Knowledge

Test-and-set

Source πŸ“

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the DPRAM test-and-set, the memory is set only when the test succeeds, and the value to set and the test condition are specified by the CPU. Here, the value to set can only be 1, but if 0 and 1 are considered the only valid values for the memory location, and "value is nonzero" is the only allowed test, then this equates to the case described for DPRAM hardware (or, more specifically, the DPRAM case reduces to this under these constraints). From that viewpoint, this can, correctly, be called "test-and-set" in the full, conventional sense of that term. The essential point to note is the general intent and principle of test-and-set: a value is both tested and set in one atomic operation such that no other program thread or process can change the target memory location after it is tested but before it is set. (This is because the location must only be set if it currently has a certain value, not if it had that value sometime earlier.)
168:. That is, no other process must be able to interrupt the function mid-execution, thereby seeing a state that only exists while the function executes. That requires hardware support; it cannot be implemented as shown. Nevertheless, the code shown helps to explain the behaviour of test-and-set. NOTE: In this example, 'lock' is assumed to be passed by reference (or by name) but the assignment to 'initial' creates a new value (not just copying a reference). 42:) operation. The caller can then "test" the result to see if the state was changed by the call. If multiple processes may access the same memory location, and if a process is currently performing a test-and-set, no other process may begin another test-and-set until the first process's test-and-set is finished. A 593:
When processor P1 has obtained a lock and processor P2 is also waiting for the lock, P2 will keep incurring bus transactions in attempts to acquire the lock. When a processor has obtained a lock, all other processors which also wish to obtain the same lock keep trying to obtain the lock by initiating
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The code also shows that there are really two operations: an atomic read-modify-write and a test. Only the read-modify-write needs to be atomic. (This is true because delaying the value comparison by any amount of time will not change the result of the test once the value to test has been obtained.
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Not only is the code shown not atomic, in the sense of the test-and-set instruction, it also differs from the descriptions of DPRAM hardware test-and-set above. Here, the value being set and the test are fixed and invariant, and the value is updated regardless of the outcome of the test, whereas for
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at a time. The rest of the processes will keep spinning until they get the lock. It is possible that a process is never granted the lock. In such a case it will loop endlessly. This is a drawback of a spin lock implementation as it doesn't ensure fairness. These issues are further elaborated in the
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CPU 1 issues a test-and-set instruction to write to "memory location A". The DPRAM does not immediately store the value in memory location A, but instead simultaneously moves the current value to a special register, while setting the contents of memory location A to a special "flag value". If at
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Whether or not CPU 2 was trying to access the memory location, the DPRAM performs the test given by CPU 1. If the test succeeds, the DPRAM sets the memory location to the value given by CPU 1. Then the DPRAM wipes out its "internal note" that CPU 1 was writing there. At this point, CPU 2 could
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Whether or not CPU 2 was trying to access the memory location, the DPRAM now performs CPU 1's test. If the test succeeds, the DPRAM sets memory location A to the value specified by CPU 1. If the test fails, the DPRAM copies the value back from the special register to memory location A. Either
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When CPU 1 issues a test-and-set instruction, the DPRAM first makes an "internal note" of this by storing the address of the memory location in a special place. If at this point, CPU 2 happens to issue a test-and-set instruction for the same memory location, the DPRAM first checks its "internal
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When we consider fairness, we consider if a processor gets a fair chance of acquiring the lock when it is set free. In an extreme situation the processor might starve i.e. it might not be able to acquire the lock for an extended period of time even though it has become free during that time.
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This code assumes that the memory location was initialized to 0 at some point prior to the first test-and-set. The calling process obtains the lock if the old value was 0, otherwise the while-loop spins waiting to acquire the lock. This is called a
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test-and-set instructions can work in many ways. Here are two variations, both of which describe a DPRAM which provides exactly 2 ports, allowing 2 separate electronic components (such as 2 CPUs) access to every memory location on the DPRAM.
65:. At any point, the holder of the lock can simply set the memory location back to 0 to release the lock for acquisition by another--this does not require any special handling as the holder "owns" this memory location. " 434:
keyword. In absence of volatile, the compiler and/or the CPU(s) may optimize access to lock and/or use cached values, thus rendering the above code erroneous. Conversely, and unfortunately, the presence of
868: 87:(32-bit comparand) offers a more general solution to this problem, and in some implementations compare-double-and-swap (64-bit comparand) is also available for extended utility. 594:
bus transactions repeatedly until they get hold of the lock. This increases the bus traffic requirement of test-and-set significantly. This slows down all other traffic from
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Storage overhead for TSL is next to nothing since only one lock is required. Uncontended latency is also low since only one atomic instruction and branch are needed.
