.. _asm_coding_guidelines: Assembly Language Coding Guidelines ################################### .. contents:: :local: General ******* ASM-GN-01: One address shall not be declared by two labels ========================================================== Compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: asm_showcase_2: movl $0x1, %eax ASM-GN-02: Names reserved for use by the assembler shall not be used for any other purpose ========================================================================================== Names defined by developers shall not be the same as an assembler directive, instruction prefix, instruction mnemonic, or register name. Compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax asm_showcase_2: movl $0x2, %eax asm_showcase_3: movl $0x3, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: text: movl $0x1, %eax mov: movl $0x2, %eax eax: movl $0x3, %eax ASM-GN-03: All declared labels shall be used ============================================ Otherwise, the label shall be removed. Compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax jmp asm_showcase_2 /* do something */ asm_showcase_2: movl $0x2, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax /* * 'asm_showcase_2' is not used anywhere, including * all C source/header files and Assembly files. */ asm_showcase_2: movl $0x2, %eax ASM-GN-04: Magic numbers shall be used with restrictions ======================================================== Only the following cases shall be allowed: a) The magic number is defined as a MACRO with a name clearly indicating its meaning. b) The meaning of the magic number is clearly documented in the comments before its usage. c) The meaning of the magic number is straightforward in the specific context. Compliant example:: .section .data showcase_data: /* 0xff000000 means */ .long 0xff000000 .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: .section .data showcase_data: .long 0xff000000 ASM-GN-05: Parentheses shall be used to set the operator precedence explicitly ============================================================================== Compliant example:: .section .data showcase_data: /* 0x1234 means */ .long 0x1234 * (0x1234 >> 2) .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: .section .data showcase_data: /* 0x1234 means */ .long 0x1234 * 0x1234 >> 2 ASM-GN-06: .end directive statement shall be the last statement in an Assembly file =================================================================================== This rule applies only to the Assembly file that uses the ``.end`` directive. The ``.end`` directive shall be the last statement in this case. All statements past the ``.end`` directive will not be processed by the assembler. Compliant example:: #include #include .macro asm_showcase_mov movl $0x1, %eax .endm .end .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: #include .end #include .macro asm_showcase_mov movl $0x1, %eax .endm ASM-GN-07: Infinite loop shall not exist ======================================== Compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax jmp asm_showcase_2 /* do something */ asm_showcase_2: movl $0x2, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax jmp asm_showcase_1 ASM-GN-08: All code shall be reachable ====================================== Compliant example:: asm_showcase: movl %ebx, %eax test $0x400, %eax jne asm_test movl $0x2, %eax movl $0x3, %eax asm_test: movl $0x6, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase: movl %ebx, %eax jmp asm_test /* the following two lines have no chance to be executed */ movl $0x2, %eax movl $0x3, %eax asm_test: movl $0x6, %eax ASM-GN-09: Far jump shall be used with restrictions =================================================== Jumping to an instruction located in a different segment shall be used only for the following two cases: a) Code bit changes, such as change from 32-bit mode to 64-bit mode. b) System resumes from S3. In this case, Global Descriptor Table (GDT) is set by Bootloader/BIOS and far jump has to be used to correct the Code Segment (CS). Compliant example:: .code32 execution_32: /* * do something in 32-bit mode, * then, * perform a far jump to start executing in 64-bit mode */ ljmp $0x0008, $execution_64_2 .code64 execution_64_1: /* do something in 64-bit mode */ execution_64_2: /* do something in 64-bit mode */ .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: .data asm_showcase_data: .word 0x0008 .code32 execution_32: /* do something in 32-bit mode */ ljmp $0x0008, $asm_showcase_data ASM-GN-10: Assembler directives shall be used with restrictions =============================================================== Usage of the assembler directive refers to the GNU assembler ``as`` user manual. Only the following assembler directives may be used: 1) ``.align`` 2) ``.end`` 3) ``.extern`` 4) repeat related directives, including ``.rept`` and ``.endr`` 5) global related directives, including ``.global`` and ``.globl`` 6) macro related directives, including ``.altmacro``, ``.macro``, and ``.endm`` 7) code bit related directives, including ``.code16``, ``.code32``, and ``.code64`` 8) section related directives, including ``.section``, ``.data``, and ``.text`` 9) number emission related directives, including ``.byte``, ``.word``, ``.short``, ``.long``, and ``.quad`` 10) ``.org`` shall be used with restrictions. It shall only be used to advance the location counter due to code bit changes, such as change from 32-bit mode to 64-bit mode. Functions ********* ASM-FN-01: Function shall have return statement =============================================== Compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax ret asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax call asm_func_showcase .