Hardware-based trigger point instrumentation circuit

A method, comprising:

• storing, in a memory of a trigger point instrumentation circuit (TPIC), one or more lookup tables (LUTs) including entries each indicating a corresponding point of interest of a program;
• executing, by a processor, the program;
• and
• in response to the processor reaching a trigger point in the program, executing, by the TPIC, a set of commands indicated in an entry of the one or more LUTs based on a memory address currently accessed by the processor matching the point of interest in the entry of the one or more LUTs.

A system including:

• a processor configured to execute a program;
• a memory including one or more lookup tables (LUTs);
• debug circuitry configured to place the processor in a debugging mode based on the processor reaching a trigger point in the program;
• and
• a trigger point instrumentation circuit (TPIC) configured to:
• concurrently with the processor being in a debugging mode, execute a set of commands indicated in an entry of the one or more LUTs based on a memory address currently accessed by the processor.