10. The search engine of claim 1 , wherein the microprogram comprises: a bitcheck command including a bitmap embodying the specified set of characters; and a count command including at least one boundary value embodying the specified range.
12. The search engine of claim 10 , wherein the first co-processor comprises: a buffer having an input to receive the input string and configured to output a selected input character in response to a cursor value; and a bitmap memory for storing the bitmap, the bitmap memory having an address port to receive the selected input character.