New P6 OpCodes
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This page was last updated on 08/10/95. (See UD2.)
CMOV
CMOV is the new conditional move instruction. CMOV tests the same EFLAGS conditions as the Jcc instruction. If the condition specified in the opcode is true, then the move takes place.
FCMOV
FCMOV is the floating point counterpart to CMOV. There are differences however. FCMOV doesn't use the same conditions as Jcc, but uses a subset, and an FPU-specific condition as well.
FCOMI
FCOMI will perform a floating point compare, and move the flags results to EFLAGS. This will allow the following instruction to immediately jump on a specific condition. This instruction saves quite a few assembly language instructions, as seen from the enclosed examples.
RDPMC
RDPMC will read the performance monitor counters. This instruction should have been included in the Pentium, but it's better late than never.
INT01
Who knows if Intel will finally document this instruction. I found this mnemonic in the appendix of a preliminary 32-bit optimization guide. I would speculate that this new document will be forthcoming when the P6 is introduced. Don't be disappointed that this link points to the same description as ICEBP, as it's really the same instruction. I choose a specific entry for this instruction in the P6 opcode file, because I found this mnemonic in the P6 opcode table. Hopefully, Intel will finally disclose this instruction.
SALC
If memory serves me correctly, this instruction is on every processor from the 8086. Like INT01, I choose a specific entry in this P6 opcode file, because I found this mnemonic in the P6 opcode table. Hopefully, Intel will finally disclose this instruction.
UD2
I found the following entry in a P6 document, somewhere: "UD2, an official, two byte long, undefined instruction is defined." This could mean one of two things.
- There is a new exception called UD2, and a new opcode, which is guaranteed to generate the UD2 expection.
- There is a reserved opcode called UD2, which will never be used by the processor. This new opcode, though undefined, will always generate an invalid opcode exception.
The latest revision of the Pentium manual (rev 004), defines UD2 as two opcodes. The following statement is quoted from the Pentium manual: "All banks in the opcode map are reserved and should not be used. Do not depend on the operation of unspecified opcodes. 0F0Bh or 0FB9h should be used when deliberately generating an illegal opcode exception." So there you have it. The definition of the UD2 opcodes.