18.0 Interrupts (Continued)
20006333
FIGURE 32. VIS Operation
18.4 NON-MASKABLE INTERRUPT
18.4.1 Pending Flag
The Software Trap has the highest priority of all interrupts.
When a Software Trap occurs, the STPND bit is set. The GIE
bit is not affected and the pending bit (not accessible by the
user) is used to inhibit other interrupts and to direct the
program to the ST service routine with the VIS instruction.
Nothing can interrupt a Software Trap service routine except
for another Software Trap. The STPND can be reset only by
the RPND instruction or a chip Reset.
There is a pending flag bit associated with the non-maskable
Software Trap interrupt, called STPND. This pending flag is
not memory-mapped and cannot be accessed directly by the
software.
The pending flag is reset to zero when a device Reset
occurs. When the non-maskable interrupt occurs, the asso-
ciated pending bit is set to 1. The interrupt service routine
should contain an RPND instruction to reset the pending flag
to zero. The RPND instruction always resets the STPND
flag.
The Software Trap indicates an unusual or unknown error
condition. Generally, returning to normal execution at the
point where the Software Trap occurred cannot be done
reliably. Therefore, the Software Trap service routine should
re-initialize the stack pointer and perform a recovery proce-
dure that re-starts the software at some known point, similar
to a device Reset, but not necessarily performing all the
same functions as a device Reset. The routine must also
execute the RPND instruction to reset the STPND flag.
Otherwise, all other interrupts will be locked out. To the
extent possible, the interrupt routine should record or indi-
cate the context of the device so that the cause of the
Software Trap can be determined.
18.4.2 Software Trap
The Software Trap is a special kind of non-maskable inter-
rupt which occurs when the INTR instruction (used to ac-
knowledge interrupts) is fetched from program memory and
placed in the instruction register. This can happen in a
variety of ways, usually because of an error condition. Some
examples of causes are listed below.
If the user wishes to return to normal execution from the
point at which the Software Trap was triggered, the user
must first execute RPND, followed by RETSK rather than
RETI or RET. This is because the return address stored on
the stack is the address of the INTR instruction that triggered
the interrupt. The program must skip that instruction in order
to proceed with the next one. Otherwise, an infinite loop of
Software Traps and returns will occur.
If the program counter incorrectly points to a memory loca-
tion beyond the programmed Flash memory space, the un-
used memory location returns zeros which is interpreted as
the INTR instruction.
If the stack is popped beyond the allowed limit (address 06F
Hex), a 7FFF will be loaded into the PC. Since the Option
Register resides at this location, and to maintain the integrity
of the stack overpop protection, the Flash memory will return
a zero on an instruction fetch and a software trap will be
triggered.
Programming a return to normal execution requires careful
consideration. If the Software Trap routine is interrupted by
another Software Trap, the RPND instruction in the service
routine for the second Software Trap will reset the STPND
flag; upon return to the first Software Trap routine, the
A Software Trap can be triggered by a temporary hardware
condition such as a brownout or power supply glitch.
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