1. What is Microprocessor?

It is a type of miniature electronic device that contains the arithmetic, logic, and
control circuitry necessary to perform the functions of a digital computer's central
processing unit.
2. What is Assembly?
3. What is Assembly Language?
4. What is Assembly Language Program?
In computer programming, assembly language, often referred to simply as
Assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level
programming language with a very strong correspondence between the
instructions in the language and the architecture's machine code instructions.
5. What is Register?
A processor register is a quickly accessible location available to a computer's
processor. Registers usually consist of a small amount of fast storage, although
some registers have specific hardware functions, and may be read-only or write-
only.
6. What is Data Segment Register?
Data Segment − It contains data, constants and work areas. A 16-bit Data Segment
register or DS register stores the starting address of the data segment.
7. What is Load Effective Address?
Computes the effective address of the second operand (the source operand) and
stores it in the first operand (destination operand).
8. What is Model in the program?
Programming models are supposed to explain how a program will be executed
while the parallel computer model is meant to be an abstraction of the hardware.
The programming model acts as a bridge between algorithms and actual
implementations in software.
9. What is Stack in the program?
A stack is an array or list structure of function calls and parameters used in modern
computer programming and CPU architecture. Similar to a stack of plates at a
buffet restaurant or cafeteria, elements in a stack are added or removed from the top
of the stack, in a “last in first, first out” or LIFO order.
10. What is DB in the program?
define byte - it allocates 8 bits of data in the memory to the variable u want to
assign it to.
11. What is section .data in the program?
The data section is used for declaring initialized data or constants. This data does
not change at runtime. You can declare various constant values, file names, or
buffer size, etc., in this section. The syntax for declaring data section is –
section .data.
12. What is g in the output of the program?
13. What is d in the output of the program?
14. What is DW in the program?
dont worry its just Define Word, it allocates 2 bytes of data (a word) in the memory
to the variable u want to assign it to.
15. What is DD in the program?
same for this it is Define Doubleword, it assigns 4 bytes of data it is double isnt it.
16. What is CX register in the program of the loops?
CX is known as the count register, as the ECX, CX registers store the loop count in
iterative operations. DX is known as the data register. It is also used in input/output
operations. It is also used with AX register along with DX for multiply and divide
operations involving large values.
17. What is CLC in the program?
clc clears all the text from the Command Window, resulting in a clear screen.
18. What is INC?
The INC instruction is used for incrementing an operand by one. It works on a
single operand that can be either in a register or in memory.
19. What is ADC?
Analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) is an electronic process in which a
continuously variable, or analog, signal is changed into a multilevel digital signal
without altering its essential content.
20. What is SBB?
 integer subtraction with borrow, it adds the 2nd operand - DEST to the carry flag -
CF and subtracts the result from the 1st operand - SRC, the result of the subtraction
is assigned to the first operand DEST, and flags are set accordingly.
21. What is CMP?
The CMP instruction compares two operands. It is generally used in conditional
execution. This instruction basically subtracts one operand from the other for
comparing whether the operands are equal or not.
22. What is JC?
JC : Stands for 'Jump if Carry' It checks whether the carry flag is set or not. If yes,
then jump takes place, that is: If CF = 1, then jump.
23. What is XCHG?
exchange register/memory with register, basically exchanges the 2 operands, Let us
suppose, HL and DE register pairs are having ABCDH and 6789H contents
respectively. After execution of instruction XCHG the contents of HL and DS
register pairs will be 6789H and ABCDH respectively.
24. What is DEC?
The DEC instruction is used for decrementing an operand by one. It works on a
single operand that can be either in a register or in memory.
25. What is JNZ?
The JNZ instruction transfers control to the specified address if the value in the
accumulator is not 0. If the accumulator has a value of 0, the next instruction is
executed. Neither the accumulator nor any flags are modified by this instruction.
26. What is XOR?
XOR Instruction. • The XOR instruction performs a bit wise Exclusive OR
operation between corresponding bits in the two operands and places the result in
the first operand.
