CPUs and architecture

Which CPU mechanism temporarily suspends the current task to give priority to handling requests such as those from external devices?

  1. AInterrupt
  2. BPipeline
  3. CCache
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Answer: A. Interrupt

When an event such as keyboard input, a timer or received data occurs, an interrupt makes the CPU suspend its current task, run the corresponding handler, and then return to the original task. The CPU no longer needs to keep checking the status of peripherals.

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More CPUs and architecture questions

  1. Which mechanism transfers data directly between peripherals and memory without going through the CPU?
  2. Which LSI integrates a CPU, memory and peripherals such as timers and ADCs on one chip and is used to control appliances and equipment?
  3. In a multicore CPU, which mechanism keeps data consistent when the caches of several cores hold data for the same address?
  4. Which technique reduces CPU power consumption by dynamically changing operating frequency and supply voltage according to the load?
  5. Which is an example of vulnerabilities revealing attacks that exploit traces of speculative execution left in the cache to infer data that should not be accessible?