What does IRQ stand for?

Answer 1

Abbreviation of interrupt request line, and pronounced I-R-Q. IRQs are hardware lines over which devices can send interrupt signals to the microprocessor. When you add a new device to a PC, you sometimes need to set its IRQ number by setting a DIP switch. This specifies which interrupt line the device may use. IRQ conflicts used to be a common problem when adding expansion boards, but the Plug-and-Play specification has removed this headache in most cases.
see: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/IRQ.html

Answer 2

IRQ stands for Interrupt Request, which is a direct line to the Microprocessor and tells the Microprocessor to stop what it is doing and wait until it has further instructions. Every PC computer has a maximum of 15 IRQs that are prioritized according to the importance of the device.

Answer 3

The computing phrase "interrupt request" (or IRQ) is used to refer to either the act of interrupting the bus lines used to signal an interrupt, or the interrupt input lines on a Programmable Interrupt Controller (PLC).

Purpose: A device sends a interrupt to the motherboard's interrupt circuitry by changing the voltage level on the interrupt request line. There are 15 IRQs available. No two pieces of hardware can share the same IRQ, with the exception of your PCI and IDE controllers. The IDEs are usually 14 and 15. A special card can be installed in your machine to make available more! RQs special number designations assigned to certain hardware devices that allow the devices to share the CPU's "attention". The numbers are set by setting jumpers or wires on each such device. No two devices can share an IRQ number. IRQ are used by the Input/output devices to communicate with a CPU. LRQs on ISA machines cannot be shared by two devices. An IRQ is a request to service a particular hardware device or update a specific section of the program. When an IRQ occurs the appropriate ISR will be called to service the request.

Answer 4

IRQ stands for Interrupt Request.