Understanding Interrupts and Callbacks in Embedded Systems

Introduction

In embedded systems, responsiveness and efficiency are crucial for the smooth operation of real-time applications. Whether it’s processing sensor data, managing communication protocols, or handling time-sensitive tasks, the system needs to react promptly to external stimuli. This is where interrupts and callbacks come into play. Both mechanisms are essential for improving the responsiveness of embedded systems by enabling event-driven programming, reducing latency, and enhancing overall system efficiency.

This article will explore interrupts and callbacks in embedded systems, their working principles, their advantages, and how they help improve the performance and responsiveness of embedded systems.

Understanding Interrupts in Embedded Systems

An interrupt is a fundamental concept in embedded systems. It is a mechanism that temporarily suspends the current execution of a program in response to an external event or condition. When an interrupt occurs, the processor stops executing the current task, saves its state (such as registers and the program counter), and jumps to a special function known as an Interrupt Service Routine (ISR). After the ISR is executed, the processor resumes the previously running program from where it was interrupted.