27. What is the use of XOR?
The XOR operation sets the resultant bit to 1, if and only if the bits from the
operands are different. If the bits from the operands are same (both 0 or both 1), the
resultant bit is cleared to 0. XORing an operand with itself changes the operand to
0. This is used to clear a register.
28. What isRCR?
Rotate With Carry Right (rcr) RCR rotates the carry flag into the MSB and the LSB
to the carry flag. ROR rotates the LSB to the MSB without going through the carry
flag.
29. What is JNC?
The JNC instruction transfers program control to the specified address if the carry
flag is 0. Otherwise, execution continues with the next instruction. No flags are
affected by this instruction
30. What is IDIV?
IDIV is an arithmetic instruction that performs a division operation between two
signed numbers. The source operand in the instruction is a signed divisor. It can be
specified using any addressing mode except immediate mode of addressing.
31. What is RCL?
The RCL (Rotate and Carry Left) instruction shifts each bit to the left, copies the
Carry flag to the least significant bit and copies the most significant bit into the
Carry flag.
32. What is AAA?
The aaa instruction is mainly useful for adding strings of digits where there is
exactly one decimal digit per byte in a string of numbers. This text will not deal
with BCD or ASCII numeric strings
33. What is AAS?
Use aas only after executing the form of an add instruction that stores a two-BCD-
digit byte result in the AL register. aas then adjusts AL to contain the correct
decimal result. The top nibble of AL is set to 0.
34. What is DAA?
Decimal Adjust AL after addition
Use daa only after executing the form of an add instruction that stores a two-BCD-
digit byte result in the AL register. daa then adjusts AL to a two-digit packed
decimal result.
35. What is DAS?
Decimal Adjust AL after Subtraction
 Use das only after executing the form of a sub instruction that stores a two-BCD-
digit byte result in the AL register. das then adjusts AL to a two-digit packed
decimal result.
36. What is DEC?
Q24
37. What is CMPSB?
38. What is CMPS?
The CMPS instruction compares two strings. This instruction compares two data
items of one byte, word or doubleword, pointed to by the DS:SI and ES:DI registers
and sets the flags accordingly. You can also use the conditional jump instructions
along with this instruction.
CMPSB, CMPSW, CMPSD - compares bytes, words, doubleword respectively
39. What is INT 21 in the program?
int 21h is a software interrupt used in the x86 microprocessor architecture,
particularly in the DOS environment. It allows programs to request various services
from the operating system by specifying a function code in a register and triggering
the interrupt. The operating system then performs the requested operation and
returns the result
40. 42) What is @data indicates in instruction-MOV ax, @data?
@DATA is a variable that holds the value of the location in memory where the data
segment lives. It moves the memory location of @DATA into the AX register (16
bit register). One thing to note here is the @ in front of the word DATA. I believe
this is because @DATA is evaluated during the linking process and it will be
replaced by its actual value. Notice how the other examples to not have the @ in
front because they are referring to an actual memory location to begin with.
41. What is maximum size of the instruction in 80386?
The 80386 sets a limit of 15 bytes on instruction length. The only way to violate
this limit is by putting redundant prefixes before an instruction. Exception 13 occurs
if the limit on instruction length is violated. The 8086/8088 has no instruction
length limit.
42. Why we indicate FF as 0FF in program?
43. What is MUL BX and DIV BX? Where result goes?
44. What are ASCII codes for nos. 0 to F?
45. What is the difference between near and far procedure?
Near procedure
1. A near procedure refers to a procedure which is in the same code segment from that
of the call instruction
2. It is also called intra-segment procedure
3 A near procedure call replaces the old IP with new IP.
4. The value of old IP is pushed on to the stack. SP=SP-2
5. Less stack locations are required
6. Procedure is inside Code Segment
7.Uses keyword near
8.Syntx:- CALL near_procedure_name
9. Example :- Call Delay

Far Procedure
1. A far procedure refers to a procedure which is in the different code segment from
that of the call instruction.
2. It is also called inter-segment procedure call
3. A far procedure call replaces the old CS:IP pairs with new CS:IP pairs
4. The value of the old CS:IP pairs are pushed on to the stack SP=SP-2
5. More stack locations are required
6. Procedure is outside Code Segment
7. Uses keyword FAR
8. Example :- Call FAR PTR Delay
9. Syntax:- CALL far_procedure_name
46. What is the difference between Macro and procedure?
Macro is a set of instruction and the programmer can use it anywhere in the program
by using its name. It is mainly used to achieve modular programming. So same set of
instructions can be used multiple times when ever required by the help of macro.
