Programmer's key: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:59, 16 April 2011

Revision as of 02:58, 20 May 2011

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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. The interrupt is of highest priority, allowing debugging of [[interrupt handler]]s. This is quite useful in [[debugging]] software, which is why it gets its name.

The "key" need not always be a button or a switch. On some computers, it is a pinhole into which a straightened [[paperclip]] - or syringe - must be inserted (to prevent accidental activation).

This term is used chiefly among [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] programmers, perhaps because the Mac hardware once supported this function. On most [[68000 family]] based Macintosh computers, an interrupt request can also be sent by holding down the ''command'' key and striking the ''power'' key on the keyboard. This effect is also simulated by the 68000 environment of the [[Mac OS nanokernel]] on PowerPC machines and the [[Classic environment]].