14. Complete table of opcodes


2OP / 1OP / 0OP / VAR / EXT

14.1 Contents / 14.2 Out of range opcodes / Reading the table / Inform assembly language


Two-operand opcodes 2OP
St Br Opcode Hex V Inform name and syntax Link
------ 0 ------
* 2OP:1 1 je a b ?(label)je
* 2OP:2 2 jl a b ?(label)jl
* 2OP:3 3 jg a b ?(label) jg
* 2OP:4 4 dec_chk (variable) value ?(label) dec_chk
* 2OP:5 5 inc_chk (variable) value ?(label) inc_chk
* 2OP:6 6 jin obj1 obj2 ?(label) jin
* 2OP:7 7 test bitmap flags ?(label) test
* 2OP:8 8 or a b -> (result) or
* 2OP:9 9 and a b -> (result) and
* 2OP:10 A test_attr object attribute ?(label) test_attr
2OP:11 B set_attr object attribute set_attr
2OP:12 C clear_attr object attribute clear_attr
2OP:13 D store (variable) value store
2OP:14 E insert_obj object destination insert_obj
* 2OP:15 F loadw array word-index -> (result) loadw
* 2OP:16 10 loadb array byte-index -> (result) loadb
* 2OP:17 11 get_prop object property -> (result) get_prop
* 2OP:18 12 get_prop_addr object property -> (result) get_prop_addr
* 2OP:19 13 get_next_prop object property -> (result) get_next_prop
* 2OP:20 14 add a b -> (result) add
* 2OP:21 15 sub a b -> (result) sub
* 2OP:22 16 mul a b -> (result) mul
* 2OP:23 17 div a b -> (result) div
* 2OP:24 18 mod a b -> (result) mod
* 2OP:25 19 4 call_2s routine arg1 -> (result) call_2s
2OP:26 1A 5 call_2n routine arg1 call_2n
2OP:27 1B 5 set_colour foreground background set_colour
6 set_colour foreground background window set_colour
2OP:28 1C 5/6 throw value stack-frame throw
------ 1D ------
------ 1E ------
------ 1F ------
Opcode numbers 32 to 127: other forms of 2OP with different types.
One-operand opcodes 1OP
St Br Opcode Hex V Inform name and syntax Link
* 1OP:128 0 jz a ?(label) jz
* * 1OP:129 1 get_sibling object -> (result) ?(label) get_sibling
* * 1OP:130 2 get_child object -> (result) ?(label) get_child
* 1OP:131 3 get_parent object -> (result) get_parent
* 1OP:132 4 get_prop_len property-address -> (result) get_prop_len
1OP:133 5 inc (variable) inc
1OP:134 6 dec (variable) dec
1OP:135 7 print_addr byte-address-of-string print_addr
* 1OP:136 8 4 call_1s routine -> (result) call_1s
1OP:137 9 remove_obj object remove_obj
1OP:138 A print_obj object print_obj
1OP:139 B ret value ret
1OP:140 C jump ?(label) jump
1OP:141 D print_paddr packed-address-of-string print_paddr
* 1OP:142 E load (variable) -> (result) load
* 1OP:143 F 1/4 not value -> (result) not
5 call_1n routine call_1n
Opcode numbers 144 to 175: other forms of 1OP with different types.
Zero-operand opcodes 0OP
St Br Opcode Hex V Inform name and syntax Link
0OP:176 0 rtrue rtrue
0OP:177 1 rfalse rfalse
0OP:178 2 print (literal-string)print
0OP:179 3 print_ret (literal-string)print_ret
0OP:180 4 1/- nopnop
* 0OP:181 5 1 save ?(label)save
4 save -> (result) save
5 [illegal]
* 0OP:182 6 1 restore ?(label) restore
4 restore -> (result) restore
5 [illegal]
0OP:183 7 restart restart
0OP:184 8 ret_popped ret_popped
0OP:185 9 1 pop pop
* 5/6 catch -> (result) catch
0OP:186 A quit quit
0OP:187 B new_line new_line
0OP:188 C 3 show_status show_status
4 [illegal]
* 0OP:189 D 3 verify ?(label) verify
0OP:190 E 5 [first byte of extended opcode] extended
* 0OP:191 F 5/- piracy ?(label) piracy
Opcode numbers 192 to 223: VAR forms of 2OP:0 to 2OP:31.
Variable-operand opcodes VAR
St Br Opcode Hex V Inform name and syntax Link
* VAR:224 0 1 call routine ...0 to 3 args... -> (result) call
4 call_vs routine ...0 to 3 args... -> (result) call_vs
VAR:225 1 storew array word-index value storew
