Re: atomic memory_order with command or with fence

From:
itaj sherman <itajsherman@gmail.com>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++.moderated
Date:
Sun, 27 May 2012 14:08:33 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID:
<e3cce405-1030-44af-824f-e3c505ad9c01@l5g2000vbo.googlegroups.com>
Maybe I should clarify my question:
Referring to the standard 1.10 and 29.8, in regard to the effects of
atomic_thread_fence (orders
release and acquire) on memory ordering. Although the standard doesn't
give this example explicitly.

On May 24, 9:38 pm, itaj sherman <itajsher...@gmail.com> wrote:

When specifying atomic memory_order_relase/acquire, what is the
difference between specifying on a certain command to a separate
atomic_thread_fence?

Aren't the following options equivalent w.r.t. memory ordering of all
operations:

  //option1
  x.store( r, memory_order_release );

  //option2
  atomic_thread_fence( memory_order_release );
  x.store( r, memory_order_relaxed );


I'll put this code in functions, to clarify the context of x and r:

template< typename T >
void my_store_release_1( std::atomic<T>& x, T r )
{
   x.store( r, memory_order_release );
}

template< typename T >
void my_store_release_2( std::atomic<T>& x, T r )
{
   std::atomic_thread_fence( memory_order_release );
   x.store( r, memory_order_relaxed );
}

It seems to me that these two functions are equivalent, in having the
same effect on memory orderings.
Is that so?
Is it true that a call to one of these can always be replaced by the
other?
(ofcourse I mean in a conforming implementation, in a program without
data races).

The same I would ask about load and acquire:

and same goes for loads:

        //option1
        r = x.load( memory_order_acquire );

        //option2
        r = x.load( memory_order_relaxed );
        atomic_thread_fence( memory_order_acquire );


template< typename T >
T my_load_acquire_1( std::atomic<T>& x )
{
    T const r = x.load( memory_order_relaxed );
    std::atomic_thread_fence( memory_order_acquire );
    return r;
}

template< typename T >
T my_load_acquire_2( std::atomic<T>& x )
{
    T const r = x.load( memory_order_acquire );
    return r;
}

Reading the standard 1.10, 29.8 it seems that these are equivalent,
but it doesn't make it too obvious, as I feel it's supposed to be.
In essence, wouldn't the compiler be allowed to produce the same
output?
I only refer to the fences as in this example, a single non-
conditional fence, not other uses within loops and conditions (where
there's a straight forward performance advantage in avoiding
barriers).


{ quoted signature removed -mod }

Is it also the same for read-modify-write operations? (not the ones
with conditional writes, just the ones that always write). Again it
seems so to me, but the standard doesn't say that explicitly.

itaj

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