title: In MIPS 32 Assembly, why is "la" used to print strings but "lw" used to print integers?
body: <p>Just want to know the logic behind this. Why is la used for strings and lw used for integers? For example:</p>
  <pre><code>.data
  
  age:   .word 30
  
  .text
  li $v0, 1
  lw $a0, age
  syscall
  </code></pre>
  <p>vs</p>
  <pre><code>.data
  
  name:   .asciiz &quot;Joe&quot;
  
  .text
  li $v0, 4
  la $a0, name
  syscall
  </code></pre>