1. In computing, there are traditionally two ways for a microprocessor to listen to other devices and communicate: polling and interrupts. Give a concise overview/description of each method, and give a few examples of situations where you would want to choose one method over the other

polling and interrupt

Explanation: polling is a protocol in which the CPU constantly checked if a device request an important attention based on a request. The polling process unit constantly scans the device. Example of polling is when a parallel printer port is pulled to check whether it is ready for another character which involves examining as little as one bit of a byte.

interrupt is a mechanism whereby a device notifies a CPU that it requires a response based on a request. The CPU gets an interrupt signal via an interrupt request line allowing the CPU to spot it's current process and give priority to the interrupt request at that point in time. Example of interrupt is pressing a key on a keyboard which in turn triggers a specific interrupt handler.

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