Direct memory access controller and method therefor

In a data processing system, comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, a method for moving data comprising the steps of:

• the processor assigning a FOR task, the FOR task comprising a movement of a data element between a first location in said memory and a second memory storage location;
• retrieving the data element from the first memory location;
• selecting one of an arithmetic operation and a logical operation to perform on the data element;
• performing the selected one of the arithmetic operation and the logical operation on the data element;
• and
• storing a result of the selected one of the arithmetic operation and the logical operation on the data element to the second memory location.

In a data processing system, comprising a processor, a data movement engine (DME), and a plurality of requesters coupled to the processor, a method for moving data comprising the steps of:

• assigning a task to the DME, the task comprising a movement of a data element from a first memory location to a second memory location;
• retrieving a first plurality of descriptors for the task, wherein each descriptor of the first plurality of descriptors identifies a different requester of the plurality of requesters;
• selecting one requester from among the plurality of requestors based on the plurality of descriptors for the task;
• and
• providing a first active requestor signal identifying the selected one requestor to the DME;
• and
• in response to receiving a request from the selected one requester, performing the movement of the data element from the selected one requestor.

In a data processing system, comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, a data movement engine (DME) adapted to directly execute tasks assigned by the processor, said task comprising a movement of a data element from a first location in said memory to a second location in said memory, the DME comprising:

• an execution unit (EU) that is capable of performing an arithmetic operation and a logic operation;
• a task controller adapted to perform said data movement and to select, in response to said task, one of the arithmetic operation and the logical operation to be performed by the EU on said data element;
• and
• a priority selection unit adapted to select a requestor from a plurality of requesters.