Embedded Systems/Mixed C and Assembly Programming

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C and AssemblyEdit

Many programmers are more comfortable writing in C, and for good reason: C is a mid-level language (in comparison to Assembly, which is a low-level language), and spares the programmers some of the details of the actual implementation.

However, there are some low-level tasks that either can be better implemented in assembly, or can only be implemented in assembly language. Also, it is frequently useful for the programmer to look at the assembly output of the C compiler, and hand-edit, or hand optimize the assembly code in ways that the compiler cannot. Assembly is also useful for time-critical or real-time processes, because unlike with high-level languages, there is no ambiguity about how the code will be compiled. The timing can be strictly controlled, which is useful for writing simple device drivers. This section will look at multiple techniques for mixing C and Assembly program development.

Inline AssemblyEdit

One of the most common methods for using assembly code fragments in a C programming project is to use a technique called inline assembly. Inline assembly is invoked in different compilers in different ways. Also, the assembly language syntax used in the inline assembly depends entirely on the assembly engine used by the C compiler. Microsoft C++, for instance, only accepts inline assembly commands in MASM syntax, while GNU GCC only accepts inline assembly in GAS syntax (also known as AT&T syntax). This page will discuss some of the basics of mixed-language programming in some common compilers.

Microsoft C CompilerEdit

Turbo C CompilerEdit

  1. include <stdio.h>
  2. include <conio.h>

int main() {

    printf(" Hello world");


GNU GCC CompilerEdit

Borland C CompilerEdit

Linked AssemblyEdit

When an assembly source file is assembled by an assembler, and a C source file is compiled by a C compiler, those two object files can be linked together by a linker to form the final executable. The beauty of this approach is that the assembly files can be written using any syntax and assembler that the programmer is comfortable with. Also, if a change needs to be made in the assembly code, all of that code exists in a separate file, that the programmer can easily access. The only disadvanges of mixing assembly and C in this way are that a)both the assembler and the compiler need to be run, and b) those files need to be manually linked together by the programmer. These extra steps are comparatively easy, although it does mean that the programmer needs to learn the command-line syntax of the compiler, the assembler, and the linker.

Inline Assembly vs. Linked AssemblyEdit

Advantages of inline assembly:

Short assembly routines can be embedded directly in C function in a C code file. The mixed-language file then can be completely compiled with a single command to the C compiler (as opposed to compiling the assembly code with an assembler, compiling the C code with the C Compiler, and then linking them together). This method is fast and easy. If the in-line assembly is embedded in a function, then the programmer doesn't need to worry about #Calling_Conventions, even when changing compiler switches to a different calling convention.

Advantages of linked assembly:

If a new microprocessor is selected, all the assembly commands are isolated in a ".asm" file. The programmer can update just that one file -- there is no need to change any of the ".c" files (if they are portably written).

Calling ConventionsEdit

When writing separate C and Assembly modules, and linking them with your linker, it is important to remember that a number of high-level C constructs are very precisely defined, and need to be handled correctly by the assembly portions of your program. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to mixed-language programming is the issue of function calling conventions. C functions are all implemented according to a particular convention that is selected by the programmer (if you have never "selected" a particular calling convention, it's because your compiler has a default setting). This page will go through some of the common calling conventions that the programmer might run into, and will describe how to implement these in assembly language.

Code compiled with one compiler won't work right when linked to code compiled with a different calling convention. If the code is in C or another high-level language (or assembly language embedded in-line to a C function), it's a minor hassle -- the programmer needs to pick which compiler / optimization switches she wants to use today, and recompile every part of the program that way. Converting assembly language code to use a different calling convention takes more manual effort and is more bug-prone.

Unfortunately, calling conventions are often different from one compiler to the next -- even on the same CPU. Occasionally the calling convention changes from one version of a compiler to the next, or even from the same compiler when given different "optimization" switches.

Unfortunately, many times the calling convention used by a particular version of a particular compiler is inadequately documented. So assembly-language programmers are forced to use reverse engineering techniques to figure out the exact details they need to know in order to call functions written in C, and in order to accept calls from functions written in C.

The typical process is:[1]

  • write a ".c" file with stubs ... details??? ... ... exactly the same number and type of inputs and outputs that you want the assembly-language function to have.
  • Compile that file with the appropriate switches to give a mixed assembly-language-with-c-in-comments file (typically a ".cod" file). (If your compiler can't produce an assembly language file, there is the tedious option of disassembling the binary ".obj" machine-code file).
  • Copy that ".cod" file to a ".asm" file. (Sometimes you need to strip out the compiled hex numbers and comment out other lines to turn it into something the assembler can handle).
  • Test the calling convention -- compile the ".asm" file to an ".obj" file, and link it (instead of the stub ".c" file) to the rest of the program. Test to see that "calls" work properly.
  • Fill in your ".asm" file -- the ".asm" file should now include the appropriate header and footer on each function to properly implement the calling convention. Comment out the stub code in the middle of the function and fill out the function with your assembly language implementation.
  • Test. Typically a programmer single-steps through each instruction in the new code, making sure it does what they wanted it to do.

