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diff --git a/Documentation/RCU/lockdep.rst b/Documentation/RCU/lockdep.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..a94f55991 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/RCU/lockdep.rst @@ -0,0 +1,116 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 + +======================== +RCU and lockdep checking +======================== + +All flavors of RCU have lockdep checking available, so that lockdep is +aware of when each task enters and leaves any flavor of RCU read-side +critical section. Each flavor of RCU is tracked separately (but note +that this is not the case in 2.6.32 and earlier). This allows lockdep's +tracking to include RCU state, which can sometimes help when debugging +deadlocks and the like. + +In addition, RCU provides the following primitives that check lockdep's +state:: + + rcu_read_lock_held() for normal RCU. + rcu_read_lock_bh_held() for RCU-bh. + rcu_read_lock_sched_held() for RCU-sched. + srcu_read_lock_held() for SRCU. + +These functions are conservative, and will therefore return 1 if they +aren't certain (for example, if CONFIG_DEBUG_LOCK_ALLOC is not set). +This prevents things like WARN_ON(!rcu_read_lock_held()) from giving false +positives when lockdep is disabled. + +In addition, a separate kernel config parameter CONFIG_PROVE_RCU enables +checking of rcu_dereference() primitives: + + rcu_dereference(p): + Check for RCU read-side critical section. + rcu_dereference_bh(p): + Check for RCU-bh read-side critical section. + rcu_dereference_sched(p): + Check for RCU-sched read-side critical section. + srcu_dereference(p, sp): + Check for SRCU read-side critical section. + rcu_dereference_check(p, c): + Use explicit check expression "c" along with + rcu_read_lock_held(). This is useful in code that is + invoked by both RCU readers and updaters. + rcu_dereference_bh_check(p, c): + Use explicit check expression "c" along with + rcu_read_lock_bh_held(). This is useful in code that + is invoked by both RCU-bh readers and updaters. + rcu_dereference_sched_check(p, c): + Use explicit check expression "c" along with + rcu_read_lock_sched_held(). This is useful in code that + is invoked by both RCU-sched readers and updaters. + srcu_dereference_check(p, c): + Use explicit check expression "c" along with + srcu_read_lock_held(). This is useful in code that + is invoked by both SRCU readers and updaters. + rcu_dereference_raw(p): + Don't check. (Use sparingly, if at all.) + rcu_dereference_protected(p, c): + Use explicit check expression "c", and omit all barriers + and compiler constraints. This is useful when the data + structure cannot change, for example, in code that is + invoked only by updaters. + rcu_access_pointer(p): + Return the value of the pointer and omit all barriers, + but retain the compiler constraints that prevent duplicating + or coalescsing. This is useful when testing the + value of the pointer itself, for example, against NULL. + +The rcu_dereference_check() check expression can be any boolean +expression, but would normally include a lockdep expression. However, +any boolean expression can be used. For a moderately ornate example, +consider the following:: + + file = rcu_dereference_check(fdt->fd[fd], + lockdep_is_held(&files->file_lock) || + atomic_read(&files->count) == 1); + +This expression picks up the pointer "fdt->fd[fd]" in an RCU-safe manner, +and, if CONFIG_PROVE_RCU is configured, verifies that this expression +is used in: + +1. An RCU read-side critical section (implicit), or +2. with files->file_lock held, or +3. on an unshared files_struct. + +In case (1), the pointer is picked up in an RCU-safe manner for vanilla +RCU read-side critical sections, in case (2) the ->file_lock prevents +any change from taking place, and finally, in case (3) the current task +is the only task accessing the file_struct, again preventing any change +from taking place. If the above statement was invoked only from updater +code, it could instead be written as follows:: + + file = rcu_dereference_protected(fdt->fd[fd], + lockdep_is_held(&files->file_lock) || + atomic_read(&files->count) == 1); + +This would verify cases #2 and #3 above, and furthermore lockdep would +complain if this was used in an RCU read-side critical section unless one +of these two cases held. Because rcu_dereference_protected() omits all +barriers and compiler constraints, it generates better code than do the +other flavors of rcu_dereference(). On the other hand, it is illegal +to use rcu_dereference_protected() if either the RCU-protected pointer +or the RCU-protected data that it points to can change concurrently. + +Like rcu_dereference(), when lockdep is enabled, RCU list and hlist +traversal primitives check for being called from within an RCU read-side +critical section. However, a lockdep expression can be passed to them +as a additional optional argument. With this lockdep expression, these +traversal primitives will complain only if the lockdep expression is +false and they are called from outside any RCU read-side critical section. + +For example, the workqueue for_each_pwq() macro is intended to be used +either within an RCU read-side critical section or with wq->mutex held. +It is thus implemented as follows:: + + #define for_each_pwq(pwq, wq) + list_for_each_entry_rcu((pwq), &(wq)->pwqs, pwqs_node, + lock_is_held(&(wq->mutex).dep_map)) |