Change pin mode at runtime in kernel module on beaglebone black - linux-kernel

I am trying to write a kernel module that takes control of the UART1 RX&TX pins a runtime, changes their mode to GPIO, sends some commands (using bitbanging) and changes their mode back to UART.
Now, is there a way to change pin modes at runtime in a kernel module on the beaglebone black? I tried accessing the CONTROL_MODULE directly, which did not return an error, however, nothing seems to be written out.
#define CONTROL_MODULE_START 0x44E10000 // CONTROL_MODULE starting address in memory
#define CONTROL_MODULE_END 0x44E11FFF // CONTROL_MODULE end address in memory
#define CONTROL_MODULE_SIZE (CONTROL_MODULE_END - CONTROL_MODULE_START)
#define GPIO1_17_OFFSET 0x844 // control offset for GPIO1_17
#define GPIO3_19_OFFSET 0x9a4 // control offset for GPIO3_19
.
.
.
if (!(control_module = ioremap(CONTROL_MODULE_START, CONTROL_MODULE_SIZE))) {
printk(KERN_ERR "UARTbitbangModule: unable to map control module\n");
return -1;
}
// set both GPIOs to mode 7, input enabled
value = 0x7;
iowrite32(value, control_module + GPIO1_17_OFFSET);
iowrite32(value, control_module + GPIO3_19_OFFSET);
printk(KERN_INFO "UARTbitbangModule: mode GPIO1_17: %d\n", control_module[GPIO1_17_OFFSET]);
printk(KERN_INFO "UARTbitbangModule: mode GPIO3_19: %d\n", control_module[GPIO3_19_OFFSET]);
the corresponding dmesg output looks like this:
[22637.953610] UARTbitbangModule: mode GPIO1_17: 0
[22637.960000] UARTbitbangModule: mode GPIO3_19: 0
I also thought about using the pinctrl subsystem directly (see https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/pinctrl.txt), but I cannot make sense of how to interact with it.
Any ideas on how to change pin modes on the bone at runtime or gain write access to the control module?
Edit: I am using a slightly tweaked (better rt performance) 4.1.15-bone-rt-r17 kernel with a BeagleBoard.org Debian Image 2015-03-01

You can use "linux/gpio.h" header file. An example code from Derek Molloy is here. This code is simple and gpio_request and gpio_direction_input or gpio_direction_output commands do what you need and you can change pin direction without directly changing CONTROL_MODULE register.
Regards

