[linux-audio-dev] userspace atomic primitives for multithread and SMP applications?

[Ingo Oeser]

Hi Jack,

On Sun, Aug 17, 2003 at 12:56:09PM -0500, Jack O'Quin wrote:
> All I've found so far are...
> 
>   (*) kernel implementations of <asm/atomic.h> and <asm/system.h>.

Don't use these, if glibc supports your architecture.

>       But, I prefer to avoid using kernel header files in application
>       code, mostly for portability and maintenance reasons.
>       Distributions handle them in non-standard ways, making it hard
>       to explain to users how to resolve the dependency.  Also,
>       porting to non-Linux platforms becomes problematic.
 
And as there might be privilegded operations involved, these
headers are a big no-no.

>   (*) glibc seems to have a good set of functions internally
> 
>       AFAICT, these are for the library's own use, not part of the
>       supported external interface.  I'll investigate further.

These I use myself and I can recommend them, as long as you use
GCC or a compatible compiler. They are mad for user space and
survive even preemption quite well.

Regards

Ingo Oeser