Wherever macro’s identifier is used, it is replaced by the actual defined instructions
during compilation thereby no calling and return occurs.
Syntax of macro :
%macro macro_name number_of_parameters
 <macro body>
%endmacro
Procedures are also like macro, but they are used for large set of instruction when
macro is useful for small set of instructions. It contains a set of instructions which
performs a specific task. It contains three main parts i.e Procedure name to identify the
procedure, procedure body which contains set of instructions, and RET statement
which denotes return statement. Unlike macros, procedures follow call-return method
thereby achieving true modularity.
Syntax of Procedure :
procedure_name :
procedure body
….......................
RET
To call a procedure
CALL procedure_name
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-macro-and-procedure/
47. What is the difference between instructions RET & IRET?
The ret instruction transfers control to the return address located on the stack. This
address is usually placed on the stack by a call instruction.
An interrupt procedure also differs from a normal procedure in the method of leaving
the procedure. The IRET instruction is used to exit from an interrupt procedure. IRET is
similar to RET except that IRET increments ESP by an extra four bytes (because of the
flags on the stack) and moves the saved flags into the EFLAGS register. The IOPL
field of EFLAGS is changed only if the CPL is zero. The IF flag is changed only if CPL
<= IOPL.
48. What is the difference between instructions MUL& IMUL?
There are two instructions for multiplying binary data. The MUL (Multiply) instruction
handles unsigned data and the IMUL (Integer Multiply) handles signed data. Both
instructions affect the Carry and Overflow flag.
49. What is the difference between instructions DIV& IDIV?
DIV − Used to divide the unsigned word by byte or unsigned double word by
word. IDIV − Used to divide the signed word by byte or signed double word by word.
50. What is difference between shifts and rotate instructions?
There is only really one difference between the shift and rotate instructions: rotate
cycles the bits around going out one side and coming in the other, while shift rotates
 the bits out one side or the other leaving the space where the rotated bits where either
unchanged or zeroed. Basic difference between “shift” and “rotate” is shift command
makes “fall of” bits at the end of register whereas rotate command makes “Wrap
around” at the end of the register.
51. What is assembly language?
52. What are machine language and assembly language programs?
Machine language is the low level programming language. Machine language can only
be represented by 0s and 1s. Assembly language is the more than low level and less
than high-level language so it is intermediary language. Assembly languages use
numbers, symbols, and abbreviations instead of 0s and 1s.For example: For addition,
subtraction and multiplications it uses symbols likes Add, sub and Mul, etc.
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-machine-language-and-assembly-
language/
53. What is the drawback in machine language and assembly language, programs?
 It takes a lot of time and effort to write the code for the same
 It is very complex and difficult to understand
 The syntax is difficult to remember
 It has a lack of portability of program between different computer architectures
as it is very much machine architecture-dependent
 It needs more size or memory of the computer to run the long programs written
in Assembly Language.
54. Define bit, byte and word.
BIT Bit is the abbreviation for binary digit. The BIT is the smallest binary (bivalent)
information unit, which can accept a signal status of “1“ or “0“.
BYTE For a unit of 8 binary characters, the term BYTE is used. A byte has the size of 8
bits.
WORD A word is a sequence of binary characters, which is regarded as a unit in a
specific connection. A word also has the size of 2 bytes or 16 bits.
DOUBLE-WORD A double-word corresponds to the word length of 32 binary
characters. A double-word also has the size of 2 words, 4 bytes, or 32 bits.
55. What is a bus?
Connection lines used to connect the internal parts of the microprocessor chip is
called bus. There are three types of buses in a microprocessor –
 Data Bus − Lines that carry data to and from memory are called data bus. It is a
bidirectional bus with width equal to word length of the microprocessor.
Address Bus − It is a unidirectional responsible for carrying address of a memory
location or I/O port from CPU to memory or I/O port.
Control Bus − Lines that carry control signals like clock signals, interrupt signal or
ready signal are called control bus. They are bidirectional. Signal that denotes that a
device is ready for processing is called ready signal. Signal that indicates to a
device to interrupt its process is called an interrupt signal.
