From: Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>
To: "Miguel Ojeda" <ojeda@kernel.org>, "Gary Guo" <gary@garyguo.net>,
"Björn Roy Baron" <bjorn3_gh@protonmail.com>,
"Benno Lossin" <lossin@kernel.org>,
"Alice Ryhl" <aliceryhl@google.com>,
"Trevor Gross" <tmgross@umich.edu>,
"Danilo Krummrich" <dakr@kernel.org>,
"Greg Kroah-Hartman" <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>,
"Dave Ertman" <david.m.ertman@intel.com>,
"Ira Weiny" <ira.weiny@intel.com>,
"Leon Romanovsky" <leon@kernel.org>,
"Paul Moore" <paul@paul-moore.com>,
"Serge Hallyn" <sergeh@kernel.org>,
"Rafael J. Wysocki" <rafael@kernel.org>,
"David Airlie" <airlied@gmail.com>,
"Simona Vetter" <simona@ffwll.ch>,
"Alexander Viro" <viro@zeniv.linux.org.uk>,
"Christian Brauner" <brauner@kernel.org>,
"Jan Kara" <jack@suse.cz>,
"Igor Korotin" <igor.korotin.linux@gmail.com>,
"Daniel Almeida" <daniel.almeida@collabora.com>,
"Lorenzo Stoakes" <lorenzo.stoakes@oracle.com>,
"Liam R. Howlett" <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com>,
"Viresh Kumar" <vireshk@kernel.org>, "Nishanth Menon" <nm@ti.com>,
"Stephen Boyd" <sboyd@kernel.org>,
"Bjorn Helgaas" <bhelgaas@google.com>,
"Krzysztof Wilczyński" <kwilczynski@kernel.org>,
"Boqun Feng" <boqun@kernel.org>,
"Vlastimil Babka" <vbabka@suse.cz>,
"Uladzislau Rezki" <urezki@gmail.com>,
"Boqun Feng" <boqun@kernel.org>
Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, rust-for-linux@vger.kernel.org,
linux-block@vger.kernel.org,
linux-security-module@vger.kernel.org,
dri-devel@lists.freedesktop.org, linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org,
linux-mm@kvack.org, linux-pm@vger.kernel.org,
linux-pci@vger.kernel.org,
Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>,
Oliver Mangold <oliver.mangold@pm.me>
Subject: [PATCH v16 06/10] rust: Add `OwnableRefCounted`
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2026 12:18:01 +0100 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260224-unique-ref-v16-6-c21afcb118d3@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260224-unique-ref-v16-0-c21afcb118d3@kernel.org>
From: Oliver Mangold <oliver.mangold@pm.me>
Types implementing one of these traits can safely convert between an
`ARef<T>` and an `Owned<T>`.
This is useful for types which generally are accessed through an `ARef`
but have methods which can only safely be called when the reference is
unique, like e.g. `block::mq::Request::end_ok()`.
Signed-off-by: Oliver Mangold <oliver.mangold@pm.me>
[ Andreas: Fix formatting, update documentation, fix error handling in
examples. ]
Co-developed-by: Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@kernel.org>
---
rust/kernel/owned.rs | 136 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs | 15 +++++-
rust/kernel/types.rs | 1 +
3 files changed, 146 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
diff --git a/rust/kernel/owned.rs b/rust/kernel/owned.rs
index 41451aa320cff..c81c2ea88124b 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/owned.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/owned.rs
@@ -14,18 +14,24 @@
pin::Pin,
ptr::NonNull, //
};
+use kernel::{
+ sync::aref::ARef,
+ types::RefCounted, //
+};
/// Types that specify their own way of performing allocation and destruction. Typically, this trait
/// is implemented on types from the C side.
///
-/// Implementing this trait allows types to be referenced via the [`Owned<Self>`] pointer type. This
-/// is useful when it is desirable to tie the lifetime of the reference to an owned object, rather
-/// than pass around a bare reference. [`Ownable`] types can define custom drop logic that is
-/// executed when the owned reference [`Owned<Self>`] pointing to the object is dropped.
+/// Implementing this trait allows types to be referenced via the [`Owned<Self>`] pointer type.
+/// - This is useful when it is desirable to tie the lifetime of an object reference to an owned
+/// object, rather than pass around a bare reference.
+/// - [`Ownable`] types can define custom drop logic that is executed when the owned reference
+/// of type [`Owned<_>`] pointing to the object is dropped.
