A software-defined radio (SDR) system comprising: 1) a reconfigurable baseband subsystem for supporting a plurality of wireless communication standards comprising a first plurality of reconfigurable context-based operation instruction set processors; and 2) a reconfigurable application subsystem for supporting a plurality of end-user applications comprising a second plurality of reconfigurable context-based operation instruction set processors. Each of the first and second pluralities of reconfigurable context-based operation instruction set processors comprises: i) a reconfigurable data path comprising a plurality of reconfigurable functional blocks; and ii) a programmable finite state machine that controls the reconfigurable data path, wherein the programmable finite state machine is capable of executing a plurality of instructions associated with a particular function.