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diff --git a/Documentation/assoc_array.txt b/Documentation/assoc_array.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2f2c6cdd73c0..000000000000 --- a/Documentation/assoc_array.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,574 +0,0 @@ - ======================================== - GENERIC ASSOCIATIVE ARRAY IMPLEMENTATION - ======================================== - -Contents: - - - Overview. - - - The public API. - - Edit script. - - Operations table. - - Manipulation functions. - - Access functions. - - Index key form. - - - Internal workings. - - Basic internal tree layout. - - Shortcuts. - - Splitting and collapsing nodes. - - Non-recursive iteration. - - Simultaneous alteration and iteration. - - -======== -OVERVIEW -======== - -This associative array implementation is an object container with the following -properties: - - (1) Objects are opaque pointers. The implementation does not care where they - point (if anywhere) or what they point to (if anything). - - [!] NOTE: Pointers to objects _must_ be zero in the least significant bit. - - (2) Objects do not need to contain linkage blocks for use by the array. This - permits an object to be located in multiple arrays simultaneously. - Rather, the array is made up of metadata blocks that point to objects. - - (3) Objects require index keys to locate them within the array. - - (4) Index keys must be unique. Inserting an object with the same key as one - already in the array will replace the old object. - - (5) Index keys can be of any length and can be of different lengths. - - (6) Index keys should encode the length early on, before any variation due to - length is seen. - - (7) Index keys can include a hash to scatter objects throughout the array. - - (8) The array can iterated over. The objects will not necessarily come out in - key order. - - (9) The array can be iterated over whilst it is being modified, provided the - RCU readlock is being held by the iterator. Note, however, under these - circumstances, some objects may be seen more than once. If this is a - problem, the iterator should lock against modification. Objects will not - be missed, however, unless deleted. - -(10) Objects in the array can be looked up by means of their index key. - -(11) Objects can be looked up whilst the array is being modified, provided the - RCU readlock is being held by the thread doing the look up. - -The implementation uses a tree of 16-pointer nodes internally that are indexed -on each level by nibbles from the index key in the same manner as in a radix -tree. To improve memory efficiency, shortcuts can be emplaced to skip over -what would otherwise be a series of single-occupancy nodes. Further, nodes -pack leaf object pointers into spare space in the node rather than making an -extra branch until as such time an object needs to be added to a full node. - - -============== -THE PUBLIC API -============== - -The public API can be found in <linux/assoc_array.h>. The associative array is -rooted on the following structure: - - struct assoc_array { - ... - }; - -The code is selected by enabling CONFIG_ASSOCIATIVE_ARRAY. - - -EDIT SCRIPT ------------ - -The insertion and deletion functions produce an 'edit script' that can later be -applied to effect the changes without risking ENOMEM. This retains the -preallocated metadata blocks that will be installed in the internal tree and -keeps track of the metadata blocks that will be removed from the tree when the -script is applied. - -This is also used to keep track of dead blocks and dead objects after the -script has been applied so that they can be freed later. The freeing is done -after an RCU grace period has passed - thus allowing access functions to -proceed under the RCU read lock. - -The script appears as outside of the API as a pointer of the type: - - struct assoc_array_edit; - -There are two functions for dealing with the script: - - (1) Apply an edit script. - - void assoc_array_apply_edit(struct assoc_array_edit *edit); - - This will perform the edit functions, interpolating various write barriers - to permit accesses under the RCU read lock to continue. The edit script - will then be passed to call_rcu() to free it and any dead stuff it points - to. - - (2) Cancel an edit script. - - void assoc_array_cancel_edit(struct assoc_array_edit *edit); - - This frees the edit script and all preallocated memory immediately. If - this was for insertion, the new object is _not_ released by this function, - but must rather be released by the caller. - -These functions are guaranteed not to fail. - - -OPERATIONS TABLE ----------------- - -Various functions take a table of operations: - - struct assoc_array_ops { - ... - }; - -This points to a number of methods, all of which need to be provided: - - (1) Get a chunk of index key from caller data: - - unsigned long (*get_key_chunk)(const void *index_key, int level); - - This should return a chunk of caller-supplied index key starting at the - *bit* position given by the level argument. The level argument will be a - multiple of ASSOC_ARRAY_KEY_CHUNK_SIZE