Software-accessible hardware support for determining set membership

A computer processor, comprising:

• a plurality of storage arrays, each configured to store a respective one of a plurality of segments for a data structure, wherein each segment includes a plurality of bits, wherein each bit corresponds to a respective position of the data structure;
• an execution core configured to provide an indication of whether a given query value is a member of a set of values, including by executing an architected instruction having a first operand specifying the query value, a second operand identifying one of the plurality of storage arrays as a target storage array, and a third operand specifying one of the plurality of segments, wherein said executing includes:
• applying a hash function to the query value to determine an index value;
• determining whether a bit in the target storage array is set, wherein the position of the bit within the target storage array corresponds to the determined index value and the specified segment;
• and
• providing an indication of whether the query value is a member of the set of values, wherein the indication is dependent on whether the bit is set.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a computer system, wherein the instructions comprise:

• a first instruction executable by a computer processor of the computer system, the computer processor having a plurality of storage arrays configured to store a data structure to designate a given value as a member of a set of values, wherein each of the plurality of storage arrays is configured to store a respective one of a plurality of segments of the data structure, wherein the first instruction includes a first operand identifying the given value, a second operand identifying one of the plurality of storage arrays as a target storage array, and a third operand specifying one of the plurality of segments, wherein the first instruction is executable to:
• apply a hash function to the given value to determine an index value;
• and
• set a bit of the target storage array at a position within the target storage array corresponding to the index value and the specified segment.