Instruction source specification

An apparatus, comprising:

• an execution block having a plurality of source inputs;
• and
• one or more circuits configured to:
• determine locations of one or more operands for an instruction based on one or more location values in the instruction;
• access the one or more operands using the one or more location values;
• and
• route the one or more operands to one or more of the plurality of source inputs based on one or more mapping values in the instruction that each specify one of the one or more location values.

A method, comprising:

• receiving an instruction executable to operate on one or more sources, wherein the instruction includes mapping pointers, each of which corresponds to one of the one or more sources, wherein the instruction further includes one or more location pointers for one or more operands of the instruction, wherein each mapping pointer specifies one of the one or more location pointers, and wherein each of the one or more location pointers indicates a location of one of the one or more operands;
• accessing the one or more operands using the one or more location pointers;
• assigning the one or more operands to the one or more sources using the one or more mapping pointers;
• performing an operation using the one or more sources;
• and
• storing a result of the operation to a location indicated by one of the one or more location pointers, wherein a destination pointer specifies the one of the one or more location pointers.