Related

Setting up SWV printf on a Nucleo STM32 board

I am developping a Firmware on various STM32L4 Nucleo boards with Atollic Truestudio IDE (basically Eclipse). Until now I was using printf through UART, thanks to the Virtual COM port.
I want to migrate to printf using STM32 ITM.
More precisely I work on Nucleo-L4A6ZG. Debug is through a gdb server.
On Atollic I modified my Debug Configuration to enable SWV with a core clock of 80MHz. I've modified my startup script as described in STM32L4 reference manual as follows. I'm not sure it is necessary since TrueStudio/Eclipse allows to setup SWV from the GUI but seems easier this way:
# Set character encoding
set host-charset CP1252
set target-charset CP1252
# Reset to known state
monitor reset
# Load the program executable
load
# Reset the chip to get to a known state. Remove "monitor reset" command
# if the code is not located at default address and does not run by reset.
monitor reset
# Enable Debug connection in low power modes (DBGMCU->CR) + TPIU for SWV
set *0xE0042004 = (*0xE0042004) | 0x67
# Write 0xC5ACCE55 to the ITM Lock Access Register to unlock the write access to the ITM registers
set *0xE0000FB0 =0xC5ACCE55
# Write 0x00010005 to the ITM Trace Control Register to enable the ITM with Synchronous enabled and an ATB ID different from 0x00
set *0xE0000E80= 0x00010005
# Write 0x1 to the ITM Trace Enable Register to enable the Stimulus Port 0
set *0xE0000E00= (*0xE0000E00) | 0x1
#write 1 to ITM trace privilege register to unmask Stimulus ports 7:0
set *0xE0000E40= (*0xE0000E40) | 0x1
# Set a breakpoint at main().
tbreak main
# Run to the breakpoint.
continue
I've modified my _write function as follows:
static inline unsigned long ITM_SendChar (unsigned long ch)
{
if (((ITM->TCR & ITM_TCR_ITMENA_Msk) != 0UL) && /* ITM enabled */
((ITM->TER & 1UL ) != 0UL) ) /* ITM Port #0 enabled */
{
while (ITM->PORT[0U].u32 == 0UL)
{
__asm("nop");
}
ITM->PORT[0U].u8 = (uint8_t)ch;
}
return (ch);
}
int _write(int file, char *ptr, int len)
{
//return usart_write(platform_get_console(), (u8 *)ptr, len);
int i=0;
for(i=0 ; i<len ; i++)
ITM_SendChar((*ptr++));
return len;
}
Debugging step by step I see that I get at line ITM->PORT[0U].u8 = (uint8_t)ch;
Finally I start the trace in the SWV console in the IDE but I get no output.
Any idea what I am missing ? What about the core clock of the SWV ? I'm not sure what it corresponds to.
I faced a similar situation on my Nucleo-F103RB. What got this working was selecting "Trace Asynchronous" debug option on CubeMX and not "Serial Wire". The trace asynchronous debug dedicates the PB3 pin as a SWO pin.
Then setup the debug configuration as follows:
Project debug configuration to enable Serial Wire Viewer (SWV)
Also, I'd defined the write function inside of the main.c file itself, changing the definition in the syscalls.c wouldn't work.
And finally when debugging the project, under the "Serial Wire Viewer settings" only enable (check) port 0 on ITM Stimulus Ports, like so:
Serial Wire Viewer settings in Debug perpective
One thing I noted when I had enabled the prescaler for timestamps and some trace events, the trace output would not show quite a few trace logs.
Anyone else finding this - The Nucleo-32 line of Nucleo development boards inexplicably DO NOT have the SWO pin routed to the MCU. The SWO pin is necessary for all the SWV features, so it will not work by design. The higher pin-count Nucleo boards seem to have it routed.
See for yourself:
https://www.st.com/resource/en/user_manual/dm00231744-stm32-nucleo32-boards-mb1180-stmicroelectronics.pdf (Nucleo-32)
https://www.st.com/resource/en/user_manual/dm00105823-stm32-nucleo-64-boards-mb1136-stmicroelectronics.pdf (Nucleo-64)
Small-factor Nucleo-32 pin boards generally do not support SWO/SWV but there is one exception: Nucleo-STM32G431KB. As of September 2021 this is probably the only small-factor Nucleo-32 pin, quite powerful board supporting ST-LINK V3 and SWO. See MB1430 schematic.
Although my response is loosely related to the original question pertaining to the Nucleo-L4A6ZG (144 pin large-factor), it may help someone finding this thread.
Just to mention that the ITM printf works perfectly on Keil IDE. Nothing particular to setup, just implement the ITM_SendChar function as showed in my first post and open the debug printf window.

What's the relationship between GPIO and SPI?

I found GPIO driver in the kernel leave /sys/class/gpio to control gpio, but I found GPIO can be controlled by /dev/mem as well, I found this mapping may be done in the spi-bcm2708 (which call the __ioremap as a platform driver), but I don't understand the relationship between spi and GPIO,how they work together in the linux?
As I understand you are talking about this driver (which is used, for example, in Raspberry Pi). First of all, take a look at BCM2835 datasheet. Review next sections:
1.1 Overview
6.0 General Purpose I/O (GPIO)
6.2 Alternative Functions Assignments (see Table 6-31)
From driver code (see bcm2708_init_pinmode() function) and datasheet (table 6-31), we can see that SPI pins are actually GPIO7..11 pins. Those pins can be actually connected to different hardware modules (either SPI or SD, in this case).
Such a selection is done using pin muxing. So basically you need to connect GPIO7..GPIO11 pins to SPI module. To do so you need to select ALT0 function for each of GPIO7..GPIO11 pins. This can be done by writing corresponding values to GPFSEL0 and GPFSEL1 registers (see tables 6-1..6-3 in datasheet):
And this is how the driver is actually doing this:
/*
* This function sets the ALT mode on the SPI pins so that we can use them with
* the SPI hardware.
*
* FIXME: This is a hack. Use pinmux / pinctrl.
*/
static void bcm2708_init_pinmode(void)
{
#define INP_GPIO(g) *(gpio+((g)/10)) &= ~(7<<(((g)%10)*3))
#define SET_GPIO_ALT(g, a) *(gpio+(((g)/10))) |= (((a) <= 3 ? (a)+4 : (a) == 4 ? 3 : 2)<<(((g)%10)*3))
int pin;
u32 *gpio = ioremap(GPIO_BASE, SZ_16K);
/* SPI is on GPIO 7..11 */
for (pin = 7; pin <= 11; pin++) {
INP_GPIO(pin); /* set mode to GPIO input first */
SET_GPIO_ALT(pin, 0); /* set mode to ALT 0 */
}
iounmap(gpio);
#undef INP_GPIO
#undef SET_GPIO_ALT
}
which looks like quick hack to me, and they actually mentioned it: the correct way would be to use kernel mechanism called pinctrl.
Conclusion: BCM2708 driver doesn't actually trigger any GPIO pins, it's just doing pin muxing in order to connect GPIO7..GPIO11 pins to SPI module. And to do so this driver writes to GPFSELn registers, which happen to be GPIO registers. This is pretty much all relationship between SPI and GPIO in this driver.
P.S.: if you are curious about possible relationship between SPI and GPIO, read about bit banging. See for example spi-bitbang.c driver in Linux kernel.

