Understanding Interrupts and Traps
Differentiate between hardware interrupts, software interrupts, and exceptions, and understand their role in system operation.
Events That Stop the CPU
What are interrupts and traps? Think of them as urgent signals that tell your computer's CPU to pause what it's doing and pay attention to something more important.
These signals are crucial for how operating systems manage tasks, respond to hardware, and handle errors. Without them, your computer couldn't multitask or even react when you press a key!
CPU's Normal Flow & Interrupts
Normally, the CPU executes instructions one after another in a steady flow. But what if the keyboard is pressed, or an error occurs?
Interrupts and traps are mechanisms that allow the CPU to temporarily halt its current task, handle the urgent event, and then resume its original work.
All lessons in this course
- Understanding Interrupts and Traps
- Interrupt Descriptor Table (IDT)
- Custom Exception Handlers
- The Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC) and APIC