iAPX 286 Operating System Writers Guide 1983

GLOSSARYhandler table: a table of selectors to call gates that identify the procedures for servicing asynchronousevents such as interrupts or software signals. A handler table is used by an operating system's interruptdistributor and signalling primitives.I bit: a Boolean in the error code which, when set, indicates that index portion of the error code pointsto an entry in the IDT.iAPX 286 Binder: an iAPX 286 program development utility used to link modules, combine segments,and create a single-task, loadable output module.iAPX 286 System Builder: the configuration utility for iAPX 286 protected-mode systems.IDT register: an 80286 register that stores the base address and limit of the IDT.index: the field of a selector that identifies a slot in a descriptor table.indirect I/O: a style of I/O interface in which I/O operations are executed by an independent processor,not by the CPU.interrupt: 1) the electrical or logical signal that an event has occurred; 2) the mechanism by which acomputer system responds quickly to events that occur at unpredictable times.interrupt controller: a device (such as Intel's 8259A Programmable Interrupt Controller) that assiststhe CPU in responding to multiple externalinterrupt signals by performing such functions as detection,priority resolution, and identification.interrupt descriptor table (IDT): a descriptor table that contains gates to the handler procedures orhandler tasks for interrupts and traps. The IDT may contain only interrupt gates, trap gates, and taskgates.interrupt distributor: an operating-system interrupt procedure that transfers control to a task-definedprocedure for servicing the interrupt.interrupt-enable flag (IF): a control flag of the 80286 that determines whether the processor respondsto external interrupt signals presented at the processor's INTR pin.interrupt gate: a gate that identifies the entry point of a procedure for handling an interrupt. When aninterrupt transfers control through an interrupt gate, the processor resets the interrupt-enable flag.Interrupt gates are valid only in the IDT.interrupt handler: a procedure or task that is invoked by an interrupt.interrupt latency: the time from the occurrence of an interrupt signal to the execution of the firstinstruction of an interrupt handler.interrupt procedure: an interrupt handler that is identified by an interrupt gate or trap gate. An interruptprocedure runs in the interrupted task.interrupt task: an interrupt handler that is identified by a task gate and runs as a task separate fromthe interrupted task.interrupt vectoring: the mapping from an interrupt source to the interrupt handler. In the iAPX 286architecture, the 8259A and the IDT are components of the interrupt vectoring process.Glossary-5 121960·001