Patent attributes
A data processing apparatus is provided, comprising monitored circuitry for performing activities, trace circuitry for producing a stream of trace elements representative of at least some of these activities, and detection circuitry for detecting the occurrence of a predetermined subset of the activities for which the trace circuitry is producing trace elements. When an activity in that predetermined subset of activities is detected a timing indication is added to the stream of trace elements. Hence, the valuable trace bandwidth- may be preserved, by limiting the trace elements for which a timing indication is added into the trace stream to a predetermined subset of the activities for which trace elements are generated, and the valuable global or relative timing accuracy of those activities represented in the trace stream is retained, without flooding the trace stream with timing indications.
