Assembly Language for x86 Processors

7th Edition
Kip R. Irvine

Chapter 16: BIOS-Level

Programming

Slide show prepared by the author

Revision date: 1/15/2014

(c) Pearson Education, 2014. All rights reserved. You may modify and copy this slide show for your personal use, or for
use in the classroom, as long as this copyright statement, the author's name, and the title are not changed.
 Chapter Overview

• Introduction
• Keyboard Input with INT 16h
• VIDEO Programming with INT 10h
• Drawing Graphics Using INT 10h
• Memory-Mapped Graphics
• Mouse Programming

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 Personalities

• Bill Gates: co-authored QBASIC interpreter

• Gary Kildall: creator of CP/M-86 operating system
• multitasking capabilities
• Peter Norton:
• Inside the IBM-PC first book to thoroughly explore
IBM-PC software and hardware
• created the Norton Utilities software
• Michael Abrash: columnist, expert programmer
• worked on Quake and Doom computer games
• optimized graphics code in Windows NT
• book: The Zen of Code Optimization

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 PC-BIOS
• The BIOS (Basic Input-Output System) provides low-
level hardware drivers for the operating system.
• accessible to 16-bit applications
• written in assembly language, of course
• source code published by IBM in early 1980's
• Advantages over MS-DOS:
• permits graphics and color programming
• faster I/O speeds
• read mouse, serial port, parallel port
• low-level disk access

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 BIOS Data Area
• Fixed-location data area at address 00400h
• this area is also used by MS-DOS
• this area is accessible under Windows 98 & Windows
Me, but not under Windows NT, 2000, or XP.
• Contents:
• Serial and parallel port addresses
• Hardware list, memory size
• Keyboard status flags, keyboard buffer pointers,
keyboard buffer data
• Video hardware configuration
• Timer data

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 What's Next

• Introduction
• Keyboard Input with INT 16h
• VIDEO Programming with INT 10h
• Drawing Graphics Using INT 10h
• Memory-Mapped Graphics
• Mouse Programming

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 Keyboard Input with INT 16h

• How the Keyboard Works

• INT 16h Functions

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 How the Keyboard Works
• Keystroke sends a scan code to the keyboard serial
input port
• Interrupt triggered: INT 9h service routine executes
• Scan code and ASCII code inserted into keyboard
typeahead buffer
sc = scan code input port
ac = ASCII code sc
Keyboard
sc

sc, ac
typeahead buffer INT 9h handler

sc, ac ac

INT 16h handler INT 21h handler

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 Keyboard Flags

16-bits, located at 0040:0017h – 0018h.

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 INT 16h Functions
• Provide low-level access to the keyboard, more so
than MS-DOS.
• Input-output cannot be redirected at the command
prompt.
• Function number is always in the AH register
• Important functions:
• set typematic rate
• push key into buffer
• wait for key
• check keyboard buffer
• get keyboard flags

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 Function 10h: Wait for Key

If a key is waiting in the buffer, the function returns it

immediately. If no key is waiting, the program pauses
(blocks), waiting for user input.

.data
scanCode BYTE ?
ASCIICode BYTE ?

.code
mov ah,10h
int 16h
mov scanCode,ah
mov ASCIICode,al

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 Function 12h: Get Keyboard Flags

Retrieves a copy of the keyboard status flags from the

BIOS data area.

.data
keyFlags WORD ?

.code
mov ah,12h
int 16h
mov keyFlags,ax

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 Clearing the Keyboard Buffer
Function 11h clears the Zero flag if a key is waiting in the
keyboard typeahead buffer.