UART RX Interrurpt fired too early

I'm doing a small project, where I want to transmit a text via a cable to my Atmega328p.
I first created the project on an Arduino Uno (with pure C), where the transmission works.
Now I switched to a standalone 328p and tried it there.
But now the Problem is, that my RX-Complete Interrupt is fired too early. In fact it is even fired, when nothing has been transmitted. It will fired when I just touched the cable (the isolated parts) .
#include <avr/io.h>
#include <avr/interrupt.h>
#include <util/setbaud.h>
void setup(void){
CLKPR = 0;
//Set Output
DDRC |= (1 << PC0) | (1 << PC1) |(1 << PC2) |(1 << PC3) |(1 << PC4) | (1 << PC5);
DDRD |= (1 << PD6) | (1 << PD7);
// Interrupts
sei();
// Init UART
// Set baud
UBRR0H = UBRRH_VALUE;
UBRR0L = UBRRL_VALUE;
#if USE_2X
UCSR0A |= (1 << U2X0);
#else
UCSR0A &= ~(1 << U2X0);
#endif
// Enable UART Receive and Receivecomplete Interrupt
UCSR0B = (1<<RXEN0) | (1 << RXCIE0);
// Set frameformat to 8 Data and 1 Stopbit
UCSR0C = ((1<<UCSZ00)|(1<<UCSZ01));
}
int main(void){
setup();
while(1){
}
return 0;
}
ISR(USART_RX_vect){
// Enable some LEDs
}
Edit: Picture of my Setup:
I use the Arduiono just for Powering my Breadboard. 5V and GND are connected.
The AVR MKII ISP is Connected via some Pins to flash the µC. The two cables are used for UART RX.
The Pushbutton is just for RESET
Edit 2: I just tried to power it via an external source and a raspberrypi. There is the same effect everywhere
Of course. RXC flag is set when there are unread data in the receive buffer.
This flag is used to generate the RX interrupt.
Since you never read UDR inside your interrupt, this flag remains set, and, therefore just after interrupt routine is completed, it is starts again. And again. And again....
The Rx line should not be floating. Its a high impedance input and should be driven to a specific level. Your cables act like an antenna and if you touch the cable it gets worse because there is capacitive coupling between the cable and your body. This may result in high frequency noise on your input which may trigger the Rx interrupt.
Further make sure that the 328p local power supply is properly decoupled. I don't see any capacitors near the controller on your breadboard. Check GND connection between Arduino and 328p (mandatory).
Without looking at your setup it's hard to tell what's going wrong, but if you're touching an isolated cable and getting a response from the processor, then I would check common grounds between the devices if you're powering the ATMega via a battery, make sure the battery ground is touching the device that's receiving and transmitting, as any potential difference in power levels could cause the little magnetic field that you give off to be amplified into something that the core registers as a high bit.If possible, post a picture of your setup!
Also when programming with ATMel chips, burning the arduino bootloader and going the simple(r) C code way never hurt.

Turn an LED on or off in AT Mega-1284P Xplained

I am a beginner in AT Mega-1284P Xplained.
I want to turn an LED on and then off (say, LED0) after some specified time in AT Mega 1284P Xplained board from ATMEL. To my surprise, I found no official documentation for this rudimentary task but several different function calls - all of which failed compilation - searching on the web.
Please mention the API call as well as the header file that needs to be included for this. I am using AVR Studio 6.
I will assume a led is connected to pin 0 at port b on the AtMega1284P. The following program should make the led blink.
#include <util/delay.h>
#include <avr/io.h>
int main() {
// Set the pin 0 at port B as output
DDRB |= (1<<PB0);
while(1) {
// Turn led on by setting corresponding bit high in the PORTB register.
PORTB |= (1<<PB0);
_delay_ms(500);
// Turn led off by setting corresponding bit low in the PORTB register.
PORTB &= ~(1<<PB0);
_delay_ms(500);
}
}
Answering my own question: I found Atmel had an example code that covered a bunch of sensors and other peripheral components including LEDs for Mega-1284P. The links are link and link. Besides, very hard to find locations (they did not show up on web searches), the websites are _very_slow. Atmel, are you listening?

