[PATCH v3 0/2] Documentation/vm: Rework and extend highmem.rst

[PATCH v3 0/2] Documentation/vm: Rework and extend highmem.rst

[Fabio M. De Francesco]

Extend and rework the "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section of the highmem.rst
documentation.

Do a partial rework of the paragraph related to kmap() and add a new paragraph
in order to document the set of kmap_local_*() functions. Re-order paragraphs
in decreasing order of preference of usage.

Include kerneldoc comments from include/linux/highmem.h and remove
redundant and obsolete section about kmap_atomic().

v1-v2:
	1/2 - According to comments on v1 by Matthew Wilcox and Ira Weiny,
	      correct a mistake in text, format paragraphs to stay within 
	      the 75 characters limit, re-order the flow of the same 
	      paragraphs in decreasing order of preference of usage.
	2/2 - No patch.

v2->v3:
	1/2 - No changes.
	2/2 - Added patch to include kernel-doc to highmem.rst and
	      remove the now redundant section about kmap_atomic().

Fabio M. De Francesco (2):
  Documentation/vm: Extend "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section in
    highmem.rst
  Documentation/vm: Include kernel-doc to highmem.rst

 Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 96 +++++++++++++++++++++---------------
 1 file changed, 56 insertions(+), 40 deletions(-)

-- 
2.34.1

[PATCH v3 1/2] Documentation/vm: Extend "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section

[Fabio M. De Francesco]

Extend and rework the "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section of the highmem.rst
documentation.

Do a partial rework of the paragraph related to kmap() and add a new paragraph
in order to document the set of kmap_local_*() functions. Re-order paragraphs
in decreasing order of preference of usage.

Despite the local kmaps were introduced by Thomas Gleixner in October 2020,
documentation was still missing information about them. These additions rely
largely on Gleixner's patches, Jonathan Corbet's LWN articles, comments by
Ira Weiny and Matthew Wilcox, and in-code comments from
./include/linux/highmem.h.

Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
Cc: Ira Weiny <ira.weiny@intel.com>
Cc: Matthew Wilcox <willy@infradead.org>
Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>
Signed-off-by: Fabio M. De Francesco <fmdefrancesco@gmail.com>
---
 Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 67 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
 1 file changed, 56 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
index 0f69a9fec34d..12dcfbee094d 100644
--- a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
+++ b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
@@ -52,24 +52,69 @@ Temporary Virtual Mappings
 
 The kernel contains several ways of creating temporary mappings:
 
-* vmap().  This can be used to make a long duration mapping of multiple
-  physical pages into a contiguous virtual space.  It needs global
-  synchronization to unmap.
-
-* kmap().  This permits a short duration mapping of a single page.  It needs
-  global synchronization, but is amortized somewhat.  It is also prone to
-  deadlocks when using in a nested fashion, and so it is not recommended for
-  new code.
+* kmap_local_*().  These provide a set of functions that are used to require
+  short term mappings. They can be invoked from any context (including
+  interrupts) but the mappings can only be used in the context which acquired
+  it.
+
+  These mappings are per thread, CPU local (i.e., migration from one CPU to
+  another is disabled - this is why they are called "local"), but they don't
+  disable preemption. It's valid to take pagefaults in a local kmap region,
+  unless the context in which the local mapping is acquired does not allow
+  it for other reasons.
+
+  If a task holding local kmaps is preempted, the maps are removed on context
+  switch and restored when the task comes back on the CPU. As the maps are
+  strictly CPU local, it is guaranteed that the task stays on the CPU and
+  that the CPU cannot be unplugged until the local kmaps are released.
+
+  Nesting kmap_local.*() and kmap_atomic.*() mappings is allowed to a certain
+  extent (up to KMAP_TYPE_NR). Nested kmap_local.*() and kunmap_local.*()
+  invocations have to be strictly ordered because the map implementation is
+  stack based.
 
 * kmap_atomic().  This permits a very short duration mapping of a single
   page.  Since the mapping is restricted to the CPU that issued it, it
   performs well, but the issuing task is therefore required to stay on that
   CPU until it has finished, lest some other task displace its mappings.
 
