History log of /linux-master/Documentation/locking/seqlock.rst
Revision Date Author Comments
# d2bef8e1 27-Aug-2022 Akhil Raj <lf32.dev@gmail.com>

Remove duplicate words inside documentation

I have removed repeated `the` inside the documentation

Signed-off-by: Akhil Raj <lf32.dev@gmail.com>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20220827145359.32599-1-lf32.dev@gmail.com
Signed-off-by: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>


# cf486472 06-Dec-2020 Ahmed S. Darwish <a.darwish@linutronix.de>

Documentation: seqlock: s/LOCKTYPE/LOCKNAME/g

Sequence counters with an associated write serialization lock are called
seqcount_LOCKNAME_t. Fix the documentation accordingly.

While at it, remove a paragraph that inappropriately discussed a
seqlock.h implementation detail.

Fixes: 6dd699b13d53 ("seqlock: seqcount_LOCKNAME_t: Standardize naming convention")
Signed-off-by: Ahmed S. Darwish <a.darwish@linutronix.de>
Signed-off-by: Peter Zijlstra (Intel) <peterz@infradead.org>
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20201206162143.14387-2-a.darwish@linutronix.de


# 80793c34 27-Aug-2020 Ahmed S. Darwish <a.darwish@linutronix.de>

seqlock: Introduce seqcount_latch_t

Latch sequence counters are a multiversion concurrency control mechanism
where the seqcount_t counter even/odd value is used to switch between
two copies of protected data. This allows the seqcount_t read path to
safely interrupt its write side critical section (e.g. from NMIs).

Initially, latch sequence counters were implemented as a single write
function above plain seqcount_t: raw_write_seqcount_latch(). The read
side was expected to use plain seqcount_t raw_read_seqcount().

A specialized latch read function, raw_read_seqcount_latch(), was later
added. It became the standardized way for latch read paths. Due to the
dependent load, it has one read memory barrier less than the plain
seqcount_t raw_read_seqcount() API.

Only raw_write_seqcount_latch() and raw_read_seqcount_latch() should be
used with latch sequence counters. Having *unique* read and write path
APIs means that latch sequence counters are actually a data type of
their own -- just inappropriately overloading plain seqcount_t.

Introduce seqcount_latch_t. This adds type-safety and ensures that only
the correct latch-safe APIs are to be used.

Not to break bisection, let the latch APIs also accept plain seqcount_t
or seqcount_raw_spinlock_t. After converting all call sites to
seqcount_latch_t, only that new data type will be allowed.

References: 9b0fd802e8c0 ("seqcount: Add raw_write_seqcount_latch()")
References: 7fc26327b756 ("seqlock: Introduce raw_read_seqcount_latch()")
References: aadd6e5caaac ("time/sched_clock: Use raw_read_seqcount_latch()")
Signed-off-by: Ahmed S. Darwish <a.darwish@linutronix.de>
Signed-off-by: Peter Zijlstra (Intel) <peterz@infradead.org>
Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20200827114044.11173-4-a.darwish@linutronix.de


# 55f3560d 20-Jul-2020 Ahmed S. Darwish <a.darwish@linutronix.de>

seqlock: Extend seqcount API with associated locks

A sequence counter write side critical section must be protected by some
form of locking to serialize writers. If the serialization primitive is
not disabling preemption implicitly, preemption has to be explicitly
disabled before entering the write side critical section.

There is no built-in debugging mechanism to verify that the lock used
for writer serialization is held and preemption is disabled. Some usage
sites like dma-buf have explicit lockdep checks for the writer-side
lock, but this covers only a small portion of the sequence counter usage
in the kernel.

Add new sequence counter types which allows to associate a lock to the
sequence counter at initialization time. The seqcount API functions are
extended to provide appropriate lockdep assertions depending on the
seqcount/lock type.

For sequence counters with associated locks that do not implicitly
disable preemption, preemption protection is enforced in the sequence
counter write side functions. This removes the need to explicitly add
preempt_disable/enable() around the write side critical sections: the
write_begin/end() functions for these new sequence counter types
automatically do this.

Introduce the following seqcount types with associated locks:

seqcount_spinlock_t
seqcount_raw_spinlock_t
seqcount_rwlock_t
seqcount_mutex_t
seqcount_ww_mutex_t

Extend the seqcount read and write functions to branch out to the
specific seqcount_LOCKTYPE_t implementation at compile-time. This avoids
kernel API explosion per each new seqcount_LOCKTYPE_t added. Add such
compile-time type detection logic into a new, internal, seqlock header.

Document the proper seqcount_LOCKTYPE_t usage, and rationale, at
Documentation/locking/seqlock.rst.

If lockdep is disabled, this lock association is compiled out and has
neither storage size nor runtime overhead.

Signed-off-by: Ahmed S. Darwish <a.darwish@linutronix.de>
Signed-off-by: Peter Zijlstra (Intel) <peterz@infradead.org>
Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20200720155530.1173732-10-a.darwish@linutronix.de


# 0d24f65e 20-Jul-2020 Ahmed S. Darwish <a.darwish@linutronix.de>

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 <a.darwish@linutronix.de>
Signed-off-by: Peter Zijlstra (Intel) <peterz@infradead.org>
Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20200720155530.1173732-2-a.darwish@linutronix.de