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Certainly! Let's dive into more details about each flag and provide examples:
1. Carry Flag (CF):
○ The carry flag is set if an arithmetic operation generates a carry
or a borrow out of the most significant bit of the result.
○ Example: Suppose we add two 8-bit unsigned integers: A = 200
(11001000) and B = 150 (10010110). The result is 350
(101011110). The carry flag will be set because the addition
caused a carry from bit 7 to bit 8.
2. Parity Flag (PF):
○ The parity flag is set if the least significant byte of the result
contains an even number of 1 bits.
○ Example: Let's consider the result R = 10110010. Counting the
number of 1 bits in the least significant byte (the rightmost 8 bits),
we find that there are four 1s. Since four is even, the parity flag
will be set.
3. Adjust Flag (AF):
○ The adjust flag is set if an arithmetic operation generates a carry
or a borrow out of bit 3 of the result.
○ Example: In BCD arithmetic, if we add two BCD digits (each
represented by 4 bits), the adjust flag will be set if there's a carry
from the lower nibble (bits 0-3) to the upper nibble (bits 4-7).
4. Zero Flag (ZF):
○ The zero flag is set if the result is zero.
○ Example: If we subtract the same number from itself (e.g., A - A),
the result will be zero, and the zero flag will be set.
5. Sign Flag (SF):
○ The sign flag is set equal to the most significant bit of the result
(sign bit of a signed integer).
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○ Example: Consider the result R = 11010011. Since the most
significant bit (bit 7) is 1, the sign flag will be set, indicating a
negative value.
6. Overflow Flag (OF):
○ The overflow flag is set if the integer result is too large a positive
number or too small a negative number (excluding the sign bit) to
fit in the destination operand.
○ Example: Let's add two signed 8-bit integers: A = 10000000
(negative) and B = 10000001 (negative). The result is R =
00000001, which overflows the signed 8-bit range. The overflow
flag will be set.
Remember that these flags play a crucial role in decision-making within
microprocessors, affecting conditional branching and error detection during
program execution .