L1: mov ah,11h ; check keyboard buffer

int 16h ; any key pressed?
jz noKey ; no: exit now
mov ah,10h ; yes: remove from buffer
int 16h
cmp ah,scanCode ; was it the exit key?
je quit ; yes: exit now (ZF=1)
jmp L1 ; no: check buffer again

noKey: ; no key pressed

or al,1 ; clear zero flag
quit:

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 What's Next

• Introduction
• Keyboard Input with INT 16h
• VIDEO Programming with INT 10h
• Drawing Graphics Using INT 10h
• Memory-Mapped Graphics
• Mouse Programming

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 VIDEO Programming with INT 10h

• Basic Background
• Controlling the Color
• INT 10h Video Functions
• Library Procedure Examples

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 Video Modes
• Graphics video modes
• draw pixel by pixel
• multiple colors
• Text video modes
• character output, using hardware or software-based
font table
• mode 3 (color text) is the default
• default range of 80 columns by 25 rows.
• color attribute byte contains foreground and
background colors

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 Three Levels of Video Access
• MS-DOS function calls
• slow, but they work on any MS-DOS machine
• I/O can be redirected
• BIOS function calls
• medium-fast, work on nearly all MS-DOS-based
machines
• I/O cannot be redirected
• Direct memory-mapped video
• fast – works only on 100% IBM-compatible computers
• cannot be redirected
• does not work under Windows NT, 2000, or XP

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 Controlling the Color
• Mix primary colors: red, yellow, blue
• called subtractive mixing
• add the intensity bit for 4th channel
• Examples:
• red + green + blue = light gray (0111)
• intensity + green + blue = white (1111)
• green + blue = cyan (0011)
• red + blue = magenta (0101)
• Attribute byte:
• 4 MSB bits = background
• 4 LSB bits = foreground

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 Constructing Attribute Bytes
• Color constants defined in Irvine32.inc and
Irvine16.inc:

• Examples:
• Light gray text on a blue background:
• (blue SHL 4) OR lightGray
• White text on a red background:
• (red SHL 4) OR white

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 INT 10h Video Functions
• AH register contains the function number
• 00h: Set video mode
• text modes listed in Table 15-5
• graphics modes listed in Table 15-6
• 01h: Set cursor lines
• 02h: Set cursor position
• 03h: Get cursor position and size
• 06h: Scroll window up
• 07h: Scroll window down
• 08h: Read character and attribute

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 INT 10h Video Functions (cont)

• 09h: Write character and attribute

• 0Ah: Write character
• 10h (AL = 03h): Toggle blinking/intensity bit
• 0Fh: Get video mode
• 13h: Write string in teletype mode

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 Displaying a Color String

Write one character and attribute:

mov si,OFFSET string
. . .
mov ah,9 ; write character/attribute
mov al,[si] ; character to display
mov bh,0 ; video page 0
mov bl,color ; attribute
or bl,10000000b ; set blink/intensity bit
mov cx,1 ; display it one time
int 10h

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 Gotoxy Procedure
;--------------------------------------------------
Gotoxy PROC
;
; Sets the cursor position on video page 0.
; Receives: DH,DL = row, column
; Returns: nothing
;---------------------------------------------------
pusha
mov ah,2
mov bh,0
int 10h
popa
ret
Gotoxy ENDP

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 Clrscr Procedure
Clrscr PROC
pusha
mov ax,0600h ; scroll window up
mov cx,0 ; upper left corner (0,0)
mov dx,184Fh ; lower right corner (24,79)
mov bh,7 ; normal attribute
int 10h ; call BIOS
mov ah,2 ; locate cursor at 0,0
mov bh,0 ; video page 0
mov dx,0 ; row 0, column 0
int 10h
popa
ret
Clrscr ENDP

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 What's Next

• Introduction
• Keyboard Input with INT 16h
• VIDEO Programming with INT 10h
• Drawing Graphics Using INT 10h
• Memory-Mapped Graphics
• Mouse Programming

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 Drawing Graphics Using INT 10h

• INT 10h Pixel-Related Functions

• DrawLine Program
• Cartesian Coordinates Program
• Converting Cartesian Coordinates to Screen
Coordinates

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 INT 10h Pixel-Related Functions

• Slow performance
• Easy to program
• 0Ch: Write graphics pixel
• 0Dh: Read graphics pixel

