1. A portable handheld device comprising: a CPU for processing a script; a multi-core processor for processing an image; an input buffer for receiving data for processing by the multi-core processor, the input buffer being provided under the control of the multi-core processor to send data thereto; and an output buffer for receiving data processed by the multi-core processor, the output buffer being provided under the control of the multi-core processor to receive data therefrom, wherein the multi-core processor comprises a plurality of micro-coded processing units, and the CPU is configured with authority to clear and query the input and output buffers.