56. Why data bus is bi-directional?
57. Why address bus is unidirectional?
Address bus is used by a microprocessor to identify the storage location in the
memory where the next data can be found or the next instruction is to be executed.
Data bus is used to transfer data from one unit to another unit of the computer
system. Microprocessor can read data from the memory or write data to the
memory. So, the data bus is bidirectional.

58. What is the function of microprocessor in a system?

A microprocessor is a central processing unit (CPU) on a microchip, capable of
executing instructions that drive a computer or other electronic device. It is the
"brain" of the computer, responsible for fetching, decoding, and executing
instructions stored in memory. It also controls the flow of data between memory,
input/output devices, and other components of the system. The purpose of a
microprocessor in a microprocessor-based computer system is to perform the
calculations and logical operations required to execute a wide range of applications
and tasks.
59. What are the modes in which 80386 can operate?
Real Mode, Protected Mode, Virtual 8086 Mode
60. What is the data and address size in 80386?
80386 Microprocessor is a 32-bit processor that holds the ability to carry out 32-bit
operations in one cycle. It has a data and address bus of 32-bit each. Thus has the
ability to address 4 GB (or 2^32) of physical memory.
61. How clock signal is generated in 80386?
the clock signal in the 80386 microprocessor is generated by an external clock
generator circuit. This circuit uses crystals or oscillators to produce a stable
frequency square wave, which is provided to the microprocessor's clock input pins.
The clock signal synchronizes the microprocessor's operations and determines the
speed at which instructions are executed and data is processed.
62. What is the maximum internal clock frequency of 80386?
80386 supports a variety of operating clock frequencies, which are 16 MHz, 20
MHz, 25 MHz, and 33 MHz.
63. Write the special functions carried by the general purpose registers of 80386.
The general-purpose registers are used to calculate data and store addresses.
EAX(Accumulator), EBX(Base Index), ECX(Count), EDX(Data), EBP(Base
Pointer), EDI(Destination Index), ESI(Source Index)
64. What is pipelined architecture
Pipelining is a technique where multiple instructions are overlapped during
execution. Pipeline is divided into stages and these stages are connected with one
another to form a pipe like structure. Instructions enter from one end and exit from
another end.
65. What are the functional units available in 80386 architecture?
1. Bus Interface Unit
2. Code Fetch Unit
3. Instruction Decode Unit
4. Execution Unit
5. Memory Management Unit
a. Segmentation Unit
b. Paging Unit
66. List the segment registers of 80386.
CS(Code Segment), DS(Data), ES(Extra), SS(Stack), FS, GS
67. Define machine cycle.
Machine cycle refers to a sequence of steps that a computer's central processing unit
(CPU) goes through in order to execute a single machine language instruction.
68. Define T-State.
T-state is defined as one subdivision of operation performed in one clock period.
These subdivisions are internal states synchronized with the system clock, and each
T-state is precisely equal to one clock period.
69. List the components of microprocessor
Some of the common components of a microprocessor are:
 Control Unit
 I/O Units
 Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
 Registers
 Cache
70. What is the difference between CPU bus and system bus?
The CPU bus has multiplexed lines but the system bus has separate lines for each
signal. (The multiplexed CPU lines are demultiplexed by the CPU interface circuit
to form system bus)
71. What does memory-mapping mean?
Memory Mapping is a method to expand the memory of the microprocessor.
Microprocessor have a limited amount of memory. Many-a-times it calls for more
memory space. Being limited in memory resource, microprocessor needs to be
connected to external memory devices like RAM/ROM/EEPROM.
The interfacing between the microprocessor and the memory device by connecting
the data and address bus is called memory mapping.
72. What is DMA?
Direct Memory Access uses hardware for accessing the memory, that hardware is
called a DMA Controller. It has the work of transferring the data between Input
Output devices and main memory with very less interaction with the processor. The
direct Memory Access Controller is a control unit, which has the work of
transferring data.
73. What is the need for Port?
Ports are needed in a microprocessor-based system to enable communication and
interaction between the microprocessor and external devices.
74. What is a port?
A port is a dedicated interface or connection point that allows the microprocessor to
exchange data and control signals with external devices.
