5.1. Procedure Call Overview

Try these first

1. 1.

   What is the first step in a procedure call?

   Hint

   Think of what needs to be remembered before jumping to a subroutine.

2. 2.

   What does the stack pointer do?

   Hint

   It's a kind of reference for where to find information in memory.

3. 3.

   What does the stack pointer indicate?

   • The current instruction
   • The top of the stack
   • The next procedure address

   Hint

   Consider what stack management involves.

4. 4.

   True or False: The program status word is not necessary to save during a procedure call.

   • True
   • False

   Hint

   Think about how programs need to remember their state.

5. 5.

   Explain what happens if a procedure call does not use a stack for context saving.

   Hint

   Consider the importance of remembering multiple tasks in a project.

6. 6.

   Given a procedure that takes two integers and returns their sum, walk through the procedure call steps using stack pointer and program counter.

   Hint

   Think about how you track your steps while cooking a complex dish.