barrel shifter meaning

• [Computer]
  <hardware> A hardware device that can shift or rotate a data word by any number of bits in a single operation. It is implemented like a multiplexor, each output can be connected to any input depending on the shift distance.

• barrel-shifter:    [Computer]<hard ...
• shifter:    Noun: shifter  ...
• barrel:    Noun: barrel  ...

Examples

1. The ALU and barrel shifter executed instructions in a single cycle.
2. It had an arithmetic logic unit ( ALU ) and barrel shifter.
3. A barrel shifter is often implemented as a cascade of parallel 2�1 multiplexers.
4. A common usage of a barrel shifter is in the hardware implementation of floating-point arithmetic.
5. The barrel shifter has a variety of applications, including being a useful component in microprocessors ( alongside the ALU ).