Non-deterministic finite state machine module for use in a regular expression matching system

摘要

A non-deterministic finite state machine module for use in a regular expression matching system. The system includes a computational unit implementing a non-deterministic finite state machine representing a regular expression, wherein the computational unit is configured to: receive an input data stream, wherein an occurrence of the regular expression is determined, and an activation signal; process the input data stream with respect to the non-deterministic finite state machine depending on the activation signal; and provide at least one branch data output for initializing an additional non-deterministic finite state machine module if the processing of an element of the input data stream according to the non-deterministic finite state machine results in a branching of a processing thread.