Parameter PassingEdit

Normally, parameters are passed between functions (either written in C or in Assembly) via the stack. For example, if a function foo1() calls a function foo2() with 2 parameters (say characters x and y), then before the control jumps to the starting of foo2(), two bytes (normal size of a character in most of the systems) are filled with the values that need to be passed. Once control jumps to the new function foo2(), and you use the values (passed as parameters) in the function, they are retrieved from the stack and used.

There are two parameter passing techniques in use,

1. Pass by Value
2. Pass by Reference

Parameter passing techniques can also use

right-to-left (C-style)
left-to-right (Pascal style)

On processors with lots of registers (such as the ARM and the Sparc), the standard calling convention puts *all* the parameters (and even the return address) in registers.

On processors with inadequate numbers of registers (such as the 80x86 and the M8C), all calling conventions are forced to put at least some parameters on the stack or elsewhere in RAM.

Some calling conventions allow "re-entrant code".

Pass by ValueEdit

With pass-by-value, a copy of the actual value (the literal content) is passed. For example, if you have a function that accepts two characters like

   void foo(char x, char y){
       x = x + 1;
       y = y + 2;

and you invoke this function as follows

   char a,b;

then the program pushes a copy of the ASCII values of 'A' and 'B' (65 and 66 respectively) onto the stack before the function foo is called. You can see that there is no mention of variables 'a' or 'b' in the function foo(). So, any changes that you make to those two values in foo will not affect the values of a and b in the calling function.

Pass by ReferenceEdit

Imagine a situation where you have to pass a large amount of data to a function and apply the modifications, done in that function, to the original variables. An example of such a situation might be a function that converts a string with lower case alphabets to upper case. It would be an unwise decision to pass the entire string (particularly if it is a big one) to the function, and when the conversion is complete, pass the entire result back to the calling function. Here we pass the address of the variable to the function. This has two advantages, one, you don't have to pass huge data, therby saving execution time and two, you can work on the data right away so that by the end of the function, the data in the calling function is already modified.
But remember, any change you make to the variable passed by reference will result in the original variable getting modified. If that's not what you wanted, then you must manually copy the variable before calling the function.

80x86 / PentiumEdit

Prior to the current generation of 32bit and 64 bit based processors, the 80x86 architecture used a complex segmented memory model (also referred to as real mode). For most purposes this will not not be encountered unless writing exceptionally low level code to interface directly with hardware or peripheral chips.

Modern code is typically written to support the 'protected mode' in which the memory space can for most purposes be considered to be flat.

The information below related to calling conventions in the protected mode.


In the CDECL calling convention the following holds:

  • Arguments are passed on the stack in Right-to-Left order, and return values are passed in eax.
  • The calling function cleans the stack. This allows CDECL functions to have variable-length argument lists (aka variadic functions). For this reason the number of arguments is not appended to the name of the function by the compiler, and the assembler and the linker are therefore unable to determine if an incorrect number of arguments is used.

Variadic functions usually have special entry code, generated by the va_start(), va_arg() C pseudo-functions.

Consider the following C instructions:

_cdecl int MyFunction1(int a, int b)
  return a + b;

and the following function call:

 x = MyFunction1(2, 3);

These would produce the following assembly listings, respectively:

push ebp
mov ebp, esp
mov eax, [ebp + 8]
mov edx, [ebp + 12]
add eax, edx
pop ebp


push 3
push 2
call _MyFunction1
add esp, 8

When translated to assembly code, CDECL functions are almost always prepended with an underscore (that's why all previous examples have used "_" in the assembly code).


STDCALL, also known as "WINAPI" (and a few other names, depending on where you are reading it) is used almost exclusively by Microsoft as the standard calling convention for the Win32 API. Since STDCALL is strictly defined by Microsoft, all compilers that implement it do it the same way.

  • STDCALL passes arguments right-to-left, and returns the value in eax. (The Microsoft documentation erroneously claims that arguments are passed left-to-right, but this is not the case.)
  • The called function cleans the stack, unlike CDECL. This means that STDCALL doesn't allow variable-length argument lists.

Consider the following C function:

_stdcall int MyFunction2(int a, int b)
   return a + b;

and the calling instruction:

 x = MyFunction2(2, 3);

These will produce the following respective assembly code fragments:

push ebp
mov ebp, esp
mov eax, [ebp + 8]
mov edx, [ebp + 12]
add eax, edx
pop ebp
ret 8


push 3
push 2
call _MyFunction@8

There are a few important points to note here:

  1. In the function body, the ret instruction has an (optional) argument that indicates how many bytes to pop off the stack when the function returns.
  2. STDCALL functions are name-decorated with a leading underscore, followed by an @, and then the number (in bytes) of arguments passed on the stack. This number will always be a multiple of 4, on a 32-bit aligned machine.


The FASTCALL calling convention is not completely standard across all compilers, so it should be used with caution. In FASTCALL, the first 2 or 3 32-bit (or smaller) arguments are passed in registers, with the most commonly used registers being edx, eax, and ecx. Additional arguments, or arguments larger than 4-bytes are passed on the stack, often in Right-to-Left order (similar to CDECL). The calling function most frequently is responsible for cleaning the stack, if needed.

