Different types of interrupts in a microprocessor system - Computer architecture and design

What are the different types of interrupts in a microprocessor system, explain.



In the normal execution of a program there are three types of interrupts that can cause a break:

- External Interrupts: These types of interrupts generally come from external input / output devices which are connected externally to the processor. They are generally independent and oblivious of any programming that is currently running on the processor.

- Internal Interrupts: They are also known as traps and their causes could be due to some illegal operation or the erroneous use of data. Instead of being triggered by an external event they are usually triggered due to any exception that has been caused by the program itself. Some of the causes of these types of interrupts can be due to attempting a division by zero or an invalid opcode etc.

- Software interrupts: These types if interrupts can occur only during the execution of an instruction. They can be used by a programmer to cause interrupts if need be. The primary purpose of such interrupts is to switch from user mode to supervisor mode.
Post your comment