Assembler programming on the Raspberry Pi
Assembler on Pi
© Lead Image © elenabsl, 123RF.com
Talk to your Raspberry Pi in its native assembler language.
Assembler programs run directly on the computer's hardware, which means they can reach nearly the maximum achievable speed of execution. Because assembler program code is very low level, writing the code is more complicated, but it is still the best choice for some tasks, especially on a computer such as the Raspberry Pi with its limited resources. Before you can start creating programs, however, you need to plumb the depths of the CPU and peripheral architecture.
Machine Code
To begin, it makes sense to clarify some terms. The CPU only understands machine code – zeros and ones or, more precisely, voltage levels that represent zeros and ones. Each command in machine code has a human-readable abbreviation that is easy to remember. These abbreviations are known as mnemonics and act as assembler commands. Assembler code is specific to a CPU architecture, which means that code for a Raspberry Pi (ARM) will not run on a PC (x86).
Programming in assembler on the Raspberry Pi can be approached in two ways: First, you can create an image in which you package the code and then boot the small-board computer (SBC) from that image to run the program. In other words, you degrade the Raspberry Pi to a microcontroller. With this method, the Pi runs without an operating system. Although you have full access to everything, you don't even get a shell.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 Now Available
The latest Linux kernel is now available with several new features/improvements and the usual bug fixes.
-
Microsoft Makes Surprising WSL Announcement
In a move that might surprise some users, Microsoft has made Windows Subsystem for Linux open source.
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.