PROCESSING A DATA STREAM

A method and computer for processing an incoming data stream, for example of video or audio data is described. A system memory is divided into first and second memory spaces, the first memory space for holding a data stream and the second memory space for holding a set of program data. A cache has first and second partitions allocated exclusively respectively to the first and second memory spaces. In this manner, when the data stream is transferred between an execution unit and the main memory, program data is not evicted from the cache.