Replace HW interrupt in flat memory mode with DOS32/A

I have a question about how to replace HW interrupt in flat memory mode...
about my application...
created by combining Watcom C and DOS32/A.
written for running on DOS mode( not on OS mode )
with DOS32/A now I can access >1M memory and allocate large memory to use...(running in flat memory mode !!!)
current issue...
I want to write an ISR(interrupt service routine) for one PCI card. Thus I need to "replace" the HW interrupt.
Ex. the PCI card's interrupt line = 0xE in DOS. That means this device will issue interrupt via 8259's IRQ 14.
But I did not how to achieve my goal to replace this interrupt in flat mode ?
# resource I found...
- in watcom C's library, there is one sample using _dos_getvect, _dos_setvect, and _chain_intr to hook INT 0x1C...
I tested this code and found OK. But when I apply it to my case: INT76 ( where IRQ 14 is "INT 0x76" <- (14-8) + 0x70 ) then nothing happened...
I checked HW interrupt is generated but my own ISR did not invoked...
Do I lose something ? or are there any functions I can use to achieve my goal ?
===============================================================
[20120809]
I tried to use DPMI calls 0x204 and 0x205 and found MyISR() is still not invoked. I described what I did as below and maybe you all can give me some suggestions !
1) Use inline assembly to implement DPMI calls 0x204 and 0x205 and test OK...
Ex. Use DPMI 0x204 to show the interrupt vectors of 16 IRQs and I get(selector:offset) following results: 8:1540(INT8),8:1544(INT9),.....,8:1560(INT70),8:1564(INT71),...,8:157C(INT77)
Ex. Use DPMI 0x205 to set the interrupt vector for IRQ14(INT76) and returned CF=0, indicating successful
2) Create my own ISR MyISR() as follows:
volatile int tick=0; // global and volatile...
void MyISR(void)
{
tick = 5; // simple code to change the value of tick...
}
3) Set new interrupt vector by DPMI call 0x205:
selector = FP_SEG(MyISR); // selector = 0x838 here
offset = FP_OFF(MyISR); // offset = 0x30100963 here
sts = DPMI_SetIntVector(0x76, selector, offset, &out_ax);
Then sts = 0(CF=0) indicating successful !
One strange thing here is:my app runs in flat memory model and I think the selector should be 0 for MyISR()... But if selector = 0 for DPMI call 0x205 then I got CF=1 and AX = 0x8022, indicating "invalid selector" !
4) Let HW interrupt be generated and the evidences are:
PCI device config register 0x5 bit2(Interrupt Disabled) = 0
PCI device config register 0x6 bit3(Interrupt status) = 1
PCI device config register 0x3C/0x3D (Interrupt line) = 0xE/0x2
In DOS the interrupt mode is PIC mode(8259 mode) and Pin-based(MSIE=0)
5) Display the value of tick and found it is still "0"...
Thus I think MyISR() is not invoked correctly...
Try using DPMI Function 0204h and 0205h instead of '_dos_getvect' and '_dos_setvect', respectively.
The runtime environment of your program is DOS32A or a DPMI Server/host. So use the api they provided instead of using DOS int21h facilities. But DOS32A does intercepts int21h interrupts, so your code should work fine, as far as real mode is concerned.
Actually what you did is you install only real mode interrupt handler for IRQ14 by using '_dos_getvect' and '_dos_setvect' functions.
By using the DPMI functions instead, you install protected mode interrupt handler for IRQ14, and DOS32a will autopassup IRQ14 interrupt to this protected mode handler.
Recall: A dos extender/DPMI server can be in protected mode or real mode while an IRQ is asserted.
This is becoz your application uses some DOS or BIOS API, so extender needs to switch to real mode to execute them and the return back to protected mode to transfer control to you protected mode application.
DOS32a does this by allocating a real-mode callback (at least for hardware interrupts) which calls your protected mode handler if IRQ14 is asserted while the Extender is in real-mode.
If the extender is in protected mode, while IRQ14 is asserted, it will automatically transfer control to your IRQ14 handler.
But if you didn't install protected mode handler for your IRQ, then DOS32a, will not allocate any real-mode callback, and your real-mode irq handler may not get control.
But it should recieve control AFAIK.
Anyway give the above two functions a try. And do chain to the previous int76h interrupt handler as Sean said.
In short:
In case of DOS32a, you need not use '_dos_getvect' and '_dos_setvect' functions. Instead use the DPMI functions 0204h and 0205h for installing your protected mode IRQ handler.
