* [PATCH 1/2] count: Employ new scheme for snippet from count_stat.c
@ 2018-10-02 15:15 Akira Yokosawa
2018-10-02 15:16 ` [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet Akira Yokosawa
0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread
From: Akira Yokosawa @ 2018-10-02 15:15 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Paul E. McKenney; +Cc: perfbook, Akira Yokosawa
From 047e2e2aa09633f5605111119e2f45fd43f6febc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2018 23:54:33 +0900
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] count: Employ new scheme for snippet from count_stat.c
Also add necessary READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE() as par.
the rule of where to use them provided by Paul as an
outline on perfbook mail-list [1].
[1]: https://www.spinics.net/lists/perfbook/msg01788.html
Suggested by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.ibm.com>
Signed-off-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
---
CodeSamples/count/count_stat.c | 22 +++++++++++++---------
count/count.tex | 33 ++++++++-------------------------
2 files changed, 21 insertions(+), 34 deletions(-)
diff --git a/CodeSamples/count/count_stat.c b/CodeSamples/count/count_stat.c
index 1d72f99..0675320 100644
--- a/CodeSamples/count/count_stat.c
+++ b/CodeSamples/count/count_stat.c
@@ -20,28 +20,32 @@
#include "../api.h"
-DEFINE_PER_THREAD(unsigned long, counter);
+//\begin{snippet}[labelbase=ln:count:count_stat:inc-read,commandchars=\\\[\]]
+DEFINE_PER_THREAD(unsigned long, counter); //\lnlbl{define}
-void inc_count(void)
+static __inline__ void inc_count(void) //\lnlbl{inc:b}
{
- __get_thread_var(counter)++;
-}
+ unsigned long *p_counter = &__get_thread_var(counter);
+
+ WRITE_ONCE(*p_counter, *p_counter + 1);
+} //\lnlbl{inc:e}
-__inline__ unsigned long read_count(void)
+static __inline__ unsigned long read_count(void) //\lnlbl{read:b}
{
int t;
unsigned long sum = 0;
for_each_thread(t)
- sum += per_thread(counter, t);
+ sum += READ_ONCE(per_thread(counter, t));
return sum;
-}
+} //\lnlbl{read:e}
+//\end{snippet}
-__inline__ void count_init(void)
+void count_init(void)
{
}
-__inline__ void count_cleanup(void)
+void count_cleanup(void)
{
}
diff --git a/count/count.tex b/count/count.tex
index a7d4c9d..4f760a4 100644
--- a/count/count.tex
+++ b/count/count.tex
@@ -477,28 +477,7 @@ thread (presumably cache aligned and padded to avoid false sharing).
} \QuickQuizEnd
\begin{listing}[tbp]
-{ \scriptsize
-\begin{verbbox}
- 1 DEFINE_PER_THREAD(long, counter);
- 2
- 3 void inc_count(void)
- 4 {
- 5 __get_thread_var(counter)++;
- 6 }
- 7
- 8 long read_count(void)
- 9 {
- 10 int t;
- 11 long sum = 0;
- 12
- 13 for_each_thread(t)
- 14 sum += per_thread(counter, t);
- 15 return sum;
- 16 }
-\end{verbbox}
-}
-\centering
-\theverbbox
+\input{CodeSamples/count/count_stat@inc-read.fcv}
\caption{Array-Based Per-Thread Statistical Counters}
\label{lst:count:Array-Based Per-Thread Statistical Counters}
\end{listing}
@@ -506,22 +485,26 @@ thread (presumably cache aligned and padded to avoid false sharing).
Such an array can be wrapped into per-thread primitives, as shown in
Listing~\ref{lst:count:Array-Based Per-Thread Statistical Counters}
(\path{count_stat.c}).
-Line~1 defines an array containing a set of per-thread counters of
+\begin{lineref}[ln:count:count_stat:inc-read]
+Line~\lnref{define} defines an array containing a set of per-thread counters of
type \co{long} named, creatively enough, \co{counter}.
