How many bytes are allocated in a Define Quadword (DQ) directive?
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How many bytes are allocated in a Define Quadword (DQ) directive?
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Answer: A. 8 bytes
A Quadword (QW) in assembly language refers to 4 words, where each word is 2 bytes (16 bits). Therefore, a quadword = 4 × 2 = 8 bytes. The DQ directive allocates storage for one quadword, which is 8 bytes. Option B (10 bytes) is incorrect and appears to be a distractor; options C and D confuse byte and word sizes.
Step-by-step Derivation:
Quadword terminology: 'Quad' = 4, and a 'word' in x86 assembly = 2 bytes (16 bits). Therefore: 1 quadword = 4 words = 4 × 2 bytes = 8 bytes. The DQ directive reserves exactly 8 bytes of memory.