and the function should return - ASSOC_ARRAY_KEY_CHUNK_SIZE bits. No error is possible. - - - (2) Get a chunk of an object's index key. - - unsigned long (*get_object_key_chunk)(const void *object, int level); - - As the previous function, but gets its data from an object in the array - rather than from a caller-supplied index key. - - - (3) See if this is the object we're looking for. - - bool (*compare_object)(const void *object, const void *index_key); - - Compare the object against an index key and return true if it matches and - false if it doesn't. - - - (4) Diff the index keys of two objects. - - int (*diff_objects)(const void *object, const void *index_key); - - Return the bit position at which the index key of the specified object - differs from the given index key or -1 if they are the same. - - - (5) Free an object. - - void (*free_object)(void *object); - - Free the specified object. Note that this may be called an RCU grace - period after assoc_array_apply_edit() was called, so synchronize_rcu() may - be necessary on module unloading. - - -MANIPULATION FUNCTIONS ----------------------- - -There are a number of functions for manipulating an associative array: - - (1) Initialise an associative array. - - void assoc_array_init(struct assoc_array *array); - - This initialises the base structure for an associative array. It can't - fail. - - - (2) Insert/replace an object in an associative array. - - struct assoc_array_edit * - assoc_array_insert(struct assoc_array *array, - const struct assoc_array_ops *ops, - const void *index_key, - void *object); - - This inserts the given object into the array. Note that the least - significant bit of the pointer must be zero as it's used to type-mark - pointers internally. - - If an object already exists for that key then it will be replaced with the - new object and the old one will be freed automatically. - - The index_key argument should hold index key information and is - passed to the methods in the ops table when they are called. - - This function makes no alteration to the array itself, but rather returns - an edit script that must be applied. -ENOMEM is returned in the case of - an out-of-memory error. - - The caller should lock exclusively against other modifiers of the array. - - - (3) Delete an object from an associative array. - - struct assoc_array_edit * - assoc_array_delete(struct assoc_array *array, - const struct assoc_array_ops *ops, - const void *index_key); - - This deletes an object that matches the specified data from the array. - - The index_key argument should hold index key information and is - passed to the methods in the ops table when they are called. - - This function makes no alteration to the array itself, but rather returns - an edit script that must be applied. -ENOMEM is returned in the case of - an out-of-memory error. NULL will be returned if the specified object is - not found within the array. - - The caller should lock exclusively against other modifiers of the array. - - - (4) Delete all objects from an associative array. - - struct assoc_array_edit * - assoc_array_clear(struct assoc_array *array, - const struct assoc_array_ops *ops); - - This deletes all the objects from an associative array and leaves it - completely empty. - - This function makes no alteration to the array itself, but rather returns - an edit script that must be applied. -ENOMEM is returned in the case of - an out-of-memory error. - - The caller should lock exclusively against other modifiers of the array. - - - (5) Destroy an associative array, deleting all objects. - - void assoc_array_destroy(struct assoc_array *array, - const struct assoc_array_ops *ops); - - This destroys the contents of the associative array and leaves it - completely empty. It is not permitted for another thread to be traversing - the array under the RCU read lock at the same time as this function is - destroying it as no RCU deferral is performed on memory release - - something that would require memory to be allocated. - - The caller should lock exclusively against other modifiers and accessors - of the array. - - - (6) Garbage collect an associative array. - - int assoc_array_gc(struct assoc_array *array, - const struct assoc_array_ops *ops, - bool (*iterator)(void *object, void *iterator_data), - void *iterator_data); - - This iterates over the objects in an associative array and passes each one - to iterator(). If iterator() returns true, the object is kept. If it - returns false, the object will be freed. If the iterator() function - returns true, it must perform any appropriate refcount incrementing on the - object before returning. - - The internal tree will be packed down if possible as part of the iteration - to reduce the number of nodes in it. - - The iterator_data is passed directly to iterator() and is otherwise - ignored by the function. - - The function will return 0 if successful and -ENOMEM if there wasn't - enough memory. - - It is possible for other threads to iterate over or search the array under - the RCU read lock whilst this function is in progress. The caller should - lock exclusively