Assembly Language Questions Medium
In Assembly Language, there are mainly three types of interrupts:
1. Hardware Interrupts: These interrupts are generated by external hardware devices such as keyboard, mouse, timer, etc. When a hardware device needs attention from the processor, it sends an interrupt signal to the processor, which temporarily suspends the execution of the current program and transfers control to the interrupt handler routine. Once the interrupt is serviced, the processor resumes the execution of the interrupted program.
2. Software Interrupts: These interrupts are generated by software instructions within the program itself. The programmer can use software interrupts to request specific services from the operating system or to perform certain operations. Software interrupts are typically used for tasks like input/output operations, system calls, and other high-level operations.
3. Exception Interrupts: These interrupts are generated by exceptional conditions or errors that occur during program execution. Examples of exception interrupts include divide-by-zero error, illegal instruction, page fault, etc. When an exception occurs, the processor transfers control to the corresponding exception handler routine, which handles the exception and takes appropriate actions.
It is important to note that the specific types and number of interrupts may vary depending on the processor architecture and the operating system being used.