PURPOSE: To raise the effective efficiency of a software, by providing on a circuit control hardware a means for resetting a hardware timer at the time when a report event to the software has been generated.

CONSTITUTION: When the CPU2 requests to set a timer of the circuit 14 to the circuit corresponding unit 10 through the control signal line 3, the unit 10 instructs to set the hardware timer to the timer control unit 12, by the circuit corresponding control unit 13, and sets the timer. When the circuit control unit 11 of the unit 10 has detected the report event to the software, of the CPU2 from the circuit 14, it is informed to the unit 13. The unit 13 checks up whether the hardware timer is set or not, and it instructs to reset the timer to the unit 12 and resets the timer, in case when the hardware timer is set. In this way, the dynamic step of the software is reduced.