Ralf Brown's Interrupt List
Encyclopedia
Ralf Brown's Interrupt List or RBIL is a comprehensive list of interrupt
s, calls, hooks
, interfaces, data structure
s, memory
and port
addresses, and processor opcode
s for x86 for machines from the very start of the PC
era in 1981 up into the year 2000, most of it still applying to PCs today as well. It covers operating systems, drivers, and application software; both documented and undocumented
information including bugs, shortcomings, and workarounds, with version and date information, often at a detail level not found in the contemporary literature. A large part of it covers system BIOS
es and internals of operating systems such as DOS
, OS/2
, and Windows, as well as their interactions.
The project is the result of the research and collaborative effort of hundreds of contributors worldwide over many years, and is maintained by Ralf Brown, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University
's Language Technologies Institute
.
It has been a widely used resource by IBM PC
system developers as well as application programmers in the pre-Windows
era. As such it has proven to be an important resource in developing various open source operating systems, including Linux
and FreeDOS
. Today it is still used as a reference to BIOS calls and to develop programs for DOS as well as other system-level software.
The list is currently at Revision 61 as of 17 July 2000, and is almost 8 MB
in ASCII
text, which would result in more than 2500 pages of condensed information when printed.
Interrupt
In computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous signal indicating the need for attention or a synchronous event in software indicating the need for a change in execution....
s, calls, hooks
Hooking
In computer programming, the term hooking covers a range of techniques used to alter or augment the behavior of an operating system, of applications, or of other software components by intercepting function calls or messages or events passed between software components...
, interfaces, data structure
Data structure
In computer science, a data structure is a particular way of storing and organizing data in a computer so that it can be used efficiently.Different kinds of data structures are suited to different kinds of applications, and some are highly specialized to specific tasks...
s, memory
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
and port
Computer port (hardware)
In computer hardware, a port serves as an interface between the computer and other computers or peripheral devices. Physically, a port is a specialized outlet on a piece of equipment to which a plug or cable connects...
addresses, and processor opcode
Opcode
In computer science engineering, an opcode is the portion of a machine language instruction that specifies the operation to be performed. Their specification and format are laid out in the instruction set architecture of the processor in question...
s for x86 for machines from the very start of the PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
era in 1981 up into the year 2000, most of it still applying to PCs today as well. It covers operating systems, drivers, and application software; both documented and undocumented
Undocumented feature
Undocumented features are frequently found in computer software releases. Sometimes the documentation is omitted through simple oversight, but undocumented features are often elements of the software not intended for use by end users, but left available for use by the vendor for software support...
information including bugs, shortcomings, and workarounds, with version and date information, often at a detail level not found in the contemporary literature. A large part of it covers system BIOS
BIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
es and internals of operating systems such as DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
, and Windows, as well as their interactions.
The project is the result of the research and collaborative effort of hundreds of contributors worldwide over many years, and is maintained by Ralf Brown, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
's Language Technologies Institute
Language Technologies Institute
The Language Technologies Institute is a division of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, and focuses on the area of language technologies....
.
It has been a widely used resource by IBM PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
system developers as well as application programmers in the pre-Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
era. As such it has proven to be an important resource in developing various open source operating systems, including Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and FreeDOS
FreeDOS
FreeDOS is an operating system for IBM PC compatible computers. FreeDOS is made up of many different, separate programs that act as "packages" to the overall FreeDOS Project...
. Today it is still used as a reference to BIOS calls and to develop programs for DOS as well as other system-level software.
The list is currently at Revision 61 as of 17 July 2000, and is almost 8 MB
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
in ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
text, which would result in more than 2500 pages of condensed information when printed.