Interrupt Changes

In the SunOS 4.1 system, two distinct methods were used for handling interrupts.

• Polled, or autovectored, interrupts were handled by calling the xxpoll()( ) routine of the device driver. This routine was responsible for checking all drivers' active units.

• Vectored interrupt handlers were called directly in response to a particular hardware interrupt on the basis of the interrupt vector number assigned to the device.

In the SunOS 5.7 system, the interrupt handler model has been unified. The device driver registers an interrupt handler for each device instance, and the system either polls all the handlers for the currently active interrupt level, or calls that handler directly (if it is vectored). The driver no longer needs to care which type of interrupt mechanism is in use (in the handler).

ddi_add_intr(9F) is used to register a handler with the system. A driver-defined argument of type caddr_t to pass to the interrupt handler. The address of the state structure is a good choice. The handler can then cast the caddr_t to whatever was passed. See "Registering Interrupts" and "Responsibilities of an Interrupt Handler" for more information.