What Is | Vector Table In Microcontroller

In essence, the vector table is the . Without it, the CPU would have no idea how to respond to the myriad of internal and external events that make embedded systems powerful and responsive. Understanding the vector table is a fundamental step in moving from high-level Arduino coding to professional bare-metal embedded development.

Think of it as a When something important happens (like a button press, a timer expiring, or a division-by-zero error), the CPU doesn't search for the solution. Instead, it immediately looks up the correct "phone number" (the function's address) in this fixed table and jumps there to execute the code. The Core Components: Two Essential Parts The vector table is not just for external events. Its first few entries are critical for basic operation. what is vector table in microcontroller

In a microcontroller, the Vector Table is a specialized, read-only data structure located at a specific, predefined address in the memory map (usually the very beginning of flash memory, e.g., address 0x00000000 ). It is a sequential list of pointers (memory addresses), where each pointer tells the CPU where to find the Interrupt Service Routine (ISR) or exception handler for a specific event. In essence, the vector table is the