From: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
To: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>
Cc: Will Deacon <will@kernel.org>,
"Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@kernel.org>,
Alan Stern <stern@rowland.harvard.edu>,
Andrea Parri <parri.andrea@gmail.com>,
Boqun Feng <boqun.feng@gmail.com>,
Nick Piggin <npiggin@gmail.com>,
David Howells <dhowells@redhat.com>,
Jade Alglave <j.alglave@ucl.ac.uk>,
Luc Maranget <luc.maranget@inria.fr>,
Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>,
Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>,
linux-toolchains@vger.kernel.org,
linux-arch <linux-arch@vger.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [RFC] LKMM: Add volatile_if()
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2021 10:10:29 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAHk-=wjf-VJZd3Uxv3T3pSJYYVzyfK2--znG0VEOnNRchMGgdQ@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <YLpWwm1lDwBaUven@hirez.programming.kicks-ass.net>
On Fri, Jun 4, 2021 at 9:37 AM Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org> wrote:
>
> >
> > Why is "volatile_if()" not just
> >
> > #define barier_true() ({ barrier(); 1; })
> >
> > #define volatile_if(x) if ((x) && barrier_true())
>
> Because we weren't sure compilers weren't still allowed to optimize the
> branch away.
This isn't about some "compiler folks think".
The above CANNOT be compiled any other way than with a branch.
A compiler that optimizes a branch away is simply broken.
Of course, the actual condition (ie "x" above) has to be something
that the compiler cannot statically determine is a constant, but since
the whole - and only - point is that there will be a READ_ONCE() or
similar there, that's not an issue.
The compiler *cannot* just say "oh, I'll do that 'volatile asm
barrier' whether the condition is true or not". That would be a
fundamental compiler bug.
It's as if we wrote
if (x) y++;
and the compiler went "Oh, I'll just increment 'y' unconditionally by
one, I'm sure the programmer doesn't mind, the conditional on 'x' is
immaterial".
No. That's not a C compiler. That's a stinking piece of buggy shit.
The compiler has to honor the conditional.
In that "y++" case, a compiler can decide to do it without a branch,
and basically rewrite the above as
y += !!x;
but with a "volatile asm", that would be a bug.
Of course, we might want to make sure that the compiler doesn't go
"oh, empty asm, I can ignore it", but if that's the case then it's not
about "volatile_if()" any more, at that point it's "oh, the compiler
broke our 'barrier()' implementation", and we have bigger issues.
Linus
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2021-06-04 17:12 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 128+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2021-06-04 10:12 [RFC] LKMM: Add volatile_if() Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 10:44 ` Will Deacon
2021-06-04 11:13 ` Will Deacon
2021-06-04 11:31 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 13:44 ` Will Deacon
2021-06-04 13:56 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 15:13 ` Will Deacon
2021-06-04 15:22 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 15:36 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-04 15:42 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 15:51 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-04 16:17 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 18:27 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-04 19:09 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-04 19:18 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-04 20:56 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-04 21:27 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-04 21:40 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-04 22:19 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-05 14:57 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-06 0:14 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-06 1:29 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-06 3:41 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-06 4:43 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-06 13:17 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 19:07 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-06 12:59 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 13:47 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-06 17:13 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 18:25 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-06 19:19 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 18:41 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-06 18:59 ` Jakub Jelinek
2021-06-06 19:15 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-06 19:22 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-06 20:11 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 21:19 ` Alexander Monakov
2021-06-06 22:38 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-06 23:39 ` Rasmus Villemoes
2021-06-06 23:44 ` Rasmus Villemoes
2021-06-07 8:01 ` Alexander Monakov
2021-06-07 8:27 ` Marco Elver
2021-06-07 15:28 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-07 17:04 ` Marco Elver
2021-06-08 9:30 ` Marco Elver
2021-06-08 11:22 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-08 15:28 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-09 12:44 ` Marco Elver
2021-06-09 15:31 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-09 16:13 ` Marco Elver
2021-06-09 17:14 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-09 17:31 ` Nick Desaulniers
2021-06-09 20:24 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-09 18:25 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-07 17:52 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-07 18:07 ` Alexander Monakov
2021-06-07 18:18 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-07 17:42 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-07 20:31 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-07 22:54 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 11:53 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 13:45 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-06 18:04 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-06 18:22 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-06 18:43 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-07 10:43 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-07 11:52 ` Will Deacon
2021-06-07 15:25 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-07 16:02 ` Will Deacon
2021-06-07 18:08 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-07-30 17:20 ` Jade Alglave
2021-07-30 20:35 ` Alan Stern
2021-08-02 21:18 ` Alan Stern
2021-08-02 23:31 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-08-04 20:09 ` Alan Stern
2021-08-05 19:47 ` Alan Stern
2021-08-07 0:51 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-06 18:40 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 18:48 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-06 18:53 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-06 19:52 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 20:11 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-06 20:26 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 23:37 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-07 14:12 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-07 15:27 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-07 18:23 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-07 19:51 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-07 20:16 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-07 22:40 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-07 23:26 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-07 10:52 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-07 14:16 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 22:05 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-05 3:14 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-05 16:24 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-04 15:50 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 15:47 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 11:44 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 14:13 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-04 15:35 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 16:10 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 16:40 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 18:55 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-04 19:53 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 20:40 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-06 11:36 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-06 19:01 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-04 14:25 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-04 16:09 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 16:33 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 16:30 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-04 16:37 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 16:52 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 17:10 ` Linus Torvalds [this message]
2021-06-04 17:24 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 17:38 ` Linus Torvalds
2021-06-04 18:25 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-06-04 19:17 ` Peter Zijlstra
2021-06-04 20:43 ` Paul E. McKenney
2021-06-04 18:23 ` Alan Stern
2021-06-08 12:48 ` David Laight
2021-09-24 18:38 ` Mathieu Desnoyers
2021-09-24 19:52 ` Alan Stern
2021-09-24 20:22 ` Mathieu Desnoyers
2021-09-24 19:55 ` Segher Boessenkool
2021-09-24 20:39 ` Mathieu Desnoyers
2021-09-24 22:07 ` Mathieu Desnoyers
Reply instructions:
You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:
* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
and reply-to-all from there: mbox
Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style
* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
switches of git-send-email(1):
git send-email \
--in-reply-to='CAHk-=wjf-VJZd3Uxv3T3pSJYYVzyfK2--znG0VEOnNRchMGgdQ@mail.gmail.com' \
--to=torvalds@linux-foundation.org \
--cc=akiyks@gmail.com \
--cc=boqun.feng@gmail.com \
--cc=dhowells@redhat.com \
--cc=j.alglave@ucl.ac.uk \
--cc=linux-arch@vger.kernel.org \
--cc=linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org \
--cc=linux-toolchains@vger.kernel.org \
--cc=luc.maranget@inria.fr \
--cc=npiggin@gmail.com \
--cc=parri.andrea@gmail.com \
--cc=paulmck@kernel.org \
--cc=peterz@infradead.org \
--cc=stern@rowland.harvard.edu \
--cc=will@kernel.org \
/path/to/YOUR_REPLY
https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html
* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line
before the message body.
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox;
as well as URLs for NNTP newsgroup(s).