It has been said that successful communication requires first identifying
what your audience knows and then building a bridge from their current
knowledge to what they need to know. Unfortunately, the expected
Linux-kernel memory model (LKMM) audience might be anywhere from novice
to expert both in kernel hacking and in understanding LKMM.
This document therefore points out a number of places to start reading,
depending on what you know and what you would like to learn. Please note
that the documents later in this list assume that the reader understands
the material provided by documents earlier in this list.
If LKMM-specific terms lost you, glossary.txt might help you.
o You are new to Linux-kernel concurrency: simple.txt
o You have some background in Linux-kernel concurrency, and would
like an overview of the types of low-level concurrency primitives
that the Linux kernel provides: ordering.txt
Here, "low level" means atomic operations to single variables.
o You are familiar with the Linux-kernel concurrency primitives
that you need, and just want to get started with LKMM litmus
tests: litmus-tests.txt
o You would like to access lock-protected shared variables without
having their corresponding locks held: locking.txt
o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency, and would
like a detailed intuitive understanding of LKMM, including
situations involving more than two threads: recipes.txt
o You would like a detailed understanding of what your compiler can
and cannot do to control dependencies: control-dependencies.txt
o You would like to mark concurrent normal accesses to shared
variables so that intentional "racy" accesses can be properly
documented, especially when you are responding to complaints
from KCSAN: access-marking.txt
o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use of
LKMM, and would like a quick reference: cheatsheet.txt
o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use
of LKMM, and would like to learn about LKMM's requirements,
rationale, and implementation: explanation.txt and
herd-representation.txt
o You are interested in the publications related to LKMM, including
hardware manuals, academic literature, standards-committee
working papers, and LWN articles: references.txt
====================
DESCRIPTION OF FILES
====================
README
This file.
access-marking.txt
Guidelines for marking intentionally concurrent accesses to
shared memory.
cheatsheet.txt
Quick-reference guide to the Linux-kernel memory model.
control-dependencies.txt
Guide to preventing compiler optimizations from destroying
your control dependencies.
explanation.txt
Detailed description of the memory model.
glossary.txt
Brief definitions of LKMM-related terms.
herd-representation.txt
The (abstract) representation of the Linux-kernel concurrency
primitives in terms of events.
litmus-tests.txt
The format, features, capabilities, and limitations of the litmus
tests that LKMM can evaluate.
locking.txt
Rules for accessing lock-protected shared variables outside of
their corresponding critical sections.
ordering.txt
Overview of the Linux kernel's low-level memory-ordering
primitives by category.
recipes.txt
Common memory-ordering patterns.
references.txt
Background information.
simple.txt
Starting point for someone new to Linux-kernel concurrency.
And also a reminder of the simpler approaches to concurrency!
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