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authorDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-04-27 10:05:51 +0000
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
+
+======
+XArray
+======
+
+:Author: Matthew Wilcox
+
+Overview
+========
+
+The XArray is an abstract data type which behaves like a very large array
+of pointers. It meets many of the same needs as a hash or a conventional
+resizable array. Unlike a hash, it allows you to sensibly go to the
+next or previous entry in a cache-efficient manner. In contrast to a
+resizable array, there is no need to copy data or change MMU mappings in
+order to grow the array. It is more memory-efficient, parallelisable
+and cache friendly than a doubly-linked list. It takes advantage of
+RCU to perform lookups without locking.
+
+The XArray implementation is efficient when the indices used are densely
+clustered; hashing the object and using the hash as the index will not
+perform well. The XArray is optimised for small indices, but still has
+good performance with large indices. If your index can be larger than
+``ULONG_MAX`` then the XArray is not the data type for you. The most
+important user of the XArray is the page cache.
+
+Normal pointers may be stored in the XArray directly. They must be 4-byte
+aligned, which is true for any pointer returned from kmalloc() and
+alloc_page(). It isn't true for arbitrary user-space pointers,
+nor for function pointers. You can store pointers to statically allocated
+objects, as long as those objects have an alignment of at least 4.
+
+You can also store integers between 0 and ``LONG_MAX`` in the XArray.
+You must first convert it into an entry using xa_mk_value().
+When you retrieve an entry from the XArray, you can check whether it is
+a value entry by calling xa_is_value(), and convert it back to
+an integer by calling xa_to_value().
+
+Some users want to tag the pointers they store in the XArray. You can
+call xa_tag_pointer() to create an entry with a tag, xa_untag_pointer()
+to turn a tagged entry back into an untagged pointer and xa_pointer_tag()
+to retrieve the tag of an entry. Tagged pointers use the same bits that
+are used to distinguish value entries from normal pointers, so you must
+decide whether they want to store value entries or tagged pointers in
+any particular XArray.
+
+The XArray does not support storing IS_ERR() pointers as some
+conflict with value entries or internal entries.
+
+An unusual feature of the XArray is the ability to create entries which
+occupy a range of indices. Once stored to, looking up any index in
+the range will return the same entry as looking up any other index in
+the range. Storing to any index will store to all of them. Multi-index
+entries can be explicitly split into smaller entries, or storing ``NULL``
+into any entry will cause the XArray to forget about the range.
+
+Normal API
+==========
+
+Start by initialising an XArray, either with DEFINE_XARRAY()
+for statically allocated XArrays or xa_init() for dynamically
+allocated ones. A freshly-initialised XArray contains a ``NULL``
+pointer at every index.
+
+You can then set entries using xa_store() and get entries
+using xa_load(). xa_store will overwrite any entry with the
+new entry and return the previous entry stored at that index. You can
+use xa_erase() instead of calling xa_store() with a
+``NULL`` entry. There is no difference between an entry that has never
+been stored to, one that has been erased and one that has most recently
+had ``NULL`` stored to it.
+
+You can conditionally replace an entry at an index by using
+xa_cmpxchg(). Like cmpxchg(), it will only succeed if
+the entry at that index has the 'old' value. It also returns the entry
+which was at that index; if it returns the same entry which was passed as
+'old', then xa_cmpxchg() succeeded.
+
+If you want to only store a new entry to an index if the current entry
+at that index is ``NULL``, you can use xa_insert() which
+returns ``-EBUSY`` if the entry is not empty.
+
+You can copy entries out of the XArray into a plain array by calling
+xa_extract(). Or you can iterate over the present entries in the XArray
+by calling xa_for_each(), xa_for_each_start() or xa_for_each_range().
+You may prefer to use xa_find() or xa_find_after() to move to the next
+present entry in the XArray.
+
+Calling xa_store_range() stores the same entry in a range
+of indices. If you do this, some of the other operations will behave
+in a slightly odd way. For example, marking the entry at one index
+may result in the entry being marked at some, but not all of the other
+indices. Storing into one index may result in the entry retrieved by
+some, but not all of the other indices changing.
