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Line 37: \|} DS, ES, FS, GS, SS are used to form addresses when you want to read/write to memory. They don't always have to be explicitly encoded, because some processor operations assume that certain segment registers will be used. E.g. Line 70: ==Protected Mode== :''Segmentation is considered obsolete memory protection technique in protected mode by both CPU manufacturers and most of programmers. It is no longer supported in long mode. The information here is required to get protected mode working; also 64 bit GDT is needed to enter long mode and segments are still used to jump from long mode to compatibility mode and the other way around. If you want to be serious about OS development, we strongly recommend using flat memory model and [[Paging\|paging]] as memory management technique. For more information, consult [[x86-64]].'' :''Read more about [[Global Descriptor Table]]'' Line 91: * The segment presence (Is it present or not) * The descriptor type (0 = system; 1 = code/data) * The segment type (Code/Data/Read/Write/Accessed/Conforming/Non-Conforming/Expand-Up/[[Expand_Down\|Expand-Down]]) For the purposes of this explanation I'm only interested in 3 things. The base address, the limit and the descriptor type. Line 118: ==Notes Regarding C== Most C compilers assume a flat-memory model. In this model all the segments cover the full address space (~~Usually~~usually 0->4Gb on x86). In essence this means that we completely ignore the A part of our A:B logical address. The reason for this is that most processors don't actually have segmentation (~~Plus~~and it's ~~a hell of a lot~~much easier for the compiler to optimize). This leaves you with 2 descriptors per privilege level (usually Ring 0 and Ring 3 ~~normally~~), one for code and one for data, which both describe precisely the same segment. The only difference being that the code descriptor is loaded into CS, and the data descriptor is used by all the other segment registers. The reason you need both a code and data descriptor is that the processor will not allow you to load CS with a data descriptor (This is to help with security when using a segmented memory model, and although useless in the flat-memory model it is still required because you can't turn off segmentation). In general if you want to use the segmentation mechanism, by having the different segment registers represent segments with different base addresses, you won't be able to use a modern C compiler, and may very well be restricted to just Assembly. So, if you're going to use C, do what the rest of the C world does, which is set up a flat-memory model, use paging, and ignore the fact that segmentation even exists. ==Notes Regarding Pascal[FPC]== Above may apply in theory to FreePascal, however, in reality is ignored, if the compiler at all pays any attention to same. The twin segments for CODE and DATA are used, and as specified above,therefore, required.Size limits, however, are respected.(does NOT have to be 4GB in length) "In general if you want to use the segmentation mechanism, by having the different segment registers represent segments with different base addresses, you won't be able to use a modern C compiler, and may very well be restricted to just Assembly." This is simply NOT true for Freepascal. The 'A in A:B' is what allows 48 and 64 bit pointer references, not only with Pascal's NewFrontier unit, but FreePascal as well(Word:Longint Pointer reference). Assumption of CODE and DATA occupying the same space, (at least with PAE NX bits and Paging units not used) allows ROGUE/virus like code in the first place to take advantage of the machine. INTEL Specs even say this. CODE and DATA must be KEPT separate. Microsoft still is plagued with this problem,despite having NX bits enabled even in the latest OSes. ==See Also== === Articles === [[Segment Limits#Segmentation\|Segment Limits]] === Threads === Line 132 ⟶ 146: [http://duartes.org/gustavo/blog/post/memory-translation-and-segmentation Aug 2008: Memory Translation and Segmentation] by Gustavo Duarte [[Category:X86]] [[Category:Memory management]] [[Category:Memory Segmentation]]