Patent US 4,293,907

A Central Processing Unit (CPU) includes a hardware op-code extending register (OER) for storing a code for programmable selection of optional CPU features which modify processor operations defined by the op-code in each instruction. A control section in the CPU decodes both the op-code of a current instruction and the code in the OER, effectively combining the two to form an extended op-code capable of defining a larger set of processor operations than the op-code carried in each instruction. The code in the OER is changed only when the CPU executes an instruction for transferring a new code into OER. Thus the code in OER can remain stationary over many instruction cycles.