Programmable state machine interface

A state machine interface that can be used with digital devices whose interface characteristics are not known in advance. This interface is completely programmable on a clock-by-clock basis. The interface consists of an output component, which can be either a control register or a data bus, and an input component that can be combined to provide various input/output (I/O) functions. The state machine interface of this invention makes it possible to interface with many type of application devices, whose interface characteristics and/or waveforms may not be identical or are not known at the time a particular state machine is designed.