VAR:226 2 storeb array byte-index value storeb
VAR:227 3 put_prop object property value put_prop
VAR:228 4 1 sread text parse sread
4 sread text parse time routine sread
* 5 aread text parse time routine -> (result) aread
VAR:229 5 print_char output-character-code print_char
VAR:230 6 print_num value print_num
* VAR:231 7 random range -> (result) random
VAR:232 8 push value push
VAR:233 9 1 pull (variable) pull
* 6 pull stack -> (result) pull
VAR:234 A 3 split_window lines split_window
VAR:235 B 3 set_window window set_window
* VAR:236 C 4 call_vs2 routine ...0 to 7 args... -> (result) call_vs2
VAR:237 D 4 erase_window window erase_window
VAR:238 E 4/- erase_line value erase_line
6 erase_line pixels erase_line
VAR:239 F 4 set_cursor line column set_cursor
6 set_cursor line column window set_cursor
VAR:240 10 4/6 get_cursor array get_cursor
VAR:241 11 4 set_text_style style set_text_style
VAR:242 12 4 buffer_mode flag buffer_mode
VAR:243 13 3 output_stream number output_stream
5 output_stream number table output_stream
6 output_stream number table width output_stream
VAR:244 14 3 input_stream number input_stream
VAR:245 15 5/3 sound_effect number effect volume routine sound_effect
* VAR:246 16 4 read_char 1 time routine -> (result) read_char
* * VAR:247 17 4 scan_table x table len form -> (result) scan_table
* VAR:248 18 5/6 not value -> (result) not
VAR:249 19 5 call_vn routine ...up to 3 args... call_vn
VAR:250 1A 5 call_vn2 routine ...up to 7 args... call_vn2
VAR:251 1B 5 tokenise text parse dictionary flag tokenise
VAR:252 1C 5 encode_text zscii-text length from coded-text encode_text
VAR:253 1D 5 copy_table first second size copy_table
VAR:254 1E 5 print_table zscii-text width height skip print_table
* VAR:255 1F 5 check_arg_count argument-number check_arg_count
Extended opcodes EXT
St Br Opcode Hex V Inform name and syntax Link
* EXT:0 0 5 save table bytes name prompt -> (result) save
* EXT:1 1 5 restore table bytes name prompt -> (result) restore
* EXT:2 2 5 log_shift number places -> (result) log_shift
* EXT:3 3 5/- art_shift number places -> (result) art_shift
* EXT:4 4 5 set_font font -> (result) set_font
* 6/- set_font font window -> (result) set_font
EXT:5 5 6 draw_picture picture-number y x draw_picture
* EXT:6 6 6 picture_data picture-number array ?(label) picture_data
EXT:7 7 6 erase_picture picture-number y x erase_picture
EXT:8 8 6 set_margins left right window set_margins
* EXT:9 9 5 save_undo -> (result) save_undo
* EXT:10 A 5 restore_undo -> (result) restore_undo
EXT:11 B 5/* print_unicode char-number print_unicode
EXT:12 C 5/* check_unicode char-number -> (result) check_unicode
EXT:13 D 5/* set_true_colour foreground background set_true_colour
6/* set_true_colour foreground background window set_true_colour
------- E ------
------- F ------
EXT:16 10 6 move_window window y x move_window
EXT:17 11 6 window_size window y x window_size
EXT:18 12 6 window_style window flags operation window_style
* EXT:19 13 6 get_wind_prop window property-number -> (result) get_wind_prop
EXT:20 14 6 scroll_window window pixels scroll_window
EXT:21 15 6 pop_stack items stack pop_stack
EXT:22 16 6 read_mouse array read_mouse
EXT:23 17 6 mouse_window window mouse_window
* EXT:24 18 6 push_stack value stack ?(label) push_stack
EXT:25 19 6 put_wind_prop window property-number value put_wind_prop
EXT:26 1A 6 print_form formatted-table print_form
* EXT:27 1B 6 make_menu number table ?(label) make_menu
EXT:28 1C 6 picture_table table picture_table
* EXT:29 1D 6/*buffer_screen mode -> (result) buffer_screen

