RE: [PATCH] usercopy: use unsigned long instead of uintptr_t

From: David Laight
Date: Fri Jun 17 2022 - 08:51:28 EST


From: Christophe Leroy
> Sent: 17 June 2022 12:06
>
> Le 17/06/2022 à 09:58, Geert Uytterhoeven a écrit :
> >> But it then causes pointless problems when people can't really rely on
> >> more than 32 bits for atomic bit operations, and on 64-bit
> >> architectures we unnecessarily use "long" and waste the upper bits.
> >
> > Well, atomic works up to native word size, i.e. long.
> >
>
> powerpc64 has a pair of instructions to perform 128bits atomic
> operations : lqarx / stqcx.

As does x86-64 (and 32bit has a 64bit atomic compare+exchange).

Annoyingly the x86-64 doesn't have 128bit read/write register
pair instructions that would generate a 128bit PCIe TLP.
You can use AVX instructions to generate large TLP - but not
in the linux kernel - you want 1 big register.

Even the humble 68020 has a cas2 instruction that will do a
64bit atomic operation.
I did manage to use it once, but it is easier to disable interrupts.
I'm not sure how many SMP 68020 systems were ever built.
You'd need a matched pair of cpu (or extreme care) since it
tends to stack microcode data on mid-instruction faults.

David

-
Registered Address Lakeside, Bramley Road, Mount Farm, Milton Keynes, MK1 1PT, UK
Registration No: 1397386 (Wales)