Question

Which interrupt provides system clock in the context switching?

(a) software interrupt

(b) hardware interrupt

(c) peripheral

(d) memory

I have been asked this question during an online interview.

My query is from Multitasking Operating Systems topic in division Real Time Operating systems of Embedded Systems

Answer 1

Right answer is (b) hardware interrupt

The explanation is: The multitasking operating systems deals with the multitasking kernel which controls the time slicing mechanism and the time period required for each task for execution before it is stopped and replaced during a context switch is known as the time slice which are periodically triggered by a hardware interrupt from the system timer. This hardware interrupt provides the system clock in which several interrupts are executed and counted before a context switch is performed.