1. A method of character class encoding and DFA (deterministic finite automaton) execution in a DFA engine wherein an instruction execute pipeline in said DFA engine comprises at least one CCL (character class) memory, the method comprising: storing a plurality of character classes in said at least one character class memory; representing the plurality of character classes with a plurality of character class codes, wherein at least one symbol is a member of at least two character classes; representing, with at least a plurality of instructions, transitions of one or more DFA states, wherein each instruction comprises at least one character class code; extracting at least two character class codes from an instruction of the plurality of instructions; accessing said at least one character class memory to retrieve at least two accessed character classes that corresponds to the at least two character class codes; matching a current input symbol with said at least two accessed character classes; and executing the instruction to determine a transition to a next state.