1. A method of matching input character sequences in a set of input patterns, comprising the steps of: analyzing the set of input patterns; creating a pattern cluster look-up table (PCLT) based on said input patterns; defining an offset value k; for each sequence s and offset k, using the PCLT to find a set of candidate patterns that can possibly match s; searching through the set of candidate patterns for patterns that match s; and reporting all found matching patterns and sequences.