-Lines~3-6 show a function that increments the counters, using the
+Lines~\lnref{inc:b}-\lnref{inc:e}
+show a function that increments the counters, using the
\co{__get_thread_var()} primitive to locate the currently running
thread's element of the \co{counter} array.
Because this element is modified only by the corresponding thread,
non-atomic increment suffices.
-Lines~8-16 show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
+Lines~\lnref{read:b}-\lnref{read:e}
+show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
to fetch the specified thread's counter.
Because the hardware can fetch and store a properly aligned \co{long}
atomically, and because \GCC\ is kind enough to make use of this capability,
normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
+\end{lineref}
\QuickQuiz{}
What other choice does \GCC\ have, anyway???
--
2.7.4
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
2018-10-02 15:15 [PATCH 1/2] count: Employ new scheme for snippet from count_stat.c Akira Yokosawa
@ 2018-10-02 15:16 ` Akira Yokosawa
2018-10-02 15:24 ` Akira Yokosawa
0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread
From: Akira Yokosawa @ 2018-10-02 15:16 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Paul E. McKenney; +Cc: perfbook, Akira Yokosawa
From a9c276c3da87ed327d003a70d60777f41999b4fc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2018 00:08:49 +0900
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
In the actual code of count_stat.c, the per-thread variable
"counter" has the type "unsigned long".
Signed-off-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
---
count/count.tex | 4 ++--
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/count/count.tex b/count/count.tex
index 4f760a4..9f9fd0f 100644
--- a/count/count.tex
+++ b/count/count.tex
@@ -487,7 +487,7 @@ Listing~\ref{lst:count:Array-Based Per-Thread Statistical Counters}
(\path{count_stat.c}).
\begin{lineref}[ln:count:count_stat:inc-read]
Line~\lnref{define} defines an array containing a set of per-thread counters of
-type \co{long} named, creatively enough, \co{counter}.
+type \co{unsigned long} named, creatively enough, \co{counter}.
Lines~\lnref{inc:b}-\lnref{inc:e}
show a function that increments the counters, using the
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
to fetch the specified thread's counter.
-Because the hardware can fetch and store a properly aligned \co{long}
+Because the hardware can fetch and store a properly aligned \co{unsigned long}
atomically, and because \GCC\ is kind enough to make use of this capability,
normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
\end{lineref}
--
2.7.4
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
2018-10-02 15:16 ` [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet Akira Yokosawa
@ 2018-10-02 15:24 ` Akira Yokosawa
2018-10-02 18:21 ` Paul E. McKenney
0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread
From: Akira Yokosawa @ 2018-10-02 15:24 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Paul E. McKenney; +Cc: perfbook, Akira Yokosawa
On 2018/10/03 00:16:12 +0900, Akira Yokosawa wrote:
> From a9c276c3da87ed327d003a70d60777f41999b4fc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> From: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2018 00:08:49 +0900
> Subject: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
>
> In the actual code of count_stat.c, the per-thread variable
> "counter" has the type "unsigned long".
>
And the other description on Listing 5.3 in the text needs some reworking
to reflect the changes in the snippet. Paul, can you have a look into
this?
Thanks, Akira
> Signed-off-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
> ---
> count/count.tex | 4 ++--
> 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/count/count.tex b/count/count.tex
> index 4f760a4..9f9fd0f 100644
> --- a/count/count.tex
> +++ b/count/count.tex
> @@ -487,7 +487,7 @@ Listing~\ref{lst:count:Array-Based Per-Thread Statistical Counters}
> (\path{count_stat.c}).
> \begin{lineref}[ln:count:count_stat:inc-read]
> Line~\lnref{define} defines an array containing a set of per-thread counters of
> -type \co{long} named, creatively enough, \co{counter}.
> +type \co{unsigned long} named, creatively enough, \co{counter}.
>
> Lines~\lnref{inc:b}-\lnref{inc:e}
> show a function that increments the counters, using the
> @@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
> using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
> currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
> to fetch the specified thread's counter.
