| 摘要 |
A special-purpose search processor, and a related method, for performing a variety of logically complex searches of a serial data stream in a highly concurrent fashion. The processor comprises a sequence of serially connected cells of identical construction, and the data stream is passed through the sequence of cells, each cell performing a logical operation based only on the data provided to it from the previous cell in the sequence. Each cell has a character register for data storage and a pattern register for storage of part of a search pattern. The contents of the two registers are compared in each cell, at each cycle of a clock used to propagate the data through the processor. Match indicators or match tolerance values are propagated through the processor on a match line, and match results emerge in synchronism with the data stream. Multiple match lines are employed in one preferred embodiment, to temporarily save, retrieve and exchange match tolerance values, in order to effect logically complex searches in a highly concurrent manner. Types of searches that may be performed include logical OR and AND searches, common-prefix OR searches, and searches involving variable-length and fixed-length don't-care strings, variable-length care strings, and negate strings.
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