1. A method of handling processes within a processor device, the method comprising: maintaining a translation table mapping uncompressed process context identifiers to corresponding compressed identifiers, the uncompressed process context identifiers and the corresponding compressed identifiers being associated with address spaces or corresponding computer processes; and employing the compressed identifiers to probe one or more structures of the processor device in executing an operation; wherein executing the operation comprises: determining whether or not a current compressed identifier is valid; upon determining that the current compressed identifier is valid, using the valid compressed identifier to probe one or more structures of the processor device in executing the operation; upon determining that the current compressed identifier is invalid, searching the translation table, based on an uncompressed process context identifier associated with the operation, for one other compressed identifier mapped to the uncompressed process context identifier.