address mode


address mode

The method by which an instruction references memory (RAM) or storage. In "indirect" addressing, the instruction points to another address (see indirection). In "relative" addressing, the address is computed from a starting point (see relative address). In "indexed" addressing, an address is modified by the contents of an index register or table (see index register and table).

No matter which mode is used, ultimately, in order to do any processing, instructions and data must reference an "absolute" address, which is a physical location (see absolute address).