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The test and set instruction, when used with boolean values, uses logic like that shown in the following function, except that the function must execute
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this point, CPU 2 issues a test-and-set to memory location A, the DPRAM detects the special flag value, and as in Variation 1, issues a BUSY interrupt.
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Once the code writes the initial value, the result of the test has been established, even if it has not been computed yet β€” e.g., by the == operator.)
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note", recognizes the situation, and issues a BUSY interrupt, which tells CPU 2 that it must wait and retry. This is an implementation of a
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The four major evaluation metrics for locks in general are uncontended lock-acquisition latency, bus traffic, fairness, and storage.
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using the interrupt mechanism. Since all this happens at hardware speeds, CPU 2's wait to get out of the spin-lock is very short.
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in C/C++ is quite vague, not all compilers will do that. Consult your compiler's documentation to determine if it does.
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This spin lock function can be called by multiple processes, but it is guaranteed that only one process will be in the
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misses. It slows down the overall section, since the traffic is saturated by failed lock acquisition attempts.
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Anderson, T. E. (1990-01-01). "The performance of spin lock alternatives for shared-money multiprocessors".
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The lock variable is a shared variable i.e. it can be accessed by all processors/threads. Note the
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operation wipes out the special flag value. If CPU 2 now issues a test-and-set, it will succeed.
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Some instruction sets have an atomic test-and-set machine language instruction. Examples include
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is an improvement over TSL since it does not initiate lock acquisition requests continuously.
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Fundamentals of parallel computer architecture : multichip and multicore systems
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Test-and-set scores low on two of them, namely, high bus traffic and unfairness.
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TestAndSet(boolean_ref lock) { boolean initial = lock; lock = true;
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is the lock variable. The process doesn't return unless it acquires the lock.
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to ensure that operations are committed to memory, but since the semantics of
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guarantee that reads and writes are committed to memory. Some compilers issue
901: 677: 622: 749: 864: 239:// use of shared memory (i.e., non-cached values), protection from compiler 233:// This should be interpreted as pseudocode for illustrative purposes only. 109: 721: 360:// was 0, however, then it indicates the lock was **not** locked before we 881: 236:// Traditional compilation of this code will not guarantee atomicity, the 354:// value. If the previous lock value was 1 then the lock was **already** 351:// test_and_set() function locks the lock and returns the previous lock 153:). Those that do not can still implement an atomic test-and-set using a 16:
CPU instruction to set a memory location to 1 and return its prior value
363:// locked it, but now it **is** locked because we locked it, indicating 345:// Spin lock: loop forever until we get the lock; we know the lock was 669: 39: 357:// locked by another thread or process. Once the previous lock value 348:// successfully obtained after exiting this while loop because the 113: 62: 57:
can be built using an atomic test-and-set instruction as follows:
460: 582: 75:(1991) proved that test-and-set (1-bit comparand) has a finite 797:
Remzi H. Arpaci-Dusseau and Andrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau (2015).