75. Give some examples of port devices used in 80386 microprocessor based
system
Examples of port devices used in a 80386 microprocessor-based system include
UART (Serial Communication Port), LPT (Parallel Port), keyboard controller port,
display controller ports (VGA, DVI, HDMI), USB ports, and Ethernet port.
76. What is the drawback in memory mapped I/0?
a. Limited address space: Memory mapped I/O can limit the address space available
for memory as the device registers occupy a portion of the memory address space.
b. Security risks: Memory mapped I/O can pose security risks as it allows direct
access to device registers, which could be exploited by malicious software.
c. Complexity of hardware design: Memory mapped I/O can increase the complexity
of hardware design as it requires careful coordination between the CPU and the
device to avoid conflicts over memory access.
77. How DMA is initiated?
The processor initiates the DMA controller by sending the starting address, Number
of words in the data block and direction of transfer of data i.e. from I/O devices to
the memory or from main memory to I/O devices. More than one external device
can be connected to the DMA controller.
78. What is processor cycle (Machine cycle)?
Q67
79. What is Instruction cycle?
A program residing in the memory unit of a computer consists of a sequence of
instructions. These instructions are executed by the processor by going through a
cycle for each instruction.
In a basic computer, each instruction cycle consists of the following phases:
1. Fetch instruction from memory.
2. Decode the instruction.
3. Read the effective address from memory.
 4. Execute the instruction.
80. What is fetch and execute cycle?
The basic operation of a computer is called the 'fetch-execute' cycle. The CPU is
designed to understand a set of instructions - the instruction set. It fetches the
instructions from the main memory and executes them. This is done repeatedly
from when the computer is booted up to when it is shut down.
81. What is Block and Demand transfer mode DMA?
Block transfer mode in DMA involves transferring a fixed-size block of data
between the device and memory in one continuous operation. Demand transfer
mode, on the other hand, transfers data between the device and memory on a per-
request basis. Block transfer is efficient for large continuous transfers, while
demand transfer allows for flexibility and synchronization with device requests.

82. What is the need for timing diagram?

You can use this diagram to provide a snapshot of timing data for a particular part
of a system. Timing diagrams show how long the certain processes take. From this
data, users can know which steps in a process take too much time, and what needs
to be streamlined for the system or piece of software to operate more efficiently as a
whole.
83. How many machine cycles constitute one instruction cycle in 80386?
Four stages of instruction cycle - fetch, decode, read address, execute. Each
instruction cycle of a processor consists of a number of machine cycles
depending on the instruction.
84. Define opcode and operand
Opcode (Operation code) is the part of an instruction / directive that identifies a
specific operation. Operand is a part of an instruction / directive that
represents a value on which the instruction acts.
85. What is opcode fetch cycle?
The opcode fetch cycle is a machine cycle executed to fetch the opcode of an
instruction stored in memory. Every instruction starts with opcode fetch machine
cycle.
86. What operation is performed during first T -state of every machine cycle in
80386?
During the first T -state of every machine cycle the low byte address is latched into
an external latch using ALE signal
87. Why status signals are provided in microprocessor?
The status signals can be used by the system designer to track the internal
operations of the processor. Also, it can be used for memory expansion (by
providing separate memory banks for program & data and selecting the bank using
status signals).
88. What is interrupt acknowledge cycle?
The interrupt acknowledge cycle is a machine cycle executed by 8085
processor to get the address of the interrupt service routine in-order to service the
interrupt device
89. How the interrupts are affected by system reset?
Whenever the processor or system is resetted , all the interrupts except TRAP are
disabled. fu order to enable the interrupts, El instruction has to be executed after a
reset.
90. What is Software interrupts?
The Software interrupts are program instructions. These instructions are
inserted at desired locations in a program. While running a program, if software
interrupt instruction is encountered then the processor executes an interrupt service
routine.
91. What is Hardware interrupt?
If an interrupt is initiated in a processor by an appropriate signal at the
interrupt pin, then the interrupt is called Hardware interrupt
92. Where is the READY signal used?
READY signal: This signal is used to delay the microprocessor Read or Write
cycles until a slow-responding peripheral is ready to send or accept data. When this
signal goes low, the microprocessor waits for an integral number of clock cycles
until it goes high.