14.1

This table contains all 119 opcodes and, taken with the dictionary in S 15, describes exactly what each should do. In addition, it lists which opcodes are actually used in the known Infocom story files, and documents the Inform assembly language syntax.

14.2

Formally, it is illegal for a game to contain an opcode not specified for its version. An interpreter should normally halt with a suitable message.

14.2.1

However, extended opcodes in the range EXT:29 to EXT:255 should be simply ignored (perhaps with a warning message somewhere off-screen).

14.2.2

***[1.0][1.1] EXT:11 and EXT:12 were opcodes added in Standard 1.0 and can be generated in code compiled by Inform 6.12 or later. EXT:13 and EXT:29 are new in Standard 1.1. EXT:14 to EXT:15, and EXT:30 to EXT:127, are reserved for future versions of this document to specify.

14.2.3

Designers who wish to create their own "new" opcodes, for one specific game only, are asked to use opcode numbers in the range EXT:128 to EXT:255. It is easy to modify Inform to name and assemble such opcodes. (Of course the game will then have to be circulated with a suitably modified interpreter to run it.)

14.2.4

Interpreter-writers should ideally make this easy by providing a routine which is called if EXT:128 to EXT:255 are found, so that the minimum possible modification to the interpreter is needed.


Reading the opcode tables

The two columns "St" and "Br" (store and branch) mark whether an instruction stores a result in a variable, and whether it must provide a label to jump to, respectively.

The "Opcode" is written TYPE:Decimal where the TYPE is the operand count (2OP, 1OP, 0OP or VAR) or else EXT for two-byte opcodes (where the first byte is (decimal) 190). The decimal number is the lowest possible decimal opcode value. The hex number is the opcode number within each TYPE.

The "V" column gives the Version information. If nothing is specified, the opcode is as stated from Version 1 onwards. Otherwise, it exists only from the version quoted onwards. Before this time, its use is illegal. Some opcodes change their meanings as the Version increases, and these have more than one line of specification. Others become illegal again, and these are marked [illegal].

In a few cases, the Version is given as "3/4" or some such. The first number is the Version number whose specification the opcode belongs to, and the second is the earliest Version in which the opcode is known actually to be used in an Infocom-produced story file. A dash means that it seems never to have been used (in any of Versions 1 to 6). The notation "5/*" or "6/*" means that the opcode was introduced in this Standards document long after the Infocom era.

The table explicitly marks opcodes which do not exist in any version of the Z-machine as ------: in addition, none of the extended set of codes after EXT:29 have been used.


Inform assembly language

This section documents Inform 6 assembly language, which is richer than that of Inform 5. The Inform 6 assembler can generate every legal opcode and automatically sets any consequent header bits (for instance, a usage of set_colour will set the "colours needed" bit).

One way to get a picture of Inform assembly language is to compile a short program with tracing switched on (using the -a or -t switches).

1. An Inform statement beginning with an @ is sent directly to the assembler. In the syntax below, (variable) and (result) must be variables (or sp, a special variable name available only in assembly language, and meaning the stack pointer); (label) a label (not a routine name).

(literal-string) must be literal text in quotation marks "thus".

routine should be the name of a routine (this assembles to its packed address). Otherwise any Inform constant term (such as '/' or 'beetle') can be given as an operand.