+
+Sometimes you need to ensure that a subsequent call to xa_store()
+will not need to allocate memory. The xa_reserve() function
+will store a reserved entry at the indicated index. Users of the
+normal API will see this entry as containing ``NULL``. If you do
+not need to use the reserved entry, you can call xa_release()
+to remove the unused entry. If another user has stored to the entry
+in the meantime, xa_release() will do nothing; if instead you
+want the entry to become ``NULL``, you should use xa_erase().
+Using xa_insert() on a reserved entry will fail.
+
+If all entries in the array are ``NULL``, the xa_empty() function
+will return ``true``.
+
+Finally, you can remove all entries from an XArray by calling
+xa_destroy(). If the XArray entries are pointers, you may wish
+to free the entries first. You can do this by iterating over all present
+entries in the XArray using the xa_for_each() iterator.
+
+Search Marks
+------------
+
+Each entry in the array has three bits associated with it called marks.
+Each mark may be set or cleared independently of the others. You can
+iterate over marked entries by using the xa_for_each_marked() iterator.
+
+You can enquire whether a mark is set on an entry by using
+xa_get_mark(). If the entry is not ``NULL``, you can set a mark on it
+by using xa_set_mark() and remove the mark from an entry by calling
+xa_clear_mark(). You can ask whether any entry in the XArray has a
+particular mark set by calling xa_marked(). Erasing an entry from the
+XArray causes all marks associated with that entry to be cleared.
+
+Setting or clearing a mark on any index of a multi-index entry will
+affect all indices covered by that entry. Querying the mark on any
+index will return the same result.
+
+There is no way to iterate over entries which are not marked; the data
+structure does not allow this to be implemented efficiently. There are
+not currently iterators to search for logical combinations of bits (eg
+iterate over all entries which have both ``XA_MARK_1`` and ``XA_MARK_2``
+set, or iterate over all entries which have ``XA_MARK_0`` or ``XA_MARK_2``
+set). It would be possible to add these if a user arises.
+
+Allocating XArrays
+------------------
+
+If you use DEFINE_XARRAY_ALLOC() to define the XArray, or
+initialise it by passing ``XA_FLAGS_ALLOC`` to xa_init_flags(),
+the XArray changes to track whether entries are in use or not.
+
+You can call xa_alloc() to store the entry at an unused index
+in the XArray. If you need to modify the array from interrupt context,
+you can use xa_alloc_bh() or xa_alloc_irq() to disable
+interrupts while allocating the ID.
+
+Using xa_store(), xa_cmpxchg() or xa_insert() will
+also mark the entry as being allocated. Unlike a normal XArray, storing
+``NULL`` will mark the entry as being in use, like xa_reserve().
+To free an entry, use xa_erase() (or xa_release() if
+you only want to free the entry if it's ``NULL``).
+
+By default, the lowest free entry is allocated starting from 0. If you
+want to allocate entries starting at 1, it is more efficient to use
+DEFINE_XARRAY_ALLOC1() or ``XA_FLAGS_ALLOC1``. If you want to
+allocate IDs up to a maximum, then wrap back around to the lowest free
+ID, you can use xa_alloc_cyclic().
+
+You cannot use ``XA_MARK_0`` with an allocating XArray as this mark
+is used to track whether an entry is free or not. The other marks are
+available for your use.
+
+Memory allocation
+-----------------
+
+The xa_store(), xa_cmpxchg(), xa_alloc(),
+xa_reserve() and xa_insert() functions take a gfp_t
+parameter in case the XArray needs to allocate memory to store this entry.
+If the entry is being deleted, no memory allocation needs to be performed,
+and the GFP flags specified will be ignored.
+
+It is possible for no memory to be allocatable, particularly if you pass
+a restrictive set of GFP flags. In that case, the functions return a
+special value which can be turned into an errno using xa_err().
+If you don't need to know exactly which error occurred, using
+xa_is_err() is slightly more efficient.
+
+Locking
+-------
+
+When using the Normal API, you do not have to worry about locking.
