Interrupt
An interrupt is an event or signal that breaks ongoing activity and redirects execution or attention so a condition can be handled.
Modern C, Third Edition
A hardware interrupt is an execution event caused synchronously by a processor-detected fault or hardware condition.
- How it is used
- Distinguishes processor-detected faults from asynchronous events when explaining exceptional control flow and signal handlers.
- How deep it goes
- Explains fault detection, vector-table dispatch, and portability limits without detailing processor-specific handler implementation.
- Examples
- Uses division by zero, nonexistent memory banks, and misaligned addresses as processor-detected fault examples.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate/understand whether an exceptional event is tied to a faulting instruction and why direct interrupt handling is platform-dependent.
Rust in Action: Systems programming concepts and techniques
A hardware interrupt is an asynchronous request from a hardware device that causes a processor to suspend or redirect its current execution to handle an event.
- How it is used
- Explains how hardware devices notify the CPU of events and how those events affect a running application.
- How deep it goes
- Traces the device-to-CPU route and a control-flow example, while leaving direct kernel interrupt handling aside.
- Examples
- Uses a keyboard event interrupting integer addition, a device-notification diagram, and a kernel loop that halts until an interrupt.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate/understand why a device event changes CPU execution without necessarily changing a program’s result.
Read how Rust in Action: Systems programming concepts and techniques explains interrupt →
Latency
A hardware interrupt is an interrupt signal generated by hardware to request operating-system processing.
- How it is used
- Identifies device notifications and their follow-on processing as potential interference with low-latency application threads.
- How deep it goes
- Defines the hardware signal and handler, then traces deferred network processing without detailing handler internals.
- Examples
- Uses arriving network packets, completed I/O, and busy network or storage devices to illustrate interrupt events and latency spikes.
- What you can do after
- Diagnose/debug with it by considering interrupt rates, deferred processing, polling, and CPU placement when investigating latency interference.
Grokking Concurrency
A hardware interrupt is an interrupt generated by a hardware device or controller to request processor attention.
- How it is used
- Explains how interrupts support preemptive multitasking by stopping a task so another can run.
- How deep it goes
- Defines interrupt types and gives examples, but does not explain interrupt-handler internals.
- Examples
- Uses a keyboard button press, file-write completion, and a timer tick as interrupt examples.
- What you can do after
- Understand how device and timer signals can interrupt task execution during multitasking.
Related concepts
- flow statecontrasts with · A flow state is a condition of deeply absorbed, sustained focus and intrinsically rewarding engagement in an activity, with reduced awareness of distractions.
- writingaddressed by · Writing is the activity of composing text to communicate ideas, information, experiences, or arguments.
- exceptioncontrasts with · An exception is a runtime signal or object representing an abnormal condition that interrupts ordinary program flow and may be handled or propagated.
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