Page 1 of 1

Descriptor Tables

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 4:39 pm
by Hellboy
hello i'm beginner in os devellepmnt so i did not understand each of those descriptor tables use and this paragraph.
thanks
There are three types of descriptor tables; the Global (GDT), Local (LDT) and Interrupt (IDT). The
GDT, pointed to by GDTR, holds up to 8191 objects (GDT 0 is reserved) that are accessible across all
tasks. The LDT, pointed to by LDTR, holds up to 8192 objects (LDT 0 is not reserved) that are local to
each task. The IDT, pointed to by the (need I say) IDTR, holds up to 256 gates (more on gates later).
Much like with the 8086, the IDT holds the destinations for the various interrupts. Each interrupt,
software or hardware, has a vector number associated with it. This vector number serves as the index
into the IDT. All three of these tables are created by software and reside in the memory space.

Re: Descriptor Tables

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 10:11 pm
by thooot
I would recommend that you start reading the intel or amd manuals for system programming. You can find the amd manuals here: http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/Dev ... 44,00.html. Read up on chapter 4, section 4.6 for details on the descriptor tables.

Re: Descriptor Tables

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 10:41 pm
by Troy Martin
Well, here's a basic explanation of the descriptor tables:
  • Global Descriptor Table: Lets you define the memory selectors to put in the segment registers. You can do some fun stuff with this, like defining a separate selector that just handles video memory, etc.
  • Local Descriptor Table: Used for defining different selectors for different tasks on the 286, before TSS came.
  • Interrupt Descriptor Table: Used for defining software interrupts. A lot harder to use than the real mode Interrupt Vector Table.

Re: Descriptor Tables

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:01 pm
by Brynet-Inc
People on this forum use dark themes.. as I've repeated countless times in the past, enough with the colours.

It's a forum rule, please just use BBcode quote/code blocks.

Re: Descriptor Tables

Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:46 am
by AJ
Fixed :)

Cheers,
Adam