-  kmap_atomic() may also be used by interrupt contexts, since it is does not
-  sleep and the caller may not sleep until after kunmap_atomic() is called.
+  kmap_atomic() may also be used by interrupt contexts, since it does not
+  sleep and the caller too can not sleep until after kunmap_atomic() is called.
+  Each call of kmap_atomic() in the kernel creates a non-preemptible section and
+  disable pagefaults.
+
+  This could be a source of unwanted latency, so it should be only used if it is
+  absolutely required, otherwise the corresponding kmap_local_*() variant should
+  be used if it is feasible.
+
+  On 64-bit systems, calls to kmap() and kmap_atomic() have no real work to do
+  because a 64-bit address space is more than sufficient to address all the
+  physical memory, so all of physical memory appears in the direct mapping.
+
+  It is assumed that k[un]map_atomic() won't fail.
 
-  It may be assumed that k[un]map_atomic() won't fail.
+* kmap().  This should be used to make short duration mapping of a single
+  page with no restrictions on preemption or migration. It comes with an
+  overhead as mapping space is restricted and protected by a global lock
+  for synchronization. When mapping is no more needed, the address that
+  the page was mapped to must be released with kunmap().
+
+  Mapping changes must be propagated across all the CPUs. kmap() also
+  requires global TLB invalidation when the kmap's pool wraps and it might
+  block when the mapping space is fully utilized until a slot becomes
+  available. Therefore, kmap() is only callable from preemptible context.
+
+  All the above work is necessary if a mapping must last for a relatively
+  long time but the bulk of high-memory mappings in the kernel are
+  short-lived and only used in one place. This means that the cost of
+  kmap() is mostly wasted in such cases. kmap() was not intended for long
+  term mappings but it has morphed in that direction and its use is
+  strongly discouraged in newer code and the set of the preceding functions
+  should be preferred.
+
+* vmap().  This can be used to make a long duration mapping of multiple
+  physical pages into a contiguous virtual space.  It needs global
+  synchronization to unmap.
 
 
 Using kmap_atomic
-- 
2.34.1

[PATCH v3 2/2] Documentation/vm: Include kernel-doc to highmem.rst

[Fabio M. De Francesco]

Include kernel-doc comments to highmem.rst from
include/kernel/highmem.h.

From now on, the "Using kmap_atomic" section is redundant and obsolete,
therefore remove it.

Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
Cc: Ira Weiny <ira.weiny@intel.com>
Cc: Matthew Wilcox <willy@infradead.org>
Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>
Signed-off-by: Fabio M. De Francesco <fmdefrancesco@gmail.com>
---
 Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 41 ++++++------------------------------
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 35 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
index 12dcfbee094d..5dcee6233cd5 100644
--- a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
+++ b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
@@ -117,41 +117,6 @@ The kernel contains several ways of creating temporary mappings:
   synchronization to unmap.
 
 
-Using kmap_atomic
-=================
-
-When and where to use kmap_atomic() is straightforward.  It is used when code
-wants to access the contents of a page that might be allocated from high memory
-(see __GFP_HIGHMEM), for example a page in the pagecache.  The API has two
-functions, and they can be used in a manner similar to the following::
-
-	/* Find the page of interest. */
-	struct page *page = find_get_page(mapping, offset);
-
-	/* Gain access to the contents of that page. */
-	void *vaddr = kmap_atomic(page);
-
-	/* Do something to the contents of that page. */
-	memset(vaddr, 0, PAGE_SIZE);
-
-	/* Unmap that page. */
-	kunmap_atomic(vaddr);
-
-Note that the kunmap_atomic() call takes the result of the kmap_atomic() call
-not the argument.
-
-If you need to map two pages because you want to copy from one page to
-another you need to keep the kmap_atomic calls strictly nested, like::
-
-	vaddr1 = kmap_atomic(page1);
-	vaddr2 = kmap_atomic(page2);
-
-	memcpy(vaddr1, vaddr2, PAGE_SIZE);
-
-	kunmap_atomic(vaddr2);
-	kunmap_atomic(vaddr1);
-
-
 Cost of Temporary Mappings
 ==========================
 
@@ -190,3 +155,9 @@ The general recommendation is that you don't use more than 8GiB on a 32-bit
 machine - although more might work for you and your workload, you're pretty
 much on your own - don't expect kernel developers to really care much if things
 come apart.
+
+
+Functions
+=========
+
+.. kernel-doc:: include/linux/highmem.h
-- 
2.34.1

Re: [PATCH v3 1/2] Documentation/vm: Extend "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section

[Ira Weiny]

