From: Marco Elver <elver@google.com>
To: elver@google.com, Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>,
Will Deacon <will@kernel.org>
Cc: Ingo Molnar <mingo@kernel.org>,
Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>,
Boqun Feng <boqun.feng@gmail.com>,
Waiman Long <longman@redhat.com>,
Bart Van Assche <bvanassche@acm.org>,
llvm@lists.linux.dev,
David Laight <david.laight.linux@gmail.com>,
Al Viro <viro@zeniv.linux.org.uk>,
Catalin Marinas <catalin.marinas@arm.com>,
Nathan Chancellor <nathan@kernel.org>,
Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de>,
linux-arm-kernel@lists.infradead.org,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: [PATCH v4 1/2] arm64: Optimize __READ_ONCE() with CONFIG_LTO=y
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2026 15:16:22 +0100 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260216142436.2207937-3-elver@google.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260216142436.2207937-2-elver@google.com>
Rework arm64 LTO __READ_ONCE() to improve code generation as follows:
1. Replace _Generic-based __unqual_scalar_typeof() with more complete
__rwonce_typeof_unqual(). This strips qualifiers from all types, not
just integer types, which is required to be able to assign (must be
non-const) to __u.__val in the non-atomic case (required for #2).
One subtle point here is that non-integer types of __val could be const
or volatile within the union with the old __unqual_scalar_typeof(), if
the passed variable is const or volatile. This would then result in a
forced load from the stack if __u.__val is volatile; in the case of
const, it does look odd if the underlying storage changes, but the
compiler is told said member is "const" -- it smells like UB.
2. Eliminate the atomic flag and ternary conditional expression. Move
the fallback volatile load into the default case of the switch,
ensuring __u is unconditionally initialized across all paths.
The statement expression now unconditionally returns __u.__val.
This refactoring appears to help the compiler improve (or fix) code
generation.
With a defconfig + LTO + debug options builds, we observe different
codegen for the following functions:
btrfs_reclaim_sweep (708 -> 1032 bytes)
btrfs_sinfo_bg_reclaim_threshold_store (200 -> 204 bytes)
check_mem_access (3652 -> 3692 bytes) [inlined bpf_map_is_rdonly]
console_flush_all (1268 -> 1264 bytes)
console_lock_spinning_disable_and_check (180 -> 176 bytes)
igb_add_filter (640 -> 636 bytes)
igb_config_tx_modes (2404 -> 2400 bytes)
kvm_vcpu_on_spin (480 -> 476 bytes)
map_freeze (376 -> 380 bytes)
netlink_bind (1664 -> 1656 bytes)
nmi_cpu_backtrace (404 -> 400 bytes)
set_rps_cpu (516 -> 520 bytes)
swap_cluster_readahead (944 -> 932 bytes)
tcp_accecn_third_ack (328 -> 336 bytes)
tcp_create_openreq_child (1764 -> 1772 bytes)
tcp_data_queue (5784 -> 5892 bytes)
tcp_ecn_rcv_synack (620 -> 628 bytes)
xen_manage_runstate_time (944 -> 896 bytes)
xen_steal_clock (340 -> 296 bytes)
Increase of some functions are due to more aggressive inlining due to
better codegen (in this build, e.g. bpf_map_is_rdonly is no longer
present due to being inlined completely).
NOTE: The return-value-of-function-drops-qualifiers hack was first
suggested by Al Viro in [1], which notes some of its limitations which
make it unsuitable for a general __unqual_scalar_typeof() replacement.
Notably, array types are not supported, and GCC 8.1-8.3 still fail. Why
should we use it here? READ_ONCE() does not support reading whole
arrays, and the GCC version problem only affects 3 minor releases of a
very ancient still-supported GCC version; not only that, this arm64
READ_ONCE() version is currently only activated by LTO builds, which
to-date are *only supported by Clang*!
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260111182010.GH3634291@ZenIV/ [1]
Signed-off-by: Marco Elver <elver@google.com>
---
v4:
* Use the return-value-of-function-drops-qualifiers hack to paint the
bikeshed.
v3:
* Comment.
v2:
* Add __rwonce_typeof_unqual() as fallback for old compilers.
---
arch/arm64/include/asm/rwonce.h | 18 ++++++++++++++----
1 file changed, 14 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
diff --git a/arch/arm64/include/asm/rwonce.h b/arch/arm64/include/asm/rwonce.h
index fc0fb42b0b64..9fd24cef3376 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/include/asm/rwonce.h
+++ b/arch/arm64/include/asm/rwonce.h
@@ -19,6 +19,17 @@
"ldapr" #sfx "\t" #regs, \
ARM64_HAS_LDAPR)
+/*
+ * Replace this with typeof_unqual() when minimum compiler versions are
+ * increased to GCC 14 and Clang 19. For the time being, we need this
+ * workaround, which relies on function return values dropping qualifiers.
+ */
+#define __rwonce_typeof_unqual(x) typeof(({ \
+ __diag_push() \
+ __diag_ignore_all("-Wignored-qualifiers", "") \
+ ((typeof(x)(*)(void))0)(); \
+ __diag_pop() }))
+
/*
* When building with LTO, there is an increased risk of the compiler
* converting an address dependency headed by a READ_ONCE() invocation
@@ -32,8 +43,7 @@
#define __READ_ONCE(x) \
({ \
typeof(&(x)) __x = &(x); \
- int atomic = 1; \
- union { __unqual_scalar_typeof(*__x) __val; char __c[1]; } __u; \
+ union { __rwonce_typeof_unqual(*__x) __val; char __c[1]; } __u; \
switch (sizeof(x)) { \
case 1: \
asm volatile(__LOAD_RCPC(b, %w0, %1) \
@@ -56,9 +66,9 @@
: "Q" (*__x) : "memory"); \
break; \
default: \
- atomic = 0; \
+ __u.__val = *(volatile typeof(*__x) *)__x; \
} \
- atomic ? (typeof(*__x))__u.__val : (*(volatile typeof(*__x) *)__x);\
+ __u.__val; \
})
#endif /* !BUILD_VDSO */
--
2.53.0.335.g19a08e0c02-goog
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-02-16 14:51 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 6+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-02-16 14:16 [PATCH v4 0/2] arm64: Fixes for __READ_ONCE() with CONFIG_LTO=y Marco Elver
2026-02-16 14:16 ` Marco Elver [this message]
2026-02-16 14:16 ` [PATCH v4 2/2] arm64, compiler-context-analysis: Permit alias analysis through " Marco Elver
2026-02-16 18:00 ` David Laight
2026-02-16 18:40 ` Marco Elver
2026-02-27 3:16 ` [PATCH v4 0/2] arm64: Fixes for " Will Deacon
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