Memory/Accumulator Select

The Memory/Accumulator Select (M) flag exists in the processor status register (bit 5) of the 65c816. It indicates whether the accumulator is 8 or 16 bits wide:

• When clear, the accumulator is 16 bits wide. It can only be clear in native mode.
• When set, the accumulator is 8 bits wide, but the high byte (B) is still retained.

It can be affected by:

• REP (might clear it)
• SEP (might set it)
• PLP
• RTI

It affects the behavior of (incomplete list):

• LDA
• STA
• PHA
• PLA

But it does not affect XBA.

There are no BMS or BMC instructions that examine this flag.

See Also

• Index Register Select

Reference

• Eyes & Lichty, page 422, Table 18.2. 65x Flags.