From 0d24f65e933ca89d55d17f6dbdb2a72ca88f0992 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Ahmed S. Darwish" Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 17:55:07 +0200 Subject: Documentation: locking: Describe seqlock design and usage Proper documentation for the design and usage of sequence counters and sequential locks does not exist. Complete the seqlock.h documentation as follows: - Divide all documentation on a seqcount_t vs. seqlock_t basis. The description for both mechanisms was intermingled, which is incorrect since the usage constrains for each type are vastly different. - Add an introductory paragraph describing the internal design of, and rationale for, sequence counters. - Document seqcount_t writer non-preemptibility requirement, which was not previously documented anywhere, and provide a clear rationale. - Provide template code for seqcount_t and seqlock_t initialization and reader/writer critical sections. - Recommend using seqlock_t by default. It implicitly handles the serialization and non-preemptibility requirements of writers. At seqlock.h: - Remove references to brlocks as they've long been removed from the kernel. - Remove references to gcc-3.x since the kernel's minimum supported gcc version is 4.9. References: 0f6ed63b1707 ("no need to keep brlock macros anymore...") References: 6ec4476ac825 ("Raise gcc version requirement to 4.9") Signed-off-by: Ahmed S. Darwish Signed-off-by: Peter Zijlstra (Intel) Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20200720155530.1173732-2-a.darwish@linutronix.de --- include/linux/seqlock.h | 85 +++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------- 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+), 45 deletions(-) (limited to 'include/linux/seqlock.h') diff --git a/include/linux/seqlock.h b/include/linux/seqlock.h index 8b97204f35a7..299d68f10325 100644 --- a/include/linux/seqlock.h +++ b/include/linux/seqlock.h @@ -1,36 +1,15 @@ /* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 */ #ifndef __LINUX_SEQLOCK_H #define __LINUX_SEQLOCK_H + /* - * Reader/writer consistent mechanism without starving writers. This type of - * lock for data where the reader wants a consistent set of information - * and is willing to retry if the information changes. There are two types - * of readers: - * 1. Sequence readers which never block a writer but they may have to retry - * if a writer is in progress by detecting change in sequence number. - * Writers do not wait for a sequence reader. - * 2. Locking readers which will wait if a writer or another locking reader - * is in progress. A locking reader in progress will also block a writer - * from going forward. Unlike the regular rwlock, the read lock here is - * exclusive so that only one locking reader can get it. - * - * This is not as cache friendly as brlock. Also, this may not work well - * for data that contains pointers, because any writer could - * invalidate a pointer that a reader was following. - * - * Expected non-blocking reader usage: - * do { - * seq = read_seqbegin(&foo); - * ... - * } while (read_seqretry(&foo, seq)); - * - * - * On non-SMP the spin locks disappear but the writer still needs - * to increment the sequence variables because an interrupt routine could - * change the state of the data. - * - * Based on x86_64 vsyscall gettimeofday - * by Keith Owens and Andrea Arcangeli + * seqcount_t / seqlock_t - a reader-writer consistency mechanism with + * lockless readers (read-only retry loops), and no writer starvation. + * + * See Documentation/locking/seqlock.rst + * + * Copyrights: + * - Based on x86_64 vsyscall gettimeofday: Keith Owens, Andrea Arcangeli */ #include @@ -41,8 +20,8 @@ #include /* - * The seqlock interface does not prescribe a precise sequence of read - * begin/retry/end. For readers, typically there is a call to + * The seqlock seqcount_t interface does not prescribe a precise sequence of + * read begin/retry/end. For readers, typically there is a call to * read_seqcount_begin() and read_seqcount_retry(), however, there are more * esoteric cases which do not follow this pattern. * @@ -50,16 +29,30 @@ * via seqcount_t under KCSAN: upon beginning a seq-reader critical section, * pessimistically mark the next KCSAN_SEQLOCK_REGION_MAX memory accesses as * atomics; if there is a matching read_seqcount_retry() call, no following - * memory operations are considered atomic. Usage of seqlocks via seqlock_t - * interface is not affected. + * memory operations are considered atomic. Usage of the seqlock_t interface + * is not affected. */ #define KCSAN_SEQLOCK_REGION_MAX 1000 /* - * Version using sequence counter only. - * This can be used when code has its own mutex protecting the - * updating starting before the write_seqcountbeqin() and ending - * after the write_seqcount_end(). + * Sequence counters (seqcount_t) + * + * This is the raw counting mechanism, without any writer protection. + * + * Write side critical sections must be serialized and non-preemptible. + * + * If readers can be invoked from hardirq or softirq contexts, + * interrupts or bottom halves must also be respectively disabled before + * entering the write section. + * + * This mechanism can't be used if the protected data contains pointers, + * as the writer can invalidate a pointer that a reader is following. + * + * If it's desired to automatically handle the sequence counter writer + * serialization and non-preemptibility requirements, use a sequential + * lock (seqlock_t) instead. + * + * See Documentation/locking/seqlock.rst */ typedef struct seqcount { unsigned sequence; @@ -398,10 +391,6 @@ static inline void raw_write_seqcount_latch(seqcount_t *s) smp_wmb(); /* increment "sequence" before following stores */ } -/* - * Sequence counter only version assumes that callers are using their - * own mutexing. - */ static inline void write_seqcount_begin_nested(seqcount_t *s, int subclass) { raw_write_seqcount_begin(s); @@ -434,15 +423,21 @@ static inline void write_seqcount_invalidate(seqcount_t *s) kcsan_nestable_atomic_end(); } +/* + * Sequential locks (seqlock_t) + * + * Sequence counters with an embedded spinlock for writer serialization + * and non-preemptibility. + * + * For more info, see: + * - Comments on top of seqcount_t + * - Documentation/locking/seqlock.rst + */ typedef struct { struct seqcount seqcount; spinlock_t lock; } seqlock_t; -/* - * These macros triggered gcc-3.x compile-time problems. We think these are - * OK now. Be cautious. - */ #define __SEQLOCK_UNLOCKED(lockname) \ { \ .seqcount = SEQCNT_ZERO(lockname), \ -- cgit v1.2.3