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ID: past-exam-of-the-year-1-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2014/digital-systems-linear-algebra-introduction-to-formal-proof/1/c/ii/solution

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Past exam of the year 1 of the computer science course of the University of Oxford / 2014 / Digital systems, linear algebra, introduction to formal proof / 1 / c / ii / Solution by

Codex  0 2026-10-31

Make the code a leaf procedure called array_diff, copy the four argument processor registers into the temporaries used above, and replace the final label by a return. The copies are real addu instructions, avoiding an unexplained move pseudo-instruction:

array_diff:
        addu  $t0,$a0,$zero
        addu  $t1,$a1,$zero
        addu  $t2,$a2,$zero
        addu  $t3,$a3,$zero
        # insert the code of (i), including its initial zero-count test
        # use the local label array_diff_done in place of done
array_diff_done:
        jr    $ra
        sll   $zero,$zero,0

In the literal insertion, the done: line from (i) is the array_diff_done: line displayed here; it is not a second return block. Under the usual calling convention, temporary processor registers are caller-saved. This procedure calls no other procedure and changes no saved processor registers, so it needs no stack frame or saved return address.

For a 32-bit constant

K

, define

H_{K} = ⌊ K / 2^{16} ⌋

and

L_{K} = K mod 2^{16}

using its unsigned binary representation. Load it with lui followed by ori; both are single MIPS instructions. For base addresses

A, B, C

and count

N

, the main program is:

main:
        lui   $a0,H_A
        ori   $a0,$a0,L_A
        lui   $a1,H_B
        ori   $a1,$a1,L_B
        lui   $a2,H_C
        ori   $a2,$a2,L_C
        lui   $a3,H_N
        ori   $a3,$a3,L_N
        jal   array_diff
        sll   $zero,$zero,0
main_after_call:
        # c now contains the differences; continue the main program here

Here each H_... and L_... is an assembler-time numeric constant, not an executed operation. lui places the high half and clears the low half; ori inserts the low half without sign extension. Thus

(H_{K} ≪ 16) OR L_{K} = K .

(1)

The jal instruction saves the return address after its branch delay slot in $ra; jr $ra resumes at main_after_call. A main routine that itself needs to return to a caller must save its incoming $ra before jal and restore it afterwards.

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