UART hardware operation

Hello everybody

I'm working on a project, which involves modifying a processor (master module called JOP rather than the NIOS processor) to work with Altera Avalon bus. One of my tasks is to integrate the UART module to my system using SOPC builder. However, the hardware support for the protocol for communication with the UART module has to be added to the master side.

The problem that I face is that I dont really know how to work with the UART (what registers to set and check and what order that I should do the setting and checking) at VHDL level. So, if someone knows how exactly should I go about talking to UART via the Avalon bus and what order should I access the registers, please let me know.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards