The current pattern for setting bits in range is typically:
Mask |= APInt::getBitsSet(MaskSizeInBits, LoPos, HiPos);
Which can be particularly slow for large APInts (MaskSizeInBits > 64) as they require the allocation memory for the temporary variable.
This is one of the key compile time issues identified in PR32037.
This patch adds the APInt::setBits() helper method which avoids the temporary memory allocation completely, this first implementation uses setBit() internally instead but already significantly reduces the regression in PR32037 (~10% drop). Additional optimization may be possible.
I investigated whether there is need for APInt::clearBits() and APInt::flipBits() equivalents but haven't seen these patterns to be particularly common.
I don't think you need to repeat that sentence.
I'd also suggest removing \brief, but I'm ok with keeping it consistent.