Re: MOD_INC_USE_COUNT

Bill Hawes (whawes@star.net)
Mon, 10 Nov 1997 10:26:27 -0500


Regis Duchesne wrote:
>
> > Context switches can occur only if the process blocks (goes to sleep).
> > Interrupts can occur in between instructions, but not context switches.
> > MOD_INC_USE_CNT only needs to worry about blocking operations.
> Thanks for your answer. But the interesting question now is : have you an
> exhaustive list of blocking ops?

An exhaustive list, no. But every would-be race hunter needs to build a
list of known blocking operations, even if it blocks only under unusual
circumstances. Then when you're reviewing code and you see a potential
block, you can look to see what operations might be affected.

And when you discover a new blocking operation (or one that you hadn't
realized could block), you should go back and re-review all the code in
light of the new information.

Regards,
Bill