Click here

system resource

A tool used by either hardware to alert software of a need or by software to control a function of hardware. Hardware and software need a way to communicate with each other, and they do so by using a combination of four system resources:

  • IRQ ?? Hardware devices use the IRQ bus on a motherboard to signal the CPU for attention.
  • port addresses ?? Software addresses a hardware device using the device??s port, or I/O, address. The device "listens" to the bus to determine if it is being requested.
  • memory addresses ?? Software communicates with physical memory located in either RAM or ROM chips using memory addresses.
  • DMA channel ?? Data travels back and forth between memory and a hardware device using this channel.



Top Terms
  • 1

    enterprise application

    An enterprise application is the term used to describe applications -- or software -- that a business would use to assist the organization in...

    Read more »

  • 2

    open source

    Generically, open source refers to a program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its...

    Read more »

  • Click Here!

Connect with Webopedia

Did You Know? Archive »

  • Quick Reference Archive »