Abstract: A byte swapping device includes first and second data ports and data path logic coupled between the first and second data ports. The byte swapping device is employed in a data processing system comprising a data storage device configured to store bytes of data, a processor which reads data from the data storage device and writes data to the data storage device, and the byte swapping device coupled between the data storage device and the processor. The first data port is coupled to the data storage device and the second data port is coupled to the processor. The storage device is typically a system memory or peripheral device controller. The processor processes data in a first endian format, i.e., big-endian or little-endian format, and at least a portion of the data stored in the data storage device is in the opposite byte ordering. The byte swapping device selectively byte swaps data transferred between the processor and storage device.

Abstract: A method for compiling a software program and executing the program on a data processing system which performs conversion between data formatted in differing endian formats, namely big-endian and little-endian formats, also known as byte swapping. The data processing system comprises a data storage device, such as system memory, a processor, and a byte swapping device coupled between the data storage device and the processor. Data conversion apertures, or ranges, are defined in the processor address space and the processor provides address signals to the byte swapping device. The byte swapping device selectively byte swaps data transferred between the processor and storage device based upon the relationship between the addresses received by the byte swapping device and the data conversion apertures.