Chapter 6

Conditional Processing

6.1 Introduction 150

6.2 Boolean and Comparison Instructions 151
6.2.1 The CPU Flags 151
6.2.2 AND Instruction 152
6.2.3 OR Instruction 153
6.2.4 XOR Instruction 154
6.2.5 NOT Instruction 155
6.2.6 TEST Instruction 155
6.2.7 CMP Instruction 156
6.2.8 Setting and Clearing Individual CPU Flags 157
6.2.9 Section Review 157
6.3 Conditional Jumps 158
6.3.1 Conditional Structures 158
6.3.2 Jcond Instruction 158
6.3.3 Types of Conditional Jump Instructions 159
6.3.4 Conditional Jump Applications 163
6.3.5 Bit Testing Instructions (Optional) 167
6.3.6 Section Review 168
6.4 Conditional Loop Instructions 169
6.4.1 LOOPZ and LOOPE Instructions 169
6.4.2 LOOPNZ and LOOPNE Instructions 169
6.4.3 Section Review 170
6.5 Conditional Structures 170
6.5.1 Block-Structured IF Statements 170
6.5.2 Compound Expressions 173
6.5.3 WHILE Loops 174
6.5.4 Table-Driven Selection 177
6.5.5 Section Review 178
6.6 Application: Finite-State Machines 179
6.6.1 Validating an Input String 180
6.6.2 Validating a Signed Integer 180
6.6.3 Section Review 183
6.7 Decision Directives 184
6.7.1 Signed and Unsigned Comparisons 185
6.7.2 Compound expressions 186
6.7.3 .REPEAT and .WHILE Directives 188
6.8 Chapter Summary 189
6.9 Programming Exercises 190

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 1 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

 Chapter 6
Conditional Processing

6.1 Introduction 150

• A programming language that permits decision making lets you alter the flow of control,
using a technique know as conditional branching..

6.2 Boolean and Comparison Instructions 151

6.2.1 The CPU Flags 151

• The Zero flag is set when the result of an operation equals zero.
• The Carry flag is set when an instruction generates a result that is too large (or too small)
for the destination operand when viewed as an unsigned integer.
• The Sign flag is set if the destination operand is negative, and it is clear if the destination
operand is positive.
• The Overflow flag is set when an instruction generates an invalid signed result (bit 7 carry is
XORed with bit 6 Carry).
• The Parity flag is set when an instruction generates an even number of 1’s bits in the low
byte of the destination operand.
• The Auxiliary Carry flag is set when an operation produces a carry out from bit 3 to bit 4

6.2.2 AND Instruction 152

• Performs a Boolean AND operation between each pair of matching bits in two operands
• Syntax:
AND destination, source
• AND instruction is often used to clear selected bits and preserve others.

• Application
o Task: Convert the character in AL to upper case
o Solution: Use the AND instruction to clear bit 5
mov al,'a' ; AL = 01100001b (61h = ‘a’)
and al,11011111b ; AL = 01000001b (41h = ‘A’) clear bit 5

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 2 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.2.3 OR Instruction 153

• Performs a Boolean OR operation between each pair of matching bits in two operands
• Syntax:
OR destination, source
• OR instruction is often used to set selected bits and preserve others.

• Application
o Task: Convert a binary decimal byte into its equivalent ASCII decimal digit.
o Solution: Use the OR instruction to set bits 4 and 5.
mov al,6 ; AL = 00000110b (06h)
or al,00110000b ; AL = 00110110b (36h = ‘6’) set bits 4 and 5

6.2.4 XOR Instruction 154

• Performs a Boolean exclusive-OR operation between each pair of matching bits in two
operands
• Syntax:
XOR destination, source
• XOR is a useful way to toggle (inverted) the bits in an operand.

• XOR reverses itself when applied twice to the same operand.

(X⊕Y) ⊕Y = X

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 3 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.2.5 NOT Instruction 155

• Performs a Boolean NOT operation on a single destination operand.

