Re: [v3,11/41] mips: reuse asm-generic/barrier.h

From: Peter Zijlstra
Date: Fri Jan 15 2016 - 03:56:21 EST


On Thu, Jan 14, 2016 at 01:29:13PM -0800, Paul E. McKenney wrote:
> So smp_mb() provides transitivity, as do pairs of smp_store_release()
> and smp_read_acquire(),

But they provide different grades of transitivity, which is where all
the confusion lays.

smp_mb() is strongly/globally transitive, all CPUs will agree on the order.

Whereas the RCpc release+acquire is weakly so, only the two cpus
involved in the handover will agree on the order.