against other modifiers of the array. - - -ACCESS FUNCTIONS ----------------- - -There are two functions for accessing an associative array: - - (1) Iterate over all the objects in an associative array. - - int assoc_array_iterate(const struct assoc_array *array, - int (*iterator)(const void *object, - void *iterator_data), - void *iterator_data); - - This passes each object in the array to the iterator callback function. - iterator_data is private data for that function. - - This may be used on an array at the same time as the array is being - modified, provided the RCU read lock is held. Under such circumstances, - it is possible for the iteration function to see some objects twice. If - this is a problem, then modification should be locked against. The - iteration algorithm should not, however, miss any objects. - - The function will return 0 if no objects were in the array or else it will - return the result of the last iterator function called. Iteration stops - immediately if any call to the iteration function results in a non-zero - return. - - - (2) Find an object in an associative array. - - void *assoc_array_find(const struct assoc_array *array, - const struct assoc_array_ops *ops, - const void *index_key); - - This walks through the array's internal tree directly to the object - specified by the index key.. - - This may be used on an array at the same time as the array is being - modified, provided the RCU read lock is held. - - The function will return the object if found (and set *_type to the object - type) or will return NULL if the object was not found. - - -INDEX KEY FORM --------------- - -The index key can be of any form, but since the algorithms aren't told how long -the key is, it is strongly recommended that the index key includes its length -very early on before any variation due to the length would have an effect on -comparisons. - -This will cause leaves with different length keys to scatter away from each -other - and those with the same length keys to cluster together. - -It is also recommended that the index key begin with a hash of the rest of the -key to maximise scattering throughout keyspace. - -The better the scattering, the wider and lower the internal tree will be. - -Poor scattering isn't too much of a problem as there are shortcuts and nodes -can contain mixtures of leaves and metadata pointers. - -The index key is read in chunks of machine word. Each chunk is subdivided into -one nibble (4 bits) per level, so on a 32-bit CPU this is good for 8 levels and -on a 64-bit CPU, 16 levels. Unless the scattering is really poor, it is -unlikely that more than one word of any particular index key will have to be -used. - - -================= -INTERNAL WORKINGS -================= - -The associative array data structure has an internal tree. This tree is -constructed of two types of metadata blocks: nodes and shortcuts. - -A node is an array of slots. Each slot can contain one of four things: - - (*) A NULL pointer, indicating that the slot is empty. - - (*) A pointer to an object (a leaf). - - (*) A pointer to a node at the next level. - - (*) A pointer to a shortcut. - - -BASIC INTERNAL TREE LAYOUT --------------------------- - -Ignoring shortcuts for the moment, the nodes form a multilevel tree. The index -key space is strictly subdivided by the nodes in the tree and nodes occur on -fixed levels. For example: - - Level: 0 1 2 3 - =============== =============== =============== =============== - NODE D - NODE B NODE C +------>+---+ - +------>+---+ +------>+---+ | | 0 | - NODE A | | 0 | | | 0 | | +---+ - +---+ | +---+ | +---+ | : : - | 0 | | : : | : : | +---+ - +---+ | +---+ | +---+ | | f | - | 1 |---+ | 3 |---+ | 7 |---+ +---+ - +---+ +---+ +---+ - : : : : | 8 |---+ - +---+ +---+ +---+ | NODE E - | e |---+ | f | : : +------>+---+ - +---+ | +---+ +---+ | 0 | - | f | | | f | +---+ - +---+ | +---+ : : - | NODE F +---+ - +------>+---+ | f | - | 0 | NODE G +---+ - +---+ +------>+---+ - : : | | 0 | - +---+ | +---+ - | 6 |---+ : : - +---+ +---+ - : : | f | - +---+ +---+ - | f | - +---+ - -In the above example, there are 7 nodes (A-G), each with 16 slots (0-f). -Assuming no other meta data nodes in the tree, the key space is divided thusly: - - KEY PREFIX NODE - ========== ==== - 137* D - 138* E - 13[0-69-f]* C - 1[0-24-f]* B - e6* G - e[0-57-f]* F - [02-df]* A - -So, for instance, keys with the following example index keys will be found in -the appropriate nodes: - - INDEX KEY PREFIX NODE - =============== ======= ==== - 13694892892489 13 C - 13795289025897 137 D - 13889dde88793 138 E - 138bbb89003093 138 E - 1394879524789 12 C - 1458952489 1 B - 9431809de993ba - A - b4542910809cd - A - e5284310def98 e F - e68428974237 e6 G - e7fffcbd443 e F - f3842239082 - A - -To save memory, if a node can hold all the leaves in its portion of keyspace, -then the node will have all those leaves in it and will not have any metadata -pointers - even if some of those leaves would like to be in the same slot. - -A node can contain a heterogeneous mix of leaves and metadata pointers. -Metadata pointers must be in the slots that match their subdivisions