An advise : In your interrupt handler the first step should be to check whether your device actually generated interrupt or it is some other device sharing this irq(IRQ14 in your case). You can do this by checking a 'interrupt pending bit' in your device, if it is set, service your device and chain to next handler. If it is not set to 1, simply chain to next handler.
EDITED:
Use the latest version of DOS32a, instead of one that comes with OW.
Update on 2012-08-14:
Yes, you can use FP_SEG and FP_OFF macros for obtaining selector and offset respectively, just like you would use these macros in real modes to get segment and offset.
You can also use MK_FP macro to create far pointers from selector and offset. eg.
MK_FP(selector, offset).
You should declare your interrupt handler with ' __interrupt ', keyword when writing handlers in C.
Here is a snippet:
#include <i86.h> /* for FP_OFF, FP_SEG, and MK_FP in OW */
/* C Prototype for your IRQ handler */
void __interrupt __far irqHandler(void);
.
.
.
irq_selector = (unsigned short)FP_SEG( &irqHandler );
irq_offset = (unsigned long)FP_OFF( &irqHandler );
__dpmi_SetVect( intNum, irq_selector, irq_offset );
.
.
.
or, try this:
extern void sendEOItoMaster(void);
# pragma aux sendEOItoMaster = \
"mov al, 0x20" \
"out 0x20, al" \
modify [eax] ;
extern void sendEOItoSlave(void);
# pragma aux sendEOItoSlave = \
"mov al, 0x20" \
"out 0xA0, al" \
modify [eax] ;
unsigned int old76_selector, new76_selector;
unsigned long old76_offset, new76_offset;
volatile int chain = 1; /* Chain to the old handler */
volatile int tick=0; // global and volatile...
void (__interrupt __far *old76Handler)(void) = NULL; // function pointer declaration
void __interrupt __far new76Handler(void) {
tick = 5; // simple code to change the value of tick...
.
.
.
if( chain ){
// disable irqs if enabled above.
_chain_intr( old76Handler ); // 'jumping' to the old handler
// ( *old76Handler )(); // 'calling' the old handler
}else{
sendEOItoMaster();
sendEOItoSlave();
}
}
__dpmi_GetVect( 0x76, &old76_selector, &old76_offset );
old76Handler = ( void (__interrupt __far *)(void) ) MK_FP (old76_selector, old76_offset)
new76_selector = (unsigned int)FP_SEG( &new76Handler );
new76_offset = (unsigned long)FP_OFF( &new76Handler );
__dpmi_SetVect( 0x76, new76_selector, new76_offset );
.
.
NOTE:
You should first double check that the IRQ# you are hooking is really assigned/mapped to the interrupt pin of your concerned PCI device. IOWs, first read 'Interrupt Line register' (NOT Interrupt Pin register) from PCI configuration space, and hook only that irq#. The valid values for this register, in your case are: 0x00 through 0x0F inclusive, with 0x00 means IRQ0 and 0x01 means IRQ1 and so on.
POST/BIOS code writes a value in 'Interrupt Line register', while booting, and you MUST NOT modify this register at any cost.(of course, unless you are dealing with interrupt routing issues which an OS writer will deal with)
You should also get and save the selector and offset of the old handler by using DPMI call 0204h, in case you are chaining to old handler. If not, don't forget to send EOI(End-of-interrupt) to BOTH master and slave PICs in case you hooked an IRQ belonging to slave PIC(ie INT 70h through 77h, including INT 0Ah), and ONLY to master PIC in case you hooked an IRQ belonging to master PIC.
In flat model, the BASE address is 0 and Limit is 0xFFFFF, with G bit(ie Granularity bit) = 1.
The base and limit(along with attribute bits(e.g G bit) of a segment) reside in the descriptor corresponding to a particular segment. The descriptor itself, sits in the descriptor table.
Descriptor tables are an array with each entry being 8bytes.
The selector is merely a pointer(or an index) to the 8-byte descriptor entry, in the Descriptor table(either GDT or LDT). So a selector CAN'T be 0.
Note that lowest 3 bits of 16-bit selector have special meaning, and only the upper 13-bits are used to index a descriptor entry from a descriptor table.
GDT = Global Descriptor Table
LDT = Local Descriptor Table
A system can have only one GDT, but many LDTs.
As entry number 0 in GDT, is reserved and can't be used. AFAIK, DOS32A, does not create any LDT for its applications, instead it simply allocate and initalize descriptor entries corresponding to the application, in GDT itself.
Selector MUST not be 0, as x86 architecture regards 0 selector as invalid, when you try to access memory with that selector; though you can successfully place 0 in any segment register, it is only when you try to access(read/write/execute) that segment, the cpu generates an exception.
