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assumeLocal: convert shared lvalue to a non-shared one #724

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radcapricorn
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This is one of the two functions to satisfy ER 12133 - Relaxed read-modify-write for shared lvalues.

/**
* Converts a shared lvalue to a non-shared lvalue.
*
* As the name suggests, this functions allows to treat a shared lvalue
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Kill off the As the name suggests part please (we're aiming for objective documentation). :)

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If this doesn't support classes it should document this. But why doesn't it support classes? That too should be documented.

@MartinNowak
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Something is wrong here. Why do you make something shared if it's protected by a mutex?
Atomic access without the mutex would become a failure if you use assumeLocal with the mutex.

@radcapricorn
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Consider member variables inside a shared class (i.e. Condition implementation for Windows). They're transitively shared. But if you only ever access such variables under a lock, you don't need explicit atomicOps at all.

It's true that accessing the variable outside of the lock will be erroneous, but this function is a convenience for cases when such access is not needed. See e.g. my ongoing branch implementing shared for all core.sync primitives.

Some kind of workaround is needed. Lots of casts or chains of raw atomicLoad/Store calls IMO are inferior to this little helper.

@MartinNowak
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What's with automatic HeadUnshared for synchronized classes?
Looks like it's not implemented (http://dpaste.dzfl.pl/3e4d6b59f06a).

I don't want to slow down you efforts to make core.sync shared and I think assumeLocal is a useful primitive.
But please note that the shared concept is still fuzzy. As Andrei mentioned we need to finish the specs and implementation.
It would be great if you could help with that.

@radcapricorn
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What's with automatic HeadUnshared for synchronized classes?

Even if it were implemented in that exact wording, it would be of little help in many cases. I know that in the grand scheme, synchronized is supposed to be used for lock-based synchronization and shared - for lock-free. But that is a very restrictive generalization. For example, making Semaphores or Conditions synchronized classes would be an overkill... no, an error (deadlocks), yet they should support shared (which they currently don't). Additionally, I bet there will be cases when using classes is not an option but some form of synchronization is needed.

But please note that the shared concept is still fuzzy. As Andrei mentioned we need to finish the specs and implementation.

I know, that is my thread :)

It would be great if you could help with that.

I'm trying to.

@@ -1090,6 +1136,13 @@ if(__traits(isFloating, T))
}
}

// assumeLocal is architecture-independent: it is just a cast
ref auto assumeLocal(T)( ref shared T val ) @trusted pure nothrow
if( !is( T == class ) )
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 if (!is(T == class))

@andralex
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Fine, but let's call it assumeThreadLocal because one may think it has to do with scopes. Please follow the phobos conventions in spacing.

@andralex
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Take that back, should be assumeUnshared because that's the actual assumption.

@MartinNowak
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ping

@dnadlinger
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+1 for assumeUnshared.

@radcapricorn
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I apologize for so long an absence, got caught up in a no-D world. So, rename to assumeUnshared, remove @trusted, rebase, commit?

@andralex
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yes please

@MartinNowak
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Ping

@DmitryOlshansky
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@radcapricorn any chance to revive this? Seems like non-controversial stuff that just fell off the radar.

@DmitryOlshansky
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Ping @radcapricorn ?

@radcapricorn
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Three years ><

ref T assumeUnshared(T)(ref shared T val) @system @nogc pure nothrow
if(!is(T == class) && !is(T == interface))
{
return *cast(T*)&val;
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space after close paren in cast

* Returns:
* The non-shared lvalue.
*/
ref immutable(T) assumeUnshared(T)(ref immutable(T) val) @safe @nogc pure nothrow
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What would be a use case for this? It doesn't change the type of its argument.

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Generic code.

shared struct Example(T)
{
    private T payload;

    T getUnsharedCopyOfPayload() const
    {
        return payload.assumeUnshared;
    }
}

auto createExample(T)(auto ref T value)
{
    return shared(Example!T)(value);
}

immutable int i = 42;
auto example = createExample(i);
assert(is(typeof(example.getUnsharedCopyOfPayload()) == immutable(int));

This way, Example doesn't have to specialize such use case.

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@radcapricorn radcapricorn Apr 12, 2017

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IOTW, it's safe to assume immutable as unshared. But the signature ref T assumeUnshared(T)(ref shared T val) will not accept immutable lvalue, hence the specialization.

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immutable is actually implicitly shared

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Exactly, and assumeUnshared should accept shared arguments, therefore it shouldn't fail to compile with immutable argument. It works as advertised: takes shared lvalue and yields lvalue that can be treated as unshared. It just so happens that immutable is both at the same time.

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@andralex @radcapricorn anything else still not clear?

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@andralex andralex Sep 7, 2017

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I'm still unconvinced about the usefulness. By that logic we should also define assumeUnshared for regular data so assumeUnshared works transparently with all data types (after all unshared data can be assumed to be unshared!)

One possibility is to not introduce this overload yet, and see how necessary it is in practice.

At any rate, if we do introduce the overload the documentation must be merged with the other overload's.

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This is a good addition. A few nits need fixing.

ref T assumeUnshared(T)(ref shared T val) @system @nogc pure nothrow
if(!is(T == class) && !is(T == interface))
{
return *cast(T*) &val;
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This is the ddoc version, right? Then it should not have an implementation.

* Returns:
* The non-shared lvalue.
*/
ref immutable(T) assumeUnshared(T)(ref immutable(T) val) @safe @nogc pure nothrow
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@andralex andralex Sep 7, 2017

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I'm still unconvinced about the usefulness. By that logic we should also define assumeUnshared for regular data so assumeUnshared works transparently with all data types (after all unshared data can be assumed to be unshared!)

One possibility is to not introduce this overload yet, and see how necessary it is in practice.

At any rate, if we do introduce the overload the documentation must be merged with the other overload's.

@@ -1290,6 +1357,19 @@ if(__traits(isFloating, T))
}
}

// assumeUnshared is architecture-independent: it is just a cast
ref auto assumeUnshared(T)(ref shared T val) @system @nogc pure nothrow
if(!is(T == class) && !is(T == interface))
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obey phobos, if flush to the left and space after it

@wilzbach
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Revived this to #2156

@wilzbach wilzbach closed this Mar 29, 2018
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