Superword memory-access instructions for data processor

A method of transferring data comprising:

• in the course of executing a first instruction, transferring more data than can fit into a first general-purpose register that shares read and write ports with a second general-purpose register from external memory to said first register and a third non-general-purpose register having dedicated read and write ports;
• and
• in the course of executing a second instruction, transferring more data than can fit into said second register from said second and third registers to said external memory.

Computer-readable memory media comprising a computer program including

• a first instruction to determine whether a condition is met by performing an operation on one or more operands each of which can fit within a general-purpose first register, and, if said condition is met, to perform a transfer of more data than can fit within said first register between memory and plural registers including said first register and a non-general-purpose second register having dedicated read and write ports;
• and
• a second instruction to determine whether a condition is met by performing an operation on one or more operands each of which can fit within a general-purpose third register, and, if said condition is met, to perform a transfer of more data than can fit within said third register between memory and plural registers including said second and third registers.

A data processor comprising:

• registers, including first and second registers sharing at least one common read port and at least one common write port;
• and
• an execution unit for executing an instruction by performing a compare operation to determine if data stored in said first register matches data stored in external memory, and, if a match is found, transferring data that was compared in said compare operation and data that was not compared in said compare operation to external memory.