The versatile offspring of an extended family of multiple chip companies, today's MIPS chips are everywhere. They power everything from videogames, network routers, laser printers, set-top boxes, and high-performance workstations. This book brings together this extraordinary proliferation of form and functionality, offering embedded systems programmers and designers unique, eminently practical insights into MIPS. It covers how MIPS started, the principles at the root of the RISC revolution, the full details of the MIPS instruction set, and how these details together constitute a full operating system ready to be put to work in hundreds of ways. If you're programming embedded systems and need to understand the chips at the deepest level, or even if you're just curious, you're sure to find what you need in this book. It's all here, from the nuts and bolts of a programming reference to the big picture that only a true expert can deliver. It is written by an independent consultant whose business is understanding MIPS architecture and embedded systems programming. It addresses the evolution of MIPS technology, giving you a solid foundation for successful designs and implementations. It provides an in-depth, easy-to-use guide to the MIPS instruction set, including special attention to processor control and assembler mnemonics for every instruction. It covers everything from MIPS I to MIPS IV, with appendices devoted to the optional MIPS 16 instruction set and V/MDMX.