Because of the ambiguities, it is recommended that FASTCALL be used only in situations with 1, 2, or 3 32-bit arguments, where speed is essential.

The following C function:

_fastcall int MyFunction3(int a, int b)
   return a + b;

and the following C function call:

x = MyFunction3(2, 3);

Will produce the following assembly code fragments for the called, and the calling functions, respectively:

push ebp
mov ebp, esp ;many compilers create a stack frame even if it isn't used
add eax, edx ;a is in eax, b is in edx
pop ebp


;the calling function
mov eax, 2
mov edx, 3
call @MyFunction3@8

The name decoration for FASTCALL prepends an @ to the function name, and follows the function name with @x, where x is the number (in bytes) of arguments passed to the function.

Many compilers still produce a stack frame for FASTCALL functions, especially in situations where the FASTCALL function itself calls another subroutine. However, if a FASTCALL function doesn't need a stack frame, optimizing compilers are free to omit it.


Main page: Embedded Systems/ARM Microprocessors

Practically everyone using ARM processors uses the standard calling convention. This makes mixed C and ARM assembly programming fairly easy, compared to other processors. The simplest entry and exit sequence for Thumb functions is:[2]

    PUSH {save-registers, lr} ; one-line entry sequence
    ; ... first part of function ...
    BL thumb_sub 	;Must be in a space of +/- 4 MB 
    ; ... rest of function goes here, perhaps including other function calls
    ; somehow get the return value in a1 (r0) before returning
    POP {save-registers, pc} ; one-line return sequence



What registers are used by the C compiler?

Data typesEdit

char is 8 bits, int is 16 bits, long is 32 bits, long long is 64 bits, float and double are 32 bits (this is the only supported floating point format), pointers are 16 bits (function pointers are word addresses, to allow addressing the whole 128K program memory space on the ATmega devices with > 64 KB of flash ROM). There is a -mint8 option (see Options for the C compiler avr-gcc) to make int 8 bits, but that is not supported by avr-libc and violates C standards (int must be at least 16 bits). It may be removed in a future release.

Call-used registers (r18-r27, r30-r31)Edit

May be allocated by GNU GCC for local data. You may use them freely in assembler subroutines. Calling C subroutines can clobber any of them - the caller is responsible for saving and restoring.

Call-saved registers (r2-r17, r28-r29)Edit

May be allocated by GNU GCC for local data. Calling C subroutines leaves them unchanged. Assembler subroutines are responsible for saving and restoring these registers, if changed. r29:r28 (Y pointer) is used as a frame pointer (points to local data on stack) if necessary. The requirement for the callee to save/preserve the contents of these registers even applies in situations where the compiler assigns them for argument passing.

Fixed registers (r0, r1)Edit

Never allocated by GNU GCC for local data, but often used for fixed purposes:

r0 - temporary register, can be clobbered by any C code (except interrupt handlers which save it), may be used to remember something for a while within one piece of assembler code

r1 - assumed to be always zero in any C code, may be used to remember something for a while within one piece of assembler code, but must then be cleared after use (clr r1). This includes any use of the [f]mul[s[u]] instructions, which return their result in r1:r0. Interrupt handlers save and clear r1 on entry, and restore r1 on exit (in case it was non-zero).

Function call conventionsEdit

Arguments - allocated left to right, r25 to r8. All arguments are aligned to start in even-numbered registers (odd-sized arguments, including char, have one free register above them). This allows making better use of the movw instruction on the enhanced core.

If too many, those that don't fit are passed on the stack.

Return values: 8-bit in r24 (not r25!), 16-bit in r25:r24, up to 32 bits in r22-r25, up to 64 bits in r18-r25. 8-bit return values are zero/sign-extended to 16 bits by the caller (unsigned char is more efficient than signed char - just clr r25). Arguments to functions with variable argument lists (printf etc.) are all passed on stack, and char is extended to int.

Warning: There was no such alignment before 2000-07-01, including the old patches for gcc-2.95.2. Check your old assembler subroutines, and adjust them accordingly.

Microchip PICEdit

Unfortunately, several different (incompatible) calling conventions are used in writing programs for the Microchip PIC.

And several "features" of the PIC architecture make most subroutine calls require several instructions -- much more verbose than the single instruction on many other processors.

The calling convention must deal with:

  • The "paged" flash program memory architecture
  • limitations on the hardware stack (perhaps by simulating a stack in software)
  • the "paged" RAM data memory architecture
  • making sure a subroutine call by an interrupt routine doesn't scramble information needed after the interrupt returns to the main loop.



The Sparc has special hardware that supports a nice calling convention:

A "register window" ...


  1. ARM Technical Support Knowledge Articles: [infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.faqs/ka8926.html "CALLING ASSEMBLY ROUTINES FROM C"]
  2. ARM. ARM Software Development Toolkit. 1997. Chapter 9: ARM Procedure Call Standard. Chapter 10: Thumb Procedure Call Standard.

Further readingEdit

External LinksEdit