On Sat, Apr 16, 2022 at 01:19:16AM +0200, Fabio M. De Francesco wrote:
> Extend and rework the "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section of the highmem.rst
> documentation.
> 
> Do a partial rework of the paragraph related to kmap() and add a new paragraph
> in order to document the set of kmap_local_*() functions. Re-order paragraphs
> in decreasing order of preference of usage.
> 
> Despite the local kmaps were introduced by Thomas Gleixner in October 2020,
> documentation was still missing information about them. These additions rely
> largely on Gleixner's patches, Jonathan Corbet's LWN articles, comments by
> Ira Weiny and Matthew Wilcox, and in-code comments from
> ./include/linux/highmem.h.
> 
> Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
> Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
> Cc: Ira Weiny <ira.weiny@intel.com>
> Cc: Matthew Wilcox <willy@infradead.org>
> Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>
> Signed-off-by: Fabio M. De Francesco <fmdefrancesco@gmail.com>
> ---
>  Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 67 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
>  1 file changed, 56 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
> index 0f69a9fec34d..12dcfbee094d 100644
> --- a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
> @@ -52,24 +52,69 @@ Temporary Virtual Mappings
>  
>  The kernel contains several ways of creating temporary mappings:
>  
> -* vmap().  This can be used to make a long duration mapping of multiple
> -  physical pages into a contiguous virtual space.  It needs global
> -  synchronization to unmap.
> -
> -* kmap().  This permits a short duration mapping of a single page.  It needs
> -  global synchronization, but is amortized somewhat.  It is also prone to
> -  deadlocks when using in a nested fashion, and so it is not recommended for
> -  new code.
> +* kmap_local_*().  These provide a set of functions that are used to require
> +  short term mappings. They can be invoked from any context (including
> +  interrupts) but the mappings can only be used in the context which acquired
> +  it.
> +
> +  These mappings are per thread, CPU local (i.e., migration from one CPU to
> +  another is disabled - this is why they are called "local"), but they don't
> +  disable preemption. It's valid to take pagefaults in a local kmap region,
> +  unless the context in which the local mapping is acquired does not allow
> +  it for other reasons.
> +
> +  If a task holding local kmaps is preempted, the maps are removed on context
> +  switch and restored when the task comes back on the CPU. As the maps are
> +  strictly CPU local, it is guaranteed that the task stays on the CPU and
> +  that the CPU cannot be unplugged until the local kmaps are released.
> +
> +  Nesting kmap_local.*() and kmap_atomic.*() mappings is allowed to a certain

NIT: Throughout this doc why say 'kmap_local.*'?  There is only one call named
kmap_local_page().

> +  extent (up to KMAP_TYPE_NR). Nested kmap_local.*() and kunmap_local.*()
> +  invocations have to be strictly ordered because the map implementation is
> +  stack based.

This type of documentation should (and I believe is, in the kdoc of
kmap_local_page().  Why not just add this text (or enhance what is there) and
include that here?

Ah I see that patch 2/2 does add the kdocs for the functions... ah ok  :-/

Perhaps this section should focus on why to use each of the kmap calls and not
how?  Leave the how to the kdoc?  Although all this information would be nice
inside the header for programmers who are looking at using these functions.

Here is an example of how I dealt with this on a recent auxiliary bus
documentation update:

https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20211202044305.4006853-8-ira.weiny@intel.com/

>  
>  * kmap_atomic().  This permits a very short duration mapping of a single
>    page.  Since the mapping is restricted to the CPU that issued it, it
>    performs well, but the issuing task is therefore required to stay on that
>    CPU until it has finished, lest some other task displace its mappings.
>  
> -  kmap_atomic() may also be used by interrupt contexts, since it is does not
> -  sleep and the caller may not sleep until after kunmap_atomic() is called.
> +  kmap_atomic() may also be used by interrupt contexts, since it does not
> +  sleep and the caller too can not sleep until after kunmap_atomic() is called.
> +  Each call of kmap_atomic() in the kernel creates a non-preemptible section and
> +  disable pagefaults.
> +
> +  This could be a source of unwanted latency, so it should be only used if it is
> +  absolutely required, otherwise the corresponding kmap_local_*() variant should
> +  be used if it is feasible.
> +
> +  On 64-bit systems, calls to kmap() and kmap_atomic() have no real work to do
                                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What about kmap_local_page()?

