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Overview

Opcode: 0x58 Introduced: Frontier (EVM genesis) PC pushes the current program counter value onto the stack. The program counter represents the position of the currently executing instruction in the bytecode. This opcode enables position-aware bytecode, dynamic jump calculations, and self-referential code patterns.

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Specification

Stack Input: None Stack Output: 
pc (top) - Current program counter value
Gas Cost: 2 (GasQuickStep) Operation: 
1. Push current PC onto stack
2. Increment PC by 1

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Behavior

PC provides the current execution position:
  1. Consumes 2 gas (GasQuickStep)
  2. Pushes current PC value onto stack
  3. Increments PC to next instruction
Important: The value pushed is the PC of the PC instruction itself, NOT the next instruction. Example: 
Position  Opcode
--------  ------
0x00      PUSH1 0x05
0x02      PC          ← PC = 0x02
0x03      ADD
When PC executes at position 0x02, it pushes 0x02 onto the stack.

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Examples

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Basic PC Usage

import { createFrame } from '@tevm/voltaire/evm/Frame';
import { handler_0x58_PC } from '@tevm/voltaire/evm/control';

const bytecode = new Uint8Array([
  0x60, 0x05,  // PUSH1 5 (positions 0-1)
  0x58,        // PC (position 2)
  0x01,        // ADD (position 3)
]);

const frame = createFrame({
  bytecode,
  stack: [5n],
  pc: 2  // At PC instruction
});

const err = handler_0x58_PC(frame);

console.log(err);         // null (success)
console.log(frame.stack); // [5n, 2n] (pushed PC value 2)
console.log(frame.pc);    // 3 (incremented)

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Calculate Relative Position

assembly {
    let currentPos := pc()
    let targetPos := add(currentPos, 10)  // 10 bytes ahead
    // Use for relative jumps or calculations
}

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Position-Aware Code

const bytecode = new Uint8Array([
  0x58,        // PC → pushes 0
  0x60, 0x05,  // PUSH1 5
  0x01,        // ADD → 0 + 5 = 5
  0x58,        // PC → pushes 5
  0x01,        // ADD → 5 + 5 = 10
]);

const frame = createFrame({ bytecode, pc: 0 });

// First PC
handler_0x58_PC(frame);
console.log(frame.stack); // [0n]

// Execute PUSH1 5
frame.pc = 1;
handler_0x60_PUSH1(frame);
console.log(frame.stack); // [0n, 5n]

// ADD
frame.pc = 3;
handler_0x01_ADD(frame);
console.log(frame.stack); // [5n]

// Second PC
frame.pc = 4;
handler_0x58_PC(frame);
console.log(frame.stack); // [5n, 4n]

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Dynamic Jump Table

assembly {
    let base := pc()

    // Jump table based on current position
    let offset := mul(selector, 0x20)
    let dest := add(base, offset)

    jump(dest)
}

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Gas Cost

Cost: 2 gas (GasQuickStep) Comparison:
  • PC: 2 gas (read position)
  • PUSH1: 3 gas (push constant)
  • JUMP: 8 gas
  • JUMPI: 10 gas
Efficiency: PC is cheaper than PUSH for getting current position, but PUSH is still preferred for constants.

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Edge Cases

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PC at Start

// PC at position 0
const bytecode = new Uint8Array([0x58, 0x00]);
const frame = createFrame({ bytecode, pc: 0 });

handler_0x58_PC(frame);
console.log(frame.stack); // [0n]

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PC at End

// PC at last instruction
const bytecode = new Uint8Array([0x00, 0x00, 0x58]);
const frame = createFrame({ bytecode, pc: 2 });

handler_0x58_PC(frame);
console.log(frame.stack); // [2n]
console.log(frame.pc);    // 3 (past bytecode - will stop)

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Stack Overflow

// Stack at max capacity (1024 items)
const frame = createFrame({
  stack: new Array(1024).fill(0n),
  pc: 0
});

const err = handler_0x58_PC(frame);
console.log(err); // { type: "StackOverflow" }

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Multiple PC Calls

const bytecode = new Uint8Array([
  0x58,  // PC → 0
  0x58,  // PC → 1
  0x58,  // PC → 2
  0x58,  // PC → 3
]);

const frame = createFrame({ bytecode, pc: 0 });

// Execute all PC instructions
for (let i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
  handler_0x58_PC(frame);
}

console.log(frame.stack); // [0n, 1n, 2n, 3n]

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Common Usage

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Relative Addressing

Calculate addresses relative to current position: 
assembly {
    let here := pc()
    let data_offset := add(here, 0x20)  // 32 bytes ahead

    // Load data from relative position
    let data := mload(data_offset)
}

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Position Verification

assembly {
    let expected := 0x1234
    let actual := pc()

    // Verify we're at expected position
    if iszero(eq(actual, expected)) {
        revert(0, 0)
    }
}

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Code Size Calculation

assembly {
    let start := pc()

    // ... code block ...

    let end := pc()
    let size := sub(end, start)
}

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Dynamic Dispatch Base

assembly {
    // Get base address for jump table
    let base := pc()

