Patent ID: 7707395

Claim:
A processing device for processing data based on an application program, the processing device comprising: an output interface; a main processor; a trace processor distinct from the main processor; and a trace memory accessible by the main processor via a first port of the trace memory and accessible to the trace processor via a second port of the trace memory, wherein the main processor is configured for: processing of the data; capturing trace information; sending the trace information to the first port of the trace memory; and sending an enabling signal to the trace processor; the trace memory is configured for storing store trace information received from the main processor; and the trace processor is configured for: accessing the trace memory via the second port of the trace memory to read the trace information; receiving the enabling signal from the main processor; and in response to the enabling signal, forwarding the trace information to the output interface of the processing device, wherein the accessing of the trace memory by the trace processor occurs without interruption of the processing of the data by the main processor.