///
/// Note: The underlying object is not required to provide internal reference counting, because it
/// represents a unique, owned reference. If reference counting (on the Rust side) is required,
-/// [`RefCounted`](crate::types::RefCounted) should be implemented.
+/// [`RefCounted`] should be implemented. [`OwnableRefCounted`] should be implemented if conversion
+/// between unique and shared (reference counted) ownership is needed.
///
/// # Examples
///
@@ -179,3 +185,123 @@ fn drop(&mut self) {
unsafe { T::release(self.ptr.as_mut()) };
}
}
+
+/// A trait for objects that can be wrapped in either one of the reference types [`Owned`] and
+/// [`ARef`].
+///
+/// # Examples
+///
+/// A minimal example implementation of [`OwnableRefCounted`], [`Ownable`] and its usage with
+/// [`ARef`] and [`Owned`] looks like this:
+///
+/// ```
+/// # #![expect(clippy::disallowed_names)]
+/// # use core::cell::Cell;
+/// # use core::ptr::NonNull;
+/// # use kernel::alloc::{flags, kbox::KBox, AllocError};
+/// # use kernel::sync::aref::{ARef, RefCounted};
+/// # use kernel::types::{Owned, Ownable, OwnableRefCounted};
+///
+/// // An internally refcounted struct for demonstration purposes.
+/// //
+/// // # Invariants
+/// //
+/// // - `refcount` is always non-zero for a valid object.
+/// // - `refcount` is >1 if there is more than one Rust reference to it.
+/// //
+/// struct Foo {
+/// refcount: Cell<usize>,
+/// }
+///
+/// impl Foo {
+/// fn new() -> Result<Owned<Self>> {
+/// // We are just using a `KBox` here to handle the actual allocation, as our `Foo` is
+/// // not actually a C-allocated object.
+/// let result = KBox::new(
+/// Foo {
+/// refcount: Cell::new(1),
+/// },
+/// flags::GFP_KERNEL,
+/// )?;
+/// let result = KBox::into_nonnull(result);
+/// // SAFETY:
+/// // - We just allocated the `Self`, thus it is valid and we own it.
+/// // - We can transfer this ownership to the `from_raw` method.
+/// Ok(unsafe { Owned::from_raw(result) })
+/// }
+/// }
+///
+/// // SAFETY: We increment and decrement each time the respective function is called and only free
+/// // the `Foo` when the refcount reaches zero.
+/// unsafe impl RefCounted for Foo {
+/// fn inc_ref(&self) {
+/// self.refcount.replace(self.refcount.get() + 1);
+/// }
+///
+/// unsafe fn dec_ref(this: NonNull<Self>) {
+/// // SAFETY: By requirement on calling this function, the refcount is non-zero,
+/// // implying the underlying object is valid.
+/// let refcount = unsafe { &this.as_ref().refcount };
+/// let new_refcount = refcount.get() - 1;
+/// if new_refcount == 0 {
+/// // The `Foo` will be dropped when `KBox` goes out of scope.
+/// // SAFETY: The [`KBox<Foo>`] is still alive as the old refcount is 1. We can pass
+/// // ownership to the [`KBox`] as by requirement on calling this function,
+/// // the `Self` will no longer be used by the caller.
+/// unsafe { KBox::from_raw(this.as_ptr()) };
+/// } else {
+/// refcount.replace(new_refcount);
+/// }
+/// }
+/// }
+///
+/// impl OwnableRefCounted for Foo {
+/// fn try_from_shared(this: ARef<Self>) -> Result<Owned<Self>, ARef<Self>> {
+/// if this.refcount.get() == 1 {
+/// // SAFETY: The `Foo` is still alive and has no other Rust references as the refcount
+/// // is 1.
+/// Ok(unsafe { Owned::from_raw(ARef::into_raw(this)) })
+/// } else {
+/// Err(this)
+/// }
+/// }
+/// }
+///
+/// impl Ownable for Foo {
+/// unsafe fn release(&mut self) {
+/// // SAFETY: Using `dec_ref()` from [`RefCounted`] to release is okay, as the refcount is
+/// // always 1 for an [`Owned<Foo>`].
+/// unsafe{ Foo::dec_ref(NonNull::new_unchecked(self)) };
+/// }
+/// }
+///
+/// let foo = Foo::new()?;
+/// let mut foo = ARef::from(foo);
+/// {
+/// let bar = foo.clone();
+/// assert!(Owned::try_from(bar).is_err());
+/// }
+/// assert!(Owned::try_from(foo).is_ok());
+/// # Ok::<(), Error>(())
+/// ```
+pub trait OwnableRefCounted: RefCounted + Ownable + Sized {
+ /// Checks if the [`ARef`] is unique and converts it to an [`Owned`] if that is the case.
