Abstract: An apparatus and method are described for comparing elements between two immediate values. For example, a method according to one embodiment includes the following operations: reading values of a first set of elements stored in a first immediate value, each element having a defined element position in the first immediate value; comparing each element from the first set of elements with each of a second set of elements stored in a second immediate value; counting the number of times the value of each element of the first set of elements is found in the second set of elements to arrive at a final count for each element of the first set of elements; and transferring the final count for each element to a third immediate value, wherein the final count is stored in an element position in the third immediate value corresponding to the defined element position in the first immediate value.