Add a detailed note to explain the potential side effects of plain-accessing the gp pointer using a plain load, without using the rcu_dereference() macros; which might trip neighboring code that does use rcu_dereference(). I haven't verified this with a compiler, but this is what I gather from the below link using Will's experience with READ_ONCE(). Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20230728124412.GA21303@willie-the-truck/ Cc: Will Deacon <will@xxxxxxxxxx> Signed-off-by: Joel Fernandes (Google) <joel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> --- .../RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.rst | 32 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 32 insertions(+) diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.rst b/Documentation/RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.rst index f3b605285a87..e0b896d3fb9b 100644 --- a/Documentation/RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.rst +++ b/Documentation/RCU/Design/Requirements/Requirements.rst @@ -376,6 +376,38 @@ mechanism, most commonly locking or reference counting .. |high-quality implementation of C11 memory_order_consume [PDF]| replace:: high-quality implementation of C11 ``memory_order_consume`` [PDF] .. _high-quality implementation of C11 memory_order_consume [PDF]: http://www.rdrop.com/users/paulmck/RCU/consume.2015.07.13a.pdf +Note that, there can be strange side effects (due to compiler optimizations) if +``gp`` is ever accessed using a plain load (i.e. without ``READ_ONCE()`` or +``rcu_dereference()``) potentially hurting any succeeding +``rcu_dereference()``. For example, consider the code: + + :: + + 1 bool do_something_gp(void) + 2 { + 3 void *tmp; + 4 rcu_read_lock(); + 5 tmp = gp; // Plain-load of GP. + 6 printk("Point gp = %p\n", tmp); + 7 + 8 p = rcu_dereference(gp); + 9 if (p) { + 10 do_something(p->a, p->b); + 11 rcu_read_unlock(); + 12 return true; + 13 } + 14 rcu_read_unlock(); + 15 return false; + 16 } + +The behavior of plain accesses involved in a data race is non-deterministic in +the face of compiler optimizations. Since accesses to the ``gp`` pointer is +by-design a data race, the compiler could trip this code by caching the value +of ``gp`` into a register in line 5, and then using the value of the register +to satisfy the load in line 10. Thus it is important to never mix +plain accesses of a memory location with rcu_dereference() of the same memory +location, in code involved in a data race. + In short, updaters use rcu_assign_pointer() and readers use rcu_dereference(), and these two RCU API elements work together to ensure that readers have a consistent view of newly added data elements. -- 2.41.0.585.gd2178a4bd4-goog
