A status register or flag register (also: condition code register, program status word, PSW, etc.) is a collection of flag bits for a processor. An example is the FLAGS register of the x86 architecture.
The status register is a hardware register which contains information about the state of the processor. Individual bits are implicitly or explicitly read and/or written by the machine code instructions executing on the processor. The status register in a traditional processor design includes at least three central flags: Zero, Carry, and Overflow, which are set or cleared automatically as side effects of arithmetic operations. They may then be tested via conditional branch or jump instructions. A status register may often have other fields as well, such as more specialized flags, interrupt enable bits, and similar types of information. During an interrupt, the status of the thread currently executing can be preserved (and later recalled) by storing the current value of the status register along with the program counter and other active registers into the machine stack or a reserved area of memory.
Read more about Status Register: The Most Common Flags, Other Flags
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