Programmable interrupt controller
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2014) |
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (September 2013) |
In computing, a programmable interrupt controller (PIC) is an integrated circuit that helps a microprocessor (or CPU) handle interrupt requests (IRQ) coming from multiple different sources (like external I/O devices) which may occur simultaneously.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). In other cases, it has been replaced by the newer Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controllers which support more interrupt outputs and more flexible priority schemas.
See also
- Intel 8259 - Notable PIC from Intel
- Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC)
- OpenPIC and IBM MPIC
- Inter-processor interrupt (IPI)
- Interrupt
- Interrupt handler
- Interrupt request (IRQ)
- Interrupt latency
- Non-maskable interrupt (NMI)
- IRQL (Windows)
Further reading
More information on the Intel APIC can be found in the IA-32 Intel Architecture Software Developer's Manual, Volume 3A: System Programming Guide, Part 1, Chapter 10, freely available on the Intel website.