• Syntax:
NOT destination
• The result is called the one’s complement.

• For example, the one’s complement of F0 is 0Fh:

mov al, 11110000b ; AL = 11110000b (F0h)
not al ; AL = 00001111b (0Fh) 1’s complement

6.2.6 TEST Instruction 155

• Performs a nondestructive AND operation between each pair of matching bits in two
operands
• Syntax:
TEST destination, source
• No operands are modified, but the Zero flag is affected.
• Example:
o Value 00001001 in this example is called a bit mask. Zero flag is et only when all tested
bits are clear
mov al, 00100101b ; AL = 00100101b
test al, 00001001b ; AL = 00100101b ZF = 0 test bits 0 and 3

mov al, 00100100b ; AL = 00100100b

test al, 00001001b ; AL = 00100100b ZF = 1 test bits 0 and 3

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 4 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.2.7 CMP Instruction 156

• Compares the destination operand to the source operand

• Nondestructive subtraction of source from destination (destination operand is not changed)
• Syntax:
CMP destination, source
• No operands are modified
• When two unsigned operands are compared, the Zero and Carry flags indicate the following
relations between operands:
o destination < source
mov al,4
cmp al,5 ; CF = 1, SF = 1, ZF = 0, OF = 0
o destination > source
mov al,6
cmp al,5 ; CF = 0, SF = 0, ZF = 0, OF = 0
o destination = = source
mov al,5
cmp al,5 ; CF = 0, SF = 0, ZF = 1, OF = 0
• When two signed operands are compared, the sign, Zero , and Overflow flags indicate the
following relations between operands:
o destination < source
mov al,-1
cmp al,5 ; CF = 0, SF = 1, ZF = 0, OF = 0 SF != OF
o destination > source
mov al,5
cmp al,-1 ; CF = 1, SF = 0, ZF = 0, OF = 0 SF == OF
o destination = = source
mov al,5
cmp al,5 ; CF = 0, SF = 0, ZF = 1, OF = 0 ZF = 1

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 5 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.2.8 Setting and Clearing Individual CPU Flags 157

• Zero Flag
o ZF = 1: Test or AND an operand with Zero
o ZF = 0: OR an operand with 1
test al, 0 ; ZF = 1
and al, 0 ; ZF = 1
or al, 1 ; ZF = 0
• Sign Flag
o SF = 1: OR the highest bit of an operand with 1
o SF = 0: AND the highest bit with 0
or al, 80h ; SF = 1
and al, 7Fh ; SF = 0
• Carry flag
o CF = 1: STC instruction
o CF = 0: CLC instruction
stc ; CF = 1
clc ; CF = 0
• Overflow Flag
o OF = 1: Add two positive byte values that produce a negative sum
o OF = 0: OR an operand with 0
mov al , 7Fh ; AL = +127
inc al ; OF = 1, AL = 80 (-128)
or al, 0 ; OF = 0

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 6 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.3 Conditional Jumps 158
• Jumps Based On:
o Specific flags
o Equality
o Unsigned comparisons
o Signed comparisons
• Condition Jump Applications
• Encrypting a String
• Bit Test (BT) Instruction

6.3.1 Conditional Structures 158

• Using a combination of comparisons and jumps

o First, an operation such as CMP, AND, or SUB modifies the CPU flags
o Second, a condition jump instruction tests the flags and causes a branch to a new address.