> +  because a 64-bit address space is more than sufficient to address all the
> +  physical memory, so all of physical memory appears in the direct mapping.
> +
> +  It is assumed that k[un]map_atomic() won't fail.
>  
> -  It may be assumed that k[un]map_atomic() won't fail.
> +* kmap().  This should be used to make short duration mapping of a single
> +  page with no restrictions on preemption or migration. It comes with an
> +  overhead as mapping space is restricted and protected by a global lock
> +  for synchronization. When mapping is no more needed, the address that
> +  the page was mapped to must be released with kunmap().
> +
> +  Mapping changes must be propagated across all the CPUs. kmap() also
> +  requires global TLB invalidation when the kmap's pool wraps and it might
> +  block when the mapping space is fully utilized until a slot becomes
> +  available. Therefore, kmap() is only callable from preemptible context.
> +
> +  All the above work is necessary if a mapping must last for a relatively
> +  long time but the bulk of high-memory mappings in the kernel are
> +  short-lived and only used in one place. This means that the cost of
> +  kmap() is mostly wasted in such cases. kmap() was not intended for long
> +  term mappings but it has morphed in that direction and its use is
> +  strongly discouraged in newer code and the set of the preceding functions
> +  should be preferred.

I like this paragraph especially the last sentence!  Nicely put!

But this is another reason I think this text in the code next to the kmap
calls.  Then it is more readily available to programmers who are looking at the
functions.

Thanks for the great work so far!
Ira

> +
> +* vmap().  This can be used to make a long duration mapping of multiple
> +  physical pages into a contiguous virtual space.  It needs global
> +  synchronization to unmap.
>  
>  
>  Using kmap_atomic
> -- 
> 2.34.1
> 

Re: [PATCH v3 2/2] Documentation/vm: Include kernel-doc to highmem.rst

[Ira Weiny]

On Sat, Apr 16, 2022 at 01:19:17AM +0200, Fabio M. De Francesco wrote:
> Include kernel-doc comments to highmem.rst from
> include/kernel/highmem.h.
> 
> From now on, the "Using kmap_atomic" section is redundant and obsolete,
> therefore remove it.
> 
> Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
> Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
> Cc: Ira Weiny <ira.weiny@intel.com>
> Cc: Matthew Wilcox <willy@infradead.org>
> Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>
> Signed-off-by: Fabio M. De Francesco <fmdefrancesco@gmail.com>

Reviewed-by: Ira Weiny <ira.weiny@intel.com>

> ---
>  Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 41 ++++++------------------------------
>  1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 35 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
> index 12dcfbee094d..5dcee6233cd5 100644
> --- a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
> @@ -117,41 +117,6 @@ The kernel contains several ways of creating temporary mappings:
>    synchronization to unmap.
>  
>  
> -Using kmap_atomic
> -=================
> -
> -When and where to use kmap_atomic() is straightforward.  It is used when code
> -wants to access the contents of a page that might be allocated from high memory
> -(see __GFP_HIGHMEM), for example a page in the pagecache.  The API has two
> -functions, and they can be used in a manner similar to the following::
> -
> -	/* Find the page of interest. */
> -	struct page *page = find_get_page(mapping, offset);
> -
> -	/* Gain access to the contents of that page. */
> -	void *vaddr = kmap_atomic(page);
> -
> -	/* Do something to the contents of that page. */
> -	memset(vaddr, 0, PAGE_SIZE);
> -
> -	/* Unmap that page. */
> -	kunmap_atomic(vaddr);
> -
> -Note that the kunmap_atomic() call takes the result of the kmap_atomic() call
> -not the argument.
> -
> -If you need to map two pages because you want to copy from one page to
> -another you need to keep the kmap_atomic calls strictly nested, like::
> -
> -	vaddr1 = kmap_atomic(page1);
> -	vaddr2 = kmap_atomic(page2);
> -
> -	memcpy(vaddr1, vaddr2, PAGE_SIZE);
> -
> -	kunmap_atomic(vaddr2);
> -	kunmap_atomic(vaddr1);
> -
> -
>  Cost of Temporary Mappings
>  ==========================
>  
> @@ -190,3 +155,9 @@ The general recommendation is that you don't use more than 8GiB on a 32-bit
>  machine - although more might work for you and your workload, you're pretty
>  much on your own - don't expect kernel developers to really care much if things
>  come apart.
> +
> +
> +Functions
> +=========
> +
> +.. kernel-doc:: include/linux/highmem.h
> -- 
> 2.34.1
> 

