CSE 230 - MIPS Procedure Calls
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ashyam3CSE 230 - MIPS Procedure Calls
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ashyam3MIPS Procedure Calls
Dr. Soumya Indela
Topics
• Procedure Execution
• Register Spilling
Procedure Execution
• Procedure – Function for better structure
• Procedure Execution – Steps in MIPS to execute functions
• Types of Procedure/Function Calls:
• Single Procedure Call – caller calls callee
• Nested Procedure Call – caller calls nested function which calls callee
• Recursive Procedure Call – caller calls recursive function which calls itself
Procedure Execution
• Caller Function
• Assign Arguments ($a Registers)
• Transfer control to the procedure (jal)
• Callee Function
• Perform the desired task.
• Assign Return Values ($v Registers)
• Return control to the point of origin (jr $ra)
Procedure Execution
• Caller Function
• Assign Arguments ($a Registers)
• Transfer control to the procedure (jal)
• Callee Function
• Perform the desired task.
• Assign Return Values ($v Registers)
• Return control to the point of origin (jr $ra)
• Caller + Callee Function
• Task of Caller
• Mandatory use of Stack to store arguments and return address
• Task of Callee
Registers for Procedure Execution
• $a0 – $a3: four argument registers to pass parameters (passed from
caller to callee)
• $v0 – $v1: two value registers to return values (passed from callee
to caller)
• $ra: one return address register to return to the point of origin
Caller Saved Registers
• Volatile Registers
• Modified during Procedure call
• Caller’s responsibility to save these registers to stack before “jal”
• Registers include:
• $ra
• $v0 – $v1
• $a0 - $a3
• $t0 - $t9
Callee Saved Registers
• Saved Registers
• Not modified during Procedure call
• Callee’s responsibility to restore original values, if changed, before “jr”
• Registers include:
• $zero – No change (always 0)
• $s0 – $s7
• $sp – Stack pointer should point to same location
before and after function call (jal)
Otherwise, caller can’t restore from stack correctly
Procedure Execution - Example
• C Code:
int main () {
int x, y, z;
z = avg (x, y);
}
int avg (int x, int y) {
int t = sum(x, y);
return(t/2);
}
int sum (int x, int y)
return(x+y);
Nested or Recursive Procedure
• Function call inside a function - Both Caller and Callee
• “jal” inside function before “jr”
• “jal” modifies “$ra”
• Before “jal”, “$a” registers are modified
• Required to store ”$a” , “$ra” before modifications (Spill $a, $ra registers)
MIPS Memory Layout
high address
Stack Space for saved procedure information
$sp (Note: the stack is up side down.)
stack
pointer Heap Explicitly created space, (e.g., malloc() in C)
Static Variables declared once per program
Code Programs
reserved
address 0
Register Spilling using Stack
• Stack – Last In First Out Structure
• Stack Pointer ($sp) – Always points to last used space in Stack
• Register Spilling – Write data from Registers to Memory
• To Push to stack
• Decrement $sp
• Write to Memory (using $sp as reference)
• To Pop or retrieve from Stack
• Read from Memory (using $sp as reference)
• Increment $sp
Register Spilling using Stack
addi $sp, $sp, -12
sw $t1, 8($sp)
sw $t0, 4($sp)
sw $s0, 0($sp)
Register Spilling using Stack
lw $s0, 0($sp)
lw $t0, 4($sp)
lw $t1, 8($sp)
addi $sp, $sp, 12
Zylab Demo
• MIPS Code:
Main: addi $a0, $s0, 0
jal Func
addi $s1, $v0, 0
j Exit
Func: add $v0, $a0, $a0
jr $ra
Exit:
Zylab Demo
• MIPS Code:
Store: addi $sp, $sp, -8
sw $t1, 4($sp)
sw $t0, 0($sp)
Retrieve: lw $t0, 0($sp)
lw $t1, 4($sp)
addi $sp, $sp, 8
Questions
Thank you!