Motorola Corporation

Ford Motor Company Limited

David Shamir

Ilan Pardo

Oded Yishay

Eytan Hartung

Itai Katz

Edward Clark Nelson

Danny Shterman

Mark E Cummins

An apparatus and method for implementing watchpoints and breakpoints in a data processing system (110). In one embodiment, a pipelined processor (110) performs each instruction of a program. One or more watchpoints are associated with the instructions. The processor includes a history buffer (50) for storing processor state values at the time when each of the instructions was executed, until a predetermined time. Watchpoint information associated with a particular watchpoint is also stored in the history buffer (50), in association with the processor state values, such that the processor state is changed and the watchpoint is announced at the predetermined time. The watchpoint information may include increment/decrement information for one or more counters (41, 42). Breakpoint information may also be stored in history buffer (50).

Apparatus and method for implementing watchpoints and breakpoints in a

An interrupt mechanism allows an interrupt request signal to be adjusted to any priority level specified by the user and provides to a CPU an encoded interrupt signal which either indicates that the interrupt priority has been adjusted or identifies a highest prioritized interrupt request when no adjustment in priority is made. A first logic circuit functions to receive a priority adjust request signal and compares the adjust signal with one or more interrupt signals to determine if an adjustment is required. A second logic circuit functions to identify the highest prioritized interrupt request of a plurality of interrupt requests and provides the encoded interrupt signal in response thereto. In one form, the encoded interrupt signal is translated into a value for use in a software exception processing routine within the CPU. The software exception processing routine can perform a variety of user specified functions with the encoded adjusted priority interrupt signal.

Method and apparatus for implementing a priority adjustment of an

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Tel Aviv, Israel

David Shamir