System call
From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.
In computing, a system call is the mechanism used by an application program to request service from the operating system. System calls often use a special machine code instruction which causes the processor to change mode (e.g. to "supervisor mode" or "protected mode"). This allows the OS to perform restricted actions such as accessing hardware devices or the memory management unit.
On Posix and similar systems, popular system calls are for example: close, execve, fork, kill, open, read, wait, write
This article was originally based on material from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, which is used under the GFDL.
pl:Wywołania systemowe Uniksa