6.3.2 Jcond Instruction 158

• A conditional jump instruction branches to a label when specific register or flag conditions
are met
o JC: jump if CF = 1; jump to a label if the Carry flag is set
o JNC: jump if CF = 0; jump to a label if the Carry flag is clear
o JZ: jump if ZF = 1; jump to a label if the Zero flag is set
o JNZ: jump if ZF = 0; jump to a label if the Zero flag is clear
• Jcond Ranges
o Prior to the 386:
ƒ Jump must be within –128 to +127 bytes from current location counter
o IA-32 processors:
ƒ 32-bit offset permits jump anywhere in memory

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 7 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.3.3 Types of Conditional Jump Instructions 159

• Jumps Based on Specific Flag Values

o Application:
ƒ Jump to label L2 if the doubleword in memory pointed to by EDI is even
test DWORD PTR [edi],1
jz L2 ; Jump if zero

TABLE 6-2 Jumps Based on Specific Flags

• Jumps Based on Equality

o Application 1:
ƒ Jump to label L1 if the memory word pointed to by ESI equals Zero
cmp WORD PTR [esi],0
je L1 ; Jump if equal
o Application 2:
ƒ Task: Jump to label L1 if bits 0, 1, and 3 in AL are all set.
ƒ Solution: Clear all bits except bits 0, 1, and 3. Then, compare the result with
00001011 binary.
and al,00001011b ; clear unwanted bits
cmp al,00001011b ; check remaining bits
je L1 ; all set? jump to L1

TABLE 6-3 Jumps Based on Equality

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 8 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

• Jumps Based on Unsigned Comparisons
o Application 1:
ƒ Task: Jump to a label if unsigned EAX is greater than EBX
ƒ Solution: Use CMP, followed by JA
cmp eax,ebx
ja Larger ; Jump if above
o Application 2:
ƒ Jump to label L1 if unsigned EAX is less than or equal to Val1
cmp eax,Val1
jbe L1 ; Jump if below or equal
o Application 3:
ƒ Compare unsigned AX to BX, and copy the larger of the two into a variable named
Large
mov Large,bx
cmp ax,bx
jna Next ; Jump if not below (jump if AX <= BX)
mov Large,ax
Next:

TABLE 6-4 Jumps Based on Unsigned Comparisons

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 9 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

• Jumps Based on Signed Comparisons
o Application 1:
ƒ Task: Jump to a label if signed EAX is greater than EBX
ƒ Solution: Use CMP, followed by JG
cmp eax,ebx
jg Greater ; Jump if Greater
o Application 2:
ƒ Jump to label L1 if signed EAX is less than or equal to Val1
cmp eax,Val1
jle L1 ; Jump if less than or equal
o Application 3:
ƒ Compare signed AX to BX, and copy the smaller of the two into a variable named
Small
mov Small,ax
cmp bx,ax
jnl Next ; Jump if not less
mov Small,bx
Next:

TABLE 6-5 Jumps Based on Signed Comparisons

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 10 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.3.4 Conditional Jump Applications 163

• Example: String Encryption Program

o Tasks:
ƒ Input a message (string) from the user
ƒ Encrypt the message
ƒ Display the encrypted message
ƒ Decrypt the message
ƒ Display the decrypted message

TITLE Encryption Program (Encrypt.asm)

; This program demonstrates simple symmetric

; encryption using the XOR instruction.
; Chapter 6 example.
; Last update: 06/01/2006

INCLUDE Irvine32.inc
KEY = 239 ; any value between 1-255
BUFMAX = 128 ; maximum buffer size

.data
sPrompt BYTE "Enter the plain text: ",0
sEncrypt BYTE "Cipher text: ",0
sDecrypt BYTE "Decrypted: ",0
buffer BYTE BUFMAX+1 DUP(0)
bufSize DWORD ?

