Patent ID: 6792502
Filing Date: 2004-09-14
Classification: G06F,G11C

Abstract:
A microprocessor comprising:a plurality of functional units including a content addressable memory (CAM) functional unit, wherein the CAM functional unit comprises a CAM, the CAM comprising a plurality of rows of data, each row comprising: an entry data field coupled to store entry data; and a data type field which identifies a type of data stored within the entry data field, wherein the data type field does not include a validity indicator, and wherein the data type field indicates whether the entry data has a bit length greater than a bit length of a physical entry in the CAM functional unit; and an instruction unit coupled to the plurality of functional units for controlling flow of microprocessor instructions to the functional units; wherein the CAM functional unit, responsive to the microprocessor becoming operational, is accessible via at least a portion of the microprocessor instructions under control of the instruction unit.