Re: [PATCH 09/17] m68k: Implement xor_unlock_is_negative_byte

Linus Torvalds
2023-09-20T16:58:55Z

On Wed, 20 Sept 2023 at 00:45, Greg Ungerer <gregungerer@westnet.com.au> wrote:
>
> The problem with this C implementation is that need to use loal_irq_save()
> which results in some ugly header dependencies trying top include irqflags.h.
>
> This version at least compiles and run, though we can probably do better still.

I was going to say "can't you use CAS?" but apparently coldfire
doesn't have that either. What a horrible thing.

I do wonder if we should just say "let's use the top bit instead"?

The reason we used bit #7 is that

- only x86 used to do the clear_bit_unlock_is_negative_byte

- it was easy with a simple "andb".

- it was just a trivial "move two bits around".

but honestly, on x86, doing it with "andl/andq" shouldn't be any
worse, and we can still use a (sign-extended) 8-bit immediate value to
xor the low seven bits and test the high bit at the same time - so it
should be basically exactly the same code sequence.

There's a question about mixing access widths - which can be deadly to
performance on x86 - but generally this op should be the only op on
the page flags in that sequence, and doing a byte access isn't
necessarily better.

Of course, using the top bit then screws with all the
zone/node/section/lru_gen bits that we currently put in the high bits.
So it's absolutely *not* just a trivial "move this bit" operation.

It would change all the <linux/page-flags-layout.h> games we do.

That might be enough for any sane person to go "this is not worth it",
but *if* Willy goes "I like the bit twiddling games", maybe he'd be
willing to look at that.

I mean, he wrote alpha assembler for this, that certainly says
*something* about WIlly ;)

Willy?

Linus