Re: [PATCH v3 1/2] Documentation/vm: Extend "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section

[Fabio M. De Francesco]

On lunedì 18 aprile 2022 23:30:12 CEST Ira Weiny wrote:
> On Sat, Apr 16, 2022 at 01:19:16AM +0200, Fabio M. De Francesco wrote:
> > Extend and rework the "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section of the 
highmem.rst
> > documentation.
> > 
> > Do a partial rework of the paragraph related to kmap() and add a new 
paragraph
> > in order to document the set of kmap_local_*() functions. Re-order 
paragraphs
> > in decreasing order of preference of usage.
> > 
> > Despite the local kmaps were introduced by Thomas Gleixner in October 
2020,
> > documentation was still missing information about them. These additions 
rely
> > largely on Gleixner's patches, Jonathan Corbet's LWN articles, comments 
by
> > Ira Weiny and Matthew Wilcox, and in-code comments from
> > ./include/linux/highmem.h.
> > 
> > Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
> > Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
> > Cc: Ira Weiny <ira.weiny@intel.com>
> > Cc: Matthew Wilcox <willy@infradead.org>
> > Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>
> > Signed-off-by: Fabio M. De Francesco <fmdefrancesco@gmail.com>
> > ---
> >  Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 67 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
> >  1 file changed, 56 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
> > 
> > diff --git a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst b/Documentation/vm/
highmem.rst
> > index 0f69a9fec34d..12dcfbee094d 100644
> > --- a/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
> > +++ b/Documentation/vm/highmem.rst
> > @@ -52,24 +52,69 @@ Temporary Virtual Mappings
> >  
> >  The kernel contains several ways of creating temporary mappings:
> >  
> > -* vmap().  This can be used to make a long duration mapping of 
multiple
> > -  physical pages into a contiguous virtual space.  It needs global
> > -  synchronization to unmap.
> > -
> > -* kmap().  This permits a short duration mapping of a single page.  It 
needs
> > -  global synchronization, but is amortized somewhat.  It is also prone 
to
> > -  deadlocks when using in a nested fashion, and so it is not 
recommended for
> > -  new code.
> > +* kmap_local_*().  These provide a set of functions that are used to 
require
> > +  short term mappings. They can be invoked from any context (including
> > +  interrupts) but the mappings can only be used in the context which 
acquired
> > +  it.
> > +
> > +  These mappings are per thread, CPU local (i.e., migration from one 
CPU to
> > +  another is disabled - this is why they are called "local"), but they 
don't
> > +  disable preemption. It's valid to take pagefaults in a local kmap 
region,
> > +  unless the context in which the local mapping is acquired does not 
allow
> > +  it for other reasons.
> > +
> > +  If a task holding local kmaps is preempted, the maps are removed on 
context
> > +  switch and restored when the task comes back on the CPU. As the maps 
are
> > +  strictly CPU local, it is guaranteed that the task stays on the CPU 
and
> > +  that the CPU cannot be unplugged until the local kmaps are released.
> > +
> > +  Nesting kmap_local.*() and kmap_atomic.*() mappings is allowed to a 
certain
> 
> NIT: Throughout this doc why say 'kmap_local.*'?  There is only one call 
named
> kmap_local_page().

Let me explain why throughout this text I used "kmap_local.*()"... As I 
wrote, I relied largely also on Thomas Gleixner's series. He used that way 
of referring to local kmaps.

I think that this was probably due to his introduction of several local 
kmaps related functions: kmap_local_page(), kmap_local_page_prot(), 
kmap_local_pfn(). 

However, I understand your "NIT" and I'll use a plain kmap_local_page() in 
the next version of this patch /series. After all, this paragraph is only 
talking about kmap_local_page().

> 
> > +  extent (up to KMAP_TYPE_NR). Nested kmap_local.*() and 
kunmap_local.*()
> > +  invocations have to be strictly ordered because the map 
implementation is
> > +  stack based.
> 
> This type of documentation should (and I believe is, in the kdoc of
> kmap_local_page().  Why not just add this text (or enhance what is there) 
and
> include that here?
> 
> Ah I see that patch 2/2 does add the kdocs for the functions... ah ok  
:-/
> 
> Perhaps this section should focus on why to use each of the kmap calls 
and not
> how?  Leave the how to the kdoc?  Although all this information would be 
nice
> inside the header for programmers who are looking at using these 
functions.

