1It has been said that successful communication requires first identifying 2what your audience knows and then building a bridge from their current 3knowledge to what they need to know. Unfortunately, the expected 4Linux-kernel memory model (LKMM) audience might be anywhere from novice 5to expert both in kernel hacking and in understanding LKMM. 6 7This document therefore points out a number of places to start reading, 8depending on what you know and what you would like to learn. Please note 9that the documents later in this list assume that the reader understands 10the material provided by documents earlier in this list. 11 12If LKMM-specific terms lost you, glossary.txt might help you. 13 14o You are new to Linux-kernel concurrency: simple.txt 15 16o You have some background in Linux-kernel concurrency, and would 17 like an overview of the types of low-level concurrency primitives 18 that the Linux kernel provides: ordering.txt 19 20 Here, "low level" means atomic operations to single variables. 21 22o You are familiar with the Linux-kernel concurrency primitives 23 that you need, and just want to get started with LKMM litmus 24 tests: litmus-tests.txt 25 26o You need to locklessly access shared variables that are otherwise 27 protected by a lock: locking.txt 28 29 This locking.txt file expands on the "Locking" section in 30 recipes.txt, but is self-contained. 31 32o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency, and would 33 like a detailed intuitive understanding of LKMM, including 34 situations involving more than two threads: recipes.txt 35 36o You would like a detailed understanding of what your compiler can 37 and cannot do to control dependencies: control-dependencies.txt 38 39o You would like to mark concurrent normal accesses to shared 40 variables so that intentional "racy" accesses can be properly 41 documented, especially when you are responding to complaints 42 from KCSAN: access-marking.txt 43 44o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use of 45 LKMM, and would like a quick reference: cheatsheet.txt 46 47o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use 48 of LKMM, and would like to learn about LKMM's requirements, 49 rationale, and implementation: explanation.txt and 50 herd-representation.txt 51 52o You are interested in the publications related to LKMM, including 53 hardware manuals, academic literature, standards-committee 54 working papers, and LWN articles: references.txt 55 56 57==================== 58DESCRIPTION OF FILES 59==================== 60 61README 62 This file. 63 64access-marking.txt 65 Guidelines for marking intentionally concurrent accesses to 66 shared memory. 67 68cheatsheet.txt 69 Quick-reference guide to the Linux-kernel memory model. 70 71control-dependencies.txt 72 Guide to preventing compiler optimizations from destroying 73 your control dependencies. 74 75explanation.txt 76 Detailed description of the memory model. 77 78glossary.txt 79 Brief definitions of LKMM-related terms. 80 81herd-representation.txt 82 The (abstract) representation of the Linux-kernel concurrency 83 primitives in terms of events. 84 85litmus-tests.txt 86 The format, features, capabilities, and limitations of the litmus 87 tests that LKMM can evaluate. 88 89locking.txt 90 Rules for accessing lock-protected shared variables outside of 91 their corresponding critical sections. 92 93ordering.txt 94 Overview of the Linux kernel's low-level memory-ordering 95 primitives by category. 96 97recipes.txt 98 Common memory-ordering patterns. 99 100references.txt 101 Background information. 102 103simple.txt 104 Starting point for someone new to Linux-kernel concurrency. 105 And also a reminder of the simpler approaches to concurrency! 106