plwa
Prefixed Load Word Algebraic
Loads 32-bit word (Sign Extended) using 34-bit offset.
Details
Loads a 32-bit word from memory using a 34-bit signed offset (split between prefix and suffix), sign-extends the loaded value to 64 bits, and stores the result in the target register. The effective address is computed from a base register or the program counter (determined by the R bit), supporting both absolute and PC-relative addressing modes. This is a two-instruction prefixed load with no condition register or status flag effects.
Pseudocode Operation
D ← EXTS(D0 || D1)
EA ← if R = 0 then (if RA = 0 then 0 else GPR[RA]) + D else CIA + D
RT ← EXTS(MEM(EA, 4))
Programming Note
The plwa instruction is commonly used for loading a word from memory into a register while ensuring the upper 32 bits are zeroed. Ensure that the base address in RA and the offset in RB are correctly set to avoid incorrect memory access. This instruction operates at user privilege level and will raise an exception if the effective address is out of bounds or if there is a protection fault.
Example
Encoding
Operands
-
RT
Target -
D
Offset -
RA
Base -
R
PC-Rel