Patent ID: 7003653

Claim:
A method for the rapid interpretation of the results returned by a multi-way SIMD compare instruction comprising: providing a compare bitmask returned by a multi-way, SIMD compare instruction; providing M digital multiplexers, wherein M equals a positive integer greater than 1, each of said multiplexers having M 2 inputs, M selects and one bit output; reading said compare bitmask having M bits; supplying an M 3 -bit wide variable, said M 3 -bit wide variable being virtually partitioned at M 2 -bit wide boundaries into M mapping elements; applying each of said M bits of said compare bitmask to a different one of said M selects of all of said M multiplexers; applying each of said M mapping elements to said M 2 inputs of a different one of said M multiplexers; and writing each of said one bit output of said M multiplexers to a different one of M bits making up a mapped bitmask.