Interrupts are a fundamental feature in computer systems that allow a processor to respond quickly to events or requests from external devices or software. They are signals emitted by hardware or software when a process or an event needs immediate attention, interrupting the current working process of the CPU¹².

Here's a brief overview of how interrupts work:

• When an interrupt is raised, the processor completes the execution of the current instruction.
• It then saves the address of the next instruction (to resume later) and jumps to the Interrupt Service Routine (ISR).
• The ISR is a special block of code designed to handle the interrupt.
After the ISR is executed, the processor resumes the interrupted task.

Software Interrupts: These are generated by software or system calls, like a division by zero or a system call like fork()¹.
Hardware Interrupts: These are triggered by hardware devices connected to the CPU via the Interrupt Request Line (IRQ). For example, a keyboard or a mouse might send an interrupt signal to indicate an input².