Programmer's key: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:00, 14 June 2006

Revision as of 19:49, 26 January 2007

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[[Image:Macintosh Classic II Left Side Reset Interrupt Switch.jpg|thumbnail|nonethumb|250px|The interrupt button/programmer's key protruding from the air vent on the left hand side of an Apple [[Macintosh Classic II|Macintosh Classic II]] computer (left with a circle symbol)]]

The '''Programmer's Key''', or ''interrupt button'', is a button or switch on a [[computer]] which causes an [[asynchronous]] [[interrupt]] request (IRQ) to be sent to the [[central processing unit|processor]]. If a [[debugger]] is installed on the machine, it is activated when the interrupt request is processed, allowing the user to view and usually modify the computer's internal memory. This is quite useful in [[debugging]] software, which is why it gets its name.

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This term is used chiefly among [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] programmers, perhaps because the Mac hardware always has supported this function. On Macintosh computers running the classic [[Mac OS]], an interrupt request can also be sent by holding down the '''command''' key and striking the '''power''' key on the keyboard.

[[Image:Macintosh Classic II Left Side Reset Interrupt Switch.jpg|thumbnail|none|250px|The interrupt button/programmer's key protruding from the air vent on the left hand side of an Apple [[Macintosh Classic II|Macintosh Classic II]] computer (left with a circle symbol)]]

==See also==