Programmer’s Model
ARM DDI 0210C
Copyright © 2001, 2004 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.
2-3
2.2
Processor operating states
The ARM7TDMI processor has two operating states:
ARM
32-bit, word-aligned ARM instructions are executed in this state.
Thumb
16-bit, halfword-aligned Thumb instructions are executed in this state.
In Thumb state, the
Program Counter
(PC) uses bit 1 to select between alternate
halfwords.
Note
Transition between ARM and Thumb states does not affect the processor mode or the
register contents.
2.2.1
Switching state
The operating state of the ARM7TDMI core can be switched between ARM state and
Thumb state using the BX instruction. This is described in the
ARM Architecture
Reference Manual
.
All exception handling is entered in ARM state. If an exception occurs in Thumb state,
the processor reverts to ARM state. The transition back to Thumb state occurs
automatically on return. An exception handler can change to Thumb state but it must
return to ARM state to enable the exception handler to terminate correctly.
Summary of Contents for ARM7TDMI
Page 6: ...Contents vi Copyright 2001 2004 ARM Limited All rights reserved ARM DDI 0210C ...
Page 10: ...List of Tables x Copyright 2001 2004 ARM Limited All rights reserved ARM DDI 0210C ...
Page 14: ...List of Figures xiv Copyright 2001 2004 ARM Limited All rights reserved ARM DDI 0210C ...
Page 46: ...Introduction 1 26 Copyright 2001 2004 ARM Limited All rights reserved ARM DDI 0210C ...
Page 120: ...Coprocessor Interface 4 18 Copyright 2001 2004 ARM Limited All rights reserved ARM DDI 0210C ...
Page 142: ...Debug Interface 5 22 Copyright 2001 2004 ARM Limited All rights reserved ARM DDI 0210C ...
Page 282: ...Glossary Glossary 6 Copyright 2001 2004 ARM Limited All rights reserved ARM DDI 0210C ...