Encoding:

Format:

BLTZ rs, offset

Purpose:

Branch on Less Than Zero

To test a GPR then do a PC-relative conditional branch.

Description:

 if GPR[rs] < 0 then branch

An 18-bit signed offset (the 16-bit offset field shifted left 2 bits) is added to the address of the instruction following the branch (not the branch itself), in the branch delay slot, to form a PC-relative effective target address.

If the contents of GPR rs are less than zero (sign bit is 1), branch to the effective target address after the instruction in the delay slot is executed.

Restrictions:

Control Transfer Instructions (CTIs) should not be placed in branch delay slots or Release 6 forbidden slots. CTIs

include all branches and jumps, NAL, ERET, ERETNC, DERET, WAIT, and PAUSE.

Pre-Release 6: Processor operation is UNPREDICTABLE if a control transfer instruction (CTI) is placed in the delay slot of a branch or jump.

Release 6: If a control transfer instruction (CTI) is executed in the delay slot of a branch or jump, Release 6 implementations are required to signal a Reserved Instruction exception.

Operation:

I:    target_offset = sign_extend(offset || 02)
      condition = GPR[rs] < 0GPRLEN
I+1:  if condition then
         PC = PC + target_offset
      endif

Exceptions:

None

Programming Notes:

With the 18-bit signed instruction offset, the conditional branch range is ± 128 KBytes. Use jump and link (JAL) or jump and link register (JALR) instructions for procedure calls to addresses outside this range.