ebb477cb2f
The Linux kernel has a number of categories of ordering primitives, which are recorded in the LKMM implementation and hinted at by cheatsheet.txt. But there is no overview of these categories, and such an overview is needed in order to understand multithreaded LKMM litmus tests. This commit therefore adds an ordering.txt as well as extracting a control-dependencies.txt from memory-barriers.txt. It also updates the README file. [ paulmck: Apply Akira Yokosawa file-placement feedback. ] [ paulmck: Apply Alan Stern feedback. ] [ paulmck: Apply self-review feedback. ] Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@kernel.org>
77 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
77 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
It has been said that successful communication requires first identifying
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what your audience knows and then building a bridge from their current
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knowledge to what they need to know. Unfortunately, the expected
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Linux-kernel memory model (LKMM) audience might be anywhere from novice
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to expert both in kernel hacking and in understanding LKMM.
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This document therefore points out a number of places to start reading,
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depending on what you know and what you would like to learn. Please note
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that the documents later in this list assume that the reader understands
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the material provided by documents earlier in this list.
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o You are new to Linux-kernel concurrency: simple.txt
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o You have some background in Linux-kernel concurrency, and would
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like an overview of the types of low-level concurrency primitives
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that the Linux kernel provides: ordering.txt
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Here, "low level" means atomic operations to single variables.
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o You are familiar with the Linux-kernel concurrency primitives
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that you need, and just want to get started with LKMM litmus
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tests: litmus-tests.txt
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o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency, and would
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like a detailed intuitive understanding of LKMM, including
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situations involving more than two threads: recipes.txt
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o You would like a detailed understanding of what your compiler can
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and cannot do to control dependencies: control-dependencies.txt
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o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use of
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LKMM, and would like a quick reference: cheatsheet.txt
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o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use
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of LKMM, and would like to learn about LKMM's requirements,
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rationale, and implementation: explanation.txt
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o You are interested in the publications related to LKMM, including
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hardware manuals, academic literature, standards-committee
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working papers, and LWN articles: references.txt
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====================
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DESCRIPTION OF FILES
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====================
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README
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This file.
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cheatsheet.txt
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Quick-reference guide to the Linux-kernel memory model.
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control-dependencies.txt
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Guide to preventing compiler optimizations from destroying
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your control dependencies.
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explanation.txt
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Detailed description of the memory model.
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litmus-tests.txt
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The format, features, capabilities, and limitations of the litmus
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tests that LKMM can evaluate.
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ordering.txt
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Overview of the Linux kernel's low-level memory-ordering
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primitives by category.
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recipes.txt
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Common memory-ordering patterns.
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references.txt
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Background information.
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simple.txt
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Starting point for someone new to Linux-kernel concurrency.
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And also a reminder of the simpler approaches to concurrency!
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