linux-kernel - Re: Uses for memory barriers

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Message-Id: <200609121707.32078.oliver@neukum.org>
Date:	Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:07:31 +0200
From:	Oliver Neukum <oliver@...kum.org>
To:	paulmck@...ibm.com
Cc:	David Howells <dhowells@...hat.com>,
	Alan Stern <stern@...land.harvard.edu>,
	Kernel development list <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: Uses for memory barriers

Am Dienstag, 12. September 2006 16:55 schrieb Paul E. McKenney:
> On Tue, Sep 12, 2006 at 12:22:00PM +0200, Oliver Neukum wrote:
> > Am Dienstag, 12. September 2006 11:01 schrieb David Howells:
> > > Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@...ibm.com> wrote:
> > > 
> > > > 2.	All stores to a given single memory location will be perceived
> > > > 	as having occurred in the same order by all CPUs.
> > > 
> > > Does that take into account a CPU combining or discarding coincident memory
> > > operations?
> > > 
> > > For instance, a CPU asked to issue two writes to the same location may discard
> > > the first if it hasn't done it yet.
> > 
> > Does it make sense? If you do:
> > mov #x, $a
> > wmb
> > mov #y, $b
> > wmb
> > mov #z, $a
> > 
> > The CPU must not discard any write. If you do
> > 
> > mov #x, $a
> > mov #y, $b
> > wmb
> > mov #z, $a
> > 
> > The first store to $a is superfluous if you have only inter-CPU
> > issues in mind.
> 
> In both cases, the CPU might "discard" the write, if there are no intervening
> reads or writes to the same location.  The only difference between your

How can it know that?

> two examples is the ordering of the first store to $a and the store to $b.
> In your first example, other CPUs must see the first store to $a as happening
> first, while in your second example, other CPUs might see the store to $b
> as happening first.

There's no way in the second case a CPU might tell whether the first
write ever happened.

	Regards
		Oliver
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