Apparatus for processing bit streams

Apparatus for processing a stream of bits including a hardware comparator that compares first predetermined bits of the stream, comparison input means to provide a table of comparison values to said hardware comparator for comparison with said predetermined bits of said stream, the comparison input means being programmmable to provide one of a plurality of different tables in response to a table select control signal, an index generator for generating an index based on the states of the predetermined bits, and a processor for accessing the index and processing a group of the bits in at least one of a plurality of different ways based on the index.