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax call asm_func_showcase ASM-FN-02: A function shall have only one entry point ===================================================== The label in a function shall be used only inside. Jumping into the function from outside via this label shall not be allowed. This rule applies to both conditional jumps and unconditional jumps. Compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: test $0x400, %eax jne tmp movl $0x1, %eax tmp: movl $0x2, %eax ret asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax call asm_func_showcase .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax tmp: movl $0x2, %eax ret asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax call asm_func_showcase jmp tmp ASM-FN-03: A function shall have only one return statement ========================================================== Compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: test $0x400, %eax jne tmp movl $0x2, %eax jmp showcase_return tmp: movl $0x3, %eax showcase_return: ret .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: test $0x400, %eax jne tmp movl $0x2, %eax ret tmp: movl $0x3, %eax ret ASM-FN-04: Function shall be entered only by explicit call ========================================================== Falling through from a prior instruction shall not be allowed. Compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax ret asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax call asm_func_showcase .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax asm_func_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax ret ASM-FN-05: A jump instruction shall not be used to jump out of a function ========================================================================= This rule applies to both conditional jumps and unconditional jumps. Compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax ret asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax call asm_func_showcase .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax jmp asm_test ret asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %ebx call asm_func_showcase asm_test: cli ASM-FN-06: Recursion shall not be used in function calls ======================================================== Compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax ret asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax call asm_func_showcase .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax call asm_func_showcase ret asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax call asm_func_showcase ASM-FN-07: Cyclomatic complexity shall be less than 10 ====================================================== A function with cyclomatic complexity greater than 10 shall be split into multiple sub-functions to simplify the function logic. Compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: /* do something */ cmpl $0x0, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x1, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x2, %eax je tmp /* do something */ tmp: /* do something */ ret .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_func_showcase: /* do something */ cmpl $0x0, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x1, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x2, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x3, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x4, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x5, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x6, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x7, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x8, %eax je tmp cmpl $0x9, %eax je tmp cmpl $0xa, %eax je tmp cmpl $0xb, %eax je tmp cmpl $0xc, %eax je tmp cmpl $0xd, %eax je tmp cmpl $0xe, %eax je tmp /* do something */ tmp: /* do something */ ret Coding Style ************ ASM-CS-01: One instruction statement shall not be split into multiple lines =========================================================================== Compliant example:: movl $0x2, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: movl $0x2, \ %eax ASM-CS-02: Assembler directive statements shall be aligned ========================================================== An assembler directive statement is composed of directive and arguments. Arguments are optional depending on the use case. Some detailed rules about the alignment are listed below: a) Assembler directives shall be aligned with one tab if the statement is in the code block under any label from functional perspective. Otherwise, assembler directives shall be aligned to the start of the line. b) Tabs shall be used to separate the directive and the first argument, where applicable. The number of tabs could be decided by the developers based on each case and it shall guarantee that the first argument is aligned in each directive block. c) A single space shall be used to separate multiple arguments. Compliant example:: .extern cpu_primary_save32 .extern cpu_primary_save64 .section multiboot_header, "a" .align 4 .long 0x0008 .long 0x0018 .section entry, "ax" .align 8 .code32 .