Instruction and logic to provide stride-based vector load-op functionality with mask duplication

A non-transitory machine-readable medium to record functional descriptive material including a first executable instruction, which if executed by a machine, is to cause the machine to:

• duplicate a first plurality of data fields that are to be in a first register;
• read a value of each data field of the first plurality of data fields in the first register, wherein each of the first plurality of data fields is to correspond to a multiple of a stride length from a beginning address for a corresponding data element to be in a memory, and wherein for each data field of the first plurality of data fields, a first value is to indicate that the corresponding data element has not been loaded from the memory and a second value is to indicate that the corresponding data element does not need to be loaded, or has already been loaded from the memory;
• for each data field of the first plurality of data fields that is to have the first value, retrieve the corresponding data element from the memory and store the corresponding data element into a second register, the second register to have a second plurality of data fields, a portion of which to store the retrieved data elements, and change the value of the data field in the first register from the first value to the second value;
• and then perform a second single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) operation using the retrieved data elements of said portion of the second plurality of data fields to generate corresponding result data elements.

A processor comprising:

• a decode stage to decode a first single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) instruction that is to specify:
• a set of load operations and a second SIMD operation, a destination register, an operand register, a memory address, and a stride length;
• and
• one or more execution units, responsive to the decoded first SIMD instruction, to:
• duplicate a first plurality of data fields of a mask register;
• read values of each data field of the first plurality of data fields of the mask register, wherein each of the first plurality of data fields is to correspond to a multiple of the stride length from the memory address for a corresponding data element to be in a memory, and wherein for each data field of the first plurality of data fields, a first value is to indicate the corresponding data element has not been loaded from the memory and a second value is to indicate that the corresponding data element does not need to be loaded, or has already been loaded from the memory;
• for each data field of the first plurality of data fields that is to have the first value, load the corresponding data element from the memory into a corresponding data field in the destination register, and change the value of the data field in the mask register from the first value to the second value;
• and
• perform the second SIMD operation using the loaded data elements of the destination register and corresponding data elements of the operand register to generate corresponding result data elements.

A processing system comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• a plurality of processors each comprising:
• a decode stage to decode a first single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) instruction that is to specify a set of load operations and a second SIMD operation, a destination register, an operand register, a memory address, and a stride length;
• and
• one or more execution units, responsive to the decoded first SIMD instruction, to:
• duplicate a first plurality of data fields of a mask register;
• read values of each data field of the first plurality of data fields of the mask register, wherein each of the first plurality of data fields is to correspond to a multiple of the stride length from the memory address for a corresponding data element to be in the memory, and wherein for each data field of the first plurality of data fields, a first value is to indicate that corresponding data element has not been loaded from the memory and a second value is to indicate that the corresponding data element does not need to be loaded, or has already been loaded from the memory;
• for each data field of the first plurality of data fields that is to have the first value, load the corresponding data element from the memory into a corresponding data field in the destination register, and change the value of the data field in the mask register from the first value to the second value;
• and
• perform the second SIMD operation using the loaded data elements of the destination register and corresponding data elements of the operand register to generate corresponding result data elements.