Bus monitor with means for selectively capturing trigger conditions

Abstract

A monitoring means for selectively detecting and recording signals representing at selected points within a system, includes trigger generation logic responsive to selected bus signals for generating trigger signals representing the occurrence of selected conditions, and a recording memory for recording the conditions thereupon, a trigger selection logic for selecting trigger outputs corresponding to the trigger signals. The trigger selection logic includes a trigger enabling memory for storing selectable trigger enabling codes, wherein each enabling code corresponds to a trigger signal, and trigger output logic responsive to the trigger enabling codes and to the trigger signals for providing trigger outputs. The trigger enabling codes include bus enabling codes representing selected conditions on a bus of the system, trigger sequence enabling codes corresponding to sequential combinations of trigger signals and external trigger enabling codes corresponding to triggers external to the system. The enabling codes may select trigger signals to be used in logical AND or OR functions in generating a trigger output or in substitution for a bus trigger signal.