Patent ID: 7350058

Claim:
Apparatus for processing data, said apparatus comprising: a plurality of registers operable to store data values to be manipulated; processing logic operable to perform a data processing operation upon one or more data values stored within said plurality of registers; and an instruction decoder responsive to a program instruction to control said processing logic to perform a data processing operation specified by said program instruction; wherein said instruction decoder is responsive to a shift-and-insert instruction to control said processing logic to perform a shift-and-insert data processing operation yielding a result having a result value given by: shifting a first data value stored within a first register by a shift amount of N bit positions to form a shifted value including N shifted-in bits, where N has one of a plurality of different non-zero values; and inserting all respective bits of said shifted value, other than said N shifted-in bits and independently of any parameter specified by said shift-and-insert instruction, into corresponding bit positions in a second data value stored within a second register with bits within said second data value corresponding to said N shifted-in bits being unaltered thereby forming said result; wherein said shift-and-insert instruction includes a register specifying field specifying a register within a register bank to be used as said first register; and wherein said shift-and-insert instruction includes a register specifying field specifying a register within a register bank to be used as said second register.