RET Instruction

RET Instruction The RET (Return) instruction is an instruction found in almost all CPUs. It is used to return from a subroutine or function call.

Overview

When a function or subroutine finishes, the RET instruction tells the processor to return to the caller, meaning to jump back to the instruction immediately following the original call.

Functionality

In most architectures, when a function is called, the address of the next instruction is pushed onto the stack. The RET instruction simply pops that address off the stack and resumes execution there. It’s a key part of how subroutines return control to their callers.