1 It has been said that successful communication requires first identifying 2 what your audience knows and then building a bridge from their current 3 knowledge to what they need to know. Unfortunately, the expected 4 Linux-kernel memory model (LKMM) audience might be anywhere from novice 5 to expert both in kernel hacking and in understanding LKMM. 6 7 This document therefore points out a number of places to start reading, 8 depending on what you know and what you would like to learn. Please note 9 that the documents later in this list assume that the reader understands 10 the material provided by documents earlier in this list. 11 12 If LKMM-specific terms lost you, glossary.txt might help you. 13 14 o You are new to Linux-kernel concurrency: simple.txt 15 16 o You have some background in Linux-kernel concurrency, and would 17 like an overview of the types of low-level concurrency primitives 18 that the Linux kernel provides: ordering.txt 19 20 Here, "low level" means atomic operations to single variables. 21 22 o You are familiar with the Linux-kernel concurrency primitives 23 that you need, and just want to get started with LKMM litmus 24 tests: litmus-tests.txt 25 26 o You would like to access lock-protected shared variables without 27 having their corresponding locks held: locking.txt 28 29 o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency, and would 30 like a detailed intuitive understanding of LKMM, including 31 situations involving more than two threads: recipes.txt 32 33 o You would like a detailed understanding of what your compiler can 34 and cannot do to control dependencies: control-dependencies.txt 35 36 o You would like to mark concurrent normal accesses to shared 37 variables so that intentional "racy" accesses can be properly 38 documented, especially when you are responding to complaints 39 from KCSAN: access-marking.txt 40 41 o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use of 42 LKMM, and would like a quick reference: cheatsheet.txt 43 44 o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use 45 of LKMM, and would like to learn about LKMM's requirements, 46 rationale, and implementation: explanation.txt and 47 herd-representation.txt 48 49 o You are interested in the publications related to LKMM, including 50 hardware manuals, academic literature, standards-committee 51 working papers, and LWN articles: references.txt 52 53 54 ==================== 55 DESCRIPTION OF FILES 56 ==================== 57 58 README 59 This file. 60 61 access-marking.txt 62 Guidelines for marking intentionally concurrent accesses to 63 shared memory. 64 65 cheatsheet.txt 66 Quick-reference guide to the Linux-kernel memory model. 67 68 control-dependencies.txt 69 Guide to preventing compiler optimizations from destroying 70 your control dependencies. 71 72 explanation.txt 73 Detailed description of the memory model. 74 75 glossary.txt 76 Brief definitions of LKMM-related terms. 77 78 herd-representation.txt 79 The (abstract) representation of the Linux-kernel concurrency 80 primitives in terms of events. 81 82 litmus-tests.txt 83 The format, features, capabilities, and limitations of the litmus 84 tests that LKMM can evaluate. 85 86 locking.txt 87 Rules for accessing lock-protected shared variables outside of 88 their corresponding critical sections. 89 90 ordering.txt 91 Overview of the Linux kernel's low-level memory-ordering 92 primitives by category. 93 94 recipes.txt 95 Common memory-ordering patterns. 96 97 references.txt 98 Background information. 99 100 simple.txt 101 Starting point for someone new to Linux-kernel concurrency. 102 And also a reminder of the simpler approaches to concurrency!
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