95: 47: 889:- C-callable routine written in Sun SPARC assembly language 136: 90: 50:; a CPU itself may also offer a test-and-set instruction. 308: 142: 420:// release lock when finished with the critical section 296: 658:
IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems
405:// only one process can be in this section at a time 83:for at-most two concurrent processes. In contrast, 476:; A "jump to" tag; function entry point. 305:is by using a test-and-set based lock as follows: 899: 512:#0  ; Was flag zero on entry_region? 242:// optimizations, or other required properties. 30:is an instruction used to write (set) 1 to a 583:Performance evaluation of test-and-set locks 120:issue a test-and-set, which would succeed. 869:Encyclopaedia of Delay-Insensitive Systems 466: 711: 655: 836: 811: 690: 137:Software implementation of test-and-set 91:Hardware implementation of test-and-set 900: 830: 801:(0.91 ed.). Arpaci-Dusseau Books. 309:Pseudo-C implementation of a spin lock 839:Fundamentals of Parallel Architecture 34:and return its old value as a single 799:Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces 189:, the implementation would be like: 297:Mutual exclusion using test-and-set 13: 539:; will have set it non-zero; thus, 14: 924: 858: 691:Herlihy, Maurice (January 1991). 497:; into the register reg and flag 491:; Test and Set Lock; flag is the 230:// -- Start of atomic segment -- 880: (archived 2006-02-05), by 494:; shared variable; it is copied 805: 790: 766: 742: 700:ACM Trans. Program. Lang. Syst 684: 649: 560:#0  ; store 0 in flag 542:; we have claimed the resource 533:; Exit; i.e., flag was zero on 275:// -- End of atomic segment -- 149:and its successors (including 123: 102: 1: 841:. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. 643: 575:is an atomic instruction and 527:; flag was non-zero on entry. 536:; entry. If we get here, tsl 79:and can solve the wait-free 7: 693:"Wait-free synchronization" 633:Load-link/store-conditional 616: 500:; then atomically set to 1. 10: 929: 887:int testandset(int *lock) 521:; Jump to enter_region if 874:"Wait-free Test-and-Set" 524:; reg is non-zero; i.e., 470: 312: 191: 545:; associated with flag. 467:Assembly implementation 44:central processing unit 893:Intel Developer Manual 774:"IBM Knowledge Center" 750:"BTSβ€”Bit Test and Set" 187:C programming language 69:" is another example. 837:Solihin, Yan (2016). 812:Solihin, Yan (2009). 754:www.felixcloutier.com 722:10.1145/114005.102808 628:Test and test-and-set 604:Test-and-test-and-set 301:One way to implement 67:Test and test-and-set 913:Computer arithmetic 908:Concurrency control 461:performance section 366:// we own the lock. 566:; return to caller 848:978-1-4822-1118-4 155:read-modify-write 81:consensus problem 920: 853: 852: 834: 828: 827: 809: 803: 802: 794: 788: 787: 785: 784: 770: 764: 763: 761: 760: 746: 740: 739: 737: 736: 715: 697: 688: 682: 681: 670:10.1109/71.80120 653: 638:Compare-and-swap 578: 574: 567: 564: 561: 558: 555: 552: 549: 546: 543: 540: 537: 534: 531: 528: 525: 522: 519: 516: 513: 510: 507: 504: 501: 498: 495: 492: 489: 486: 483: 480: 477: 474: 456:critical section 424: 421: 418: 415: 412: 409: 406: 403: 400: 397: 394: 391: 388: 385: 382: 379: 376: 373: 370: 367: 364: 361: 358: 355: 352: 349: 346: 343: 340: 337: 334: 331: 328: 325: 322: 319: 316: 303:mutual exclusion 288: 285: 282: 279: 276: 273: 270: 267: 264: 261: 258: 255: 252: 249: 246: 243: 240: 237: 234: 231: 228: 225: 222: 219: 216: 213: 210: 207: 204: 201: 198: 195: 194:#define LOCKED 1 159:compare-and-swap 85:compare-and-swap 77:consensus number 21:computer science 928: 927: 923: 922: 921: 919: 918: 917: 898: 897: 878:Wayback Machine 861: 856: 849: 835: 831: 824: 816:. p. 252. 