+ /// Otherwise it returns again an [`ARef`] to the same underlying object.
+ fn try_from_shared(this: ARef<Self>) -> Result<Owned<Self>, ARef<Self>>;
+
+ /// Converts the [`Owned`] into an [`ARef`].
+ fn into_shared(this: Owned<Self>) -> ARef<Self> {
+ // SAFETY: Safe by the requirements on implementing the trait.
+ unsafe { ARef::from_raw(Owned::into_raw(this)) }
+ }
+}
+
+impl<T: OwnableRefCounted> TryFrom<ARef<T>> for Owned<T> {
+ type Error = ARef<T>;
+ /// Tries to convert the [`ARef`] to an [`Owned`] by calling
+ /// [`try_from_shared()`](OwnableRefCounted::try_from_shared). In case the [`ARef`] is not
+ /// unique, it returns again an [`ARef`] to the same underlying object.
+ fn try_from(b: ARef<T>) -> Result<Owned<T>, Self::Error> {
+ T::try_from_shared(b)
+ }
+}
diff --git a/rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs b/rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs
index 8c23662a7e6a1..a849ebae4313b 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/sync/aref.rs
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@
ops::Deref,
ptr::NonNull, //
};
+use kernel::types::{
+ OwnableRefCounted,
+ Owned, //
+};
/// Types that are internally reference counted.
///
@@ -35,7 +39,10 @@
/// Note: Implementing this trait allows types to be wrapped in an [`ARef<Self>`]. It requires an
/// internal reference count and provides only shared references. If unique references are required
/// [`Ownable`](crate::types::Ownable) should be implemented which allows types to be wrapped in an
-/// [`Owned<Self>`](crate::types::Owned).
+/// [`Owned<Self>`](crate::types::Owned). Implementing the trait
+/// [`OwnableRefCounted`] allows to convert between unique and
+/// shared references (i.e. [`Owned<Self>`](crate::types::Owned) and
+/// [`ARef<Self>`](crate::types::Owned)).
///
/// # Safety
///
@@ -185,6 +192,12 @@ fn from(b: &T) -> Self {
}
}
+impl<T: OwnableRefCounted> From<Owned<T>> for ARef<T> {
+ fn from(b: Owned<T>) -> Self {
+ T::into_shared(b)
+ }
+}
+
impl<T: RefCounted> Drop for ARef<T> {
fn drop(&mut self) {
// SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the `ARef` owns the reference we're about to
diff --git a/rust/kernel/types.rs b/rust/kernel/types.rs
index 9b96aa2ebdb7e..f43c091eeb8b7 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/types.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/types.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
pub use crate::{
owned::{
Ownable,
+ OwnableRefCounted,
Owned, //
},
sync::aref::{
--
2.51.2
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-02-24 11:20 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 18+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-02-24 11:17 [PATCH v16 00/10] rust: add `Ownable` trait and `Owned` type Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-24 11:17 ` [PATCH v16 01/10] rust: alloc: add `KBox::into_nonnull` Andreas Hindborg
2026-03-01 13:26 ` Gary Guo
2026-03-01 16:34 ` Andreas Hindborg
2026-03-01 19:25 ` Gary Guo
2026-03-01 19:59 ` Benno Lossin
2026-03-01 20:47 ` Gary Guo
2026-03-02 7:18 ` Andreas Hindborg
2026-03-02 12:32 ` Miguel Ojeda
2026-02-24 11:17 ` [PATCH v16 02/10] rust: types: Add Ownable/Owned types Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-24 11:17 ` [PATCH v16 03/10] rust: rename `AlwaysRefCounted` to `RefCounted` Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-24 11:17 ` [PATCH v16 04/10] rust: Add missing SAFETY documentation for `ARef` example Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-24 11:18 ` [PATCH v16 05/10] rust: aref: update formatting of use statements Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-24 11:18 ` Andreas Hindborg [this message]
2026-02-24 11:18 ` [PATCH v16 07/10] rust: page: update formatting of `use` statements Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-24 11:18 ` [PATCH v16 08/10] rust: page: convert to `Ownable` Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-24 11:18 ` [PATCH v16 09/10] rust: implement `ForeignOwnable` for `Owned` Andreas Hindborg
2026-02-24 11:18 ` [PATCH v16 10/10] rust: page: add `from_raw()` Andreas Hindborg
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