    // Calculate jump destination
    switch selector
    case 0 { jump(add(base, 0x10)) }
    case 1 { jump(add(base, 0x30)) }
    case 2 { jump(add(base, 0x50)) }
}

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Implementation

import { consumeGas } from "../Frame/consumeGas.js";
import { pushStack } from "../Frame/pushStack.js";
import { QuickStep } from "../../primitives/GasConstants/constants.js";

/**
 * PC opcode (0x58) - Get program counter
 *
 * @param frame - Frame instance
 * @returns Error if operation fails
 */
export function handler_0x58_PC(frame: FrameType): EvmError | null {
  const gasErr = consumeGas(frame, QuickStep);
  if (gasErr) return gasErr;

  const pushErr = pushStack(frame, BigInt(frame.pc));
  if (pushErr) return pushErr;

  frame.pc += 1;
  return null;
}

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Testing

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Test Coverage

import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
import { handler_0x58_PC } from './0x58_PC.js';

describe('PC (0x58)', () => {
  it('pushes current PC value', () => {
    const frame = createFrame({ pc: 42 });
    const err = handler_0x58_PC(frame);

    expect(err).toBeNull();
    expect(frame.stack).toEqual([42n]);
    expect(frame.pc).toBe(43);
  });

  it('pushes 0 at start', () => {
    const frame = createFrame({ pc: 0 });
    handler_0x58_PC(frame);

    expect(frame.stack).toEqual([0n]);
    expect(frame.pc).toBe(1);
  });

  it('increments PC after execution', () => {
    const frame = createFrame({ pc: 100 });
    handler_0x58_PC(frame);

    expect(frame.pc).toBe(101);
  });

  it('consumes 2 gas', () => {
    const frame = createFrame({ gasRemaining: 1000n, pc: 0 });
    handler_0x58_PC(frame);

    expect(frame.gasRemaining).toBe(998n);
  });

  it('handles stack overflow', () => {
    const frame = createFrame({
      stack: new Array(1024).fill(0n),
      pc: 0,
    });

    expect(handler_0x58_PC(frame)).toEqual({ type: 'StackOverflow' });
  });

  it('handles out of gas', () => {
    const frame = createFrame({ gasRemaining: 1n, pc: 0 });

    expect(handler_0x58_PC(frame)).toEqual({ type: 'OutOfGas' });
  });
});

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Security

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Position-Dependent Code

PC enables position-dependent bytecode, which can be fragile: 
assembly {
    // FRAGILE: Depends on exact bytecode layout
    let current := pc()
    let target := add(current, 0x42)  // Assumes 0x42 offset
    jump(target)
}
Issues:
  • Compiler optimizations can change positions
  • Adding code shifts all offsets
  • Hard to maintain and debug
Better approach: 
assembly {
    // ROBUST: Use labels, let compiler handle positions
    jump(target)

    target:
        jumpdest
        // Code here
}

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Code Obfuscation

PC can be used for code obfuscation: 
assembly {
    // Obfuscated jump calculation
    let x := pc()
    let y := add(x, 0x10)
    let z := xor(y, 0x5b)
    jump(z)  // Hard to analyze statically
}
Security impact:
  • Makes auditing difficult
  • Hides control flow
  • Red flag for malicious code
  • Avoid in production contracts

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Limited Practical Use

PC has few legitimate use cases in modern Solidity: Not useful for:
  • Function dispatch (compiler handles this)
  • Relative jumps (labels are better)
  • Code size (codesize opcode exists)
Occasionally useful for:
  • Gas optimization (avoid PUSH for position)
  • Self-modifying code patterns (advanced, rare)
  • Position verification in tests

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Compiler Behavior

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Solidity Avoids PC

Modern Solidity rarely generates PC instructions: 
function example() public pure returns (uint256) {
    assembly {
        let pos := pc()  // Explicit PC usage
    }
}
Compiles to: 
PC         // 0x58 - explicit from assembly
But normal Solidity doesn’t use PC - it uses PUSH for constants and labels for jumps.

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Labels vs PC

Old pattern (PC-based): 
assembly {
    let dest := add(pc(), 0x10)
    jump(dest)
}
Modern pattern (label-based): 
assembly {
    jump(target)

    target:
        jumpdest
}
Compiler resolves labels to absolute positions at compile time.

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Optimization

Compilers can optimize PC away: 
assembly {
    let x := pc()
    let y := add(x, 5)
}
Could be optimized to: 
assembly {
    let y := <constant>  // PC value known at compile time
}

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Comparison with Other Chains

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EVM (Ethereum)

PC returns bytecode position, 0-indexed.

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WASM

No direct equivalent. WASM uses structured control flow (blocks, loops) rather than position-based jumps.

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x86 Assembly

EIP (Extended Instruction Pointer) register similar to PC, but:
  • Hardware register, not stack
  • 64-bit on x64, 32-bit on x86
  • Can be read/written directly

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JVM

No equivalent. JVM uses structured bytecode with exception tables rather than position-based control flow.

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Historical Context

PC was included in original EVM for:
  1. Position-aware code patterns
  2. Relative addressing calculations
  3. Dynamic jump table construction
Modern usage:
  • Rarely needed in practice
  • Compilers use labels instead
  • Maintained for compatibility
  • Occasionally useful for gas optimization

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References