PARALLEL STRING PROCESSOR AND METHOD FOR A MINICOMPUTER

摘要

A processor for use in a computer system for comparing a number of bytes simultaneously in order to locate a control character in a string of data. The processor includes a register for holding the data bytes (REGB), a register for storing the control characters (REGA), a comparison circuit (CMP) for simultaneously comparing the bytes of data stored in the two registers, and a circuit for generating indicator bits when a match has been found (100). In another aspect, a parallel string processor includes a first register (136) which stores a keyword string and a pair of interconnected shift registers (186 and 188), which stores the string to be searched for the presence of the keyword. An arithmetic logic unit (140) compares the shift registers to determine whether the keyword is present in the portion of the string being searched. After each comparison, the contents of the interconnected shift registers are shifted with respect to the keyword stored in the first register. When the processor is searching for the presence of a keyword having a predetermined number of bytes, the contents of the shift register are shifted a byte at a time, and when the processor is searching for the presence of a keyword having a predetermined number of bits the contents of the shift register are shifted one bit at a time.