this single quotes
around the number like this: MOVLW h'88'
ion
(1.HEX)

• If the value starts with the hex digits A - F, then it must
be preceded with a zero.
Data
Format
Representat
ion
(1. HEX)

• 2. Binary Number
There is only on way to represent binary numbers
in a PIC assembler. It is as follows.
Data
Format The lowercase b will also work. ' is the single quote
Representat key
ion
(2. Binary)

• 3. Decimal Number
There are 2 ways to represent decimal numbers in
a PIC assembler, One way is as follows.
Data
Format
Representat The lowercase d will work also.
ion The other way to represent decimal numbers is to
use ".value"
(3.
DECIMAL)

• 3. ASCII data
Use the letter A to represent the ASCII data in PIC
assembler
Data
Format To define ASCII strings, more then one character,
Representat we use the DB, define byte directive( we will study
ion DB later).
(3. ASCII)

• Directives
Instructions tell the CPU what to do
Directives, also called pseudo-instructions give
directions to the assembler
The MOVLW and ADDLW instructions are
commands to the CPU, but EQU, ORG and END are
Assembler directives to the assembler.
Directives The widely used directives of the PIC are EQU and
SET.

• EQU (equate) :-
This is used to define a constant value or a fixed
address.
The EQU directive does not set aside storage for a
data item, but associates a constant number with a
Assembler data or an address label
Directives
(EQU)
Advantage:
Using EQU, the programmer can change it once and the
assembler will change all its occurrences throughout the
program, rather than search the entire program trying to find
every occurrence
• SET
This directive is used to define a constant value or
a fixed address.
In this regard, the SET and EQU directives are
identical.
Assembler The only difference is the value assigned by the SET
directive may be reassigned later.
Directives
(SET)

• EQU to assign fix data
Assembler
Directives
EQU
Examples

• EQU for SFR address assignment
Assembler
Directives • EQU for RAM address assignment
EQU
Examples
This is helpful in order to change the address

• The following program will move value 9 into RAM
locations 0 - 4, then add them together and place the
sum in location 10H
Assembler
Directives
EQU
Examples

• ORG (Origin) :-
The ORG directive is used to indicate the beginning
of the address.
It can be used for both code and data. The number
Assembler that comes after ORG must be in Hex.
Directives • END Directive:-
ORG The important pseudocode directive is END.
This indicates to the assembler the end of the
END source, asm file.
The END directive is that last line of the PIC
program, meaning that anything after the END
directive in the source code is ignored by the
assembler.

• LIST Directive:-
END and ORG are used by all assemblers. LIST
directive is unique to the PIC assembler.
It indicates to the assembler the specific PIC chip
for which the program should be assembled. It is
Assembler used as follows.
Directives
LIST
The above tells the PIC assembler to assemble the
program specifically for the PIC18F458
microcontroller. We use LIST to state the target
chip.

• Rules for Labels in Assembly Language
Each label name must be unique.
The names used for labels in assembly language
programming consist of
Alphabetic letters in both upper and lower case,
Assembler The digits 0 through 9, and

The special characters question mark (?), period (.), at (@),
Directives underline (_), and a dollar sign ($).
The first character of the label must be an alphabetic character. In
other words, it cannot be a number.
Every assembler has some reserved words that must not be used as
labels in the program. Foremost among the reserved words are the
mnemonics for the instructions. E.g MOVWL and ADDWL. There
are some other reserved words too.

SECTION 2.6
INTRODUCTION TO PIC
ASSEMBLY PROGRAMMING

• CPU can work only in binary, it can do so at a very high
speed
• A program consist of 0s and 1s is called Machine
INTRODU Language
CTION TO • It is quit tedious and slow for Humans to deal with 0s
PIC and 1s.
ASSEMBL • So assembly languages were developed, which
provided mnemonics for the machine code
Y
• Assembly language programs must be translated to
PROGRA machine code by a program called assembler.
MMING • Assembly language is referred to as a low-level
because it deals directly with the internal structure of
CPU and register inside it
• BASIC, Pascal, C, C++, Java etc. These languages are
called high-level languages because the programmer
does not have to be concerned with the internal
INTRODU details of the CPU
CTION TO • High level languages are translated into machine code
PIC by a program called a compiler
ASSEMBL • To write a program in C, one must use a C compiler to
translate the program into machine language.
Y
PROGRA
MMING

• An assembly language program is a series of
statements, or lines, which are either
assembly language instructions such as ADDLW
STRUCTU and MOVWF, or
statements called directives
RE OF
• The directive ORG tells the assembler to place the
ASSEMBL opcode at memory location 0 while END indicates the
Y end of the source code to the assembler
LANGUA • An assembly language instruction consists of four
fields:
GE
• Brackets indicate that a field is optional and not all
lines have them. Brackets should not be typed in.
STRUCTU
RE OF
ASSEMBL
Y
LANGUA
GE

SECTION 2.8
THE PROGRAM COUNTER AND
PROGRAM ROM SPACE IN THE PIC

• Program counter (PC)
It is used by the CPU to point to the address of the
next instruction to be fetched
As the CPU fetches the opcode from the ROM, the
program counter incremented automatically to the
PROGRA next instruction
M The program counter in PIC18 is 21-bit
COUNTER PIC18 can access program address 000000H to
1FFFFFH total 2M (
(PC)

• PIC18F458 has 32K of on-chip ROM
• No member of PIC family can access more than 2M of
opcode because of 21-bit Program counter
• First location of program ROM has address of 000000 ,
the last location ca be different depending on the size
ROM of the ROM on chip
memory • In PIC18F458 the last location is 07FFF (32K)
map

ROM
memory
map

• Let's examine the action of the Program Counter PC as
each instruction is fetched and executed
• The list file of code show how code is placed in the
ROM
Placing • The opcode and operand for each instruction are listed
on the left side of the list file
code in
program
ROM

Placing
code in
program
ROM

• ROM width in the PIC18
The data bus is like traffic lanes on the highway
The more lanes the more information can bring to
CPU
In PIC18, the internal data bus between the code ROM
ROM width and the CPU is 16-bits.
Therefore, the 64K ROM space is shown as 32K x 16
in the using a 16-bits word data size.
PIC18 Two reasons to make 16-bit data bus
1. Increase the processing power
2. Match the instruction with of PIC18 (most of the instructions of
PIC18 is of two bytes). This will make instruction fetch a single cycle.
In PIC18 all instructuions are either 2-byte or 4 bytes
(no 1-byte or 3-byte instruction). This is part of RISC
architectural philosophy
ROM width
in the
PIC18

• Little endian vs big endian war
The low byte goes to low memory address and
high byte goes to high memory address this is little
endian
Big endian is opposite of it. Low byte goes to high
Little memory address and high byte goes to low
memory address.
endian vs PIC18 is follows big endian convention as shown
Big endian  0E is high byte goes to 0000h location. Where 25h
goes to 00001h

• Instruction size of the PIC18
PIC18 program memory is byte-addressable, and
instructions are either 2-byte of 4-byte.
Almost all the instruction are of 2-bytes
The exceptions are MOVFF, GOTO, and a few
Instruction others
size of the We will se some instruction
PIC18

• MOVLW instruction formation
MOVLW is a 2-byte (16-Bit) instruction
The first 8-bits are OPCODE
The other 8-bits are for literal value of 00H to FFH
Instruction
size of the
PIC18

• ADDLW instruction formation
ADDLW is a 2-byte (16-Bit) instruction
The other 8-bits are for literal value of 00H to FFH
Instruction
size of the
PIC18

• MOVWF instruction formation
MOVWF is a 2-byte (16-Bit) instruction
The other 8-bits are for location of the file register
in the data RAM
Instruction The LSB bit of the OPCODE is for access bank
size of the If a=0, the fileReg is in access bank, if a=1 then we
have to use bank switching (will covered in Chapter
PIC18 6)

• MOVFF instruction formation
It is 4-Bytes (32 bits) instruction
First 16 bits are of OPCODE and the address of the
source fileReg
The other 16 bits are used for the opcode and the
Instruction address of the destination
size of the
PIC18

• GOTO instruction formation
It is 4 byte
12-bits are OPCODE
20-bits are target address
However, 20 bits give us only 1M of address and
Instruction PIC18 has 2M of ROM. This is solved by making LSB
size of the to 0
PIC18
Making LSB to zero will make sure that the target
address is an even. That's what we want because
instruction are either 2-byte or 4-byte. Avoid
landing middle of the instruction
CHAPTER 2
END

Pic Architecture and Assembly Language Programming: Embedded System Design, Bahria University Islamabad

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Chapter 2:

PIC ARCHITECTURE Embedded

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We saw MOVLW instruction previous that move

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Assembly • Location with General Purpose register

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• Rewrite of the last program

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This instruction complement (inverts) the content

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 This instruction Decrements (subtracts one from)

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It intended to perform MOVFW

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It copies data from one location of fileReg to

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Data 2.Put 0x or 0X in front of the number like this: MOVLW 0x88 or