Intel Software Developer’s Handbook

The Intel Software Developer’s Handbook is the definitive reference for programmers, compiler developers, and system architects working with Intel processors. It provides detailed information on Intel CPU architecture, instruction sets, registers, memory management, and optimization techniques. Spanning multiple volumes, the handbook serves as the authoritative guide for low-level software development, enabling developers to write, debug, and optimize code for maximum performance and compatibility across Intel platforms.

Intel Corporation — Architecture and Software Technologies Group

Volume 1: Basic Architecture
1. Introduction to Intel Architectures
2. System Overview and Terminology
3. Basic Execution Environment
4. Data Types, Registers, and Addressing Modes
5. Instruction Format and Encoding
6. Instruction Set Summary
7. System Programming Overview
8. Memory Organization and Paging
9. Protection, Privilege Levels, and Interrupts
10. Performance Monitoring and Debugging

Volume 2: Instruction Set Reference
1. Alphabetical Listing of Instructions (A–Z)
2. Instruction Syntax and Operand Descriptions
3. Flags Affected and Exceptions
4. Instruction Encoding and Opcode Tables
5. SIMD and Vector Instructions (SSE, AVX, AVX-512)
6. Floating-Point Instructions
7. System-Level Instructions

Volume 3: System Programming Guide
1. Operating-System Support Architecture
2. Processor Management and Initialization
3. Interrupt and Exception Handling
4. Memory Management and Paging Structures
5. Multicore and Hyper-Threading Technology
6. Virtualization and VMX Operation
7. Power and Thermal Management
8. Security and Trusted Execution Technologies

Volume 4: Model-Specific Registers (MSRs)
1. Introduction to MSRs
2. Register Index Tables
3. Feature Control and Performance Counters
4. Processor-Specific MSR Details

Appendices
• Glossary of Terms
• CPUID Feature Information
• Instruction Latency and Throughput Tables
• References and Additional Resources