Fast Interrupt Request

	Fast Interrupt Request Fast interrupt request (FIQ) is a specialized type of interrupt request, which is a standard technique used in computer CPUs to deal with events that need to be processed as they occur, such as receiving data from a network card, or keyboard or mouse actions. FIQs are specific to the ARM architecture, which supports two types of interrupts; FIQs for fast, low-latency interrupt handling, and standard interrupt requests (IRQs), for more general interrupts. An FIQ takes priority over an IRQ in an ARM system. Also, only one FIQ source at a time is supported. This helps reduce interrupt latency as the interrupt service routine can be executed directly without determining the source of the interrupt. A context save is not required for servicing an FIQ since it has its own set of banked registers. This reduces the overhead of context switching. References External links Debugging ARM kernels using fast interrupts LWN.net LWN.net is a computing webzine with an emphasis on free ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Interrupt Request In a computer, an interrupt request (or IRQ) is a hardware signal sent to the processor that temporarily stops a running program and allows a special program, an interrupt handler, to run instead. Hardware interrupts are used to handle events such as receiving data from a modem or network card, key presses, or mouse movements. Interrupt lines are often identified by an index with the format of ''IRQ'' followed by a number. For example, on the Intel 8259 family of programmable interrupt controllers (PICs) there are eight interrupt inputs commonly referred to as ''IRQ0'' through ''IRQ7''. In x86 based computer systems that use two of these PICs, the combined set of lines are referred to as ''IRQ0'' through ''IRQ15''. Technically these lines are named ''IR0'' through ''IR7'', and the lines on the ISA bus to which they were historically attached are named ''IRQ0'' through ''IRQ15'' (although historically as the number of hardware devices increased, the total possible number of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	ARM Architecture ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured for various environments. Arm Ltd. develops the architectures and licenses them to other companies, who design their own products that implement one or more of those architectures, including system on a chip (SoC) and system on module (SOM) designs, that incorporate different components such as memory, interfaces, and radios. It also designs cores that implement these instruction set architectures and licenses these designs to many companies that incorporate those core designs into their own products. There have been several generations of the ARM design. The original ARM1 used a 32-bit internal structure but had a 26-bit address space that limited it to 64 MB of main memory. This limitation was removed in the ARMv3 series, which h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Context Switch In computing, a context switch is the process of storing the state of a process or thread, so that it can be restored and resume execution at a later point, and then restoring a different, previously saved, state. This allows multiple processes to share a single central processing unit (CPU), and is an essential feature of a multitasking operating system. The precise meaning of the phrase "context switch" varies. In a multitasking context, it refers to the process of storing the system state for one task, so that task can be paused and another task resumed. A context switch can also occur as the result of an interrupt, such as when a task needs to access disk storage, freeing up CPU time for other tasks. Some operating systems also require a context switch to move between user mode and kernel mode tasks. The process of context switching can have a negative impact on system performance. Cost Context switches are usually computationally intensive, and much of the design of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]