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Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ?

Message-ID <4DCF1B96.6090106@SPAM.comp-arch.net> (permalink)
Date 2011-05-14 17:17 -0700
From "Andy \"Krazy\" Glew" <andy@SPAM.comp-arch.net>
Organization comp-arch.net
Newsgroups comp.arch
Subject Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ?
References (1 earlier) <iqhv4i$bg8$1@speranza.aioe.org> <4DCCA664.9070207@SPAM.comp-arch.net> <nqev98-qvt2.ln1@ntp6.tmsw.no> <iqjjk2$ldo$1@dont-email.me> <op70a8-sru2.ln1@ntp6.tmsw.no>

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On 5/13/2011 10:53 AM, Terje Mathisen wrote:
> Stephen Fuld wrote:
>> On 5/13/2011 3:47 AM, Terje Mathisen wrote:
>>
>> snip
>>
>>> Personally I prefer algorithms which can use XADD, i.e. atomic
>>> fetch_and_add(), specifically because they can provide guaranteed
>>> forward progress, with minimum bus uglyness.
>>
>> I agree with your preference and would add another reason. There are
>> applications where a system wide unique, guaranteed increasing
>> number is exactly what is needed. Think transaction numbers in some
>> transaction systems. XADD provides this with minimal cost.
>
> I know that such numbers are very useful, but I would really prefer to
> avoid the need for them, because they do end up as a global bottleneck.
>>
>>
>>> It should also be relatively easy (for hw) to propagate an XADD
>>> operation across a mesh and handle it at the location of the target
>>> memory.
>>
>> Yes. Although test and set is perhaps easier to do this with. But see
>> below
>
> Test&Set, in the form XCHG reg,[mem] is the original x86 sync primitive,
> the main problem is that it only provides a boolean gate, not something
> which can be used as-is.

Nit-pocking:

XCHG is atomic exchange, not test-and-set.

test-and-set is something more primitive.

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Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? "Paul A. Clayton" <paaronclayton@gmail.com> - 2011-05-12 08:49 -0700
  Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? whygee <yg@yg.yg> - 2011-05-13 02:01 +0200
    Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? "Andy \"Krazy\" Glew" <andy@SPAM.comp-arch.net> - 2011-05-12 20:32 -0700
      Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? Terje Mathisen <"terje.mathisen at tmsw.no"> - 2011-05-13 12:47 +0200
        Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? Stephen Fuld <SFuld@alumni.cmu.edu.invalid> - 2011-05-13 08:44 -0700
          Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? Terje Mathisen <"terje.mathisen at tmsw.no"> - 2011-05-13 19:53 +0200
            Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? Stephen Fuld <SFuld@alumni.cmu.edu.invalid> - 2011-05-13 11:36 -0700
              Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? Terje Mathisen <"terje.mathisen at tmsw.no"> - 2011-05-13 22:26 +0200
            Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? "Andy \"Krazy\" Glew" <andy@SPAM.comp-arch.net> - 2011-05-14 17:17 -0700
              Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? Terje Mathisen <"terje.mathisen at tmsw.no"> - 2011-05-16 14:22 +0200
                Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? "Andy \"Krazy\" Glew" <andy@SPAM.comp-arch.net> - 2011-05-16 07:38 -0700
          Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? "Andy \"Krazy\" Glew" <andy@SPAM.comp-arch.net> - 2011-05-14 17:14 -0700
      Re: What are the various alternate uses for the PC's LSB ? rpw3@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock) - 2011-05-13 07:45 -0500

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