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Rollup merge of #101774 - Riolku:atomic-update-aba, r=m-ou-se
Warn about safety of `fetch_update` Specifically as it relates to the ABA problem. `fetch_update` is a useful function, and one that isn't provided by, say, C++. However, this does not mean the function is magic. It is implemented in terms of `compare_exchange_weak`, and in particular, suffers from the ABA problem. See the following code, which is a naive implementation of `pop` in a lock-free queue: ```rust fn pop(&self) -> Option<i32> { self.front.fetch_update(Ordering::Relaxed, Ordering::Acquire, |front| { if front == ptr::null_mut() { None } else { Some(unsafe { (*front).next }) } }.ok() } ``` This code is unsound if called from multiple threads because of the ABA problem. Specifically, suppose nodes are allocated with `Box`. Suppose the following sequence happens: ``` Initial: Queue is X -> Y. Thread A: Starts popping, is pre-empted. Thread B: Pops successfully, twice, leaving the queue empty. Thread C: Pushes, and `Box` returns X (very common for allocators) Thread A: Wakes up, sees the head is still X, and stores Y as the new head. ``` But `Y` is deallocated. This is undefined behaviour. Adding a note about this problem to `fetch_update` should hopefully prevent users from being misled, and also, a link to this common problem is, in my opinion, an improvement to our docs on atomics.
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library/core/src/sync/atomic.rs

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@@ -955,6 +955,14 @@ impl AtomicBool {
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/// **Note:** This method is only available on platforms that support atomic
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/// operations on `u8`.
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///
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/// # Considerations
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///
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/// This method is not magic; it is not provided by the hardware.
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/// It is implemented in terms of [`AtomicBool::compare_exchange_weak`], and suffers from the same drawbacks.
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/// In particular, this method will not circumvent the [ABA Problem].
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///
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/// [ABA Problem]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABA_problem
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///
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/// # Examples
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///
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/// ```rust
@@ -1422,6 +1430,14 @@ impl<T> AtomicPtr<T> {
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/// **Note:** This method is only available on platforms that support atomic
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/// operations on pointers.
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///
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/// # Considerations
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///
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/// This method is not magic; it is not provided by the hardware.
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/// It is implemented in terms of [`AtomicPtr::compare_exchange_weak`], and suffers from the same drawbacks.
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/// In particular, this method will not circumvent the [ABA Problem].
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///
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/// [ABA Problem]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABA_problem
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///
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/// # Examples
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///
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/// ```rust
@@ -2510,6 +2526,16 @@ macro_rules! atomic_int {
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/// **Note**: This method is only available on platforms that support atomic operations on
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#[doc = concat!("[`", $s_int_type, "`].")]
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///
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/// # Considerations
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///
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/// This method is not magic; it is not provided by the hardware.
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/// It is implemented in terms of
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#[doc = concat!("[`", stringify!($atomic_type), "::compare_exchange_weak`],")]
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/// and suffers from the same drawbacks.
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/// In particular, this method will not circumvent the [ABA Problem].
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///
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/// [ABA Problem]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABA_problem
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///
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/// # Examples
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///
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/// ```rust

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