+The XArray uses RCU and an internal spinlock to synchronise access:
+
+No lock needed:
+ * xa_empty()
+ * xa_marked()
+
+Takes RCU read lock:
+ * xa_load()
+ * xa_for_each()
+ * xa_for_each_start()
+ * xa_for_each_range()
+ * xa_find()
+ * xa_find_after()
+ * xa_extract()
+ * xa_get_mark()
+
+Takes xa_lock internally:
+ * xa_store()
+ * xa_store_bh()
+ * xa_store_irq()
+ * xa_insert()
+ * xa_insert_bh()
+ * xa_insert_irq()
+ * xa_erase()
+ * xa_erase_bh()
+ * xa_erase_irq()
+ * xa_cmpxchg()
+ * xa_cmpxchg_bh()
+ * xa_cmpxchg_irq()
+ * xa_store_range()
+ * xa_alloc()
+ * xa_alloc_bh()
+ * xa_alloc_irq()
+ * xa_reserve()
+ * xa_reserve_bh()
+ * xa_reserve_irq()
+ * xa_destroy()
+ * xa_set_mark()
+ * xa_clear_mark()
+
+Assumes xa_lock held on entry:
+ * __xa_store()
+ * __xa_insert()
+ * __xa_erase()
+ * __xa_cmpxchg()
+ * __xa_alloc()
+ * __xa_set_mark()
+ * __xa_clear_mark()
+
+If you want to take advantage of the lock to protect the data structures
+that you are storing in the XArray, you can call xa_lock()
+before calling xa_load(), then take a reference count on the
+object you have found before calling xa_unlock(). This will
+prevent stores from removing the object from the array between looking
+up the object and incrementing the refcount. You can also use RCU to
+avoid dereferencing freed memory, but an explanation of that is beyond
+the scope of this document.
+
+The XArray does not disable interrupts or softirqs while modifying
+the array. It is safe to read the XArray from interrupt or softirq
+context as the RCU lock provides enough protection.
+
+If, for example, you want to store entries in the XArray in process
+context and then erase them in softirq context, you can do that this way::
+
+ void foo_init(struct foo *foo)
+ {
+ xa_init_flags(&foo->array, XA_FLAGS_LOCK_BH);
+ }
+
+ int foo_store(struct foo *foo, unsigned long index, void *entry)
+ {
+ int err;
+
+ xa_lock_bh(&foo->array);
+ err = xa_err(__xa_store(&foo->array, index, entry, GFP_KERNEL));
+ if (!err)
+ foo->count++;
+ xa_unlock_bh(&foo->array);
+ return err;
+ }
+
+ /* foo_erase() is only called from softirq context */
+ void foo_erase(struct foo *foo, unsigned long index)
+ {
+ xa_lock(&foo->array);
+ __xa_erase(&foo->array, index);
+ foo->count--;
+ xa_unlock(&foo->array);
+ }
+
+If you are going to modify the XArray from interrupt or softirq context,
+you need to initialise the array using xa_init_flags(), passing
+``XA_FLAGS_LOCK_IRQ`` or ``XA_FLAGS_LOCK_BH``.
+
+The above example also shows a common pattern of wanting to extend the
+coverage of the xa_lock on the store side to protect some statistics
+associated with the array.
+
+Sharing the XArray with interrupt context is also possible, either
+using xa_lock_irqsave() in both the interrupt handler and process
+context, or xa_lock_irq() in process context and xa_lock()
+in the interrupt handler. Some of the more common patterns have helper
+functions such as xa_store_bh(), xa_store_irq(),
+xa_erase_bh(), xa_erase_irq(), xa_cmpxchg_bh()
+and xa_cmpxchg_irq().
+
+Sometimes you need to protect access to the XArray with a mutex because
+that lock sits above another mutex in the locking hierarchy. That does
+not entitle you to use functions like __xa_erase() without taking
+the xa_lock; the xa_lock is used for lockdep validation and will be used
+for other purposes in the future.