.code
main PROC
call InputTheString ; input the plain text
call TranslateBuffer ; encrypt the buffer
mov edx,OFFSET sEncrypt ; display encrypted message
call DisplayMessage
call TranslateBuffer ; decrypt the buffer
mov edx,OFFSET sDecrypt ; display decrypted message
call DisplayMessage

exit
main ENDP

;-----------------------------------------------------
InputTheString PROC
;
; Prompts user for a plaintext string. Saves the string
; and its length.
; Receives: nothing
; Returns: nothing
;-----------------------------------------------------
pushad
mov edx,OFFSET sPrompt ; display a prompt
call WriteString
mov ecx,BUFMAX ; maximum character count

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 11 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

 mov edx,OFFSET buffer ; point to the buffer
call ReadString ; input the string
mov bufSize,eax ; save the length
call Crlf
popad
ret
InputTheString ENDP

;-----------------------------------------------------
DisplayMessage PROC
;
; Displays the encrypted or decrypted message.
; Receives: EDX points to the message
; Returns: nothing
;-----------------------------------------------------
pushad
call WriteString
mov edx,OFFSET buffer ; display the buffer
call WriteString
call Crlf
call Crlf
popad
ret
DisplayMessage ENDP

;-----------------------------------------------------
TranslateBuffer PROC
;
; Translates the string by exclusive-ORing each
; byte with the encryption key byte.
; Receives: nothing
; Returns: nothing
;-----------------------------------------------------
pushad
mov ecx,bufSize ; loop counter
mov esi,0 ; index 0 in buffer
L1:
xor buffer[esi],KEY ; translate a byte
inc esi ; point to next byte
loop L1

popad
ret
TranslateBuffer ENDP
END main

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 12 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.3.5 Bit Testing Instructions (Optional) 167

• Copies bit n from an operand into the Carry flag

• Syntax:
BT bitBase, n
• Example: jump to label L1 if bit 9 is set in the AX register:
bt AX, 9 ; CF = bit 9
jc L1 ; jump if Carry

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 13 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.4 Conditional Loop Instructions 169

6.4.1 LOOPZ and LOOPE Instructions 169

• LOOPZ (loop if zero) permits a loop to continue while Zero flag is set and the unsigned
value of ECX is greater than zero.
• LOOPE (loop if equal) instruction equivalent to LOOPZ.
• Syntax:
LOOPE destination
LOOPZ destination
• Logic:
ECX = ECX – 1
if ECX > 0 and ZF=1, jump to destination

6.4.2 LOOPNZ and LOOPNE Instructions 169

• LOOPNZ (loop if not zero) permits a loop to continue while the unsigned value of ECX is
greater than zero and Zero flag is clear.
• LOOPNE (loop if not equal) instruction equivalent to LOOPNZ.
• Syntax:
LOOPNE destination
LOOPNZ destination
• Logic:
ECX = ECX – 1
if ECX > 0 and ZF=0, jump to destination
• Useful when scanning an array for the first element that matches a given value
• Example: finds the first positive value in an array
.data
array SWORD -3,-6,-1,-10,10,30,40,4
sentinel SWORD 0
.code
mov esi,OFFSET array
mov ecx,LENGTHOF array
L1:
test WORD PTR [esi],8000h ; test sign bit
pushfd ; push flags on stack
add esi,TYPE array
popfd ; pop flags from stack
loopnz L1 ; continue loop
jnz quit ; none found
sub esi,TYPE array ; ESI points to value
quit:

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 14 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.5 Conditional Structures 170

6.5.1 Block-Structured IF Statements 170

• Assembly language programmers can easily translate logical statements written in C++/Java
into assembly language
• Example:

if( op1 == op2 ) mov eax,op1

X = 1; cmp eax,op2
else jne L1
X = 2; mov X,1
jmp L2
L1: mov X,2
L2:

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 15 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.5.2 Compound Expressions 173

