44. The search engine of claim 41 , wherein a first of the commands comprises a bitcheck command embodying the specified set of characters, and the means for processing comprises: means for executing the bitcheck command in a first of the co-processors to generate a compliance signal indicating whether a selected input character is a member of the specified set of characters.
44. The search engine of claim 41 , wherein a first of the commands comprises a bitcheck command embodying the specified set of characters, and the means for processing comprises: means for executing the bitcheck command in a first of the co-processors to generate a compliance signal indicating whether a selected input character is a member of the specified set of characters. 48. The search engine of claim 44 , wherein a second of the commands comprises a count command embodying the specified range of instances, and the means for processing further comprises: means for executing the count command in a second of the co-processors to generate a range signal indicating whether the number of input characters in the selected portion falls within the specified range of instances.