linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH 0/24] make atomic_read() behave consistently across all architectures

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Date:	Fri, 17 Aug 2007 21:13:35 -0700 (PDT)
From:	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:	Satyam Sharma <satyam@...radead.org>
cc:	Christoph Lameter <clameter@....com>,
	"Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>,
	Herbert Xu <herbert@...dor.apana.org.au>,
	Nick Piggin <nickpiggin@...oo.com.au>,
	Paul Mackerras <paulus@...ba.org>,
	Segher Boessenkool <segher@...nel.crashing.org>,
	heiko.carstens@...ibm.com, horms@...ge.net.au,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, rpjday@...dspring.com, ak@...e.de,
	netdev@...r.kernel.org, cfriesen@...tel.com,
	akpm@...ux-foundation.org, jesper.juhl@...il.com,
	linux-arch@...r.kernel.org, zlynx@....org, schwidefsky@...ibm.com,
	Chris Snook <csnook@...hat.com>, davem@...emloft.net,
	wensong@...ux-vs.org, wjiang@...ilience.com
Subject: Re: [PATCH 0/24] make atomic_read() behave consistently across all
 architectures



On Sat, 18 Aug 2007, Satyam Sharma wrote:
> 
> No code does (or would do, or should do):
> 
> 	x.counter++;
> 
> on an "atomic_t x;" anyway.

That's just an example of a general problem.

No, you don't use "x.counter++". But you *do* use

	if (atomic_read(&x) <= 1)

and loading into a register is stupid and pointless, when you could just 
do it as a regular memory-operand to the cmp instruction.

And as far as the compiler is concerned, the problem is the 100% same: 
combining operations with the volatile memop.

The fact is, a compiler that thinks that

	movl mem,reg
	cmpl $val,reg

is any better than

	cmpl $val,mem

is just not a very good compiler. But when talking about "volatile", 
that's exactly what ytou always get (and always have gotten - this is 
not a regression, and I doubt gcc is alone in this).

			Linus
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