In case of interrupt handlers, the base address need not be 0, even in case of flat mode.
The DPMI environment must have valid reasons for doing this so.
After all, you still need to tackle segmentation at some level in x86 architecture.
PCI device config register 0x5 bit2(Interrupt Disabled) = 0
PCI device config register 0x6 bit3(Interrupt status) = 1
I think, you mean Bus master command and status registers respectively. They actually reside in either I/O space or memory space, but NOT in PCI configuration space.
So you can read/write them directly via IN/OUT or MOV, instructions.
For reading/writing, PCI configuration registers you must use configuration red/write methods or PCI BIOS routines.
NOTE:
Many PCI disk controllers, have a bit called 'Interrupt enable/disable' bit. The register
that contains this bit is usually in the PCI configuration space, and can be found from the datasheet.
Actually, this setting is for "forwarding" the interrupt generated by the device attached to the PCI controller, to the PCI bus.
If, interrupts are disabled via this bit, then even if your device(attached to PCI controller) is generating the interrupt, the interrupt will NOT be forwarded to the PCI bus(and hence cpu will never know if interrupt occurred), but the interrupt bit(This bit is different from 'Interrupt enable/disable' bit) in PCI controller is still set to notify that the device(attached to PCI controller, eg a hard disk) generated an interrupt, so that the program can read this bit and take appropriate actions. It is similar to polling, from programming perspective.
This usually apply only for non-bus master transfers.
But, it seems that you are using bus master transfers(ie DMA), so it should not apply in your case.
But anyway, I would suggest you do read the datasheet of the PCI controller carefully, especially looking for bits/registers related to interrupt handling
EDITED:
Well, as far as application level programming is concerned, you need not encounter/use _far pointers, as your program will not access anything outside to your code.
But this is not completely true, when you go to system-level programming, you need to access memory mapped device registers, external ROM, or implementing interrupt handlers, etc.
The story changes here. The creation of a segment ie allocating descriptor and getting its associated selector, ensures that even if there is a bug in code, it will not annoyingly change anything external to that particular segment from which current code is executing. If it tries to do so, cpu will generate a fault. So when accessing external devices(especially memory mapped device's registers), or accessing some rom data, eg BIOS etc., it is a good idea to have allocate a descriptor and set the base and segment limits according to the area you need to execute/read/write and proceed. But you are not bound to do so.
Some external code residing for eg in rom, assume that they will be invoked with a far call.
As I said earlier, in x86 architecture, at some level(the farther below you go) you need to deal with segmentation as there is no way to disable it completely.
But in flat model, segmentation is present as an aid to programmer, as I said above, when accessing external(wrt to your program) things. But you need not use if you don't desire to do so.
When an interrupt handler is invoked, it doesn't know the base and limits of program that was interrupted. It doesn't know the segment attributes, limits etc. of the interrupted program, we say except CS and EIP all registers are in undefined state wrt interrupt handler. So it is needed to be declared as far function to indicate that it resides somewhere external to currently executing program.
it's been a while since I fiddled with interrupts, but the table is a pointer to set where the processor should go to to process an interrupt. I can give you the process, but not code, as I only ever used 8086 code.
Pseudo code:
Initialize:
Get current vector - store value
Set vector to point to the entry point of your routine
next:
Process Interrupt:
Your code decides what to do with data
If it's your data:
process it, and return
If not:
jump to the stored vector that we got during initialize,
and let the chain of interrupts continue as they normally would
finally:
Program End:
check to see if interrupt still points to your code
if yes, set vector back to the saved value
if no, set beginning of your code to long jump to vector address you saved,
or set a flag that lets your program not process anything

Resources