Processor Status Word: Difference between revisions
From Computer History Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
An OK start |
m typo |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
* whether [[interrupt]]s are enabled; | * whether [[interrupt]]s are enabled; | ||
* for [[time-sharing]] machines, whether the CPU is in 'User' or '[[Kernel]' mode; | * for [[time-sharing]] machines, whether the CPU is in 'User' or '[[Kernel]]' mode; | ||
* the [[condition codes]], for machines which keep them in the PS. | * the [[condition codes]], for machines which keep them in the PS. | ||
Revision as of 14:56, 11 June 2018
The Processor Status Word (often given as PS for short, or some variant) is a register in the CPU which records important information about the state of the CPU.
Information typically present in the PS includes:
- whether interrupts are enabled;
- for time-sharing machines, whether the CPU is in 'User' or 'Kernel' mode;
- the condition codes, for machines which keep them in the PS.
Some machines (e.g. the PDP-10) include the Program Counter in the PS.
