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Polled Interrupt
Last Updated: November 3, 2011
Definition - What does Polled Interrupt mean?
A polled interrupt is a certain kind of input/output (I/O) interrupt that sends a message to the part of the computer that houses the I/O interface. The message states that a device is ready to be accessed without an identifying device.
Techopedia explains Polled Interrupt
An interrupt controller will poll all devices on a computer to determine which one sent out the request. Polled interrupt is an inefficient method of data transfer, spending much time checking the ready condition of a computer's devices.
An alternative that is more efficient is a vectored interrupt, which can send a signal that includes the identity of the device. All input/output in modern computers is done by interrupt-driven I/Os, which interrupt the process when they are ready to transfer data. The processor will perform other tasks while waiting for an interrupt.
