DSP emulating a microcontroller

• US 6,564,179 B1
• Filed: 07/26/1999
• Issued: 05/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Agere Systems Incorporated (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Belhaj, Said O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ingberg, Todd
• Assistant Examiner(s): THOMSON, WILLIAM D
• Application Number:
  US09/360,689
• Time in Patent Office: 1,387 Days
• Field of Search: 703/23, 703/24, 703/25, 703/26, 712/209, 712/227, 712/203, 712/228, 712/34, 712/35, 712/36, 712/28, 712/31, 712/200
• US Class Current: 703/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45504 Abstract machines for programme code execution, e.g. Java virtual machine [JVM], interpreters, emulators

Abstract

The present invention provides a processor device and technique having the capability of providing a two-processor solution with only one processor. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a host processor is programmed in its native source and machine code language, and an emulated second processor is programmed in a different native source or machine code language particular to that emulated processor, to allow programming specialists in the different processors to develop common code for use on the same host processor. A multitasking operating system is included to allow time sharing operation between instructions from program code relating to the host processor (e.g., a DSP in the disclosed embodiment), and different program code relating to the emulated processor. The program code relating to the host processor (e.g., DSP) is written in program code which is native to the DSP, while the program code relating to the emulated processor (e.g., microcontroller) is written in program code which is native to the microcontroller. The SoftCore emulation module allows both DSP code and control code written for a microcontroller to execute independently on the same processor by multi-tasking resources in the faster, host processor (e.g., in the DSP), giving equal time slots of processor time to each processor (real and emulated).

Claims

1. A two processor solution using only one processor, comprising:

a host processor;

a run-time emulation module implemented for emulation of an emulated processor different from said host processor, within said host processor; and

an operating system allowing concurrent operation of a first program written in host processor code to operate in said host processor and a second program written in processor code for said emulated processor, said host processor code being substantially different from said emulated processor code;

wherein said emulated processor is an emulation of an 8051 type microcontroller and said host processor is a digital signal processor.

2. Apparatus for implementing two software programs written in different native languages to be operated on a single processor in real time, comprising:

digital signal processor means;

run-time emulation means for emulating a processor within said digital signal processor means;

means for storing program code associated with said digital signal processor means in a first portion of program memory accessible by said digital signal processor means;

storing program code associated with said emulated processor in a second portion of said program memory; and

retrieving and executing a host line of program code for said digital signal processor means; and

retrieving and executing an emulated line of program code for said run-time emulation means.

3. The apparatus for implementing two software programs written in different native languages to be operated on a single processor in real time according to claim 2, further comprising:

means for unpacking said emulated line of program code subsequent to retrieval and prior to said executing of said emulated line of program code.

4. The apparatus for implementing two software programs written in different native languages to be operated on a single processor in real time according to claim 2, wherein:

said program memory is internal to said digital signal processor means.