ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Interrupts in 65xx processors

Hey kiddo, have you heard of a computer processor? It's like the brain of the computer.

Now, imagine the processor is doing something important, like counting numbers for a game. But suddenly, something even more important comes up, like the computer getting a signal that the printer is ready to print. The processor needs to stop counting and pay attention to the printer signal, so it can tell the printer what to do next.

This is where interrupts come in. Interrupts are like sticky notes that get the processor's attention and tell it to stop what it's doing and go do something else. The 65xx processors are really good at handling interrupts, because they have a special input pin called IRQ (Interrupt Request), which is like a button that gets pressed when something important needs attention.

When the processor gets an IRQ signal, it stops what it's doing and goes to a special location in the memory to see what needs to be done. This special location is called the Interrupt Vector, and it tells the processor which program to run next. It's like a map that tells the processor where to go next.

Once the processor has finished the interrupt program, it goes back to what it was doing before the interruption. It's just like when you're playing with your toys, but you have to stop to have dinner. After dinner, you go back to playing where you left off.

In summary, interrupts are like sticky notes that get the processor's attention and tell it to stop what it's doing and go do something else. The 65xx processors have a special IRQ input pin that handles interrupts, and the Interrupt Vector is like a map that tells the processor which program to run next.