of key -space. The leaves can be in any slot not occupied by a metadata pointer. It -is guaranteed that none of the leaves in a node will match a slot occupied by a -metadata pointer. If the metadata pointer is there, any leaf whose key matches -the metadata key prefix must be in the subtree that the metadata pointer points -to. - -In the above example list of index keys, node A will contain: - - SLOT CONTENT INDEX KEY (PREFIX) - ==== =============== ================== - 1 PTR TO NODE B 1* - any LEAF 9431809de993ba - any LEAF b4542910809cd - e PTR TO NODE F e* - any LEAF f3842239082 - -and node B: - - 3 PTR TO NODE C 13* - any LEAF 1458952489 - - -SHORTCUTS ---------- - -Shortcuts are metadata records that jump over a piece of keyspace. A shortcut -is a replacement for a series of single-occupancy nodes ascending through the -levels. Shortcuts exist to save memory and to speed up traversal. - -It is possible for the root of the tree to be a shortcut - say, for example, -the tree contains at least 17 nodes all with key prefix '1111'. The insertion -algorithm will insert a shortcut to skip over the '1111' keyspace in a single -bound and get to the fourth level where these actually become different. - - -SPLITTING AND COLLAPSING NODES ------------------------------- - -Each node has a maximum capacity of 16 leaves and metadata pointers. If the -insertion algorithm finds that it is trying to insert a 17th object into a -node, that node will be split such that at least two leaves that have a common -key segment at that level end up in a separate node rooted on that slot for -that common key segment. - -If the leaves in a full node and the leaf that is being inserted are -sufficiently similar, then a shortcut will be inserted into the tree. - -When the number of objects in the subtree rooted at a node falls to 16 or -fewer, then the subtree will be collapsed down to a single node - and this will -ripple towards the root if possible. - - -NON-RECURSIVE ITERATION ------------------------ - -Each node and shortcut contains a back pointer to its parent and the number of -slot in that parent that points to it. None-recursive iteration uses these to -proceed rootwards through the tree, going to the parent node, slot N + 1 to -make sure progress is made without the need for a stack. - -The backpointers, however, make simultaneous alteration and iteration tricky. - - -SIMULTANEOUS ALTERATION AND ITERATION -------------------------------------- - -There are a number of cases to consider: - - (1) Simple insert/replace. This involves simply replacing a NULL or old - matching leaf pointer with the pointer to the new leaf after a barrier. - The metadata blocks don't change otherwise. An old leaf won't be freed - until after the RCU grace period. - - (2) Simple delete. This involves just clearing an old matching leaf. The - metadata blocks don't change otherwise. The old leaf won't be freed until - after the RCU grace period. - - (3) Insertion replacing part of a subtree that we haven't yet entered. This - may involve replacement of part of that subtree - but that won't affect - the iteration as we won't have reached the pointer to it yet and the - ancestry blocks are not replaced (the layout of those does not change). - - (4) Insertion replacing nodes that we're actively processing. This isn't a - problem as we've passed the anchoring pointer and won't switch onto the - new layout until we follow the back pointers - at which point we've - already examined the leaves in the replaced node (we iterate over all the - leaves in a node before following any of its metadata pointers). - - We might, however, re-see some leaves that have been split out into a new - branch that's in a slot further along than we were at. - - (5) Insertion replacing nodes that we're processing a dependent branch of. - This won't affect us until we follow the back pointers. Similar to (4). - - (6) Deletion collapsing a branch under us. This doesn't affect us because the - back pointers will get us back to the parent of the new node before we - could see the new node. The entire collapsed subtree is thrown away - unchanged - and will still be rooted on the same slot, so we shouldn't - process it a second time as we'll go back to slot + 1. - -Note: - - (*) Under some circumstances, we need to simultaneously change the parent - pointer and the parent slot pointer on a node (say, for example, we - inserted another node before it and moved it up a level). We cannot do - this without locking against a read - so we have to replace that node too. - - However, when we're changing a shortcut into a node this isn't a problem - as shortcuts only have one slot and so the parent slot number isn't used - when traversing backwards over one. This means that it's okay to change - the slot number first - provided suitable barriers are used to make sure - the parent slot number is read after the back pointer. - -Obsolete blocks and leaves are freed up after an RCU grace period has passed, -so as long as anyone doing walking or iteration holds the RCU read lock, the -old superstructure should not go away on them. |