Question

Regarding MIPS data alignment in memory, following are the address rules for laying out data in memory. [ Can start from even address only; Can start from odd address only ; Can start from address divisible by 8 only; Can start from an address divisible by 4 only; Can start from any address]

A) .bite
B) .half
C) .word
D) .ascii

Answer 1

In MIPS assembly language, .byte and .ascii can start from any address, .half must start from an even address, and .word must start from an address divisible by 4 due to the data alignment rules.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to the rules of data alignment in memory for the MIPS assembly language. Each directive for laying out data has its own alignment rules:

• .byte can start from any address since it only requires 1 byte of memory.
• .half must start from an even address, as it requires 2 bytes, which means the address must be divisible by 2.
• .word requires 4 bytes, so it must start from an address divisible by 4 to ensure proper alignment.
• .ascii can start from any address because it stores a string of characters each occupying 1 byte, and there is no requirement for alignment as with word-sized data.

In MIPS, ensuring that data is correctly aligned is crucial for the processor to efficiently access and handle the data.