You're reading from Modern Computer Architecture and Organization

Product type Book

Published in Apr 2020

Publisher Packt

ISBN-13 9781838984397

Pages 560 pages

Edition 1st Edition

Languages

Concepts

Computer Architecture

Author (1):

Jim Ledin

Table of Contents (20) Chapters

Preface

1. Section 1: Fundamentals of Computer Architecture

2. Chapter 1: Introducing Computer Architecture

3. Chapter 2: Digital Logic

4. Chapter 3: Processor Elements

5. Chapter 4: Computer System Components

6. Chapter 5: Hardware-Software Interface

7. Chapter 6: Specialized Computing Domains

8. Section 2: Processor Architectures and Instruction Sets

9. Chapter 7: Processor and Memory Architectures

10. Chapter 8: Performance-Enhancing Techniques

11. Chapter 9: Specialized Processor Extensions

12. Chapter 10: Modern Processor Architectures and Instruction Sets

13. Chapter 11: The RISC-V Architecture and Instruction Set

14. Section 3: Applications of Computer Architecture

15. Chapter 12: Processor Virtualization

16. Chapter 13: Domain-Specific Computer Architectures

17. Chapter 14: Future Directions in Computer Architectures

18. Answers to Exercises

19. Other Books You May Enjoy

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Interrupt processing

Processors generally support some form of interrupt handling for responding to service requests from external devices. Conceptually, interrupt handling is similar to a scenario in which you are busy working on a task and your phone rings. After answering the call and perhaps jotting a note for later action ("buy bread"), you resume the task that was interrupted. We humans employ several similar mechanisms, such as doorbells and alarm clocks, which enable us to interrupt lower priority activities and respond to more immediate needs.

IRQ processing

The 6502 integrated circuit has two input signals that allow external components to notify the processor of a need for attention. The first is the interrupt request input, IRQ. IRQ is an active low (that's what the bar over the IRQ characters means) input that generates a processor interrupt when pulled low. Think of this signal as similar to a telephone ringer notifying the processor that a call is...