Format of source lines

The general form of source lines in an ARM assembly language module is:

{symbol} {instruction|directive|pseudo‑instruction} {;comment}

All three sections of the source line are optional.

Instructions cannot start in the first column. They must be preceded by white space even if there is no preceding symbol.

You can write instructions, pseudo-instructions, or directives in all uppercase, as in this manual. Alternatively, you can write them in all lowercase. You must not write an instruction, pseudo-instruction, or directive in mixed upper and lowercase.

You can use blank lines to make your code more readable.

symbol is usually a label (see Labels and Local labels). In instructions and pseudo‑instructions it is always a label. In some directives it is a symbol for a variable or a constant. The description of the directive makes this clear in each case.

symbol must begin in the first column and cannot contain any white space character such as a space or a tab (see Symbol naming rules).