As I wrote in another email I sent yesterday, I agree with you.

In the next version, highmem.rst file will only have a little introduction 
about why we need to differentiate High Memory (Highmem) and the 
permanently mapped Low Memory (Normal), a brief description of the set 
functions we have to map Highmem, why we have them and which of them 
developers should avoid to use in new code.

Most of the information, especially how to use them, will be moved to 
highmem.h and highmem-internal.h.

Of course highmem.rst will automatically include this information as the 
kdoc directives are processed.

> Here is an example of how I dealt with this on a recent auxiliary bus
> documentation update:
> 
> https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20211202044305.4006853-8-ira.weiny@intel.com/

Thanks for this link. I have already skimmed through it. I think I 
understand the overall design. I'll rework this series taking into account 
what I read in your patch.

> 
> >  
> >  * kmap_atomic().  This permits a very short duration mapping of a 
single
> >    page.  Since the mapping is restricted to the CPU that issued it, it
> >    performs well, but the issuing task is therefore required to stay on 
that
> >    CPU until it has finished, lest some other task displace its 
mappings.
> >  
> > -  kmap_atomic() may also be used by interrupt contexts, since it is 
does not
> > -  sleep and the caller may not sleep until after kunmap_atomic() is 
called.
> > +  kmap_atomic() may also be used by interrupt contexts, since it does 
not
> > +  sleep and the caller too can not sleep until after kunmap_atomic() 
is called.
> > +  Each call of kmap_atomic() in the kernel creates a non-preemptible 
section and
> > +  disable pagefaults.
> > +
> > +  This could be a source of unwanted latency, so it should be only 
used if it is
> > +  absolutely required, otherwise the corresponding kmap_local_*() 
variant should
> > +  be used if it is feasible.
> > +
> > +  On 64-bit systems, calls to kmap() and kmap_atomic() have no real 
work to do
>                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> What about kmap_local_page()?

Yes, correct. I overlooked it.

> > +  because a 64-bit address space is more than sufficient to address 
all the
> > +  physical memory, so all of physical memory appears in the direct 
mapping.
> > +
> > +  It is assumed that k[un]map_atomic() won't fail.
> >  
> > -  It may be assumed that k[un]map_atomic() won't fail.
> > +* kmap().  This should be used to make short duration mapping of a 
single
> > +  page with no restrictions on preemption or migration. It comes with 
an
> > +  overhead as mapping space is restricted and protected by a global 
lock
> > +  for synchronization. When mapping is no more needed, the address 
that
> > +  the page was mapped to must be released with kunmap().
> > +
> > +  Mapping changes must be propagated across all the CPUs. kmap() also
> > +  requires global TLB invalidation when the kmap's pool wraps and it 
might
> > +  block when the mapping space is fully utilized until a slot becomes
> > +  available. Therefore, kmap() is only callable from preemptible 
context.
> > +
> > +  All the above work is necessary if a mapping must last for a 
relatively
> > +  long time but the bulk of high-memory mappings in the kernel are
> > +  short-lived and only used in one place. This means that the cost of
> > +  kmap() is mostly wasted in such cases. kmap() was not intended for 
long
> > +  term mappings but it has morphed in that direction and its use is
> > +  strongly discouraged in newer code and the set of the preceding 
functions
> > +  should be preferred.
> 
> I like this paragraph especially the last sentence!  Nicely put!

Thanks!

> But this is another reason I think this text in the code next to the kmap
> calls.  Then it is more readily available to programmers who are looking 
at the
> functions.

As I wrote above, I will be reworking this series with your suggestions in 
mind, but probably (due to other commitments) I will not be able to submit 
the next version before the weekend.

