121 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
121 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
Using flexible arrays in the kernel
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Last updated for 2.6.32
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Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
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Large contiguous memory allocations can be unreliable in the Linux kernel.
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Kernel programmers will sometimes respond to this problem by allocating
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pages with vmalloc(). This solution not ideal, though. On 32-bit systems,
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memory from vmalloc() must be mapped into a relatively small address space;
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it's easy to run out. On SMP systems, the page table changes required by
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vmalloc() allocations can require expensive cross-processor interrupts on
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all CPUs. And, on all systems, use of space in the vmalloc() range
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increases pressure on the translation lookaside buffer (TLB), reducing the
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performance of the system.
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In many cases, the need for memory from vmalloc() can be eliminated by
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piecing together an array from smaller parts; the flexible array library
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exists to make this task easier.
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A flexible array holds an arbitrary (within limits) number of fixed-sized
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objects, accessed via an integer index. Sparse arrays are handled
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reasonably well. Only single-page allocations are made, so memory
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allocation failures should be relatively rare. The down sides are that the
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arrays cannot be indexed directly, individual object size cannot exceed the
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system page size, and putting data into a flexible array requires a copy
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operation. It's also worth noting that flexible arrays do no internal
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locking at all; if concurrent access to an array is possible, then the
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caller must arrange for appropriate mutual exclusion.
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The creation of a flexible array is done with:
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#include <linux/flex_array.h>
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struct flex_array *flex_array_alloc(int element_size,
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unsigned int total,
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gfp_t flags);
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The individual object size is provided by element_size, while total is the
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maximum number of objects which can be stored in the array. The flags
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argument is passed directly to the internal memory allocation calls. With
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the current code, using flags to ask for high memory is likely to lead to
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notably unpleasant side effects.
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It is also possible to define flexible arrays at compile time with:
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DEFINE_FLEX_ARRAY(name, element_size, total);
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This macro will result in a definition of an array with the given name; the
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element size and total will be checked for validity at compile time.
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Storing data into a flexible array is accomplished with a call to:
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int flex_array_put(struct flex_array *array, unsigned int element_nr,
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void *src, gfp_t flags);
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This call will copy the data from src into the array, in the position
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indicated by element_nr (which must be less than the maximum specified when
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the array was created). If any memory allocations must be performed, flags
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will be used. The return value is zero on success, a negative error code
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otherwise.
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There might possibly be a need to store data into a flexible array while
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running in some sort of atomic context; in this situation, sleeping in the
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memory allocator would be a bad thing. That can be avoided by using
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GFP_ATOMIC for the flags value, but, often, there is a better way. The
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trick is to ensure that any needed memory allocations are done before
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entering atomic context, using:
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int flex_array_prealloc(struct flex_array *array, unsigned int start,
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unsigned int end, gfp_t flags);
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This function will ensure that memory for the elements indexed in the range
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defined by start and end has been allocated. Thereafter, a
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flex_array_put() call on an element in that range is guaranteed not to
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block.
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Getting data back out of the array is done with:
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void *flex_array_get(struct flex_array *fa, unsigned int element_nr);
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The return value is a pointer to the data element, or NULL if that
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particular element has never been allocated.
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Note that it is possible to get back a valid pointer for an element which
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has never been stored in the array. Memory for array elements is allocated
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one page at a time; a single allocation could provide memory for several
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adjacent elements. Flexible array elements are normally initialized to the
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value FLEX_ARRAY_FREE (defined as 0x6c in <linux/poison.h>), so errors
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involving that number probably result from use of unstored array entries.
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Note that, if array elements are allocated with __GFP_ZERO, they will be
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initialized to zero and this poisoning will not happen.
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Individual elements in the array can be cleared with:
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int flex_array_clear(struct flex_array *array, unsigned int element_nr);
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This function will set the given element to FLEX_ARRAY_FREE and return
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zero. If storage for the indicated element is not allocated for the array,
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flex_array_clear() will return -EINVAL instead. Note that clearing an
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element does not release the storage associated with it; to reduce the
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allocated size of an array, call:
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int flex_array_shrink(struct flex_array *array);
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The return value will be the number of pages of memory actually freed.
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This function works by scanning the array for pages containing nothing but
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FLEX_ARRAY_FREE bytes, so (1) it can be expensive, and (2) it will not work
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if the array's pages are allocated with __GFP_ZERO.
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It is possible to remove all elements of an array with a call to:
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void flex_array_free_parts(struct flex_array *array);
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This call frees all elements, but leaves the array itself in place.
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Freeing the entire array is done with:
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void flex_array_free(struct flex_array *array);
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As of this writing, there are no users of flexible arrays in the mainline
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kernel. The functions described here are also not exported to modules;
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that will probably be fixed when somebody comes up with a need for it.
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