An Overview Of The PIC Interrupts vs. Polling
While both interrupt and polling techniques work, interrupt driven systems rely on external pulses to run certain segments of code which means we can build a more efficient system. Interrupts allow unnecessary polling to be removed from main processes, so that the real important stuff can take priority. This tutorial implemented the interrupt-on-change, but do remember there are many other types of interrupts available to you inside the PIC.
What To Do Now
Now that you can understand and deal with basic interrupts on the PIC, give a shot at setting up interrupts with Timers like I do in the wooden menace. The PIC has many other types of interrupts that can be used, take a look at the datasheet to get a feeling or what hardware modules can interrupt the main loop and begin to think about why you would want to include these in your designs.
Conclusion
My real goal here was to give a proper introduction to interrupts on a PIC. Although interrupts are a complex subject, I did my best to skim over the top of the important ideas that are at work here. As you play more and more with interrupts you'll get into the more advanced sides and really get a full understanding for what is going on. So I feel this tutorial was successful at producing a learn-by-example article for building your own interrupt driven system.
If you have any further questions, I implore you...don't be shy, take a look at the forums or ask a question there. I check them out regularly and love getting comments & questions.
While both interrupt and polling techniques work, interrupt driven systems rely on external pulses to run certain segments of code which means we can build a more efficient system. Interrupts allow unnecessary polling to be removed from main processes, so that the real important stuff can take priority. This tutorial implemented the interrupt-on-change, but do remember there are many other types of interrupts available to you inside the PIC.
What To Do Now
Now that you can understand and deal with basic interrupts on the PIC, give a shot at setting up interrupts with Timers like I do in the wooden menace. The PIC has many other types of interrupts that can be used, take a look at the datasheet to get a feeling or what hardware modules can interrupt the main loop and begin to think about why you would want to include these in your designs.
Conclusion
My real goal here was to give a proper introduction to interrupts on a PIC. Although interrupts are a complex subject, I did my best to skim over the top of the important ideas that are at work here. As you play more and more with interrupts you'll get into the more advanced sides and really get a full understanding for what is going on. So I feel this tutorial was successful at producing a learn-by-example article for building your own interrupt driven system.
If you have any further questions, I implore you...don't be shy, take a look at the forums or ask a question there. I check them out regularly and love getting comments & questions.