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Abstract

An apparatus and method for processing portions of data words are described. Data words read from or written to memory are temporarily stored in a data register. Each data word is configured to include multiple portions which can be processed separately. For example, each full data word can be 32 bits long and can include four byte-long data portions. The data word is temporarily stored in a data register for processing. An address register associated with the data register temporarily stores an address word associated with the portion of the data word to be processed. The address word includes an address pointer for the portion of the data word as well as a tag. The tag includes information used to extract the portion of the data word from the data word for processing or to insert the portion of the data word into the data word after processing. The information in the tag can include the size of the data word portion being processed and its location within the data word. The tag can also identify the type of data, e.g., signed or unsigned. Thus, each portion of a data word being processed is associated with a tagged pointer to facilitate extracting and inserting the portion out of and into the associated full data word.

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First Claim