CSEE 3827: Homework 4 Due: 4/11/11

• For this assignment you will write MIPS code, which you can test by simulating it with SPIM, a MIPS
simulator. SPIM is a command line tool available on cunix (cunix.cc.columbia.edu).
• We have provided templates which you must use for your solutions to these problems. You can download
the templates as follows:
– Download the templates from http://www.cs.columbia.edu/ martha/courses/3827/sp11/homeworks/templates.tar.
– Unpack the templates: % tar xvfz templates.tar.gz
– The preceding step will create a directory named templates which you should rename to your
own UNI, e.g., % mv templates mak2191.
• To turn in this homework, you will recreate a tarball with your solutions. When we unpack this tarball
we should find a directory named with your UNI containing two files: min.s and histogram.s.
– Make sure the directory containing your solutions is named after your UNI.
– Make sure your solutions use the templates and preserve the original filenames.
– Go to the directory above the one containing your solutions and create a tarball, e.g., % tar cvfz
mak2191.tar.gz mak2191/
• For help using spim on cunix, run ’spim’ with no arguments, followed by the command ’help’

1. min.s The purpose of this problem is to have you write a simple program and get you accustomed to
using spim. You should complete it before moving on to the other portions of the assignment.
####################################################################
##
## PROBLEM 1
##
## Write a function that takes two integer arguments and
## and returns the minimum of the two . If it were a C function
## the declaration would be :
##
## int min ( int a , int b )
##
## Your impleme ntation must adhere to all MIPS calling conventions ,
## and use exactly this template . Modify the file only where indicated .
##
#####################################################################

. data
newline : . asciiz "\ n "

. text
. globl main

main : addi $a0 , $zero , 10

addi $a1 , $zero , 20
jal min
move $a0 , $v0
jal print # should print 10

addi $a0 , $zero , 10

addi $a1 , $zero , -10
jal min
move $a0 , $v0
jal print # should print -10

li $v0 , 10 # exit
syscall

1
 min :
##
## Your impleme ntation of min () here .
##

print : li $v0 , 1
syscall
li $v0 , 4
la $a0 , newline
syscall
jr $ra

2. histogram.s The last three problems culminate in the construction of a histogram printer. The file
contains the full specifications for each component.
#####################################################################
##
## Problems 2 -4
##
## This series of problems culminates in the i mplement ation of a
## histogram function which counts the number of occurrences of each
## character in a string , and prints the resulting histogram to the
## screen . For example , the histogram for the string " Hello , World !"
## is :
##
## |
## ! |
## , |
## H |
## W |
## d |
## e |
## l |||
## o ||
## r |
##
## It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you implement these functions in
## problem order because the latter ones will depend on a working
## im plementa tion of the earlier ones .
##
## NB : At the bottom of this file several helper functions
## are provided for your use .
##
## NB : Each of your functions must adhere to MIPS calling conventions ,
## and take and return the arguments exactly as specified
## ( including their order ).
##
## We have provided code in the body of main to test each function
## individually . Simply uncomment the tests that you would like to
## run .
##
#####################################################################

. Data
min_char : . asciiz " "
max_char : . asciiz "~"
bar : . asciiz "|"
separator : . asciiz " "
newline : . asciiz "\ n "
hello : . asciiz " Hello , World !"
gettysburg : . asciiz " Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent , a n

. text
. globl main
main :
####################################################################
## PROBLEM 2 TEST CODE ( print_bucket )

2
####################################################################

## li $a0 , 42 # $a0 = ’* ’
## li $a1 , 10 # $a1 = 10
## jal print_bucket # should print : "* ||||||||||" on its own line

## li $a0 , 45 # $a0 = ’-’

## li $a1 , 12 # $a1 = 12
## jal print_bucket # should print : " - ||||||||||||" on its own line

## li $a0 , 80 # $a0 = ’P ’
## li $a1 , 8 # $a1 = 8
## jal print_bucket # should print : " P ||||||||" on its own line

####################################################################
## PROBLEM 3 TEST CODE ( count )
####################################################################

## li $a0 , 108 # $a0 = ’l ’

## la $a1 , hello
## jal count
## move $a0 , $v0
## jal print_int # should print "3"

## li $a0 , 33 # $a0 = ’! ’
## la $a1 , hello
## jal count
## move $a0 , $v0
## jal print_int # should print "1"

## li $a0 , 98 # $a0 = ’b ’
## la $a1 , gettysburg
## jal count
## move $a0 , $v0
## jal print_int # should print "13"

####################################################################
## PROBLEM 2 TEST CODE ( histogram )
####################################################################

## la $a0 , hello
## jal histogram

## la $a0 , gettysburg
## jal histogram

li $v0 , 10 # exit
syscall

#######################################################################
## PROBLEM 4
##
## Implement the histogram function :
## void histogram ( char * s )
##
## For each character c between * min_char and * max_char , histogram
## counts the number of occurrences of c in s , and prints out a bucket
## in the histogram for all non - zero counts .
##
#######################################################################

histogram :
##
## Your code here
##

#######################################################################

3
## PROBLEM 3
##
## Implement the count function :
## int count ( char c , char * s )
##
## count counts the number of instances of a character ( c ) in a string
## ( s ).
##
#######################################################################

count :
##
## Your code here
##

######################################################################
## PROBLEM 2
##
## Implement the print_bucket function :
## void print_bucket ( char c , int n )
##
## print_bucket takes two arguments , a character ( c ) and an
## integer ( n ) indicating how many instances of c were found in
## some string . This function should print the corresponding bucket
## in the histogram .
##
## A bucket consists of a label , followed by n bars , followed by a
## newline . For example , print_bucket ( ’a ’ , 2) should print " a ||\ n ".
##
#######################################################################

print_bucket :
##
## Your code here
##

####################################################################
## HELPER FUNCTIONS ##
####################################################################

print_label : # void print_label ( char c )

addi $sp , $sp , -4
sw $ra , 0( $sp )
jal print_char
jal p ri nt _ se pa ra t or
lw $ra , 0( $sp )
addi $sp , $sp , 4
jr $ra

print_bar : # void print_bar ()

la $a0 , bar
li $v0 , 4
syscall
jr $ra

p ri nt _s e pa ra to r : # void p ri n t_ se pa r at or ()
la $a0 , separator
li $v0 , 4
syscall
jr $ra

print_newline : # void print_newline ()

la $a0 , newline
li $v0 , 4
syscall
jr $ra

print_char : li $v0 , 11 # void print_char ( char c )

4
 syscall
jr $ra

print_int : li $v0 , 1 # void print_int ( int i )

syscall
li $v0 , 4
la $a0 , newline
syscall
jr $ra