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.
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.
Share this Term
Tech moves fast! Stay ahead of the curve with Techopedia!
Join nearly 200,000 subscribers who receive actionable tech insights from Techopedia.
Latest Articles
By: Dr. Tehseen Zia | Assistant Professor at Comsats University Islamabad
By: Devin Partida | Editor-in-Chief for ReHack.com
By: Kaushik Pal | Contributor
By: Justin Stoltzfus | Contributor, Reviewer