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 DrawLine Program
• Draws a straight line, using INT 10h function calls
• Saves and restores current video mode
• Excerpt from the DrawLine program (DrawLine.asm):

mov ah,0Ch ; write pixel

mov al,color ; pixel color
mov bh,0 ; video page 0
mov cx,currentX
int 10h

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 Cartesian Coordinates Program
• Draws the X and Y axes of a Cartesian coordinate
system
• Uses video mode 6A (800 x 600, 16 colors)
• Name: Pixel2.asm
• Important procedures:
• DrawHorizLine
• DrawVerticalLine

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 Converting Cartesian Coordinates to
Screen Coordinates
• Screen coordinates place the origin (0,0) at the
upper-left corner of the screen
• Graphing functions often need to display negative
values
• move origin point to the middle of the screen
• For Cartesian coordinates X, Y and origin points
sOrigX and sOrigY, screen X and screen Y are
calculated as:
• sx = (sOrigX + X)
• sy = (sOrigY – Y)

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 What's Next

• Introduction
• Keyboard Input with INT 16h
• VIDEO Programming with INT 10h
• Drawing Graphics Using INT 10h
• Memory-Mapped Graphics
• Mouse Programming

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 Memory-Mapped Graphics

• Binary values are written to video RAM

• video adapter must use standard address
• Very fast performance
• no BIOS or DOS routines to get in the way

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 Mode 13h: 320 X 200, 256 Colors

• Mode 13h graphics (320 X 200, 256 colors)

• Fairly easy to program
• read and write video adapter via IN and OUT
instructions
• pixel-mapping scheme (1 byte per pixel)

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 Mode 13h Details
• OUT Instruction
• 16-bit port address assigned to DX register
• output value in AL, AX, or EAX
• Example:
mov dx,3c8h ; port address
mov al,20h ; value to be sent
out dx,al ; send to the port
• Color Indexes
• color integer value is an index into a table of colors
called a palette

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 Color Indexes in Mode 13h

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 RGB Colors
Additive mixing of light (red, green, blue). Intensities vary
from 0 to 255.
Examples:

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 What's Next

• Introduction
• Keyboard Input with INT 16h
• VIDEO Programming with INT 10h
• Drawing Graphics Using INT 10h
• Memory-Mapped Graphics
• Mouse Programming

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 Mouse Programming
• MS-DOS functions for reading the mouse
• Mickey – unit of measurement (200th of an inch)
• mickeys-to-pixels ratio (8 x 16) is variable
• INT 33h functions
• Mouse Tracking Program Example

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 Reset Mouse and Get Status
• INT 33h, AX = 0
• Example:

mov ax,0
int 33h
cmp ax,0
je MouseNotAvailable
mov numberOfButtons,bx

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 Show/Hide Mouse
• INT 33h, AX = 1 (show), AX = 2 (hide)
• Example:

mov ax,1 ; show

int 33h
mov ax,2 ; hide
int 33h

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 Get Mouse Position & Status
• INT 33h, AX = 4
• Example:

mov ax,4
mov cx,200 ; X-position
mov dx,100 ; Y-position
int 33h

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 Get Button Press Information
• INT 33h, AX = 5
• Example:

mov ax,5
mov bx,0 ; button ID
int 33h
test ax,1 ; left button down?
jz skip ; no - skip
mov X_coord,cx ; yes: save coordinates
mov Y_coord,dx

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 Other Mouse Functions
• AX = 6: Get Button Release Information
• AX = 7: Set Horizontal Limits
• AX = 8: Set Vertical Limits

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 Mouse Tracking Program
• Tracks the movement of the text mouse cursor
• X and Y coordinates are continually updated in the
lower-right corner of the screen
• When the user presses the left button, the mouse’s
position is displayed in the lower left corner of the
screen
• Source code (c:\Irvine\Examples\ch15\mouse.asm)

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 Set Mouse Position
• INT 33h, AX = 3
• Example:
mov ax,3
int 33h
test bx,1
jne Left_Button_Down
test bx,2
jne Right_Button_Down
test bx,4
jne Center_Button_Down
mov Xcoord,cx
mov yCoord,dx

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 Summary
• Working at the BIOS level gives you a high level of
control over hardware
• Use INT 16h for keyboard control
• Use INT 10h for video text
• Use memory-mapped I/O for graphics
• Use INT 33h for the mouse

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 The End

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