+
+The __xa_set_mark() and __xa_clear_mark() functions are also
+available for situations where you look up an entry and want to atomically
+set or clear a mark. It may be more efficient to use the advanced API
+in this case, as it will save you from walking the tree twice.
+
+Advanced API
+============
+
+The advanced API offers more flexibility and better performance at the
+cost of an interface which can be harder to use and has fewer safeguards.
+No locking is done for you by the advanced API, and you are required
+to use the xa_lock while modifying the array. You can choose whether
+to use the xa_lock or the RCU lock while doing read-only operations on
+the array. You can mix advanced and normal operations on the same array;
+indeed the normal API is implemented in terms of the advanced API. The
+advanced API is only available to modules with a GPL-compatible license.
+
+The advanced API is based around the xa_state. This is an opaque data
+structure which you declare on the stack using the XA_STATE()
+macro. This macro initialises the xa_state ready to start walking
+around the XArray. It is used as a cursor to maintain the position
+in the XArray and let you compose various operations together without
+having to restart from the top every time.
+
+The xa_state is also used to store errors. You can call
+xas_error() to retrieve the error. All operations check whether
+the xa_state is in an error state before proceeding, so there's no need
+for you to check for an error after each call; you can make multiple
+calls in succession and only check at a convenient point. The only
+errors currently generated by the XArray code itself are ``ENOMEM`` and
+``EINVAL``, but it supports arbitrary errors in case you want to call
+xas_set_err() yourself.
+
+If the xa_state is holding an ``ENOMEM`` error, calling xas_nomem()
+will attempt to allocate more memory using the specified gfp flags and
+cache it in the xa_state for the next attempt. The idea is that you take
+the xa_lock, attempt the operation and drop the lock. The operation
+attempts to allocate memory while holding the lock, but it is more
+likely to fail. Once you have dropped the lock, xas_nomem()
+can try harder to allocate more memory. It will return ``true`` if it
+is worth retrying the operation (i.e. that there was a memory error *and*
+more memory was allocated). If it has previously allocated memory, and
+that memory wasn't used, and there is no error (or some error that isn't
+``ENOMEM``), then it will free the memory previously allocated.
+
+Internal Entries
+----------------
+
+The XArray reserves some entries for its own purposes. These are never
+exposed through the normal API, but when using the advanced API, it's
+possible to see them. Usually the best way to handle them is to pass them
+to xas_retry(), and retry the operation if it returns ``true``.
+
+.. flat-table::
+ :widths: 1 1 6
+
+ * - Name
+ - Test
+ - Usage
+
+ * - Node
+ - xa_is_node()
+ - An XArray node. May be visible when using a multi-index xa_state.
+
+ * - Sibling
+ - xa_is_sibling()
+ - A non-canonical entry for a multi-index entry. The value indicates
+ which slot in this node has the canonical entry.
+
+ * - Retry
+ - xa_is_retry()
+ - This entry is currently being modified by a thread which has the
+ xa_lock. The node containing this entry may be freed at the end
+ of this RCU period. You should restart the lookup from the head
+ of the array.
+
+ * - Zero
+ - xa_is_zero()
+ - Zero entries appear as ``NULL`` through the Normal API, but occupy
+ an entry in the XArray which can be used to reserve the index for
+ future use. This is used by allocating XArrays for allocated entries
+ which are ``NULL``.
+
+Other internal entries may be added in the future. As far as possible, they
+will be handled by xas_retry().
+
+Additional functionality
+------------------------
+
+The xas_create_range() function allocates all the necessary memory
+to store every entry in a range. It will set ENOMEM in the xa_state if
+it cannot allocate memory.
+
+You can use xas_init_marks() to reset the marks on an entry
+to their default state. This is usually all marks clear, unless the
+XArray is marked with ``XA_FLAGS_TRACK_FREE``, in which case mark 0 is set
+and all other marks are clear. Replacing one entry with another using
+xas_store() will not reset the marks on that entry; if you want
+the marks reset, you should do that explicitly.
+
+The xas_load() will walk the xa_state as close to the entry
+as it can. If you know the xa_state has already been walked to the
+entry and need to check that the entry hasn't changed, you can use
+xas_reload() to save a function call.
