Home/Instructions/VMERGE-VIM
VMERGE.VIM

RISC-V VMERGE.VIM Instruction Details

Instruction ManualOPIVI

Select element-wise between vs2 and a 5-bit signed immediate using v0 selection mask bits, writing vd.

Instruction Syntax

vmerge.vim vd, vs2, imm, v0
Operand Breakdown
v0[i]=0 selects vs2[i]; v0[i]=1 selects the second source. Fixed vm=0 uses v0 as selection data, and every body element is written.
32-bit OP-V: opcode=1010111, funct6=010111, funct3=011. imm is -16..15, sign-extended to SEW.
Same-EEW sources/destination may overlap; vd cannot cover v0, and v0 cannot supply both EEW=1 selection bits and SEW data.
Require valid vtype, enabled VS, and supported SEW. VMV instead uses vm=1 and vs2=v0; distinguish it from VMERGE.
Body is vstart≤i<vl; prestart is unchanged, tails follow vta. VL=0 or vstart≥vl updates no destination, including tails. The animation fixes LMUL=m1, VLEN=4096, vstart=0; steps are not processor cycles.
VVector Data MovementMerge/Select

Instruction Behavior

VMERGE.VIM is a RISC-V V vector integer merge instruction. v0.mask[i]=0 selects vs2[i], and v0.mask[i]=1 selects the 5-bit immediate sign-extended to SEW.

VMERGE.VIM Decode And Execute Animation

Starts from OP-V encoding fields, then shows how VMERGE uses v0 as selection data: bit 0 selects vs2, bit 1 selects the second source, and every body element is written.

Instruction input
vmerge.vim
v0
v0
selection-mask data, vm=0

Require valid vtype, enabled VS, and supported SEW. Only body elements are shown; VL=0 updates no destination elements, including tails. Same-EEW sources/destination may overlap. When v0 supplies EEW=1 mask/selection bits, it cannot also supply SEW data or be vd.

Execution Context
immediate value
-3 -> 0xfffd
5-bit signed imm is sign-extended to SEW

The teaching model fixes LMUL=m1 and vstart=0 and shows only body elements in the selected VL. It fixes VLEN=4096, VLMAX=4096/16=256, and assumes support for the selected SEW; equal vector sources require equal elements. VMERGE fixes vm=0; each v0 bit selects one of two sources, every body element executes, and only tails follow vtype.vta.

OP-V encodingvmerge.vim
funct6
010111
vm
0
vs2
01000
simm5
11101
funct3
011
vd
00100
opcode
1010111
lane
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
v8
0x0020
0x0027
0x002e
0x0035
0x003c
0x0043
0x004a
0x0051
select
select
select
select
select
select
select
select
imm
0xfffd
0xfffd
0xfffd
0xfffd
0xfffd
0xfffd
0xfffd
0xfffd
v0
1
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
v4
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Current step

Show OP-V 32-bit encoding fields

vmerge.vim uses OP-V encoding. The animation places fixed fields, register fields, vm, and the imm field in one encoding strip.

This animation shows only ISA-visible relationships from the official V extension: OP-V field decode, active-element reads, SEW-width integer v0-selected merge, v0 selection data, and vd writeback. It does not model pipelines, caches, or timing.

Quick Understanding & Search Notes

VMERGE.VIM: v0 bit 0 selects vs2; bit 1 selects a signed 5-bit immediate. Every body element receives its selected value.

Body: vstart≤i<vl. Prestart stays unchanged; tails follow vta. VL=0 or vstart≥vl leaves every destination unchanged.
imm is -16..15 and sign-extended to SEW; v0[i]=0 selects vs2[i], while v0[i]=1 selects the extended immediate.
OP-V: opcode=1010111, funct6=010111, funct3=011, vm=0. VMV instead uses vm=1 and vs2=v0.
Require valid vtype, enabled VS and supported SEW. Same-EEW overlap is legal. vd cannot be v0; v0 cannot supply both SEW data and EEW=1 selection bits.

Vector Execution Context

v0[i]=0 selects vs2[i]; v0[i]=1 selects the second source. Fixed vm=0 uses v0 as selection data, and every body element is written.

32-bit OP-V: opcode=1010111, funct6=010111, funct3=011. imm is -16..15, sign-extended to SEW.

Same-EEW sources/destination may overlap; vd cannot cover v0, and v0 cannot supply both EEW=1 selection bits and SEW data.

Require valid vtype, enabled VS, and supported SEW. VMV instead uses vm=1 and vs2=v0; distinguish it from VMERGE.

Body is vstart≤i<vl; prestart is unchanged, tails follow vta. VL=0 or vstart≥vl updates no destination, including tails. The animation fixes LMUL=m1, VLEN=4096, vstart=0; steps are not processor cycles.

The RISC-V Instruction Set Manual, Volume I: Unprivileged Architecture — Version 20260120, Chapter 31

Common Usage Scenarios

Mask Widening

Assume enabled V/VS, supported e32,m1, VLEN≥128, vl=4, vstart=0, ta/ma, and initialized sources; Fixed vm=0 selects at every body element. v4=[10,20,30,40], imm=7, v0.mask=[1,0,1,1] → v8=[7,20,7,7]. Tails are not guaranteed zero; mask destinations are always tail-agnostic.

Conditional Assignment

Assume enabled V/VS, supported e32,m1, VLEN≥128, vl=4, vstart=0, ta/ma, and initialized sources; Fixed vm=0 selects at every body element. v4=[10,20,30,40], imm=7, v0.mask=[1,0,1,1] → v8=[7,20,7,7]. Tails are not guaranteed zero; mask destinations are always tail-agnostic.

Pre-Use Checklist

Syntax Check
  • v0[i]=0 selects vs2[i]; v0[i]=1 selects the second source. Fixed vm=0 uses v0 as selection data, and every body element is written.
  • 32-bit OP-V: opcode=1010111, funct6=010111, funct3=011. imm is -16..15, sign-extended to SEW.
Semantic Check
  • Same-EEW sources/destination may overlap; vd cannot cover v0, and v0 cannot supply both EEW=1 selection bits and SEW data.
  • Require valid vtype, enabled VS, and supported SEW. VMV instead uses vm=1 and vs2=v0; distinguish it from VMERGE.
  • Body is vstart≤i<vl; prestart is unchanged, tails follow vta. VL=0 or vstart≥vl updates no destination, including tails. The animation fixes LMUL=m1, VLEN=4096, vstart=0; steps are not processor cycles.

Pitfalls / Common Confusions

v0 is selection data, not the ordinary v0.t execution mask.
A v0 bit of 0 selects vs2, and a bit of 1 selects the second source.
VMERGE and VMV share related encoding space, but their semantics are selected merge versus unmasked move.

FAQ

Which source does v0 bit 1 select in VMERGE.VIM?

v0[i]=1 selects the signed 5-bit immediate; v0[i]=0 selects vs2[i].

Is VMERGE an ordinary masked instruction?

No. v0 selects between two sources for every body element; it does not disable execution.