BIT MANIPULATION

Binary shifts
A shift involves moving the bits stored in a register a given number of places within the register.
Each bit within the register may be used for a different purpose. For example, in the IR each bit
identifies a different interrupt.
There are several different types of shift.
Logical shift – bits shifted out of the register are replaced with zeros. For example, an 8-bit
register containing the binary value 10101111 shifted left logically three places would Become
01111000.

In a left shift each bit is simply moved to the left with the empty space on the right replaced with
zero.
Arithmetic shift –

In an arithmetic right shift the bit is shifted to the right but the most significant bit is copied to
the next most significant bit position on the left. The least significant bit is discarded
Cyclic shift – no bits are lost during a shift. Bits shifted out of one end of the register are
introduced at the other end of the register. For example, an 8-bit register containing the binary
value 10101111 shifted left cyclically three places would become 01111101.

Left shift – bits are shifted to the left; gives the direction of shift for logical, arithmetic and
cyclic shifts.
Right shift – bits are shifted to the right; gives the direction of shift for logical, arithmetic and
cyclic shifts.

In monitoring and control, each bit in a register or memory location can be used as a flag and
would need to be tested, set or cleared separately.
For example, a control system with eight different sensors would need to record when the data
from each sensor had been processed. This could be shown using 8 different bits in the same
memory location.
» AND is used to check if the bit has been set.
» OR is used to set the bit.
» XOR is used to clear a bit that has been set.
The table below shows the instructions used to check, set and clear a single bit or group of bits.
AND n Bitwise AND operation of the contents of ACC with the