+
+If you need to move to a different index in the XArray, call
+xas_set(). This resets the cursor to the top of the tree, which
+will generally make the next operation walk the cursor to the desired
+spot in the tree. If you want to move to the next or previous index,
+call xas_next() or xas_prev(). Setting the index does
+not walk the cursor around the array so does not require a lock to be
+held, while moving to the next or previous index does.
+
+You can search for the next present entry using xas_find(). This
+is the equivalent of both xa_find() and xa_find_after();
+if the cursor has been walked to an entry, then it will find the next
+entry after the one currently referenced. If not, it will return the
+entry at the index of the xa_state. Using xas_next_entry() to
+move to the next present entry instead of xas_find() will save
+a function call in the majority of cases at the expense of emitting more
+inline code.
+
+The xas_find_marked() function is similar. If the xa_state has
+not been walked, it will return the entry at the index of the xa_state,
+if it is marked. Otherwise, it will return the first marked entry after
+the entry referenced by the xa_state. The xas_next_marked()
+function is the equivalent of xas_next_entry().
+
+When iterating over a range of the XArray using xas_for_each()
+or xas_for_each_marked(), it may be necessary to temporarily stop
+the iteration. The xas_pause() function exists for this purpose.
+After you have done the necessary work and wish to resume, the xa_state
+is in an appropriate state to continue the iteration after the entry
+you last processed. If you have interrupts disabled while iterating,
+then it is good manners to pause the iteration and reenable interrupts
+every ``XA_CHECK_SCHED`` entries.
+
+The xas_get_mark(), xas_set_mark() and xas_clear_mark() functions require
+the xa_state cursor to have been moved to the appropriate location in the
+XArray; they will do nothing if you have called xas_pause() or xas_set()
+immediately before.
+
+You can call xas_set_update() to have a callback function
+called each time the XArray updates a node. This is used by the page
+cache workingset code to maintain its list of nodes which contain only
+shadow entries.
+
+Multi-Index Entries
+-------------------
+
+The XArray has the ability to tie multiple indices together so that
+operations on one index affect all indices. For example, storing into
+any index will change the value of the entry retrieved from any index.
+Setting or clearing a mark on any index will set or clear the mark
+on every index that is tied together. The current implementation
+only allows tying ranges which are aligned powers of two together;
+eg indices 64-127 may be tied together, but 2-6 may not be. This may
+save substantial quantities of memory; for example tying 512 entries
+together will save over 4kB.
+
+You can create a multi-index entry by using XA_STATE_ORDER()
+or xas_set_order() followed by a call to xas_store().
+Calling xas_load() with a multi-index xa_state will walk the
+xa_state to the right location in the tree, but the return value is not
+meaningful, potentially being an internal entry or ``NULL`` even when there
+is an entry stored within the range. Calling xas_find_conflict()
+will return the first entry within the range or ``NULL`` if there are no
+entries in the range. The xas_for_each_conflict() iterator will
+iterate over every entry which overlaps the specified range.
+
+If xas_load() encounters a multi-index entry, the xa_index
+in the xa_state will not be changed. When iterating over an XArray
+or calling xas_find(), if the initial index is in the middle
+of a multi-index entry, it will not be altered. Subsequent calls
+or iterations will move the index to the first index in the range.
+Each entry will only be returned once, no matter how many indices it
+occupies.
+
+Using xas_next() or xas_prev() with a multi-index xa_state is not
+supported. Using either of these functions on a multi-index entry will
+reveal sibling entries; these should be skipped over by the caller.
+
+Storing ``NULL`` into any index of a multi-index entry will set the
+entry at every index to ``NULL`` and dissolve the tie. A multi-index
+entry can be split into entries occupying smaller ranges by calling
+xas_split_alloc() without the xa_lock held, followed by taking the lock
+and calling xas_split().
+
+Functions and structures
+========================
+
+.. kernel-doc:: include/linux/xarray.h
+.. kernel-doc:: lib/xarray.c