README | Explore in Territory

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LITMUS TESTS
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Each subdirectory contains litmus tests that are typical to describe the
semantics of respective kernel APIs.
For more information about how to "run" a litmus test or how to generate
a kernel test module based on a litmus test, please see
tools/memory-model/README.


atomic (/atomic directory)
--------------------------

Atomic-RMW+mb__after_atomic-is-stronger-than-acquire.litmus
    Test that an atomic RMW followed by a smp_mb__after_atomic() is
    stronger than a normal acquire: both the read and write parts of
    the RMW are ordered before the subsequential memory accesses.

Atomic-RMW-ops-are-atomic-WRT-atomic_set.litmus
    Test that atomic_set() cannot break the atomicity of atomic RMWs.
    NOTE: Require herd7 7.56 or later which supports "(void)expr".

cmpxchg-fail-ordered-1.litmus
    Demonstrate that a failing cmpxchg() operation acts as a full barrier
    when followed by smp_mb__after_atomic().

cmpxchg-fail-ordered-2.litmus
    Demonstrate that a failing cmpxchg() operation acts as an acquire
    operation when followed by smp_mb__after_atomic().

cmpxchg-fail-unordered-1.litmus
    Demonstrate that a failing cmpxchg() operation does not act as a
    full barrier.

cmpxchg-fail-unordered-2.litmus
    Demonstrate that a failing cmpxchg() operation does not act as an
    acquire operation.


locking (/locking directory)
----------------------------

DCL-broken.litmus
    Demonstrates that double-checked locking needs more than just
    the obvious lock acquisitions and releases.

DCL-fixed.litmus
    Demonstrates corrected double-checked locking that uses
    smp_store_release() and smp_load_acquire() in addition to the
    obvious lock acquisitions and releases.

RM-broken.litmus
    Demonstrates problems with "roach motel" locking, where code is
    freely moved into lock-based critical sections.  This example also
    shows how to use the "filter" clause to discard executions that
    would be excluded by other code not modeled in the litmus test.
    Note also that this "roach motel" optimization is emulated by
    physically moving P1()'s two reads from x under the lock.

    What is a roach motel?  This is from an old advertisement for
    a cockroach trap, much later featured in one of the "Men in
    Black" movies.  "The roaches check in.  They don't check out."

RM-fixed.litmus
    The counterpart to RM-broken.litmus, showing P0()'s two loads from
    x safely outside of the critical section.


RCU (/rcu directory)
--------------------

MP+onceassign+derefonce.litmus (under tools/memory-model/litmus-tests/)
    Demonstrates the use of rcu_assign_pointer() and rcu_dereference() to
    ensure that an RCU reader will not see pre-initialization garbage.

RCU+sync+read.litmus
RCU+sync+free.litmus
    Both the above litmus tests demonstrate the RCU grace period guarantee
    that an RCU read-side critical section can never span a grace period.
linux/Documentation/litmus-tests/README