2. It is optional, but sensible, to place a -> sign before a store-variable. For example, in

    @mul a 56 -> sp;

("multiply variable a by 56, and put the result on the stack") the -> can be omitted, but should be included for clarity.

3. A label to branch to should be prefaced with a question mark ?, as in

    @je a b ?Equal;      ! Branch to Equal if a == b

(If the question mark is omitted, the branch is compiled in the short form, which will only work for very nearby labels and is very seldom useful in code written by hand.) Note that the effect of any branch instruction can be negated using a tilde ~:

    @je a b ?~Different; ! Branch to Different if a ~= b

4. Labels are assembled using full stops:

    .MyLabel;

All branches must be to such a label within the same routine. (The Inform assembler imposes the same-routine restriction.)

5. Most operands are assembled in the obvious way: numbers and constant values (like characters) as numbers, variables as variables, sp as the value on top of the stack. There are two exceptions. "Call" opcodes expect as first operand the name of a routine to call:

    @call_1n MyRoutine;

but one can also give an indirect address, as a constant or variable, using square brackets:

    @call_1n [x];        ! Call routine whose address is in x

Secondly, seven Z-machine opcodes access variables but by their numbers: thus one should write, say, the constant 0 instead of the variable sp. This is inconvenient, so the Inform assembler accepts variable names instead. The operands affected are those marked as (variable) in the syntax chart; Inform translates the variable name as a "small constant" operand with that variable's number as value. The affected opcodes are:

    inc,  dec,  inc_chk,  dec_chk,  store,  pull,  load.

This is useful, but there is another possibility, of genuinely giving a variable operand. The Inform notation for this involves square brackets again:

    @inc frog;          ! Increment var "frog"
    @inc [frog];        ! Increment var whose number is in "frog"

Infocom story files often use such instructions.

6. The Inform assembler is also written with possible extensions to the Z-machine instruction set in mind. (Of course these can only work if a customised interpreter is used.) Simply give a specification in double-quotes where you would normally give the opcode name. For example,

    @"1OP:4S" 34 -> i;
    @get_prop_len 34 -> i;

are equivalent instructions, since get_prop_len is instruction 4 in the 1OP (one-operand) set, and is a Store opcode. The syntax is:

    "  0OP       :  decimal-number  flags  "        (range 0 to 15)
       1OP                                                 0    15
       2OP                                                 0    15
       VAR                                                 32   63
       VAR_LONG                                            32   63
       EXT                                                 0    255
       EXT_LONG                                            0    255

(EXT_LONG is a logical possibility but has not been used in the Z-machine so far: the assembler provides it in case it might be useful in future.) The possible flags are:

       S    Store opcode
       B    Branch opcode
       T    Text in-line instead of operands
            (as with "print" and "print_ret")
       I    "Indirect addressing": first operand is a (variable)
       Fnn  Set bit nn in Flags 2 (signalling to the interpreter that an
            unusual feature has been called for): the number is in decimal

For example,

    "EXT:128BSF14"

is an exotic new opcode, number 128 in the extended range, which is both Branch and Store, and the assembly of which causes bit 14 to be set in "Flags 2". See S 14.2 below for rules on how to number newly created opcodes.


Remarks

The opcodes EXT:5 to EXT:8 were very likely in Infocom's own Version 5 specification (documentary records of which are lost): they seem to have been partially implemented in existing Infocom interpreters, but do not occur in any existing Version 5 story file. They are here left unspecified.

The notation "5/3" for sound_effect is because this plainly Version 5 feature was used also in one solitary Version 3 game, 'The Lurking Horror' (the sound version of which was the last Version 3 release, in September 1987).

The 2OP opcode 0 was possibly intended for setting break-points in debugging (and may be used for this again). It was not nop.

read_mouse and make_menu are believed to have been used only in 'Journey' (based on a check of 11 Version 6 story files).

picture_table is used once by 'Shogun' and several times by 'Zork Zero'.


Contents / Preface / Overview

Section 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16

Appendix A / B / C / D / E / F