Patent ID: 7630388

Claim:
Apparatus for controlling transfer and storage of data, said apparatus comprising: a streaming interface to a source of data values to be processed, said data values being ordered in accordance with a predetermined source data sequence and having respective associated source addresses in a source data linear address map; a local FIFO memory coupled to said source and operable to store a set of data values corresponding to data values from said source and extending within said local FIFO memory from a local head address to a local tail address; a data processing unit, coupled to said local FIFO memory, configured to issue an access request to a target data value stored at a source address within said source, wherein if said target data value is within said set of data values stored within said local FIFO memory, then said target data value is accessed by said data processing unit from said local FIFO memory rather than said source; and a memory controller coupled to said source and said local FIFO memory and operable asynchronously with accesses by said data processing unit to said local FIFO memory and configured to change at least said local head address to trigger movement of data values between said source and said local FIFO memory so as to provide storage within said local FIFO memory of data values to be accessed by said data processing unit.