810: 806: 795: 791: 782: 780: 772: 771: 767: 758: 756: 748: 747: 743: 734: 732: 695: 689: 685: 654: 650: 646: 619: 585: 576: 572: 569: 568: 565: 562: 559: 556: 553: 550: 547: 544: 541: 538: 535: 532: 529: 526: 523: 520: 517: 514: 511: 508: 505: 502: 499: 496: 493: 490: 487: 484: 481: 478: 475: 472: 469: 445:memory barriers 426: 425: 422: 419: 416: 413: 410: 407: 404: 401: 398: 395: 392: 389: 386: 383: 380: 377: 374: 371: 368: 365: 362: 359: 356: 353: 350: 347: 344: 341: 338: 335: 332: 329: 326: 323: 320: 317: 314: 311: 299: 290: 289: 286: 283: 280: 277: 274: 271: 268: 265: 262: 259: 256: 253: 250: 247: 244: 241: 238: 235: 232: 229: 226: 223: 220: 217: 214: 211: 208: 205: 202: 199: 196: 193: 179: 139: 126: 105: 93: 73:Maurice Herlihy 32:memory location 17: 12: 11: 5: 926: 916: 915: 910: 896: 895: 890: 884: 871: 860: 859:External links 857: 855: 854: 847: 829: 822: 804: 789: 765: 741: 713:10.1.1.56.5659 706:(1): 124–149. 683: 647: 645: 642: 641: 640: 635: 630: 625: 618: 615: 584: 581: 471: 468: 465: 313: 310: 307: 298: 295: 192: 170: 151:z/Architecture 147:IBM System/360 138: 135: 125: 122: 104: 101: 92: 89: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 925: 914: 911: 909: 906: 905: 903: 894: 891: 888: 885: 883: 879: 875: 872: 870: 866: 863: 862: 850: 844: 840: 833: 825: 823:9780984163007 819: 815: 808: 800: 793: 779: 775: 769: 755: 751: 745: 731: 727: 723: 719: 714: 709: 705: 701: 694: 687: 679: 675: 671: 667: 663: 659: 652: 648: 639: 636: 634: 631: 629: 626: 624: 623:Fetch-and-add 621: 620: 614: 611: 607: 605: 601: 597: 591: 588: 580: 548:leave_region: 473:enter_region: 464: 462: 457: 452: 450: 446: 442: 438: 433: 432: 306: 304: 294: 190: 188: 183: 177: 173: 169: 167: 162: 161:instruction. 160: 156: 152: 148: 144: 134: 130: 121: 117: 115: 111: 100: 97: 88: 86: 82: 78: 74: 70: 68: 64: 58: 56: 51: 49: 48:dual-port RAM 45: 41: 40:interruptible 37: 33: 29: 26: 22: 838: 832: 813: 807: 798: 792: 781:. Retrieved 777: 768: 757:. Retrieved 753: 744: 733:. Retrieved 703: 699: 686: 661: 657: 651: 612: 608: 592: 589: 586: 570: 518:enter_region 453: 448: 440: 436: 429: 427: 375:test_and_set 300: 291: 200:test_and_set 184: 180: 175: 171: 163: 140: 131: 127: 118: 110:busy waiting 106: 94: 71: 59: 52: 25:test-and-set 24: 18: 882:Yehuda Afek 865:Description 778:www.ibm.com 664:(1): 6–16. 178:initial; } 124:Variation 2 103:Variation 1 38:(i.e., non- 28:instruction 902:Categories 783:2016-11-21 759:2016-11-21 735:2007-05-20 644:References 166:atomically 708:CiteSeerX 678:1045-9219 600:coherence 617:See also 449:volatile 437:volatile 431:volatile 399:critical 336:critical 315:volatile 281:oldValue 245:oldValue 224:oldValue 172:function 114:spinlock 63:spinlock 876:at the 730:2181446 402:section 263:lockPtr 254:lockPtr 212:lockPtr 185:In the 845:  820:  728:  710:  676:  278:return 269:LOCKED 176:return 36:atomic 23:, the 867:from 726:S2CID 696:(PDF) 596:cache 571:Here 439:does 381:& 369:while 96:DPRAM 843:ISBN 818:ISBN 674:ISSN 598:and 577:flag 554:flag 551:move 488:flag 408:lock 384:lock 333:void 321:lock 145:and 55:lock 718:doi 666:doi 573:tsl 563:ret 530:ret 515:jnz 506:reg 503:cmp 482:reg 479:tsl 441:not 318:int 221:int 206:int 197:int 157:or 143:x86 112:or 19:In 904:: 776:. 752:. 724:. 716:. 704:13 702:. 698:. 672:. 660:. 463:. 396:); 390:== 339:() 53:A 851:. 826:. 786:. 762:. 738:. 720:: 680:. 668:: 662:1 557:, 509:, 485:, 423:} 417:; 414:0 411:= 393:1 387:) 378:( 372:( 342:{ 330:; 327:0 324:= 287:} 284:; 272:; 266:= 260:* 257:; 251:* 248:= 227:; 218:{ 215:) 209:* 203:(

Index

computer science
instruction
memory location
atomic
interruptible
central processing unit
dual-port RAM
lock
spinlock
Test and test-and-set
Maurice Herlihy
consensus number
consensus problem
compare-and-swap
DPRAM
busy waiting
spinlock
x86
IBM System/360
z/Architecture
read-modify-write
compare-and-swap
atomically
C programming language
mutual exclusion
volatile
memory barriers
critical section
performance section
cache

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