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: .extern cpu_primary_save32 .extern cpu_primary_save64 .section multiboot_header, "a" .align 4 .long 0x0008 .long 0x0018 .section entry, "ax" .align 8 .code32 ASM-CS-03: Labels shall be aligned to the start of the line =========================================================== Compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax asm_showcase_2: movl $0x2, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax asm_showcase_2: movl $0x2, %eax ASM-CS-04: Instruction statements shall be aligned ================================================== An instruction statement is composed of instruction prefix, instruction mnemonic, and instruction operands. Instruction prefix and instruction operands are optional depending on the use case. Some detailed rules about the alignment are listed below: a) The start of instruction statements shall be aligned with one tab if the instruction statement is in the code block under any label from functional perspective. Otherwise, the start of instruction statements shall be aligned to the start of the line. The start of the instruction could either be the instruction mnemonic or the instruction prefix. b) One space shall be used to separate the instruction prefix and the instruction mnemonic, where applicable. c) Tabs shall be used to separate the instruction mnemonic and the first instruction operand, where applicable. The number of tabs could be decided by the developers based on each case and it shall guarantee that the first instruction operand in the code block under one label is aligned. d) A single space shall be used to separate multiple operands. Compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax lock and %rcx, (%rdx) asm_showcase_2: movl $0x3, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax lock and %rcx, (%rdx) asm_showcase_2: movl $0x2, %eax ASM-CS-05: '//' shall not be used for comments =============================================== '/* \*/' shall be used to replace '//' for comments. Compliant example:: /* This is a comment */ movl $0x1, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: // This is a comment movl $0x1, %eax ASM-CS-06: Tabs shall be 8 characters wide ========================================== A tab character shall be considered 8-character wide when limiting the line width. ASM-CS-07: Each line shall contain at most 120 characters ========================================================= No more than 120 characters shall be on a line, with tab stops every 8 characters. Compliant example:: /* * This is a comment. This is a comment. This is a comment. This is a comment. * This is a comment. This is a comment. This is a comment. */ .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: /* This is a comment. This is a comment. This is a comment. This is a comment. This is a comment. This is a comment. This is a comment. */ ASM-CS-08: Legal entity shall be documented in every file ========================================================= Legal entity shall be documented in a separate comments block at the start of every file. The following information shall be included: a) Copyright b) License (using an `SPDX-License-Identifier `_) Compliant example:: /* Legal entity shall be placed at the start of the file. */ -------------File Contents Start After This Line------------ /* * Copyright (C) 2019-2022 Intel Corporation. * * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause */ /* Coding or implementation related comments start after the legal entity. */ .code64 .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: /* Neither copyright nor license information is included in the file. */ -------------------File Contents Start After This Line------------------ /* Coding or implementation related comments start directly. */ .code64 Naming Convention ***************** ASM-NC-01: Lower case letters shall be used for case insensitive names ====================================================================== This rule applies to assembler directive, instruction prefix, instruction mnemonic, and register name. Compliant example:: .code64 lock and %rcx, (%rdx) .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: .CODE64 LOCK AND %RCX, (%RDX) ASM-NC-02: Names defined by developers shall use lower case letters =================================================================== Names defined by developers shall use lower case letters with the following exception. If an object-like MACRO is defined with '#define', it shall be named with full upper case. Compliant example:: asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: ASM_SHOWCASE: movl $0x1, %eax ASM-NC-03: Label name shall be unique ===================================== Label name shall be unique with the following exception: Use of local labels is allowed. A local label is defined with the format ``N:``, where N represents any non-negative integer. Use ``Nb`` to refer to the most recent previous definition of that label. Use ``Nf`` to refer to the next definition of a local label. Compliant example:: asm_showcase_1: movl $0x1, %eax asm_showcase_2: movl $0x2, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax asm_showcase: movl $0x2, %eax ASM-NC-04: Names defined by developers shall be fewer than 31 characters ======================================================================== Compliant example:: asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax .. rst-class:: non-compliant-code Non-compliant example:: asm_showcase_asm_showcase_asm_showcase: movl $0x1, %eax ABI Conformance *************** ASM-ABI-01: The implementation of Assembly code shall conform to the System V x86/AMD ABI ========================================================================================= The implementation of Assembly code shall conform to the function calling sequence defined in System V Application Binary Interface AMD64 Architecture Processor Supplement. Refer to the `System V Application Binary Interface AMD64 Architecture Processor Supplement `_.