a programmable logic device in a microprocessor system is programmed with minimal load on system resources . a microprocessor reads programming data from a first memory using a parallel bussed interface and writes the programming data to a programming hardware assist engine using the parallel bussed interface . the programming hardware assist engine directs a portion of the programming data to a specified serial interface signal , and outputs a serial bit stream from the programming hardware assist engine to a serial programming interface of the pld using the specified serial interface signal .