Re: function call on MIPS (newbie question)

[David VomLehn <dvomlehn@cisco.com>]

Harald Krapfenbauer wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> I'm a newbie to the MIPS architecture and I want to port some program to
> MIPS.
> I must call a function within the .text segment with 2 simple
> parameters. So I figured out the following code
...
> 
> The code is written to the stack, the SP and the PC are then set to the
> beginning of the code on the stack.

Unlike x86 architectures, the MIPS architecture generally does not have hardware 
to synchronize data and instructions caches. When writing code for execution on 
the MIPS processor, you need to be sure that you flush the data cache and 
invalidate the instruction cache before trying to execute the code. On most MIPS 
processors, you can use the SYNCI instruction to do this. Take a look at the 
documentation for this instruction in "MIPS32® Architecture for Programmers 
Volume II: The MIPS32® Instruction Set". It has sample code on how to properly do 
this in an unprivileged application. You can get to this manual, as well as other 
MIPS manuals, at:

      http://www.mips.com/products/product-materials/processor/mips-architecture/

You will need to register for a free account to download this.

You can also use the cacheflush system call to synchronize the data and 
instruction caches.
-- 
David VomLehn, dvomlehn@cisco.com
The opinions expressed herein are likely mine, but might not be my employer's...




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