Compiling regular expressions for programmable content addressable memory devices

A content search system comprising:

• a content addressable memory (CAM) device having a plurality of rows of CAM cells and a number of counter circuits selectively interconnected by a programmable interconnect structure (PRS) and configured to implement search operations for a regular expression;
• a compiler having an input to receive the regular expression and configured to selectively convert the regular expression into a number of first bit groups, a number of second bit groups, and a number of third bit groups;
• and
• an image loader coupled to the compiler and to the CAM device, the image loader configured to load the first bit groups into the CAM cells, to load the second bit groups into a number of memory elements that control configuration of the PRS, and to load the third bit groups into the counter circuits.