• Compound Expression with AND

o When implementing the logical AND operator, consider that high-level languages
compilers for Java, C, and C++ use short-circuit evaluation for efficiency reasons.
o In the following example, if the first expression is false, the second expression is skipped:
if (al > bl) AND (bl > cl)
X = 1;
ƒ This is one possible implementation:
cmp al,bl ; first expression...
ja L1
jmp next
L1:
cmp bl,cl ; second expression...
ja L2
jmp next
L2: ; both are true
mov X,1 ; set X to 1
next:
ƒ But the following implementation uses 29% less code by reversing the first relational
operator. We allow the program to "fall through" to the second expression:
cmp al,bl ; first expression...
jbe next ; quit if false
cmp bl,cl ; second expression...
jbe next ; quit if false
mov X,1 ; both are true
next:
o Non-Short-Circuit Evaluation Some language (BASIC, for example), do not perform
short-circuit evaluation.
ƒ Implementation such a compound expression in assembly language is tricky because
a flag or Boolean value is needed to hold the result form the first expression:
mov temp,0 ; clear temp flag
cmp al,bl ; AL > BL?
jna L1 ; no
mov temp,1 ; yes: set true flag
L1:
cmp bl,cl ; BL > CL?
jna L2 ; no
mov temp,1 ; yes: set true flag
L2:
cmp temp,1 ; flag equal to true?
jne next
mov X,1
next:

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 16 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

• Compound Expression with OR (1 of 2)
o When implementing the logical OR operator, consider that high-level languages
compilers for Java, C, and C++ use short-circuit evaluation for efficiency reasons.
o In the following example, if the first expression is true, the second expression is skipped:
if (al > bl) OR (bl > cl)
X = 1;
o We can use "fall-through" logic to keep the code as short as possible:
cmp al, bl ; is AL > BL?
ja L1 ; yes
cmp bl, cl ; no: is BL > CL?
jbe next ; no: skip next statement
L1:
mov X,1 ; set X to 1
next:

6.5.3 WHILE Loops 174

• A WHILE loop is really an IF statement followed by the body of the loop, followed by an
unconditional jump to the top of the loop
• Consider the following example:
while(eax < ebx)
eax = eax + 1;
• This is a possible implementation:
top:
cmp eax,ebx ; check loop condition
jae next ; false? exit loop
inc eax ; body of loop
jmp top ; repeat the loop
next:

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 17 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.5.4 Table-Driven Selection 177

• Table-driven selection uses a table lookup to replace a multiway selection structure

• Create a table containing lookup values and the offsets of labels or procedures
• Use a loop to search the table
• Suited to a large number of comparisons
• Steps to do it
o Step 1: create a table containing lookup values and procedure offsets:
.data
CaseTable BYTE 'A' ; lookup value
DWORD Process_A ; address of procedure
EntrySize = ($ - CaseTable)
BYTE 'B'
DWORD Process_B
BYTE 'C'
DWORD Process_C
BYTE 'D'
DWORD Process_D
NumberOfEntries = ($ - CaseTable) / EntrySize
o Step 2: Use a loop to search the table. When a match is found, we call the procedure
offset stored in the current table entry:
mov ebx,OFFSET CaseTable ; point EBX to the table
mov ecx,NumberOfEntries ; loop counter
L1:
cmp al,[ebx] ; match found?
jne L2 ; no: continue
call NEAR PTR [ebx + 1] ; yes: call the procedure
jmp L3 ; and exit the loop
L2:
add ebx,EntrySize ; point to next entry
loop L1 ; repeat until ECX = 0
L3:

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 18 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.6 Application: Finite-State Machines 179

• A finite-state machine (FSM) is a graph structure that changes state based on some input,
also called a state-transition diagram
• Use a graph to represent an FSM, with squares or circles called nodes, and lines with arrows
between the circles called edges (or arcs)
• A FSM is a specific instance of a more general structure called a directed graph (or
digraph).
• Three basic states, represented by nodes:
o Start state
o Terminal state(s)
o Nonterminal state(s)
• Accepts any sequence of symbols that puts it into an accepting (final) state
• Can be used to recognize, or validate a sequence of characters that is governed by language
rules (called a regular expression)
• Advantages:
o Provides visual tracking of program's flow of control
o Easy to modify
o Easily implemented in assembly language

