STREAMING ENGINE WITH SEPARATELY SELECTABLE ELEMENT AND GROUP DUPLICATION

A streaming engine employed in a digital data processor specifies a fixed read only data stream defined by plural nested loops. An address generator produces address of data elements. A steam head register stores data elements next to be supplied to functional units for use as operands. An element duplication unit optionally duplicates data element an instruction specified number of times. A vector masking unit limits data elements received from the element duplication unit to least significant bits within an instruction specified vector length. If the vector length is less than a stream head register size, the vector masking unit stores all 0′s in excess lanes of the stream head register (group duplication disabled) or stores duplicate copies of the least significant bits in excess lanes of the stream head register.