Talk:Read-copy-update

Problems with this page

I just scanned this article several times looking for the spot where RCU is actually explained, and I keep missing it. The first part of the Overview section looks promising, but ultimately dances around the point it's trying to make.

The rcu_assign_pointer primitive is used to carry out this assignment, and ensures that the assignment is atomic in the sense that concurrent readers will either see a NULL pointer or a valid pointer to the new structure, but not some mash-up of the two values.

This is explaining very little; it simply introduces a magic primitive. Even more confusing is that one of the references asserts that no reader-side synchronization is needed, while the Overview section specifies the need for rcu_read_lock and a corresponding unlock operation. After giving this all-too-high level overview, we plunge into the depths of Linux kernel code.

Another problem with the page is the use of peacock terms such as "excellent performance, scalability, and real-time response". QVVERTYVS (hm?) 13:37, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

Hmmmm... An alternative to the "peacock terms" would be something like this: "In the most aggressive implementations, which are actually used in practice in production, RCU readers can use the exact same sequence of machine instructions that would be used in a single-threaded environment." Would that be better, or would that still considered to be peacockery? PaulMcKenney (talk) 19:18, 27 June 2016 (UTC)

This paper gives a much more precise overview than this wiki page. It's a bit dense, but it sets out the conditions and mechanism in/by which RCU works. QVVERTYVS (hm?) 13:55, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

I certainly have no objection to the description in that paper. That paper's supplementary materials might also be of interest.

Given that there is a quite a bit more RCU-related material available than ten years ago, and given that you have formally registered your discomfort with my editing this page, I will leave this to you. I do expect to check up on it from time to time, of course. PaulMcKenney (talk) 19:18, 27 June 2016 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 external links on Read-copy-update. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add {{cbignore}} after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add {{nobots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:

• Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20160105153047/http://www.eecg.toronto.edu/~tornado to http://www.eecg.toronto.edu/~tornado
• Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20061010230626/http://www.eecg.toronto.edu:80/~tornado/ to http://www.eecg.toronto.edu/~tornado/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at {{Sourcecheck}}).

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—^{cyberbot II}_{Talk to my owner:Online} 05:07, 28 February 2016 (UTC)

Introduction modified

Removed jargon and peacockry. Described abstractly what rcu is, where its used, and how it functions. SecularJohannes (talk) 03:43, 14 March 2017 (UTC)