> -Because the hardware can fetch and store a properly aligned \co{long}
> +Because the hardware can fetch and store a properly aligned \co{unsigned long}
> atomically, and because \GCC\ is kind enough to make use of this capability,
> normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
> \end{lineref}
>
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
2018-10-02 15:24 ` Akira Yokosawa
@ 2018-10-02 18:21 ` Paul E. McKenney
2018-10-02 22:12 ` Akira Yokosawa
0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread
From: Paul E. McKenney @ 2018-10-02 18:21 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Akira Yokosawa; +Cc: perfbook
On Wed, Oct 03, 2018 at 12:24:17AM +0900, Akira Yokosawa wrote:
> On 2018/10/03 00:16:12 +0900, Akira Yokosawa wrote:
> > From a9c276c3da87ed327d003a70d60777f41999b4fc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> > From: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
> > Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2018 00:08:49 +0900
> > Subject: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
> >
> > In the actual code of count_stat.c, the per-thread variable
> > "counter" has the type "unsigned long".
Looks good, so I applied and pushed both patches, thank you!
> And the other description on Listing 5.3 in the text needs some reworking
> to reflect the changes in the snippet. Paul, can you have a look into
> this?
How does the patch below look?
Thanx, Paul
------------------------------------------------------------------------
commit cc0409cfb0581924b05744a15fa3ebd5c1e298af
Author: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.ibm.com>
Date: Tue Oct 2 11:19:33 2018 -0700
count: Update code description and QQ based on {READ,WRITE}_ONCE()
Reported-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.ibm.com>
diff --git a/count/count.tex b/count/count.tex
index 9f9fd0f64838..c36e7d826a7b 100644
--- a/count/count.tex
+++ b/count/count.tex
@@ -495,23 +495,22 @@ show a function that increments the counters, using the
thread's element of the \co{counter} array.
Because this element is modified only by the corresponding thread,
non-atomic increment suffices.
-
-Lines~\lnref{read:b}-\lnref{read:e}
-show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
-using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
-currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
-to fetch the specified thread's counter.
-Because the hardware can fetch and store a properly aligned \co{unsigned long}
-atomically, and because \GCC\ is kind enough to make use of this capability,
-normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
-\end{lineref}
+However, this code uses \co{WRITE_ONCE()} to prevent destructive compiler
+optimizations.
+For but one example, the compiler is within its rights to use a
+to-be-stored-to location as temporary storage, thus writing what
+would be for all intents and purposes garbage to that location
+just before doing the desired store.
+This could of course be rather confusing to anything attempting to
+read out the count.
+The use of \co{WRITE_ONCE()} prevents this optimization and others besides.
\QuickQuiz{}
- What other choice does \GCC\ have, anyway???
+ What other nasty optimizations could \GCC\ apply?
\QuickQuizAnswer{
- According to the C standard, the effects of fetching a variable
- that might be concurrently modified by some other thread are
- undefined.
+ According to the C standard, the effects of doing a normal store
+ to a variable that might be concurrently loaded by some other
+ thread are undefined.
It turns out that the C standard really has no other choice,
given that C must support (for example) eight-bit architectures
which are incapable of atomically loading a \co{long}.
@@ -540,8 +539,10 @@ normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
It is therefore reasonable to expect that any Linux-kernel
adoption of C11 atomics will be incremental at best.
- So why not just use plain old C-language assignment statements
- to access shared variables?
+ But if the code is doing loads and stores that the underlying
+ hardware can implement with single instructions, why not just
+ use plain old C-language assignment statements to access shared
+ variables?
The problem is that the compiler is within its rights to assume
that no other thread is modifying the variable being accessed.
Given a plain old C-language load, the compiler would therefore
@@ -581,6 +582,22 @@ normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
coding standards.
} \QuickQuizEnd
+Lines~\lnref{read:b}-\lnref{read:e}
+show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
+using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
+currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
+to fetch the specified thread's counter.
+This code also uses \co{READ_ONCE()} to ensure that the compiler doesn't
+optimize these loads into oblivion.
+For but one example, a pair of consecutive calls to \co{read_count()}
+might be inlined, and an intrepid optimizer might notice that the same
+locations were being summed and thus incorrectly conclude that it would
+be simply wonderful to sum them once and use the resulting value twice.
