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| author | Sven Schnelle <svens@linux.ibm.com> | 2026-09-09 11:29:53 +0200 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Masami Hiramatsu (Google) <mhiramat@kernel.org> | 2026-09-10 08:43:35 +0900 |
| commit | d22c3e0088e85be8131f7a9283f759cdbb20726d (patch) | |
| tree | 9668df2aa27b26f850d3ba5ba1287e443803675c /Documentation/process/volatile-considered-harmful.rst | |
| download | linux-stable-d22c3e0088e85be8131f7a9283f759cdbb20726d.tar.gz linux-stable-d22c3e0088e85be8131f7a9283f759cdbb20726d.zip | |
selftests/ftrace: Fix unique symbol check in kprobe_non_uniq_symbol.tcgrafted
The current regex also matches symbols in modules, which makes the
test fail on s390 where name_show is present only once in the kernel,
but also multiple times in modules:
000001b1401cdc20 t name_show
000001b0c05e6c40 t name_show [mdev]
000001b0c0495f30 t name_show [i2c_core]
Fix this by changing the regular expression to only match the function
name.
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260909092954.2200558-1-svens@linux.ibm.com/
Fixes: 03b80ff8023a ("selftests/ftrace: Add new test case which checks non unique symbol")
Signed-off-by: Sven Schnelle <svens@linux.ibm.com>
Reviewed-by: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org>
Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) <mhiramat@kernel.org>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/process/volatile-considered-harmful.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/process/volatile-considered-harmful.rst | 125 |
1 files changed, 125 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/process/volatile-considered-harmful.rst b/Documentation/process/volatile-considered-harmful.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..7eb6bd7c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/process/volatile-considered-harmful.rst @@ -0,0 +1,125 @@ + +.. _volatile_considered_harmful: + +Why the "volatile" type class should not be used +------------------------------------------------ + +C programmers have often taken volatile to mean that the variable could be +changed outside of the current thread of execution; as a result, they are +sometimes tempted to use it in kernel code when shared data structures are +being used. In other words, they have been known to treat volatile types +as a sort of easy atomic variable, which they are not. The use of volatile in +kernel code is almost never correct; this document describes why. + +The key point to understand with regard to volatile is that its purpose is +to suppress optimization, which is almost never what one really wants to +do. In the kernel, one must protect shared data structures against +unwanted concurrent access, which is very much a different task. The +process of protecting against unwanted concurrency will also avoid almost +all optimization-related problems in a more efficient way. + +Like volatile, the kernel primitives which make concurrent access to data +safe (spinlocks, mutexes, memory barriers, etc.) are designed to prevent +unwanted optimization. If they are being used properly, there will be no +need to use volatile as well. If volatile is still necessary, there is +almost certainly a bug in the code somewhere. In properly-written kernel +code, volatile can only serve to slow things down. + +Consider a typical block of kernel code:: + + spin_lock(&the_lock); + do_something_on(&shared_data); + do_something_else_with(&shared_data); + spin_unlock(&the_lock); + +If all the code follows the locking rules, the value of shared_data cannot +change unexpectedly while the_lock is held. Any other code which might +want to play with that data will be waiting on the lock. The spinlock +primitives act as memory barriers - they are explicitly written to do so - +meaning that data accesses will not be optimized across them. So the +compiler might think it knows what will be in shared_data, but the +spin_lock() call, since it acts as a memory barrier, will force it to +forget anything it knows. There will be no optimization problems with +accesses to that data. + +If shared_data were declared volatile, the locking would still be +necessary. But the compiler would also be prevented from optimizing access +to shared_data _within_ the critical section, when we know that nobody else +can be working with it. While the lock is held, shared_data is not +volatile. When dealing with shared data, proper locking makes volatile +unnecessary - and potentially harmful. + +The volatile storage class was originally meant for memory-mapped I/O +registers. Within the kernel, register accesses, too, should be protected +by locks, but one also does not want the compiler "optimizing" register +accesses within a critical section. But, within the kernel, I/O memory +accesses are always done through accessor functions; accessing I/O memory +directly through pointers is frowned upon and does not work on all +architectures. Those accessors are written to prevent unwanted +optimization, so, once again, volatile is unnecessary. + +Another situation where one might be tempted to use volatile is +when the processor is busy-waiting on the value of a variable. The right +way to perform a busy wait is:: + + while (my_variable != what_i_want) + cpu_relax(); + +The cpu_relax() call can lower CPU power consumption or yield to a +hyperthreaded twin processor; it also happens to serve as a compiler +barrier, so, once again, volatile is unnecessary. Of course, busy- +waiting is generally an anti-social act to begin with. + +There are still a few rare situations where volatile makes sense in the +kernel: + + - The above-mentioned accessor functions might use volatile on + architectures where direct I/O memory access does work. Essentially, + each accessor call becomes a little critical section on its own and + ensures that the access happens as expected by the programmer. + + - Inline assembly code which changes memory, but which has no other + visible side effects, risks being deleted by GCC. Adding the volatile + keyword to asm statements will prevent this removal. + + - The jiffies variable is special in that it can have a different value + every time it is referenced, but it can be read without any special + locking. So jiffies can be volatile, but the addition of other + variables of this type is strongly frowned upon. Jiffies is considered + to be a "stupid legacy" issue (Linus's words) in this regard; fixing it + would be more trouble than it is worth. + + - Pointers to data structures in coherent memory which might be modified + by I/O devices can, sometimes, legitimately be volatile. A ring buffer + used by a network adapter, where that adapter changes pointers to + indicate which descriptors have been processed, is an example of this + type of situation. + +For most code, none of the above justifications for volatile apply. As a +result, the use of volatile is likely to be seen as a bug and will bring +additional scrutiny to the code. Developers who are tempted to use +volatile should take a step back and think about what they are truly trying +to accomplish. + +Patches to remove volatile variables are generally welcome - as long as +they come with a justification which shows that the concurrency issues have +been properly thought through. + + +References +========== + +[1] https://lwn.net/Articles/233481/ + +[2] https://lwn.net/Articles/233482/ + +Credits +======= + +Original impetus and research by Randy Dunlap + +Written by Jonathan Corbet + +Improvements via comments from Satyam Sharma, Johannes Stezenbach, Jesper +Juhl, Heikki Orsila, H. Peter Anvin, Philipp Hahn, and Stefan +Richter. |