> Thanks for the great work so far!
> Ira

Thanks to you for this review and all the suggestions you have provided me,

Fabio


Fabio

Re: [PATCH v3 0/2] Documentation/vm: Rework and extend highmem.rst

[Fabio M. De Francesco]

On sabato 16 aprile 2022 01:19:15 CEST Fabio M. De Francesco wrote:
> Extend and rework the "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section of the 
highmem.rst
> documentation.
> 
> Do a partial rework of the paragraph related to kmap() and add a new 
paragraph
> in order to document the set of kmap_local_*() functions. Re-order 
paragraphs
> in decreasing order of preference of usage.
> 
> Include kerneldoc comments from include/linux/highmem.h and remove
> redundant and obsolete section about kmap_atomic().
> 
> v1-v2:
> 	1/2 - According to comments on v1 by Matthew Wilcox and Ira 
Weiny,
> 	      correct a mistake in text, format paragraphs to stay within 
> 	      the 75 characters limit, re-order the flow of the same 
> 	      paragraphs in decreasing order of preference of usage.
> 	2/2 - No patch.
> 
> v2->v3:
> 	1/2 - No changes.
> 	2/2 - Added patch to include kernel-doc to highmem.rst and
> 	      remove the now redundant section about kmap_atomic().
> 
> Fabio M. De Francesco (2):
>   Documentation/vm: Extend "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section in
>     highmem.rst
>   Documentation/vm: Include kernel-doc to highmem.rst
> 
>  Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 96 +++++++++++++++++++++---------------
>  1 file changed, 56 insertions(+), 40 deletions(-)
> 
> -- 
> 2.34.1
> 
Dear Maintainers,

Please drop this patch because it has been reworked and inserted as part of 
a new series whose subject is "Extend and reorganize Highmem's 
documentation" and which is about to be submitted.

Thanks,

Fabio M. De Francesco

Re: [PATCH v3 0/2] Documentation/vm: Rework and extend highmem.rst

[Fabio M. De Francesco]

On sabato 16 aprile 2022 00:48:57 CEST Fabio M. De Francesco wrote:
> Extend and rework the "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section of the 
highmem.rst
> documentation.
> 
> Do a partial rework of the paragraph related to kmap() and add a new 
paragraph
> in order to document the set of kmap_local_*() functions. Re-order 
paragraphs
> in decreasing order of preference of usage.
> 
> Include kerneldoc comments from include/linux/highmem.h and remove
> redundant and obsolete section about kmap_atomic().
> 
> v1-v2:
> 	1/2 - According to comments on v1 by Matthew Wilcox and Ira 
Weiny,
> 	      correct a mistake in text, format paragraphs to stay within 
> 	      the 75 characters limit, re-order the flow of the same 
> 	      paragraphs in decreasing order of preference of usage.
> 	2/2 - No patch.
> 
> v2->v3:
> 	1/2 - No changes.
> 	2/2 - Added patch to include kernel-doc to highmem.rst and
> 	      remove the now redundant section about kmap_atomic().
> 
> Fabio M. De Francesco (2):
>   Documentation/vm: Extend "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section in
>     highmem.rst
>   Documentation/vm: Include kernel-doc to highmem.rst
> 
>  Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 96 +++++++++++++++++++++---------------
>  1 file changed, 56 insertions(+), 40 deletions(-)
> 
> -- 
> 2.34.1

I'm sorry but I need to resend the whole series because for some reasons I 
forgot to CC the relevant lists.

Again, sorry for the noise,

Fabio M. De Francesco

[PATCH v3 0/2] Documentation/vm: Rework and extend highmem.rst

[Fabio M. De Francesco]

Extend and rework the "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section of the highmem.rst
documentation.

Do a partial rework of the paragraph related to kmap() and add a new paragraph
in order to document the set of kmap_local_*() functions. Re-order paragraphs
in decreasing order of preference of usage.

Include kerneldoc comments from include/linux/highmem.h and remove
redundant and obsolete section about kmap_atomic().

v1-v2:
	1/2 - According to comments on v1 by Mattew Wilcox and Ira Weiny,
	      correct a mistake in text, format paragraphs to stay within 
	      the 75 characters limit, re-order the flow of the same 
	      paragraphs in decreasing order of preference of usage.
	2/2 - No patch.

v2->v3:
	1/2 - No changes.
	2/2 - Added patch to include kernel-doc to highmem.rst and
	      remove the now redundant section about kmap_atomic().

Fabio M. De Francesco (2):
  Documentation/vm: Extend "Temporary Virtual Mappings" section in
    highmem.rst
  Documentation/vm: Include kernel-doc to highmem.rst

 Documentation/vm/highmem.rst | 96 +++++++++++++++++++++---------------
 1 file changed, 56 insertions(+), 40 deletions(-)

-- 
2.34.1