Patent ID: 7120744

Claim:
A method for moving a data string within a cache memory system, the method comprising: reading a cache line from a data cache, the cache line containing at least a portion of a data string and having a starting source address; shifting the cache line a selected amount in a single processor cycle; storing the shifted cache line in a first destination cache line in the data cache, the shifted cache line having a starting destination address, and wherein said acts of reading, shifting and storing are pipelined; and modifying a cache tag value associated with the first destination cache line to reflect a location of the data string in a main memory; storing in a register data shifted out of the cache line during the shift operation; reading from the data cache a second cache line containing at least a portion of the data string; shifting the second cache line said selected amount; filling the shifted cache line with the data stored in the register during said shifting; and storing the shifted second cache line in a second destination cache line in the data cache.