linux-kernel - Re: [patch] fs: remove local variable copy of f

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Message-ID: <342069.46185.qm@web52010.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Date:	Fri, 2 May 2008 08:33:50 -0700 (PDT)
From:	Matti Linnanvuori <mattilinnanvuori@...oo.com>
To:	Al Viro <viro@...IV.linux.org.uk>
Cc:	linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [patch] fs: remove local variable copy of f_pos to enable thread-safe updates



----- Original Message ----
> From: Al Viro <viro@...IV.linux.org.uk>
> To: Matti Linnanvuori <mattilinnanvuori@...oo.com>
> Cc: linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org; linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
> Sent: Friday, May 2, 2008 12:33:02 PM
> Subject: Re: [patch] fs: remove local variable copy of f_pos to enable thread-safe updates
> 
> On Fri, May 02, 2008 at 02:14:25AM -0700, Matti Linnanvuori wrote:
> > From: Matti Linnanvuori 
> > 
> > Remove local variable copy of f_pos to enable thread-safe updates in
> > implementation functions of system calls read, readv, write and writev.
> 
> ... and we are back to square one with racy instances of ->read() that
> will use *pos twice, leaving a window for e.g. lseek() to invalidate
> e.g. wraparound tests.  Not that deciding what to do at the end of
> e.g. read() with lseek() happening in the middle would be fun anyway -
> esp. since you don't remember the kind of seek it had been.

File systems can be written so that implementations of read, lseek etc.
acquire a lock before using *pos, which precludes races. That was the
idea behind my patch. So, my patch does not necessarily cause races.
read instances can be racy in Linux now because there is no lock to
serialize read etc. system calls.



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