+This sort of optimization might be rather frustrating to people expecting
+later \co{read_count()} calls to return larger values.
+The use of \co{READ_ONCE()} prevents this optimization and others besides.
+\end{lineref}
+
\QuickQuiz{}
How does the per-thread \co{counter} variable in
Listing~\ref{lst:count:Array-Based Per-Thread Statistical Counters}
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
2018-10-02 18:21 ` Paul E. McKenney
@ 2018-10-02 22:12 ` Akira Yokosawa
2018-10-04 3:40 ` Paul E. McKenney
0 siblings, 1 reply; 6+ messages in thread
From: Akira Yokosawa @ 2018-10-02 22:12 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Paul E. McKenney; +Cc: perfbook, Akira Yokosawa
On 2018/10/02 11:21:23 -0700, Paul E. McKenney wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 03, 2018 at 12:24:17AM +0900, Akira Yokosawa wrote:
>> On 2018/10/03 00:16:12 +0900, Akira Yokosawa wrote:
>>> From a9c276c3da87ed327d003a70d60777f41999b4fc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
>>> From: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
>>> Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2018 00:08:49 +0900
>>> Subject: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
>>>
>>> In the actual code of count_stat.c, the per-thread variable
>>> "counter" has the type "unsigned long".
>
> Looks good, so I applied and pushed both patches, thank you!
>
>> And the other description on Listing 5.3 in the text needs some reworking
>> to reflect the changes in the snippet. Paul, can you have a look into
>> this?
>
> How does the patch below look?
Looks good to me (at least for the moment).
Acked-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
And I'm anticipating your expansion on the use of READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE()
in, say, somewhere in toolsoftrade. Then we would be able to reduce
repetitive explanation here and there.
I'll continue to apply new scheme for other snippets in "count" chapter.
Thanks, Akira
>
> Thanx, Paul
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> commit cc0409cfb0581924b05744a15fa3ebd5c1e298af
> Author: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.ibm.com>
> Date: Tue Oct 2 11:19:33 2018 -0700
>
> count: Update code description and QQ based on {READ,WRITE}_ONCE()
>
> Reported-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
> Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.ibm.com>
>
> diff --git a/count/count.tex b/count/count.tex
> index 9f9fd0f64838..c36e7d826a7b 100644
> --- a/count/count.tex
> +++ b/count/count.tex
> @@ -495,23 +495,22 @@ show a function that increments the counters, using the
> thread's element of the \co{counter} array.
> Because this element is modified only by the corresponding thread,
> non-atomic increment suffices.
> -
> -Lines~\lnref{read:b}-\lnref{read:e}
> -show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
> -using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
> -currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
> -to fetch the specified thread's counter.
> -Because the hardware can fetch and store a properly aligned \co{unsigned long}
> -atomically, and because \GCC\ is kind enough to make use of this capability,
> -normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
> -\end{lineref}
> +However, this code uses \co{WRITE_ONCE()} to prevent destructive compiler
> +optimizations.
> +For but one example, the compiler is within its rights to use a
> +to-be-stored-to location as temporary storage, thus writing what
> +would be for all intents and purposes garbage to that location
> +just before doing the desired store.
> +This could of course be rather confusing to anything attempting to
> +read out the count.
> +The use of \co{WRITE_ONCE()} prevents this optimization and others besides.
>
> \QuickQuiz{}
> - What other choice does \GCC\ have, anyway???
> + What other nasty optimizations could \GCC\ apply?
> \QuickQuizAnswer{
> - According to the C standard, the effects of fetching a variable
> - that might be concurrently modified by some other thread are
> - undefined.
> + According to the C standard, the effects of doing a normal store
> + to a variable that might be concurrently loaded by some other
> + thread are undefined.
> It turns out that the C standard really has no other choice,
> given that C must support (for example) eight-bit architectures
> which are incapable of atomically loading a \co{long}.
> @@ -540,8 +539,10 @@ normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
> It is therefore reasonable to expect that any Linux-kernel
> adoption of C11 atomics will be incremental at best.
