Patent ID: 8332564

Claim:
A data processing apparatus for connection to interconnect circuitry, the data processing apparatus configured to act as a master device to initiate transactions conforming to an interconnect protocol associated with the interconnect circuitry, wherein each transaction comprising an address transfer issued by the master device to a slave device connected to the interconnect circuitry, and one or more data transfers between the master device and said slave device. each transfer from the master device comprising outbound payload information, and each transfer to the master device comprising inbound payload information, the interconnect protocol controlling routing of the outboard and inboard payload information through the interconnect circuitry, said apparatus comprising: a main controller configured to execute a programmable sequence of instructions including a transaction sequence of instructions used to process a transaction to be initiated by the data processing apparatus, the transaction sequence of instructions being programmed dependent on the interconnect protocol; and an interconnect interface unit comprising: a plurality of queues including at least one send queue configured to issue the outbound payload information to the interconnect circuitry and at least one receive queue configured to receive the inbound payload information from the interconnect circuitry, an interface controller configured to push the outbound payload information onto the at least one send queue and configured to pop the inbound payload information from the at least one receive queue under the control of commands issued by the main controller when executing said transaction sequence of instructions; and an interconnect port via which the interconnect interface unit communicates with the interconnect circuitry in order to output outbound payload information from the at least one send queue and receive inbound payload information for placing on the at least one receive queue.