Re: [PATCH 0/24] make atomic_read() behave consistently across all architectures

[Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>]

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007, Nick Piggin wrote:
> 
> I'm surprised too. Numbers were from the "...use asm() like the other
> atomic operations already do" thread. According to them,
> 
>   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
> 3434150  249176  176128 3859454  3ae3fe atomic_normal/vmlinux
> 3436203  249176  176128 3861507  3aec03 atomic_volatile/vmlinux
> 
> The first one is a stock kenel, the second is with atomic_read/set
> cast to volatile. gcc-4.1 -- maybe if you have an earlier gcc it
> won't optimise as much?

No, see my earlier reply. "volatile" really *is* an incredible piece of 
crap.

Just try it yourself:

	volatile int i;
	int j;

	int testme(void)
	{
	        return i <= 1;
	}

	int testme2(void)
	{
	        return j <= 1;
	}

and compile with all the optimizations you can.

I get:

	testme:
	        movl    i(%rip), %eax
	        subl    $1, %eax
	        setle   %al
	        movzbl  %al, %eax
	        ret

vs

	testme2:
	        xorl    %eax, %eax
	        cmpl    $1, j(%rip)
	        setle   %al
	        ret

(now, whether that "xorl + setle" is better than "setle + movzbl", I don't 
really know - maybe it is. But that's not thepoint. The point is the 
difference between

                movl    i(%rip), %eax
                subl    $1, %eax

and

                cmpl    $1, j(%rip)

and imagine this being done for *every* single volatile access.

Just do a 

	git grep atomic_read

to see how atomics are actually used. A lot of them are exactly the above 
kind of "compare against a value".

			Linus
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