>
> - So why not just use plain old C-language assignment statements
> - to access shared variables?
> + But if the code is doing loads and stores that the underlying
> + hardware can implement with single instructions, why not just
> + use plain old C-language assignment statements to access shared
> + variables?
> The problem is that the compiler is within its rights to assume
> that no other thread is modifying the variable being accessed.
> Given a plain old C-language load, the compiler would therefore
> @@ -581,6 +582,22 @@ normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
> coding standards.
> } \QuickQuizEnd
>
> +Lines~\lnref{read:b}-\lnref{read:e}
> +show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
> +using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
> +currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
> +to fetch the specified thread's counter.
> +This code also uses \co{READ_ONCE()} to ensure that the compiler doesn't
> +optimize these loads into oblivion.
> +For but one example, a pair of consecutive calls to \co{read_count()}
> +might be inlined, and an intrepid optimizer might notice that the same
> +locations were being summed and thus incorrectly conclude that it would
> +be simply wonderful to sum them once and use the resulting value twice.
> +This sort of optimization might be rather frustrating to people expecting
> +later \co{read_count()} calls to return larger values.
> +The use of \co{READ_ONCE()} prevents this optimization and others besides.
> +\end{lineref}
> +
> \QuickQuiz{}
> How does the per-thread \co{counter} variable in
> Listing~\ref{lst:count:Array-Based Per-Thread Statistical Counters}
>
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
* Re: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
2018-10-02 22:12 ` Akira Yokosawa
@ 2018-10-04 3:40 ` Paul E. McKenney
0 siblings, 0 replies; 6+ messages in thread
From: Paul E. McKenney @ 2018-10-04 3:40 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Akira Yokosawa; +Cc: perfbook
On Wed, Oct 03, 2018 at 07:12:32AM +0900, Akira Yokosawa wrote:
> On 2018/10/02 11:21:23 -0700, Paul E. McKenney wrote:
> > On Wed, Oct 03, 2018 at 12:24:17AM +0900, Akira Yokosawa wrote:
> >> On 2018/10/03 00:16:12 +0900, Akira Yokosawa wrote:
> >>> From a9c276c3da87ed327d003a70d60777f41999b4fc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> >>> From: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
> >>> Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2018 00:08:49 +0900
> >>> Subject: [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet
> >>>
> >>> In the actual code of count_stat.c, the per-thread variable
> >>> "counter" has the type "unsigned long".
> >
> > Looks good, so I applied and pushed both patches, thank you!
> >
> >> And the other description on Listing 5.3 in the text needs some reworking
> >> to reflect the changes in the snippet. Paul, can you have a look into
> >> this?
> >
> > How does the patch below look?
>
> Looks good to me (at least for the moment).
>
> Acked-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
>
> And I'm anticipating your expansion on the use of READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE()
> in, say, somewhere in toolsoftrade. Then we would be able to reduce
> repetitive explanation here and there.
I am working on this, but there is a surprising amount to say. So it
might take some time. On the other hand, with the rework of the
memory-ordering chapter, this part of the Tools of the Trade chapter
seems to be the weakest part of the book, so it certainly makes sense
for me to focus there a bit.
> I'll continue to apply new scheme for other snippets in "count" chapter.
Very good, looking forward to seeing them!
Thanx, Paul
> Thanks, Akira
>
> >
> > Thanx, Paul
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > commit cc0409cfb0581924b05744a15fa3ebd5c1e298af
> > Author: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.ibm.com>
> > Date: Tue Oct 2 11:19:33 2018 -0700
> >
> > count: Update code description and QQ based on {READ,WRITE}_ONCE()
> >
> > Reported-by: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
> > Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@linux.ibm.com>
> >
> > diff --git a/count/count.tex b/count/count.tex
> > index 9f9fd0f64838..c36e7d826a7b 100644
> > --- a/count/count.tex
> > +++ b/count/count.tex
> > @@ -495,23 +495,22 @@ show a function that increments the counters, using the
> > thread's element of the \co{counter} array.
