1. A method of checking cumulative status of a plurality of arithmetic operations, the method comprising: initializing a first condition code to a first value; performing the plurality of arithmetic operations, a result of at least one of the plurality of arithmetic operations being capable of indicating whether a criterion is met; if the result of at least one of the plurality of arithmetic operations indicates the criterion is met, then initializing the first condition code to a second value; keeping the first condition code unchanged for a remainder of the plurality of arithmetic operations once the first condition code is initialized to the second value; and performing a test on the first condition code, wherein a status of the first condition code indicates a cumulative status of the performed plurality of arithmetic operations.