Re: [PATCH] scsi: qla1280: Replace arithmetic addition by bitwise OR

From: Julia Lawall
Date: Sun Feb 12 2023 - 10:12:06 EST




On Sun, 12 Feb 2023, Deepak R Varma wrote:

> On Sat, Feb 11, 2023 at 03:25:03PM -0800, Bart Van Assche wrote:
> > On 2/7/23 03:54, Deepak R Varma wrote:
> > > When adding two bit-field mask values, an OR operation offers higher
> > > performance over an arithmetic operation. So, convert such addition to
> > > an OR based expression.
> >
> > Where is the evidence that supports this claim? On the following page I read
> > that there is no performance difference when using a modern CPU: https://cs.stackexchange.com/questions/75811/why-is-addition-as-fast-as-bit-wise-operations-in-modern-processors
> >
>
> Hello Bart,
> You are correct. Modern CPU designs have improved addition and the performance
> is at par with the bitwise operation. The document I had read earlier mentioned
> a performance improvement for old CPUs and microprocessors, which today is not
> the case. Thank you for sharing the link.
>
> > > Issue identified using orplus.cocci semantic patch script.
> >
> > Where is that script located? Can it be deleted such that submission of
> > patches similar to this patch stops?
>
> I have added Julia to this email to understand how to best use this semantic
> patch. I already discussed with her on improving the Semantic patch such that it
> doesn't suggest making change when constants are involved.

FWIW, the semantic patch was never motivated by efficiency, but rather
with the goal of making the code more understandable.

julia