> > Because this element is modified only by the corresponding thread,
> > non-atomic increment suffices.
> > -
> > -Lines~\lnref{read:b}-\lnref{read:e}
> > -show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
> > -using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
> > -currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
> > -to fetch the specified thread's counter.
> > -Because the hardware can fetch and store a properly aligned \co{unsigned long}
> > -atomically, and because \GCC\ is kind enough to make use of this capability,
> > -normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
> > -\end{lineref}
> > +However, this code uses \co{WRITE_ONCE()} to prevent destructive compiler
> > +optimizations.
> > +For but one example, the compiler is within its rights to use a
> > +to-be-stored-to location as temporary storage, thus writing what
> > +would be for all intents and purposes garbage to that location
> > +just before doing the desired store.
> > +This could of course be rather confusing to anything attempting to
> > +read out the count.
> > +The use of \co{WRITE_ONCE()} prevents this optimization and others besides.
> >
> > \QuickQuiz{}
> > - What other choice does \GCC\ have, anyway???
> > + What other nasty optimizations could \GCC\ apply?
> > \QuickQuizAnswer{
> > - According to the C standard, the effects of fetching a variable
> > - that might be concurrently modified by some other thread are
> > - undefined.
> > + According to the C standard, the effects of doing a normal store
> > + to a variable that might be concurrently loaded by some other
> > + thread are undefined.
> > It turns out that the C standard really has no other choice,
> > given that C must support (for example) eight-bit architectures
> > which are incapable of atomically loading a \co{long}.
> > @@ -540,8 +539,10 @@ normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
> > It is therefore reasonable to expect that any Linux-kernel
> > adoption of C11 atomics will be incremental at best.
> >
> > - So why not just use plain old C-language assignment statements
> > - to access shared variables?
> > + But if the code is doing loads and stores that the underlying
> > + hardware can implement with single instructions, why not just
> > + use plain old C-language assignment statements to access shared
> > + variables?
> > The problem is that the compiler is within its rights to assume
> > that no other thread is modifying the variable being accessed.
> > Given a plain old C-language load, the compiler would therefore
> > @@ -581,6 +582,22 @@ normal loads suffice, and no special atomic instructions are required.
> > coding standards.
> > } \QuickQuizEnd
> >
> > +Lines~\lnref{read:b}-\lnref{read:e}
> > +show a function that reads out the aggregate value of the counter,
> > +using the \co{for_each_thread()} primitive to iterate over the list of
> > +currently running threads, and using the \co{per_thread()} primitive
> > +to fetch the specified thread's counter.
> > +This code also uses \co{READ_ONCE()} to ensure that the compiler doesn't
> > +optimize these loads into oblivion.
> > +For but one example, a pair of consecutive calls to \co{read_count()}
> > +might be inlined, and an intrepid optimizer might notice that the same
> > +locations were being summed and thus incorrectly conclude that it would
> > +be simply wonderful to sum them once and use the resulting value twice.
> > +This sort of optimization might be rather frustrating to people expecting
> > +later \co{read_count()} calls to return larger values.
> > +The use of \co{READ_ONCE()} prevents this optimization and others besides.
> > +\end{lineref}
> > +
> > \QuickQuiz{}
> > How does the per-thread \co{counter} variable in
> > Listing~\ref{lst:count:Array-Based Per-Thread Statistical Counters}
> >
>
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 6+ messages in thread
end of thread, other threads:[~2018-10-04 10:32 UTC | newest]
Thread overview: 6+ messages (download: mbox.gz / follow: Atom feed)
-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2018-10-02 15:15 [PATCH 1/2] count: Employ new scheme for snippet from count_stat.c Akira Yokosawa
2018-10-02 15:16 ` [PATCH 2/2] count: Adjust type of variable 'counter' with code snippet Akira Yokosawa
2018-10-02 15:24 ` Akira Yokosawa
2018-10-02 18:21 ` Paul E. McKenney
2018-10-02 22:12 ` Akira Yokosawa
2018-10-04 3:40 ` Paul E. McKenney
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