MIPS Assembly/System Instructions

This page is going to discuss some of the more advanced MIPS instructions that might not be used in every-day programming tasks.

syscall allows you to call upon the basic system functions. To use syscall, first set $v0 with the code of the function you want to call, then use syscall. The exact codes available may depend on the specific system used, but the following are examples of common system calls.

Example: printing the number 12 li $a0, 12→;loads the number we want printed, 12 in this case, into the first argument register li $v0, 1→;stores the code for the print integer call into $v0 syscall→;Executes system call