6.6.1 Validating an Input String 180

• FSM that recognizes strings beginning with 'x', followed by letters 'a'..'y', ending with 'z':
o The following input strings would be recognized by this FSM:
xaabcdefgz
xz
xyyqqrrstuvz

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 19 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.6.2 Validating a Signed Integer 180

• FSM that recognizes signed integers:

o The following is code from State A in the Integer FSM:

StateA:
call Getnext ; read next char into AL
cmp al,'+' ; leading + sign?
je StateB ; go to State B
cmp al,'-' ; leading - sign?
je StateB ; go to State B
call IsDigit ; ZF = 1 if AL = digit
jz StateC ; go to State C
call DisplayErrorMsg ; invalid input found
jmp Quit
o IsDigit: Receives a character in AL. Sets the Zero flag if the character is a decimal digit.
IsDigit PROC
cmp al,'0' ; ZF = 0
jb ID1
cmp al,'9' ; ZF = 0
ja ID1
test ax,0 ; ZF = 1
ID1: ret
IsDigit ENDP

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 20 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.7 Decision Directives 184

• Using the .IF Directive

o .IF, .ELSE, .ELSEIF, and .ENDIF can be used to evaluate runtime expressions and
create block-structured IF statements.
o Examples:
Example1: Example2:
.IF eax > ebx .IF eax > ebx && eax > ecx
mov edx,1 mov edx,1
.ELSE .ELSE
mov edx,2
mov edx,2
.ENDIF
.ENDIF

o MASM generates "hidden" code for you, consisting of code labels, CMP and conditional
jump instructions

.data
val1 SDWORD 5
result SDWORD ?
.code
mov eax,6 mov eax,6
.IF eax > val1 cmp eax,val1
mov result,1 jle @C0001 ; jump signed comp
.ENDIF mov result,1
@C0001:

o Relational and Logical Operators

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 21 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

• .REPEAT Directive
o Executes the loop body before testing the loop condition associated with the .UNTIL
directive
o Example:
; Display integers 1 – 10:
mov eax,0
.REPEAT
inc eax
call WriteDec
call Crlf
.UNTIL eax == 10
• .WHILE Directive
o Tests the loop condition before executing the loop body The .ENDW directive marks the
end of the loop.
o Example:
; Display integers 1 – 10:
mov eax,0
.WHILE eax < 10
inc eax
call WriteDec
call Crlf
.ENDW

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 22 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang

6.8 Chapter Summary 189

• Bitwise instructions manipulate individual bits in operands

o AND, OR, XOR, NOT, TEST
• CMP instruction
o compares operands using implied subtraction
o sets condition flags
• Four types of conditional jump instructions are shown in this chapter. Jumps based on
o Equality: JE jump equal), JNE (jump not equal), …
o Flag values: JC (jump carry), JZ (jump zero), JNC , JP, ...
o Signed: JG (jump if greater), JL (jump if less), JNG (jump not greater), ...
o Unsigned: JA (jump if above), JB (jump if below), JNA (jump not above), ...
• Loops
o The LOOPZ (LOOPE) instruction repeats when the Zero flag is set and ECX is grater
than Zero
o The LOOPNZ (LOOPNE) instruction repeats when the Zero flag is clear and ECX is
greater than zero.
• Encryption is a process that encodes data, and decryption is a process that decodes data.
o The XOR instruction can be used to perform simple encryption and decryption, one byte
at a time.
• Flowcharts are effective tool for visually representing program logic.
• Finite-state machine (FSM) is an effective tool for validating string containing recognizable
characters such as signed integers.
• Simplify assembly language coding
o The .IF, .ELSE, .ELSEIF, and .ENDIF directives evaluate runtime expressions and
greatly simplify assembly language coding. They are particularly useful when coding
complex compound Boolean expression.
o You can also create conditional loops, using the .WHILE and .REPEAT.

CMPS293&290 Class Notes (Chap 06) Page 23 / 23 Kuo-pao Yang