Final answer:
Interrupted system calls occur when a process is interrupted by a signal while performing a system call. They can be handled by either restarting the system call or returning an error code for the process to handle.
Step-by-step explanation:
Interrupted system calls occur when a process is performing a system call and is interrupted by a signal. This generally happens when a process is waiting for input or output and a signal, such as a key press or an alarm, occurs. When an interrupted system call happens, the process can handle it in a few different ways. One option is to restart the system call, which means the process will start over from the beginning of the call. Another option is to return an error code to the process, indicating that the system call was interrupted. The process can then decide how to handle the error and potentially retry the system call if desired.