Bus address assignment

1. A controller device comprising:

a bus interface for communicating over a bus based on addresses assigned to a plurality of devices which communicate over the bus, the devices comprising a plurality of second devices and a plurality of controller devices including said controller device, wherein each of the controller devices is responsible for assigning one or more of the addresses including at least the address of each of a respective one or more of said second devices; and

address allocation logic configured to assign an address to each of said controller device's respective one or more second devices, by: searching for a currently unassigned address to assign to each of its respective one or more second devices, and if an unassigned address for one of the one or more respective second devices cannot be found, to issue a request to at least one other of said controller devices requesting that the other controller device changes one of the one or more addresses which that other controller device is responsible for assigning; and

wherein said request comprises a proposed address that said controller device proposes to use for one of its respective one or more second devices, thereby triggering the other controller device, if the proposed address has already been assigned by that other controller device, to determine whether it can free the proposed address by means of said change.

2. The controller of claim 1 , wherein the request comprises a request to change the address of one of the other device's respective one or more second devices.

3. The controller device of claim 1 , wherein each of the controller devices is also responsible for assigning its own address, said request comprising a request to change the address of the other device or the address of one of the other device's respective one or more second devices.

4. The controller device of claim 1 , wherein each of the second devices cannot assign its own address.

5. The controller device of claim 4 , wherein each of the second devices cannot assign any of the addresses.

6. The controller device of claim 1 , wherein each of the controller devices is also responsible for controlling its respective one or more second devices via the bus.

7. The controller device of claim 1 , comprising a second interface for assigning the address of said controller devices' respective one or more second devices via a separate connection separate from said bus.

8. The controller device of claim 1 , wherein each of the controller devices is a master device which can initiate transactions over said bus, and each of the second devices is a slave device which cannot initiate transactions over said bus.

9. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said request is issued over the bus.

10. The controller device of claim 1 , wherein the bus has an address range and each of the second devices can be assigned only a limited, predetermined range of possible addresses consisting of fewer addresses than said address range.

11. A system including a controller device according to claim 1 , the system comprising:

a bus; and

a plurality of devices connected to the bus and each requiring an address for communicating over the bus, the plurality of devices being arranged into groups with each group comprising a respective controller device and a respective one or more second devices;

wherein each of the controller devices is responsible for assigning one or more of said addresses including at least the address of each of its respective one or more second devices; and

wherein each of the controller devices is configured to perform said assignment by: searching for a currently unassigned address to assign to each of its respective one or more second devices, and if an unassigned address for one of the one or more respective second devices cannot be found, to issue a request to at least one other of said controller devices requesting that the other controller device changes one of the one or more addresses which that other controller device is responsible for assigning.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more programs, including instructions, which when executed on a controller device causes the controller to perform operations of:

communicating over a bus based on a scheme of addresses assigned to a plurality of devices which communicate over the bus, the devices comprising a plurality of second devices and a plurality of controller devices including said controller device, wherein each of the controller devices is responsible for assigning one or more of the addresses including at least the address of each of a respective one or more of said second devices;

searching for a currently unassigned address to assign to each of said controller device's respective one or more second devices; and

if an unassigned address for one of the one or more respective second devices cannot be found, issuing a request to at least one other of said controller devices requesting that the other controller device changes one of the one or more addresses which that other controller device is responsible for assigning; and

wherein said request comprises a proposed address that said controller device proposes to use for one of its respective one or more second devices, thereby triggering the other controller device, if the proposed address has already been assigned by that other controller device, to determine whether it can free the proposed address by means of said change.