Interrupt and Exception Models Diagram: Hardware and Software Interrupts

Internal and Software Interrupts: Understanding the Differences

### Internal Interrupts
An internal interrupt, also known as a trap, is a type of interrupt that is triggered by an event within the CPU itself. These interrupts occur during the execution of a program and are typically caused by the CPU detecting an abnormal condition or error.

#### Examples of Internal Interrupts:
* Division by zero: When a program attempts to divide a number by zero, the CPU will raise an internal interrupt.
* Memory access error: If a program attempts to access memory that is outside the valid address range, the CPU will generate an internal interrupt.

### Software Interrupts
On the other hand, software interrupts are generated by the operating system or other software components to request a service or to signal a condition to the program.

#### Examples of Software Interrupts:
* System call: When a program makes a system call to request a service, such as reading or writing to a file, the operating system generates a software interrupt to handle the request.
* Timer interrupt: When the timer expires, the operating system generates a software interrupt to signal a timer event.