MASKED REGISTER WRITE METHOD AND APPARATUS

摘要

A hardware device register is written without transferring the register content from the hardware device to a host device over an interface bus for modification. The hardware device receives an address identifying the target register included in the hardware device and bit information associated with a write operation involving the target register from the host device over the interface bus. The address is stored in a first register included in the hardware device and dedicated for supporting write operations. The bit information is stored in a second register included in the hardware device and also dedicated for supporting write operations. The target register is accessed based on the address stored in the first register dedicated for supporting write operations and one or more bits of the target register are written based on the bit information without first transferring the register content to the host device over the interface bus.